Courses for being a games writer... what to choose?

Auron2030 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:28:03 GMT

Hi everyone, this is my first post on here, and I'm hoping that some of you might be able to help me, 'cos I'm in a bit of a pickle.

I'm a writer - I'm not a professional (I wish!), but it's a hobby that has got to the stage where I reckon I might now have a chance of making a career out of putting words down on paper, in one way or another. Now I've been a massive games fan for the last ten years or so, and I've followed the way in which gaming has changed, specifically how it's changed as a medium in its capacity for storytelling, with great interest. Long story short, I think that writing for games would be the right way to go for me, and that's where I'm concentrating my efforts at the moment. As to whether there are such opportunities, well, as this is the Lionhead site, I'm sure we've all been playing Fable II recently, and I myself noticed how much dialogue there was in there, and I thought "I could do that", and sure enough, if you look in the credits in the back of the manual, there seem to be a bunch of people employed to write the dialogue, so there certainly are roles in that area, right? Thing is, how do they get those kind of jobs?

Well I figured I needed some more training, 'cos my CV/portfolio is looking a little barren these days, so I applied to do a Master's degree, and I've been accepted onto two courses, both at Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, but I'm having trouble deciding between them, or more specifically, deciding which would best help me towards getting a job writing the story and dialogue of games.

First one is a Screenwriting course, which would concentrate on doing lots of actual writing, and would develop, more or less exclusively, my writing skills - so my portfolio at the end would consist of scripts (there's also a module on 'Writing for Interactive Media' in there, although I think it's quite a minor part of the course). There's some more info here: http://www.courses.napier.ac.uk/W54707.htm

Second one is Interactive Entertainment, which is about making story-driven games. It has stronger links with the games industry than the screenwriting course, and my portfolio would (as I understand it through talking with the bloke who runs the course) consist of a 'vertical slice' of a game that I'd created, conceived the story of, and written. In addition the man who runs the course used to write dialogue for games himself, which has gotta be kinda handy. However, there wouldn't be as much 'pure writing' as one the former course, and it IS the first year that it's run. There are probably some more technical elements to this one as well, and I'm not the most technically minded guy, though I'm a pretty quick study when I have to be! The site for it is here: http://www.courses.napier.ac.uk/W54721.htm

So, I have a choice between two fairly distinct things - but when it comes to writers, do games companies want someone who simply has very skills with dialogue/storytelling and is a keen games player, or would they rather see an applicant who has skills with dialogue, but can combine them with aspects of concept/IP development, and has a wider understanding of the industry and how games are made? At the end of the day, it all comes down to which is most likely to help me get A JOB in the area that I want to work in! So... which do you think I should go for? Feel free to comment!

Just a couple of things to finish: firstly, I'd just like to say I'm not trying to plug Napier University at all, and I'm not affiliated with them in any way, other than that I will be going there this September. Secondly, has anyone done any games courses or writing courses (with an aim of writing for games) before, and how have they found them? Have they been helpful and got you where you wanted to go, or have they been a complete waste of time?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Games Industry

Courses for being a games writer... what to choose?