Game Writers Share Their Thoughts on Narrative and Storytelling
A new video series, “The Game Makers: Inside Story”, from The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences is now available to watch for free on YouTube. The 10 episodes are focused on topics such as narrative and character design as well as virtual reality and social themes. Many of gaming’s top writers express their thoughts and provide fascinating insight from their years of experience.
The videos feature Amy Hennig, who worked on the Uncharted series, Hideo Kojima, who worked on Metal Gear Solid until last year, Jenova Chen of Journey fame, and other top name talent. They are extremely well-produced and very short. Each episode is less than 15 minutes, but it does a good job of providing enough information and keep your attention.
Without a doubt, one of the most important parts of any game is the story it tells. Even if that game is not completely focused on telling a story, there is a universe there that often sparks our imagination. The way games tell stories is evolving, but it is still critical in our enjoyment of games.
The first episode is embedded at the top. If you are curious about how stories are created and why we fall in love with some worlds or characters, you should really take a look at the series.
Jason became terminally addicted to videogames after receiving the NES at an early age. This addiction grew to include PC gaming and was cemented with the launch of the PS2. From then on, he was afflicted with epic RPGs, tense shooters, and deep strategy games, never becoming skillful, but never able to quit. He continues to play games (poorly) and share his passion for them to anyone willing to listen.
