What to Know About the Second Edition
Introduction
PART 1: Theory
Chapter 1: Craft
Chapter 2: Vocabulary – Games
Chapter 3: Vocabulary – Story Structure
Chapter 4: Vocabulary – Story Components
Chapter 5: Games Writing as a Discipline
Chapter 6: Form-Led Design
Chapter 7: A Note on Writing Comedy, and for Genre
Chapter 8: Further Reading
Chapter 9: A Note on Ethics
PART 2: Case Studies
Chapter 10: Introduction to the Case Studies
Chapter 11: Character and Dialogue in Life is Strange 2
Chapter 12: Ethics and Adaptation in 80 Days
Chapter 13: Format and the Heist in Last Stop
Chapter 14: Interviews with Practicing Game Writers
PART 3: A Practical Workbook
Chapter 15: Introduction to the Workbook
Chapter 16: Tools for Starting
Chapter 17: Tools for Developing
Chapter 18: Tools for Finishing
Conclusion
Select Glossary of Game Terms
Bibliography
Biography
Hannah Nicklin is an award-winning narrative and game designer, writer and academic who has been practising for over 15 years. She works hard to create playful experiences that see people and make people feel seen and also argues for making games a more radical space through mentoring, advocacy and redefining processes. Trained as a playwright, Nicklin moved into interactive practices after a PhD in the field, has run a mid-sized indie studio, and has contributed significantly to or directed 5 shipped titles.
She wrote this book for you.
Praise for the first edition:
"Hannah Nicklin's Writing for Games is an essential manual for anyone working on games, whether they are story-driven or not. It is a comprehensive overview of the process of writing for games, and what it actually means in context, how it is integrated in the process of production, and how it relates to writing for other media. As an interdisciplinary text, it is the perfect bridge for writers from other media into games; at the same time, it also helps game designers and developers understand how writing connects games to other disciplines and guides the reader to how to draw inspiration from them. Even if the reader does not intend to be a writer, Writing for Games is a very accessible text to understand the work of writers and narrative designers, providing detailed strategies to incorporate games and stories successfully. The advice and lessons all come from practice and first-hand knowledge, which ensures that the learnings are relevant to day-to-day practices of game development. All told with a very personable and approachable tone - a joy to read." – Clara Fernandez-Vara, Associate Arts Professor, New York University
