Narrative Design for Writers

Edwin McRae

Apr 2020 · Fiction Engine

About this ebook

Do you want to turn your talent for writing into a narrative design career in the games industry?

It’s never been a better time to be a writer for video games. You’re tapping into an industry that was worth more than $120 billion dollars in 2019, and it’s still growing.

And it’s an industry that needs great storytellers.

But there's a BIG difference between a great story and a great game story. Traditional stories are told. Game stories are experienced. That's why video game narratives need a totally different design approach.

So how do you apply your scriptwriting, storylining, poetic, copywriting, prose producing skills to an audience that won’t sit still and an industry that’s ever changing?

That’s what this book is about!

I’ve been a narrative designer for over a decade, as well as a novelist and a scriptwriter / storyliner for TV and comics. I love playing games, and even more, I love helping game developers realize their storytelling aspirations. Nothing delights me more than a game that's both fun to play and delivers a satisfying story experience.

In this book, I'll share both the evergreen principles and practical techniques that I’ve learned and developed during my narrative design career so that you can position yourself for your first game writing gig. And if you’re an experienced narrative designer already, you’ll still find plenty of insights that you can apply to your trade.

I’ll say it again, “the games industry needs you!”

Play is what we do, but story is why we do it.

Ratings and reviews

This book is great for anyone who wants to learn more about the (increasingly important) role of the Narrative Designer in video game development. Particularly those who are looking to pursue a career in writing/narrative in games. The author does an excellent job of explaining what narrative design is (and is not), covers the key skills you will need to do it well and offers practical audition pieces you can write to start building your narrative design portfolio immediately. He does this all in plain English and doesn’t use jargon or industry speak, making the book accessible and essential for anyone with an interest in this field. Recommended.

About the author

Edwin has been a writer for the games industry since 2010. He has worked on the stories for many Indie video games, including Path of Exile, Ashen, Rune 2 and Project Haven.