The 9th chapter in Christy Marx’s book is titled Writing vs. Design, and concentrates on a more practical guide for what to expect when looking for writing positions. The chapter also touches upon some theory on writing for games.
Marx starts off by differentiating the role of “designer”, as opposed to the role of “writer”. In the past, designer/writer was a synchronous role. However, as videogames progressed, these jobs became separated, allowing a release from the creative pressure of holding the dual position. Marx comments that the best way to truly discover where you fit in terms of the market is to look at job postings and check their requirements, then compare the required skill set to your own. She also asserts that although it is not required of game writers to be programmers as well, having some programming knowledge is beneficial for communication between the two positions.
Next, Marx delves into the writing specific position within the industry. Possible credits for these positions could include, but are not limited to, “Writer, Story Writer, Scenario Writer, Scriptwriter, Dialogue Writer, Content Designer, Story Designer, Narrative Designer, Writer/Designer, or something else invented on the spot.” Marx makes it clear that if you feel particular creative elements might be better for the designer rather than the writer, that you should say so and receive due credit for that work as well.
Marx then goes on to discuss particular industry standard terminology and compares the lexicon used to that of Hollywood (making sure to make evident the distinction between the definitions of certain terms, i.e. “development” in Hollywood refers to “mainly the writing process” where as in the game industry it is considered “the process of making the game.”) She also points out the difference in the term “scripting” (as opposed to scriptwriting, this refers to programming) and “world building” (which refers again to design work rather than writing). The most interesting claim Marx makes is the collation between the hyphenated and slashed job descriptions (in Hollywood the hyphen is preferred where as the game industry prefers the slash, i.e. writer-director vs. writer/designer). Following this, Marx provides eight pages of definitions of selected terms she feels are well to know as a game writer. Most of the terms are familiar to anyone who considers themselves a part of videogame culture (NPC, PvE, Spawning, Power-Up, etc). However, some phrases such as “Trigger, Flag, Hook” (a programming term “that indicates a piece of code that checks for specific conditions and activates the correct response depending on those conditions”) were unknown to me.
After the definitions, Marx delves into a discussion of Linear vs. Nonlinear narratives. Marx notes that traditional linear storytelling can appear to be nonlinear, but that it is really more non-chronological. Some videogames, however, contain nonlinear narrative, which refers to a story where the player organizes the narrative events according to how they experience it rather than a reorganized telling from an implied author. To serve as examples, Marx brings up her own games where player choices had direct effects on the narrative outcome of the game. Throughout the market, particular jobs will adhere more to one model than the other (such as console, as Marx claims, which has more linear narrative driven elements than PC MMOGs).
The next section of the chapter discusses “Game Structure”, divided into two sections titled “Story Structure” and “Game Parameters”. Marx discusses games with story structure as utilizing the basic three act structure of set-up, complications, resolution. However, she makes a clear distinction between those games which rely on story to engross a player (Max Payne) and those which don’t (Myst). For those games that do rely on story, Marx proposes that a games “resolution” will depend on how satisfying the payoff is for the player via “how thoroughly the player has gotten involved in the story and the characters.”
In the section titled “Game Parameters”, Marx clearly states that the term “parameters” and the “typical examples” she uses are her own terminology. By “parameters”, Marx refers to those limitations set forth by the design world. The following are the examples she touches upon:
1) Zone
-concept of a restrained area with parameters concerning movement and accessibility
2) Time or phase
-a particular amount of game time, or when a particular place is accessible because of gameplay time.
3) Player level
-a particular value placed on the player’s avatar advancement through the game
4) Player Race, Faction, or Class
-that particular options for gameplay will only be available to particular avatars that meet certain criteria
5) Acquisition of Game Objects
-game progression or certain game experiences require a particular parameter to be achieved first before moving forward
6) Predetermined Events
-events that take place throughout gameplay despite player interaction (they exist with or without the player but will not be experienced unless progressed toward through gameplay)
In the final section of the chapter, Marx discusses “More Things You Need to Know” (as the section is aptly titled). She mentions the proverbial “What if...” writing statement and offers some writing advice on how one should approach a story through videogames and how different “what if”s can affect gameplay.
Marx then goes on to talk about “variables and flexibility”. Variables consist of how making particular game choices based on previously set parameters will affect how you write the following sequences. Flexibility refers to your ability as a writer to work with and around certain parameters given to you while also being capable of making changes to story according to last minute changes in design and/or programming code.
Briefly, Marx discusses “Gradients” (the concept of difficulty progression as the game story progresses) and how they should be kept in mind when writing particular sequences (i.e. more aggressive NPCs could later have affected dialogue because of this factor).
Next, Marx discusses the idea of “choice” within gameplay and how it affects “linearity and storytelling.” Choice requires a greater account for the variables and parameters as the player is given more opportunity to experience and, in turn, mould the story narrative. These “choices” must also be balanced within game design so that the player can make “meaningful” choices that will progress or affect gameplay. For Marx, keeping in mind the idea of choice involves a balanced and well organized narrative.
“The Interface” is Marx’s next topical point. She argues that although interface is not technically a writer’s job, understanding the “interface” itself will affect “precisely how story and dialogue are implemented in the game.” Although this serves better for some games and not so much for others (Assassin’s Creed would be a good example of this, Uncharted would not), Marx’s final question in this section “how... would you try to convey story elements using the interfaces you encounter” directly ties in with her ideas of simulating narrative through gameplay as much as possible. This idea, of blending narrative into/with gameplay, has been a hot topic throughout my research on game development over the period of this course. I find Marx’s advice concerning this topic highly solid; understanding the interface and those elements like it will give you creative boundaries to work with as a game writer.
Marx concludes the chapter with a note on “The Player’s Mindset” where she describes coming to the revelation:
“Players are the Forces of Chaos. They will do anything in any order, whether it makes sense or not. They use trial and error rather than figure out your clever clues. They throw logic out the window.”
I found this chapter of Marx’s book highly enlightening. Her concepts on writing narrative for videogames works well as a basis for how to go about work-shopping story elements, narrative arc, character bios, and creation. This chapter also works quite well as an overall basic understanding of the process of writing for all games that contain narrative. Marx makes quite clear that to write for videogames means knowing “parameters” and working with those boundaries rather than against them. Much like any other writing field with creative restrictions, videogames are no exception. However, the interactive element that separates videogames from classical storytelling is an understanding that classical narrative boundaries (performed via audience or reader participation) must be redefined because of interactivity (the actual playing/experiencing of events via an avatar). Therefore, the same narrative boundaries that affect watching a movie are only part of the narrative boundaries that affect a game. As a writer, I find this idea fascinating because it forces me to think of new ways in which I could tell stories.
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