OTT & Transmedia : Ask Me Anything (AMA) 8/16 to 8/17- Writing for Video Games & Interactive Storytelling by Stephen Rhodes

Hey Stephen Rhodes, thanks so much for doing this AMA! What would you say is the first career step in terms of getting to write for games? Do you take a specific type of job (like how people start as a Writers' PA for TV) or is there a different path?

Hey, Stephen Rhodes. Very impressive resume! Thanks for having this AMA. What's the main difference between writing a movie script and writing a video game?

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions today, Stephen Rhodes! What is your favorite part of the process and why?

Greetings, Stephen. Looking forward to learning from your presentation and the Q&A. My question is -- how much influence do the players' actions, comments, and attitudes inform future versions of that game or other games? Thanks.

Hi David Abrookin thanks for the question! That's an interesting one as from my experience there is no one way into the games industry. Almost every writer I know working in the industry has had a different means of getting their start.

I think a good first step is getting some professional experience in the industry either through an internship which many studios offer, or having experience writing in another industry. Creating your own games in something like twine is also really useful as it demonstrates writing skills and technical implementation knowledge at the same time.

There are junior narrative roles out there but they are rare and highly competitive. Whatever step you take I think it should show that you truly want to make games and you have a unique voice when it comes to writing whether that means making your own games or taking on a different position to get hands on industry experience, I think that depends on the individual.

Hope that answers your question!

Thanks for doing this Stephen Rhodes ! When you're working on a game whose IP began in a different format or exists in multiple realms, where do you start? What kind of research do you do, or not do?

Stephen Rhodes thanks for doing an AMA. Your experience is a great example of how strategically crafted storytelling can transcend across all media. What does your development mapping process look like prior to writing? Do you have a specific template that you generally use?

Hello Maurice Vaughan and thanks for the great question.

For me the difference is dependent on the type of game you're creating and how much direct input the player will have on the story. You always have to account for these elements when writing a script but it determines how much creative space they take up at the script writing stage or if its excluded and done in a different process. A lot of video game storytelling happens while the player is in control of the character and camera, so this makes writing those sequences in a traditional script format difficult.

Generally for a typical linear action adventure game or first person shooter, the scripts look fairly similar with all the usual components (action text, characters, dialogue, parentheticals, scene headings, etc). With something more branching or interactive you'd have additional components such as dialogue choices player can make and calling out where a scene diverges based on what choice in dialogue or action the player has made during the sequence.

A lot of studios have writing tools that allow a writer to do both the technical components and the traditional writing parts in one piece of software, but if that's not available, I tend to see the cinematic moments written in script format and the other moments called out as action text and then those playable sequences fleshed out in other forms such as directly in-engine, or lines in excel. One of the biggest difference though is just length! Most games are much longer than a movie so the scripts tend to be much much bigger.

Thanks Ashley Renee Smith for asking me to do this & encouraging me. My favorite part depends on the stage of the process I am at tbh, I love almost every aspect of it. I really enjoy breaking a story and figuring out how everything fits together, but I also love once we get into production and we're crafting specific scenes and story moments and seeing them come to life through the process of performance capture and then within the game itself once all the other talented folks have added their skills to the process.

Hi Stephen Rhodes. Great topic. I write genre stuff so I've always had some interest in writing for a video game. I never knew of the Twine program you reference until today. Thanks for that. Let's lean into that though. Say you go through the steps and create a game using Twine. Then what? How do you get notoriety for it so video game companies take notice? It seems it's like putting up a YouTube video. It doesn't matter if you don't have a plan to get views. Thanks.

Hello Pamela Jaye Smith thank you so much for the question.

That's a very interesting topic and I think it very much depends on the type of game and the attitude of the studio making it. Obviously a lot of user testing is done during a game's development so developers can get feedback, and when it comes to developing sequels to existing games, user trends and choices are looked at to see what players liked or disliked and what choices they made.

That being said, it's often difficult to make creative decisions based purely on that data. Games are so complex to develop that it's difficult to make any big pivots late into development, and we accept you can't please everyone so we try and create experiences we think people will enjoy or react to, but in games where we give players choices we want to ensure all those choices feel valid and they get different outputs based on what they decided to do. This approach can be a lot of fun but it makes development a lot more difficult, costly, and complex based on how much branching you add into a narrative.

