How can you master game writing and storytelling?

1 Know your audience

Before you start writing and storytelling, you need to know who you are writing and storytelling for. Who are your target players? What are their preferences, motivations, and expectations? How do they interact with games and stories? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your game writing and storytelling to suit their needs and desires. You can use player personas, surveys, feedback, and analytics to understand your audience better and create games that appeal to them.

2 Define your core idea

Every game has a core idea that drives its writing and storytelling. It is the central theme, message, or question that your game explores and communicates. Your core idea should be clear, concise, and compelling. It should guide your game writing and storytelling decisions and align with your audience's interests and goals. You can use a logline, a pitch, or a premise to define your core idea and communicate it to others.

3 Structure your story

A game story is not just a sequence of events, but a carefully crafted structure that creates tension, conflict, and resolution. A game story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but also a plot, a sub-plot, and a twist. A game story should also have a character arc, a goal, and a challenge for the protagonist. You can use different story structures, such as the three-act structure, the hero's journey, or the branching narrative, to organize your game story and create a satisfying and meaningful experience for your players.

4 Write your dialogue

Dialogue is one of the most important elements of game writing and storytelling. It is the main way that your characters express their personality, emotions, and motivations. It is also the main way that your players interact with your game world and learn about its lore, history, and secrets. Dialogue should be natural, engaging, and consistent with your characters and your tone. You can use dialogue trees, scripts, or voice-overs to write your dialogue and make it sound realistic and immersive.

5 Show, don't tell

One of the golden rules of game writing and storytelling is to show, don't tell. This means that you should use your game mechanics, visuals, sounds, and interactions to convey your story, rather than relying on exposition, narration, or text. Showing, rather than telling, allows your players to discover, explore, and experience your story for themselves, rather than being passive observers. You can use environmental storytelling, cutscenes, or gameplay events to show your story and make it more dynamic and interactive.

6 Test and iterate

The final tip for mastering game writing and storytelling is to test and iterate. Game writing and storytelling are not static, but dynamic processes that require constant feedback, evaluation, and improvement. You should test your game writing and storytelling with your audience, your team, and yourself, and see what works and what doesn't. You should also iterate on your game writing and storytelling based on the feedback, and make changes, additions, or cuts as needed. You should always strive to polish your game writing and storytelling and make them the best they can be.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?