Thread by @MxJLloyd, Onto day 3 of #WGGB #GameWriting talks

Onto day 3 of #WGGB #GameWriting talks - "Dialogue as Text"!

Games are more than the sum of their parts, not just "books with clicks" - writing is combined with so many other areas (music, visual design, even marketing) - @Cheratomo

Western audiences restrict any games with lots of reading to the genre "Visual Novels", whereas Japan has whole subsets of the genre! - @fahmitsu

This can lead western developers to hold off from working in the genre because they see it as lacking in gameplay. - @Cheratomo

So many mechanics in mainstream games have lifted directly from aspects of the visual novel genre! Writing it off as a genre restricts developers from exploring these - @Cheratomo

Creating and writing games is a never ending learning process - when starting out you can definitely create things that are just playing to your previous strengths! - @edfear

Start experimenting with something small, just to develop your experience creating stories for games! Twine, RPG Maker etc. are really useful tools for just getting started. - @fahmitsu

There's no one blanket skillset for games because every game is different! Find what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what kind of stories you're interested in telling and how. - @Cheratomo

One point that's come up time and time again across these talks is how much of a collaborative process game writing is, not just in terms of working in a writing room but having to consider all other departments and technical limits, restrictions etc.

Theatre writing has been brought up before as a parallel, another is writing the descriptions for museum displays. Guiding the reader through an exhibit and informing them, teaching them the story you want. - @fahmitsu

All areas of the game need to work together to tell the story. Light and fluffy dialogue can't be offset by moody lighting, or gritty UI etc, it all needs to gel. - @Cheratomo

If a character is leaning on a specific reference or experience, is that universal enough for people to understand, or will it just come across as unnatural? Check with other people on your team, and be prepared to cut and redo. - @edfear

When writing dialogue, what aspects of a character influence how they talk? What subcultures, class, even what their primary emotions are will have a strong impact. Worth sitting and reflecting on the characters to help find their voice. - @edfear

Break down their speech patterns to a granular level so it can be explained to other people on your team, so they also have a similar voice in their head when it comes to creating for that character. - @Cheratomo

Roleplay and improv as characters to get an idea who they are and how they would react in "natural" conversation! - @fahmitsu

Go through scenes from each of the characters' points of view and make sure that they are all behaving as they have been established to and they don't just sound like puppets there to move the script along. - @Cheratomo

Plot personality traits of all characters onto a graph! Drama and conflict come from people who tackle things from different directions and it's important to make sure you have a good spread so they bounce off one another. - @edfear

If you can, give "ownership" of different characters to different people or editors! This will help them sound different and not all from one voice. - @edfear/ @fahmitsu

Why are a lot of visual novel type games from the same genres? Mostly just a marketing thing, there's no real set reason from a design perspective. - @Cheratomo

Wise choice to give each character a background, even if this is never revealed to the player. It helps you keep them true and consistent to themselves. - @fahmitsu

This depends on the game! Some games are based on player defining their characters, and so set backgrounds aren't always helpful. Characters in games like Skyrim are more a suggestion to the player, so subtle things like grunts or animations suggest a direction. - @Cheratomo

"Game development is a runaway train that you're building a track for as it's going." - @edfear

On writing for identities that are not your own (and that are non-dominant!) researching, talking to, and immersing yourself with that group is really important if you can't give ownership of the character to someone of that demographic. - @Cheratomo

It is a LOT of pressure to give one person the responsibility to represent their entire demographic in a character, and it's an impossible task in the first place! Make sure they don't feel unduly burdened, and understand that you can never fully encompass everyone - @edfear

(also just hire more marginalised writers so you can get more perspectives) - @edfear

If you can't expand your team, expand the people who play your game before it comes out! - @fahmitsu

Some people will see representation that doesn't quite fit them and because they're starved for that representation it's another missed opportunity and this can be upsetting or frustrating! But know that you will never be able to represent 100% of a group. - @leonkillin

Go out and listen to people talking is a really great way to develop how you write dialogue! And consume media from all sorts of sources and genres so that you've got a wide range of styles to draw from. - @edfear

Often you'll be tasked with creating tutorials etc. which never sound like something a real human would say. In these situations, focus on making the gameplay instructions clear as the player won't see the rest of the characterisation if they can't make it through! @Cheratomo

Also, try learning other languages! See how different people construct sentences and ideas and it'll help you build how you do it too! - @Cheratomo

"Witty" dialogue is a lot more about timing than actually writing jokes. Work with the tools you have, to include this timing, but it's really hard to make funny text based games! - @edfear

Comedy is really subjective and cultural and so it's hard to hit consistently for everyone. Trust what you find funny! - @fahmitsu

Sign up for improv, watch a lot of comedy specials, really immerse yourself in that world so you understand timing and the craft of it. - @Cheratomo

(I like this advice a lot

)

On "show, don't tell" - games also have a third option, which is "play". Try to get instructions across to the player without taking control away from them. - @edfear

But also if it's absolutely vital information... Just tell the player! You don't want to risk them missing it! - @Cheratomo

On good characters/games to study:
Kainé (Nier) - Incredibly unique voice. - @edfear
Hades - Really intricate character development. - @Cheratomo
FF IX - Completely believable world / Zero Escape - Can only be told through games - @fahmitsu
Fenris (Dragon Age 2) - @leonkillin

And that's it for tonight! Thank you so much @Cheratomo @edfear @leonkillin @fahmitsu!

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