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Feature: 'Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames'

In today's Gamasutra feature, we reproduce the first chapter of Charles River Media's 'Game Writing: Narrative Skills For Videogames,' and follow it up with a review of the book's entirety by Gamasutra regular Brad Kane.

Brandon Boyer, Blogger

August 24, 2006

1 Min Read
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In today's Gamasutra feature, we reproduce the first chapter of Charles River Media's 'Game Writing: Narrative Skills For Videogames,' and follow it up with a review of the book's entirety by Gamasutra regular Brad Kane. Author Chris Bateman, in his 'Introduction to Game Narrative' chapter, explains why formal definitions of narration are crucial to a developer's success: "What is game narrative? It’s a question that developers, writers, reviewers, and publishers have been trying to answer for years with only limited success. Like many other things in this still-young industry, narrative is an area where definitions are still being stretched, formulated, and tried on for size. It is crucial, however, to formalize a definition of game narrative before attempting to create one. Otherwise, you’re trying to hit a moving target with an entire development team waiting for you to make the perfect shot, with a limited chance of success." You can now read the full excerpt on the subject, including Brad Kane's subsequent review on 'Game Writing' and its multi-author structure (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from external websites).

About the Author

Brandon Boyer

Blogger

Brandon Boyer is at various times an artist, programmer, and freelance writer whose work can be seen in Edge and RESET magazines.

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