Sponsored By

Video: Crafting the 2.5 million words of Guild Wars 2

In this free video, ArenaNet's Bobby Stein and Angel Leigh McCoy share lessons learned in crafting Guild Wars 2's narrative and discuss new techniques in generating post-release content.

Game Developer, Staff

January 18, 2013

2 Min Read

Courtesy of the GDC Vault is another free session video from GDC Online 2012. In this lecture, Guild Wars 2 lead writer Bobby Stein and narrative designer Angel Leigh McCoy share the challenges of going from co-op RPG to MMORPG: building on the lore, writing the text, and managing the voiceovers. The duo also highlights the importance of the designer/writer relationship. They explained how they did not stifle designers' creativity for those who wanted to help with the narrative. However, polishing up their writing to maintain a consistent voice and level of quality was essential. Session Name: Guild Wars 2: Finding Our Voice Speaker(s): Bobby Stein, Angel Leigh McCoy Company Name(s): ArenaNet Track / Format: Game Narrative Summit Overview: It took five years and 2.5 million words before Guild Wars 2 was ready. Among the many challenges the writing team faced, it was the inclusion of 90-films of voice-over that caused the most complications. Join lead writer, Bobby Stein and narrative designer, Angel Leigh McCoy as they share lessons learned from writing and editing a massive game, and how they're applying new techniques in generating post-ship content.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via a GDC Vault inquiry form. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can find out more here. In addition, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault admins. Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the official GDC website, or subscribe to updates via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.

Read more about:

2013
Daily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inbox

You May Also Like