Slay the Dragon: Writing Great Video Games

Robert Denton Bryant (Author) Keith Giglio (Author)

Description

Writing for the multibillion-dollar video-game industry is unlike writing for any other medium. Slay the Dragon will help you understand the challenges and offer creative solutions to writing for a medium where the audience not only demands a great story, but to be a driving force within it. Aimed at traditional writers who want to learn interactive narrative as well as game creators who want to tell better, more emotionally involving stories, the book is written by two creative veterans of both Hollywood and "Nerdyhood." Through lively discussions and self-paced-exercises, Bryant and Giglio step you such topics as: the "no-act" structure of video games; writing great game characters; making gameplay emotionally meaningful; and bringing your game world alive.

Product Details

Price

$26.95 $25.06

Publisher

Michael Wiese Productions

Publish Date

September 01, 2015

Pages

232

Dimensions

6.0 X 9.0 X 0.5 inches | 0.8 pounds

Language

English

Type

Paperback

EAN/UPC

9781615932290

BISAC Categories:

Video & Electronic

Writing - General

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About the Author

Robert Denton Bryant has worked in Hollywood in both marketing and production, and in video games as both a publisher and a developer. He has been executive producer on dozens of games on platforms ranging from CD-ROMs to the iPad, including the bestselling World Championship Poker and Pinball Hall of Fame console game franchises. He is the coauthor (with Charles P. Schultz) of Game Testing All In One. He has lectured in the U.S. and Europe on game writing, and currently teaches at The University of California, Los Angeles and at Woodbury University.

Keith Giglio has worked as a screenwriter and producer on such feature and television movies as Joshua, Noah, Return to Halloweentown, Walt Disney's Tarzan, Pizza My Heart, A Cinderella Story, and Another Cinderella Story. He has written for Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Walden Media, Tokyopop, and Platinum Studios. His book Writing the Comedy Blockbuster was published in 2012. He currently teaches both screenwriting and game writing at Syracuse University.

Reviews

Praise for Slay the Dragon

"A veritable treasure trove of information. A compelling look at the development and evolution of interactive narrative and an invaluable tool for anyone who loves games!"

--Drew Karpyshyn, lead writer, Mass Effect; author, the Chaos Born trilogy

"Practical and original advice on narrative writing for video games that treats the world of gaming for what it is: an emerging art form."

--Aaron Bleyaert, producer, "Clueless Gamer with Conan O'Brien" on TBS's Conan

"If you're learning how to write for games or a developer burning to create games with better stories, I can't think of a better place to start."

--Haris Orkin, game writer/narrative designer, Dying Light

"In my years of working in the industry this is the closest thing to a bible of creative video game story creation as I have ever seen."

--Larry Hryb, Xbox Live's Major Nelson

"Bridges the gap between traditional narrative and non-linear storytelling and makes it simple. A required tool in the working writer's toolbox."

--Philip Eisner, screenwriter, Event Horizon; consulting writer for Telltale Games' Tales from the Borderlands

"A comprehensive but accessible guide for those striving to relate to the medium of video games from another entertainment medium. If you're a writer from film or TV and want to understand more about games, this book should get you comfortable quickly."

--Dan Boutros, executive producer, The Walking Dead Assault; co-founder, Soul Arcade

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