Have you ever dreamed about getting paid to write about video games and the fascinating people who make them? Unless you live on the West Coast and are lucky enough to land a rare staff position at one of the major gaming publications, freelancing is the best way to turn slinging words about your favorite hobby into a viable and lucrative career. The best part? You can do it from anywhere! Up Up Down Down Left WRITE: The Freelance Guide to Video Game Journalism covers everything you need to get started along the path to launching and maintaining a successful freelance career in the gaming industry. Pro freelancer Nathan Meunier has written for more than 30 of the top gaming outlets -- from Nintendo Power, GamePro, and Official Xbox Magazine to IGN, GameSpot, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and more. In this advice-packed tome for aspiring freelance game journos and more established writers alike, Nathan delivers detailed insights and how-to tips based on many years of professional writing experience. You will learn how to: -Generate killer article ideas, pitch editors, and score paying work -Build towards quitting your day job to freelance full-time -Juggle the business-related side of freelancing -Cover gaming conventions and press junkets -Network with editors and writers -Work with PR to gain coverage opportunities and free review games. And much, much more!

In the competitive world of video game writing and narrative design, developers are losing permanent positions while freelancing careers are on the rise. Many developers don’t understand how to seize these freelancing opportunities, such as understanding the business of freelancing, how to go about finding work, how to establish strong relationships with clients, and how to sustain themselves as freelancers. Freelance Video Game Writing: The Life & Business of the Digital Mercenary for Hire offers developers guidance on achieving their freelancing goals as telecommuters. Dr. Toiya Kristen Finley presents practical insight into the profession and how to further enhance your freelancing business, whether you are a newcomer in the field or an experienced freelancer. Key Features: Two sections covering the life of the freelancer and the freelance business Fifteen interviews from narrative designers, game writers, and other developers on topics from maintaining a healthy work–life balance to figuring out your rates to working a full-time job and freelancing on the side A comprehensive list of definitions with which freelancers need to be familiar Exercises to help augment your understanding of freelancing and improve your business

Do you want to turn your talent for writing into a narrative design career in the games industry? It’s never been a better time to be a writer for video games. You’re tapping into an industry that was worth more than $120 billion dollars in 2019, and it’s still growing. And it’s an industry that needs great storytellers. But there's a BIG difference between a great story and a great game story. Traditional stories are told. Game stories are experienced. That's why video game narratives need a totally different design approach. So how do you apply your scriptwriting, storylining, poetic, copywriting, prose producing skills to an audience that won’t sit still and an industry that’s ever changing? That’s what this book is about! I’ve been a narrative designer for over a decade, as well as a novelist and a scriptwriter / storyliner for TV and comics. I love playing games, and even more, I love helping game developers realize their storytelling aspirations. Nothing delights me more than a game that's both fun to play and delivers a satisfying story experience. In this book, I'll share both the evergreen principles and practical techniques that I’ve learned and developed during my narrative design career so that you can position yourself for your first game writing gig. And if you’re an experienced narrative designer already, you’ll still find plenty of insights that you can apply to your trade. I’ll say it again, “the games industry needs you!” Play is what we do, but story is why we do it.

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.

This second edition of Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing is updated with new chapters and new authors, but it’s still a no-nonsense guide to the professional craft of writing for video games. Not only does the text cover story and narrative elements, but it also addresses dialogue, documentation, and strategy guides. Seasoned video game writers each address a different topic, including the best way to break into the video game industry, how to be an efficient part of a team, and the principles of narrative design. The book also offers script samples, technical writing advice, effective writing tips, and suggestions for how to innovate in game narrative. Key Features Comprehensive enough for veterans and accessible enough for novices Goes into detail about how to write tutorials, script doctoring, and writing for AAA games Delivers invaluable experiences directly from writers in the games industry Full of practical advice from industry pros on how to get a job, and then how to get the job done Author Bio Wendy Despain has more than two decades of experience spearheading digital media projects. She has worked with teams around the world as a writer, narrative designer, producer, and consultant on interactive experiences ranging from video games to augmented reality. She’s worked with EA, Disney, Ubisoft, Cartoon Network, PBS, Marvel, and Wargaming. Currently, she’s a Production Director at ArenaNet, makers of the Guild Wars franchise. Her books include: Writing For Videogame Genres: From FPS to RPG Talking to Artists/Talking to Programmers 100 Principles of Game Design

Does the prospect of writing reviews for video games appeal to you? Getting Started in Freelance Video Game Journalism is a no-nonsense guide to taking your first steps into the online game writing world. Learn how to write a query letter, how to construct your resume, when to start searching for jobs and how quickly you can expect to land a high-paying writing gig!