There are hundreds of millions of players out there and developers can see a lot of data very quickly and make choices based on what players are responding to but these elements tend to inform gameplay and user experience more than narrative. However, if players gravitate towards a certain character or storyline we might put more focus on those elements in future releases or make them more pivotal to the critical path where possible. We always want to give players more of what they like so if we can find a way to do that, most developers will try to do that.

Hey Niki H thanks so much for the question - I have worked on plenty of games that explore existing IPs and there is always extensive research so that you understand the IP nuances but also what makes it special and understanding what is core to its DNA and what made it resonate with audiences. I think that's an essential part of working with an IP. There's also the aspect of understanding the IP inside and out so you can best figure out how to honor the DNA but also find something new to say within it because fans don't want the same thing they've already had, they want the familiar but that's also offering something new. You have to find a way to strike that balance between honoring what came before and adding new things for fans to experience and hopefully enjoy.

Thanks for the answer, Stephen Rhodes. And all of the answers. I've been thinking about writing a video game. Your answers are gonna really help. I might write a short game script for practice.

Hello Stephen Rhodes , I am honored that you are taking time to be with us today. Do you have any tips on submitting game bibles or sample chapters? I am yet to see a competition happen that has chances for a writer to enter. Maybe Stage32 can create one?

Hi Stephen Rhodes - thanks so much for doing this AMA! Question - how does a video game publisher come to a decision as to what existing IP to exploit? Do publishers accept pitches from IP creators or do they make their decision based on works that have grabbed the attention of audiences (a sure thing)?

Thank you for putting this on, Stephen Rhodes! I've been applying for a handful of narrative positions lately, and I'm wondering whether my participation and support on the picket lines and on social media with regard to the WGA Strike might be a deterrent for companies to reach back that I hadn't previously considered. Are gaming companies viewing the labor issues in Hollywood as unrelated to their business, which was my original assumption, or are they more preemptive about managing the potential for labor organization?

Hi Will Maurer thanks for the question - As for my process it varies depending on the project, the client, and at what stage of the process I am brought in. If I am on something from the start I like to do a lot of outlining and structural work to ensure the framework we're building from answers as many questions as possible both from the story and character side, but also from the implementation aspects as well. There's no point developing a story that would be too costly to implement or wouldn't mesh with the other creative pillars of the project. Often with games their structure is based more upon player experience and exploring the systems of interaction so you always have to make sure you map the pacing and story structure to help make that experience as good as possible whilst also doing the structural work your story will need to also get moving and get audience investment. Act 1s for games are always tricky because not only do you have to establish the world, characters, and stakes, but also introduce the game mechanics and teach the player how to interact with the world. It's a fun process but it can take much more iteration than a passive storytelling medium would warrant. You have to keep everyone aligned across all the key disciplines to ensure the story is serving the gameplay just as much as the gameplay is serving the story.

^ This is so insightful. Thank you Will Maurer for asking the question and Stephen Rhodes for answering with guidance.

Stephen Rhodes, because my last question might have been a little heavy for the purposes of this chat, let me also ask what games - the top five, maybe - do you think represent the biggest breakthroughs or gold standards when it comes to narrative design in gaming?

Hi Martin Reese and thanks for your question - Once you've created a unique game in something like Twine, the best way to use that is to apply for positions you find at companies you're interested in and have a website with your game on so people can navigate there and experience your work for themselves. A walkthrough on youtube would be fine but if you've done any branching narrative work I'd want to play it myself and try different options to see what outcomes you decided to create.

I don't think it's so much about notoriety as it is about just having a few pieces of professional quality work and applying for positions. if you can demonstrate your skills in writing and narrative implementation with a few key pieces of work you are likely to catch recruiters attention and get interviews.

When I look at applications I want to see a clean, concise resume, a cover letter, and two really good samples of work, be it interactive experiences or sample scenes and if they impress I'll ask to interview the person to get more details from that point onward. Nothing beats real hands on professional experience though if you can find a way to get it.

