The Writers Guild of America is perhaps one of the best-known establishments in writing across various mediums, and gaming is no different. While many studios and writers vie for a covetedaward from the WGA, some studios have refused to participate. The WGA mentioned that BioWare and Rockstar both refused entry into consideration this year.
To be considered for an award, one must be a member of the Videogame Writers Caucus. There is a $60 annual fee to be a part of the Caucus. Joining the VWC is not the same thing as joining the WGA, but it does offer a subscription to an industry publication, Written By Magazine, and opportunities for free screenings. One does not need to be a member of the guild to win an award.
Still though, studios have relented, says the chair of the VWC, Micah Wright. "The WGA is a Guild primarily supported by the mandatory union dues of our film and television member-writers. A writer who works on, say, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, will contribute 2% of their salary to the union, which in the case of a film like that might be in the range of $100,000.
"The idea that anyone thinks the WGA is somehow getting rich off of $60 fees from videogame writers is laughable."
To be eligible for the award, requirements dictate: "We need to see a script with a list of writers' names on it. For one thing, we need to know who wrote these games: we're not clairvoyant... we can't magically peer into some Developer's internal business structure and divine who wrote what."
"Because of this requirement, however, some game studios have refused to submit a script, even though we've gone to great lengths to make it easy for them to do."
While many studios do in fact partake in the consideration, Wright noted BioWare and Rockstar as examples that have refused to join in.
"Bioware, for example, refused to submit a script for either Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age this year, and that's too bad, because both games would have likely been finalists.
"Similarly, Take-Two Games refused to submit a script for Red Dead Redemption. Why? We don't know. Maybe they hate unions, or maybe they just hate winning awards, or maybe they have enough statues on their mantle.”
"So another game gets what would likely have been their nomination. Are we happy about it? No…but rules are rules and our rules are clear and very fair."
There has been a perception that these requirements are very narrow, causing studios to back away from the opportunity. The membership requirement for the VWC is a chief concern for many.
Wright counters these claims, saying, “Some people in the games press say that we should simply play all the games and make our judgments that way. Our judges are all members of the VWC, and thus, professional, working videogame writers. I can't demand that our judges sit down and buy and then devote 80 hours to playing every videogame that comes out at retail... not when they've got jobs and lives to lead and they can read the entire script in 2 hours or less."
[Thanks GI.biz]
