Creating Emotion in Games: The Craft and Art of Emotioneering

Yes, But Games Aren't Movies, so That Isn't Relevant

Games indeed aren't movies, and, in fact, games that overuse cinematics and try to replicate a film experience very often aren't very appealing, especially to an American market.

Thus, in games, even in those with characters and stories, we're not trying to make movies. We are trying to integrate the gameplay with the variety, the intensity, and, sometimes, the subtlety of a powerful film's constantly changing, rich emotional nature. Techniques for accomplishing this integration are described in Section II of this book. As you'll see, however, you can't divorce them from the need for solid craftsmanship in the art of writing.

Some game companies don't hire writers because they don't know how to find a good one. Some game designers feel that writing is the "fun part" and don't want to yield it to someone else. Some "don't know what they don't know:" One game designer told me that he had read a book on mythological story structure, so he now knew all there was to know about writing(!!). And, as mentioned in the last chapter, a few game companies have been burned by bad experiences with "Hollywood types."

Whatever the reason for its flaws, there's little disagreement that much game writing leaves a lot to be desired.