Thanks for the your insight Stephen Rhodes

Thanks Trish Persen I really appreciate that and happy to be here with you all. As for your question, It's rare for studios to accept entire game bibles or pitches, that is something more for independent game development where you'd pitch to investors not existing studios. That being said I think if you wanted feedback on your game writing you can always have your peers review it and give feedback or submit the story to a more traditional media contest with the intention of developing it into a game down the road if you wanted feedback on the particular narrative. If you were writing a horror game, but you wanted feedback on the story itself you could feasibly submit it to a horror writing contest and get feedback that way. There are also some game development contests out there but they focus more on having a game concept you've developed as like a vertical slice of the final experience which is a bit more involved than just writing up the bible. It would be nice to see more game writing focused contests though.

Thank you, Stephen Rhodes! That was so helpful and make so much sense. I have been sitting on a project for quite some time and this was just a sign to dive back into it. Twine is a great resource to have mentioned. It gives you so much practice with different layers of a story and interconnecting the character as was as their experiences together.

Hey Leonardo Ramirez thanks for the question - Publishers are all unique and they make their decisions based on numerous factors. A lot of them want to build brands from the success of their own IPs while others enjoy working with creative partners and licensing existing ones.

There are so many factors that go into making that kind of decision but often times it starts with a studio having an idea for a game then approaching IPs that might match the idea well or being approached by IP holders who want to see their brand expanded in new ways and finding a team that have had success within similar experiences.

A great example is the recently released and absolutely incredible Baldur's Gate 3. Larian are a talented studio that made two very successful CRPGs with one IP, then made a sequel to a game from decades earlier using their game engine and the Dungeons and Dragons IP. I don't know how the deal happened specifically, but It's great when creators can marry a game concept with a beloved IP as I think everyone wins in that scenario. It is just as important though, that new IPS are allowed to exist and thrive and bring us new worlds and characters to fall in love with.

At the end of the day it all comes down to risk management. There has to be a balance between new and familiar. Games are expensive to make and the cost of development is only increasing so having a built in audience for an IP is a very appealing thing to publishers as it reduces the risk a little when it comes to making a new game experience.

Hey Tennyson Stead thanks for your question - I wouldn't worry about perception of you being on picket lines and supporting the WGA strike. The reality is your applications might be getting overlooked because you don't have much video game experience or the writing samples didn't match the tone for specific projects. Could also be that studios are worried that once the strike has all been resolved that you'd simply go back to TV/Film and don't want to risk having to replace you mid-project. Could be any number of things but I can't imagine your applications being rejected because you posted pictures of you supporting the WGA. Not saying it's impossible but I'd be very surprised if that was the reason.

Hey again Tennyson Stead and thanks for the second question, although I will say this one is infinitely harder to answer than your first one! I have been inspired and influenced by so many games over the years and picking a top 5 in terms of influence is tricky, but I'll give it a shot.

Here are five games I personally feel pushed things forward or held gold standards at the time in which they came out in no particular order:

- Bioshock

- The Last of Us

- Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

- Silent Hill 2

- Hades

That's an incredibly encouraging response Stephen Rhodes . I did that with HAVEN OF DANTE who is a successor to a mantle from the original Dante Alighieri. I'll have to look up who produced "Dante's Inferno" and possibly go from there. Thank you!

Stephen Rhodes - It's been a while since I've crossed paths with the "Dante's Inferno" game and upon looking again, lo and behold it was done through EA.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, Stephen Rhodes! It is very interesting to hear about storytelling in video games. Do you ever co-write? If so, in how is the collaboration in writing for games similar or different to writing for other media like TV and Film? Thank you in advance!

Thank you, Stephen Rhodes. In terms of how you experience a game, do you separate the narrative quality of a game from the quality of the gameplay experience? Or are they the same thing, to you?

Hi Elena Maro and thanks for your question - Game writing and game creation in general is an incredibly collaborative experience. Even on the smallest project I have always worked with someone else on the narrative side.

I'd say it's similar to a TV writing room apart from the collaboration doesn't really stop once the story is broken and episodes/missions assigned. Even when you're not collaborating with other writers you're working with the artists, level designers, animators, mission designers to create a cohesive experience that the narrative glues together.

It's really important to keep the writing team involved and informed about all aspects of a project's narrative so bringing everyone back into the room to review and give feedback on everyone's work is essential to ensuring consistency of both story logic and character voice.

I just also really enjoy the collaborative process with other writers and think its the best path to telling the best story. My favorite part about my role now is having a writer bring an idea to the room, run with it and then taking the feedback of the team and turning all of that creative energy into something that blows away my expectations. Really shines a light on how important it is as writers to collaborate with others and especially people with different perspectives to your own.

