IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Industry Careers: Video Game Scriptwriter

Posted January 8, 2010 by James Brightman

Today we present you with another installment in our ongoing series profiling various jobs in the games industry. Previously, we looked at the roles of video game producer, video game localization, and video game music composer. Now we're looking at the important position of video game scriptwriter. IndustryGamers tracked down Ubisoft's Corey May, who was the Lead Scriptwriter on both Assassin’s Creed I and II, to get his take on the field.

IndustryGamers: What attracted you to the game industry and writing games in particular?

Corey May: I’ve always loved games. I started with an Atari 2600 when I was about 4 years old and haven’t looked back. If I’m not working, I’m playing and it’s been that way for almost 30 years. To be totally honest, I wasn’t attracted to writing, really – but I’d always dreamed of working on video games. So when an opportunity presented itself, and I was asked to write on a game, I took it. It was my way into the business. I’ve been doing it for a while now, so I guess I’ve learned to enjoy the process (or at least tolerate it). My love for games continues to grow. 

IG: What's your day-to-day like?

CM: A mix of meetings and writing. I think it’s critical that someone writing on a game be a part of the team – not just in the figurative sense, but literally there, with the team. Every day. Generating pages from some distant place and e-mailing them in is a recipe for disaster. I’m sure that somewhere out there, someone’s made it work to great effect – but remote writing is counterintuitive. So I’m in the office every day, talking with the producer, creative director, cinematics director, level designers, sound team, localization, artists, animators, and everyone else. A game is not a book. It’s not just words on a page. It’s a texture on a model with animation (and usually AI) set not against a static backdrop, but a dynamic, interactive environment. So I have to be flexible. I have to adapt. Things are always changing. Whether it’s a line of dialogue, the direction of action in a scene, or the entire setting/context of a chunk of the story – it can (and will) always be moving – and I need to be able to move with it. I can’t do that if I’m not here – and if I’m not aware of all the different moving parts. And on the flip side, my coworkers can’t read my mind so if they have questions about what I’ve written or want to make a tweak, I need to be here so we can talk about it, discuss alternatives, and come up with ways to implement them. Video game production is an intensely collaborative process. So is writing. So it’s far more than typing text into a script writing program. You have to shepherd those words from script to screen.

IG: What kind of education is required to be a game scriptwriter?

CM: I have no idea. I’ll tell you that I got my BA in Economics and then got a MFA focused on film producing. So nothing in my educational history would immediately single me out for writing.

IG: What are your essential skills and tools of the trade?

CM: Patience, passion, and practice. Patience is critical because as I noted above, writing (especially on larger projects) is a long and time consuming process. Passion is necessary to keep you from quitting. I’m not passionate about writing, but I’m passionate about games and the universes I’ve helped to shape. And that’s more than enough to get me through the low times. Practice is a far better teacher than any class or seminar or book on writing. Maybe they can act as supplements. I wouldn’t say they’re detrimental. But they aren’t substitutes for experience. They aren’t magic bullets. You want to write? Then you should always be reading, watching, listening, and writing. All the time. As often as possible. In whatever way suits you.

IG: What's the most challenging and the most fun aspect of your job?

CM: Deadlines are the most challenging. There is an immense amount of pressure. All of the time. Not just to get my work done – but to make sure it isn’t horrible. And I’m not writing in a vacuum, right? The game is changing all around me – every day. Even if it’s small and subtle shifts, it can impact the story – levels or maps can vanish – new ones could appear. Maybe someone changes a mission objective but forgets to tell me. Other times I have to deal with stuff that’s considered “cool” from a gameplay perspective but nonsensical from a narrative one. And I can’t say no. I shouldn’t say no! I have to find a way to make it work. Story doesn’t come first. Gameplay does. And I’m okay with that. I agree with it. I’m just saying it presents a challenge. I always have to be on – there’s almost zero downtime. The threat of getting creatively drained or burned out is ever-present.

The most fun is definitely interacting with fans. On message boards or Facebook or at conventions. It’s awesome to see and hear from people who like our stuff.

IG: Are there many opportunities in this field? 

CM: I think every year the number of opportunities increases, but it’s definitely a competitive business.

IG: What's the typical pay range for game scriptwriters?

CM: I don’t know. The answer to this question depends on so many things. Are you a writer for hire? An employee of the company? Have you been hired just to write or are you also doing design work? Are you writing the script? Just AI lines? Just consulting on the story? Polishing a script already written? Are you working from home or on site? There are so many different factors and potential job opportunities that it’s impossible to say. I’ll tell you this: the pay is lower and the work longer and harder than working in the film business.

IG: What advice do you have for aspiring game writers?

CM: Read tons, write tons, watch tons, play tons. Also - it’s not enough to understand writing. You MUST understand game production. The greatest writer in the world is going to be all but useless if he or she doesn’t understand the production process and its constraints. I can’t stress this enough.

IG: Thanks Corey.

 

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.