This insightful, revised book explores the challenging and evolving world of the games writer. Part I provides a fascinating overview of the history of games writing following its humble roots in the '60s to today’s triple-A titles; Part II asks and answers the key question: what does a games writer do and how do they do it? Especially useful reading for novice game writers, its chapters cover a broad range of topics including contracts, NDAs, creative collaboration, narrative design, editing, adaptations, and environmental storytelling. Part III, of particular value for more advanced students of writing, addresses deeper theoretical questions increasingly relevant in today’s games titles, including: "Why have story at all? What is plot and how does it work? How best can a writer use agency?" Finally, Part IV presents readers with hard-earned nuggets of wisdom from today’s game writers working in the US, Europe, and Japan. Packed with practical samples, case studies, and exercises, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the world of games writing. Features: • Covers history of games writing, narrative design, storytelling, plot, contracts, and packed with practical samples, case studies, and exercises • Presents readers with opinions and suggestions from today’s game writers who are working in the US, Europe, and Japan • Includes a broad range of topics e.g., creative collaboration, editing, adaptations, and environmental storytelling • Mentions games such as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Borderlands 2, The Walking Dead, L.A. Noire, Grand Theft Auto V, Mass Effect 3, The Stanley Parable, The Last of Us, Alien Isolation, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Life is Strange, Until Dawn, Quantum Break, BioShock, World of Warcraft, and more.

Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video games, and examines the elements they share with traditional games such as checkers. At the heart of his exploration, veteran game designer Raph Koster takes a close look at the concept of fun and why it’s the most vital element in any game. Why do some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years? How do games serve as fundamental and powerful learning tools? Whether you’re a game developer, dedicated gamer, or curious observer, this illustrated, fully updated edition helps you understand what drives this major cultural force, and inspires you to take it further. You’ll discover that: Games play into our innate ability to seek patterns and solve puzzles Most successful games are built upon the same elements Slightly more females than males now play games Many games still teach primitive survival skills Fictional dressing for modern games is more developed than the conceptual elements Truly creative designers seldom use other games for inspiration Games are beginning to evolve beyond their prehistoric origins

Powered by HTML, this Zweihander eBook edition is published with a nuanced reflowable document layout. It includes: Reflowable text and images Sidebar navigation via device contents Hyperlinked Table of Contents and Index for fast, easy searches Hyperlinked cross-references throughout the book Tap and zoom illustrations This digital format differs from standard fixed layouts and PDFs. We highly suggest users download a sample before purchasing. WELCOME TO GRIM & PERILOUS GAMING Featured on Forbes.com, ranked one of the best-selling fantasy tabletop role-playing games at DriveThruRPG, and having sold over 90,000 copies worldwide, ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG is a bloodier, grimmer, and grittier version of classical tabletop role-playing games. This revised edition is published in celebration with Andrews McMeel Publishing and features a refreshed layout, new artwork, rules clarifications, color plates by Dejan Mandic, and errata. ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG is a game where your characters will: Live in a gritty, "realistic" fantasy world Make morally grey decisions & enact vicious reprisals Uncover insidious plots & political intrigue Take part in heart-pumping chase scenes Venture into the wilderness & survive its perils Desperately fight in clandestine & open field combat Defend themselves from injuries, madness, & mutations Encounter sanity-blasting creatures & their minions Using the Powered By ZWEIHÄNDER d100 game engine, you will create grim characters, write perilous adventures, and build your own low fantasy & dark fantasy campaigns. These rules are a perfect fit for Renaissance and medieval-styled adventures, too. You can also use this book to create your own home-brewed worlds, whether inspired by the works of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher, George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, Glen Cook’s Black Company, Myke Cole’s The Armored Saint, Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane, Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard series, or other "grimdark"-inspired media. This all-in-one game includes most of what you need to play: a character creation guide, game mastery rules, and a bestiary brimming with creatures both fair & foul. All that’s left are a few friends, pencils, and a handful of dice. ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG awaits, and the fate of your grim & perilous tale hangs in the balance!

As the videogame industry has grown up, the need for better stories and characters has dramatically increased, yet traditional screenwriting techniques alone cannot equip writers for the unique challenges of writing stories where the actions and decisions of a diverse range of players are at the centre of every narrative experience. Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames was the first book to demystify the emerging field of game writing by identifying and explaining the skills required for creating videogame narrative. Through the insights and experiences of professional game writers, this revised edition captures a snapshot of the narrative skills employed in today's game industry and presents them as practical articles accompanied by exercises for developing the skills discussed. The book carefully explains the foundations of the craft of game writing, detailing all aspects of the process from the basics of narrative to guiding the player and the challenges of nonlinear storytelling. Throughout the book there is a strong emphasis on the skills developers and publishers expect game writers to know. This second edition brings the material up to date and adds four new chapters covering MMOs, script formats, narrative design for urban games, and new ways to think about videogame narrative as an art form. Suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, Game Writing is the essential guide to all the techniques of game writing. There's no better starting point for someone wishing to get into this exciting field, whether they are new game writers wishing to hone their skills, or screenwriters hoping to transfer their skills to the games industry.