Thank you so much for such an insightful answer, Stephen Rhodes!

Hey Tennyson Stead - when it comes to games I experience there are some that I enjoy from a gameplay PoV and some I enjoy the story more, but the games that stay with me are ones that marry both and I can feel that connection between the story and the "on-sticks" experience coming through. I analyze both independently, but the strength of games as a storytelling medium is you can fully immerse the player in the experience by giving them control and reinforcing that as much as possible always leads to a better experience in my opinion.

Stephen Rhodes, I think you're right about that. One of the things you learn, ideally, in writing for actors is that it really is a language of action. We write the things our characters are doing, and not the things that happen to our characters and how our characters react, because an action is something you WATCH. An event is just something you SEE.

The cool thing about gaming is that the action belongs to the player. The player is the one doing stuff, and it's up to us to engineer stuff for them to do in a way that brings them into the moment, into the urgency, and even into the moments when they get to breathe for a moment. There's a lot of layers to the psychology of what people take away from that experience, but the way you communicate with an audience in game design is very different than in any other kind of mass media. When it's done well, there's something about it that ties into the player and gives them something really, really huge.

Thanks Stephen! For an experienced and produced writer in the film and TV space, what would be the best way to break into the video game space? What would be some suggestions you would recommend for a true video game lover who has written for comedians from SNL, MADtv, Borat and more. Thank you!

Thanks for offering to do this, Stephen Rhodes! What skills are most desirable in a narrative writer in the game industry?

Hi Stephen Rhodes! Thanks for doing this AMA! I would love to know what your favorite project has been to work on and why?

Thanks so much Amir Mo for the question - I think the best way for you to break in would be to demonstrate you can take your existing writing experience and apply it to interactive narratives by creating your own interactive experiences using Twine or other similar programs, or create sample scripts that factor in player agency.

I think you may also want to look at varying up your writing samples to include genres more commonly seen within games. There are not a lot of 'comedy' focused titles out there, so having some writing that demonstrates your range will also instill confidence in teams you apply to.

That being said, sounds like you have plenty of experience so I think you should look for projects and studios that excite you with positions open and apply. I think if you can demonstrate with samples and in interviews that you understand how to apply storytelling to an interactive medium I think you'd easily land a mid-level narrative/writing role in the industry. Putting yourself on the radar of games industry recruiters on somewhere liked LinkedIn will help in finding a position that best fits your writing style also.

Hope that helps and best of luck with the search!

Hi Petula Miller and thank you. Great question! Most desirable skills I look for are a collaborative mindset, professional writing experience of any kind, a clear and unique voice, and understanding of how games are built.

Some of those can be taught whilst on the job, others are harder to instill. I prioritize good writing, clear voice, and a collaborative mindset so I know people can get the work done and can do it as part of a writing team.

Having any form of industry experience does help a lot, but doesn't mean it has to be writing specifically for games. Hope that helps!

Hi there Emily J thanks for your question! This is a tough one to answer. I feel like I have enjoyed every project I have been involved with for different reasons, whether its because of the people I worked with, the studio culture, the project itself, or IP I really liked playing with.

I am going to be cheeky and pick three and I'll explain why with each one:

1. LEGO City Undercover - it was my first big project in the industry & so it meant a lot to me. (I wasn't even a writer back then, I was a designer).

2. The Witcher 3 - it was an incredible experience with a team I truly loved working with on a project I was a huge fan of already. It was also the first time I lived abroad and was super scary, but it was a defining moment in my career and I made lifelong friends I am still very close with today.

3. Call of Duty Vanguard - I'm a huge history nerd so getting to create a story set within WW2 was really exciting for me, and I love the team at Sledgehammer. The best part though was it was the first time I got to build and lead a narrative team from scratch and seeing them all grow over the course of the project, then jump to other bigger and better things was truly humbling.

I am really proud of all the projects I have been a part of and I attribute a great deal of the writer and developer I am today to the amazing friends and colleagues who I met and who supported me along my journey. I'm very fortunate to have worked with some of the best developers in the industry.

Yes Stephen Rhodes , this is particularly encouraging to read. Thanks again for doing this AMA!