Game Writing Course

Lesson 1 • History of Game Storytelling

Traces narrative evolution from text adventures through modern open-world games. Contextualizes current techniques within a historical arc of innovation.

Lesson 2 • What Makes Games Unique

Examines the defining properties of games as a medium and how player agency reshapes narrative. Establishes vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Core Narrative Terminology

Introduces essential terms—story, plot, discourse, diegesis—applied specifically to games. Provides shared language for all subsequent analysis and writing exercises.

Lesson 1 • Modular and Systemic Story Design

Covers modular story units that recombine dynamically based on player state. Connects systemic design to emergent narrative outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Pacing and Tension Management

Teaches rhythm, escalation, and release across interactive story arcs. Students apply tension curves to their own structural outlines.

Lesson 3 • Classical Structures Revisited

Reviews three-act structure, the hero's journey, and kishōtenketsu, then stress-tests each against interactive constraints. Reveals which elements transfer and which require modification.

Lesson 4 • Branching and Nonlinear Structures

Introduces branching trees, hub-and-spoke, and parallel path models. Students map each structure's trade-offs in scope, cost, and player experience.

Lesson 1 • Writing the Player Character

Explores the spectrum from silent protagonist to fully voiced hero and the trade-offs of each approach. Guides students in defining player character identity constraints.

Lesson 2 • Distinctive Character Voice

Teaches vocabulary, syntax, rhythm, and verbal tics as tools for differentiating characters. Students write parallel scenes voiced by multiple characters.

Lesson 3 • Building Character Backstory

Develops techniques for creating backstory that informs behavior without overwhelming exposition. Connects hidden history to surface-level character decisions.

Lesson 4 • Character Archetypes and Roles

Maps classic archetypes—protagonist, antagonist, mentor, trickster—to game-specific roles. Identifies how player-controlled characters differ from authored ones.

Lesson 1 • Writing Dialogue Trees

Covers the architecture of dialogue trees, including player prompts, NPC responses, and conditional branches. Students build a small tree from scratch.

Lesson 2 • Localization-Friendly Writing

Teaches writing practices that reduce localization cost and error, including avoiding idioms and culturally specific references. Connects clean source text to global accessibility.

Lesson 3 • Cutscene and Cinematic Dialogue

Applies screenplay techniques to authored cutscenes while respecting game pacing and player context. Covers direction notes and performance guidance.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Game Dialogue

Distinguishes game dialogue from screenplay and prose dialogue by its functional and interactive demands. Establishes criteria for effective, performable lines.

Lesson 1 • Principles of World-Building

Establishes the relationship between world rules, narrative plausibility, and player trust. Introduces the concept of a world bible as a living document.

Lesson 2 • Maintaining World Consistency

Addresses continuity tracking, contradiction prevention, and version control for large world bibles. Introduces tools and workflows for multi-writer teams.

Lesson 3 • Geography, History, and Culture

Guides creation of geography that shapes culture and history that motivates conflict. Connects physical world design to narrative opportunity.

Lesson 4 • Factions, Politics, and Conflict

Builds factions with competing ideologies and interests that generate organic story conflict. Teaches how faction design creates player-facing moral complexity.

Lesson 1 • Collaborating with Level Designers

Addresses the writer's role in level design pipelines and how to communicate narrative intent to spatial designers. Introduces shared documentation practices.

Lesson 2 • Designing Readable Environments

Teaches principles for making environmental stories legible to players without hand-holding. Covers density, hierarchy, and focal point design.

Lesson 3 • Props, Collectibles, and Artifacts

Explores how individual objects carry narrative weight through design, placement, and optional text. Connects prop writing to broader world-building.

Lesson 1 • Main vs. Side Quest Writing

Distinguishes narrative weight, pacing, and player expectation between main and side quests. Teaches how side quests enrich the world without diluting the main arc.

Lesson 2 • Writing Quest Documentation

Teaches industry-standard quest document formats used in production pipelines. Covers objective strings, trigger conditions, and handoff notes for designers.

Lesson 3 • Anatomy of a Quest

Deconstructs quest structure into hook, objectives, complications, and resolution. Establishes a repeatable template for quest documentation.

Lesson 4 • Player Choice Within Quests

Integrates meaningful player decisions into quest flow without exponentially increasing content scope. Covers choice architecture and consequence design.

Lesson 1 • Revision, Feedback, and Iteration

Teaches structured revision processes and how to receive, prioritize, and implement feedback from directors, designers, and QA. Builds professional resilience.

Lesson 2 • Pitching Narrative Concepts

Develops skills for pitching story concepts to creative directors and producers in studio environments. Covers verbal pitches, written treatments, and visual pitch decks.

Lesson 3 • Writing Tools and Documentation

Introduces industry-standard tools for script management, version control, and collaborative editing. Covers documentation formats expected in professional studios.

Lesson 4 • Building a Game Writing Portfolio

Guides selection and presentation of portfolio pieces that demonstrate range, craft, and production readiness. Covers spec scripts, world bibles, and dialogue samples.