More from the Writing For Fantasy Game Worlds panel, presented by Writers Cabal and IGDA NYC:
How do you build a believable fantasy world? How do you approach a cherished property like The Lord of the Rings?
More importantly, how do you avoid telling the same old fantasy story?
Last week’s game dialog was from the game Myst.
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The Writers Cabal and the IGDA NYC presented a wonderful panel on writing for fantasy game worlds last month. Here’s the introduction to the panel and soon, we’ll show the video highlights!
Of course, you can also read our own write-up.
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With over 100 RSVP’s to the event, we’re pleased the Writing for Fantasy Game Worlds panel got so much interest! Panelists Daniel Greenberg, Jeff Gomez, and Steve Balzac captivated the audience’s attention with anecdotes, advice, and frank discussion. While the purpose of the panel was to delve into the writing and design of fantasy game worlds, it also highlighted the need for writers in game development.
Tracing the roots of computer RPGs back to live-action and pen’n'paper RPGs, the panelists stressed the importance of storytelling in audience enjoyment. While computer games often do not live up to its predecessors in terms of storytelling, fantasy titles can still retain a mythic quality. It’s not just the narrative elements of orcs and elves, said Greenberg, but the story itself must resonate with the audience. To do this, Gomez advocated building a story bible that included the mythos and a deep analysis of the themes integral to the property. Greenberg noted that for all the games he worked on that were connected to The Lord of the Rings, he wanted to portray the theme of fellowship.
Balzac talked about magic systems and how the story material itself led to the magic system. When he set a game in the world created by H.P. Lovecraft, he ended up writing the Necronomicom with its dark arcane magic. Magic would not be a simple zap in this world. Players would have to read through tomes of secret knowledge to learn spells.
The panelists were hopeful that game developers would pay more attention to storytelling in the future. This would involve more interesting choices, rather than a set “good” path and a “bad” path. Stories need to be better than just backdrops. In addition, aspiring game writers were told to be cognizant of game design and level design disciplines.
When it was all over, people wanted more. One question was about conducting future workshops on game design and writing. We’re still mulling it over. But we’ll let you know.
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New Yorkers! Tonight, Thursday, is the night! Be there or feel left out 
Writers Cabal is pleased to announce the following panel, “Writing for Fantasy Game Worlds.”
Moderated by Sande Chen, the panel will explore the overwhelming appeal of fantasy computer games and the importance of writing and story development in world building and player immersion. From pitch to production, from pen-and-paper and live-action to massively multiplayer game worlds, the panelists discuss the process of fantasy world building for original concepts or licensed properties. Furthermore, they elaborate on how story development can affect game system design, character design, and environments.
Panelists include:
The Scoop:
Presented by the NYC Chapter of the IGDA and Writers Cabal
Panel: Writing for Fantasy Game Worlds
When: Thursday, June 21, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: Wollman Hall, The New School University
65 West 11th St, 5th Floor
New York City, New York
RSVP: http://www.largeanimal.com/igda/chapter-2007_06_21/
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Now how do you develop your story and build a world immersive enough for people to believe in it?
Writers Cabal is pleased to announce the following panel, “Writing for Fantasy Game Worlds,” which will answer this question and more.
Moderated by Sande Chen, the panel will explore the overwhelming appeal of fantasy computer games and the importance of writing and story development in world building and player immersion. From pitch to production, from pen-and-paper and live-action to massively multiplayer game worlds, the panelists discuss the process of fantasy world building for original concepts or licensed properties. Furthermore, they elaborate on how story development can affect game system design, character design, and environments.
Panelists include:
The Scoop:
Presented by the NYC Chapter of the IGDA and Writers Cabal
Panel: Writing for Fantasy Game Worlds
When: Thursday, June 21, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: Wollman Hall, The New School University
65 West 11th St, 5th Floor
New York City, New York
RSVP: http://www.largeanimal.com/igda/chapter-2007_06_21/
Found this blog entry useful? Click here to e-mail it to someone!
Games based on licensed properties are notoriously awful. An informal survey about bad licensed games had people throwing out names like ET, the new TMNT game, Fight Club, “every Star Trek game ever made,” Matrix, “all the Fox stuff” and the list goes on. In all fairness, many such games have tight production schedules in order to take advantage of an IP launch (see Gamedev article for more on this). Even so, that excuse only goes so far.
Gregory Noveck is the Senior VP of Creative Affairs at DC Comics. In short, he calls himself an evangelical rights representative. His kind may be just what the game industry needs. You may think — just what we don’t want, more oversight by the IP owner. But because he refuses to rubber stamp scripts that are bad or just aren’t hitting the mark, mankind has been saved from seeing more Catwoman movies (By the way, the Watchmen script is reportedly great).
His focus is on the take, or story, of the property, and his genuine enthusiasm for the IP ensures no one is using the license simply to line their wallets. The movie Constantine, inspired by the Hellblazer comic, was a successful movie, making over 100 million. But since the movie didn’t really evoke the comic, like, say 300, Noveck wondered if the movie could have made even more. Once the first wave of movie-goers reported back that the movie was no Hellblazer, the film makers may have missed out on the second wave of fans who would have seen it had it been true to the IP.
Of course, executives like Noveck can’t save gameplay, but they can help you manage the expectations that are part and parcel of working with an IP. Some creators have even asked DC’s opinion on a take before presenting it to the studio funding their project. Beware the IP-owner who says they’ll support you 100 percent in whatever you do in your game — it’s a sign that they’re not quite backing you.
While there is such thing as too much oversight (we won’t name names), having an IP champion helping you and your writers can make the difference between an okay game and a great game that captures the spirit of your IP. After all, we could certainly use more Knights of the Old Republic.
