Screenwriting : Writing for Video Games by Mehul Desai

This is such a great question and one I'm interested in as well.

I'm interested in this as well. I've seen many postings for writer roles (often Narrative Lead is the title I believe) at game studios but every single one requires experience writing on a shipped triple A game (while also often requiring that you've worked as a produced writer in other media) but there has to be entry points/roles on these AAA games to get that experience I would think (those with experience in other media but new to games), though I can't recall ever seeing roles like that offered.

Rockstar Games were advertising for writers for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League last year (London based) but their requirements were so specific

I'm sure most people interested in video game writing have read this article already: https://screencraft.org/blog/so-you-want-to-write-for-video-games/

And don't want to say it's not possible, but it is a full career path to become a narrative designer for video games beyond just translating your screenwriting into a video game. It's a different visual medium that requires different skills just like playwriting, music, writing novels, etc.

That being said... it would be awesome to find out if anyone on here has actually made the leap to narrative designer for video games.

There will always be exceptions, but generally speaking, the entry point for video game writing isn't just as a writer. The majority of writers are hired on for other skills such as coding or art design, and they work their way up from there.

While Triple A studios may hire people just to write, those people will have significant prior industry experience. They'll have cut their teeth in the indie studios, and indie studios generally expect their writers to have other skills. They kinda have to - a Triple A studio can generally tolerate a flop or two, whereas indie studios are often betting the farm on each and every release. A writer who doesn't know the first thing about game design is a liability they cannot afford.

On top of that, every game is different. The way a Call of Duty game is written is considerably different to how a Fallout game is written. Games that have linear stories can have linear scripts. Games that have branching stories, consequence of choice, etc. have scripts that look like machine code - because in a way, it is. It's written to be understood by a computer.

A common ground-level entry point these days is to make your own games first and build a portfolio. There are so many tools that enable people to make their own games and demonstrate their skills that developers looking to hire people to a project will often expect prospects to have already done it. Modding pre-existing games is another way people can get hired onto a project. Valve and Bethesda are two major companies who have hired people that have created mods for their games.

For anyone serious about getting into video game writing, you need to play a lot of games. Understand how they work. Understand the different types. Preferably get some relevant qualifications, but at the very least get those tools that can help you produce your own games, make your own games, use every platform you can to get those games circulated, and try and network with the right people in the industry.

Thanks for the link, Charles Valentin-Stulck.

Really detailed comment, John Austin. A lot of helpful info. Thanks!

Like every dream occupation, employers call you, you don't call them.

A famous writer on our block writes for video game co's because they pay a lot of money. More than writing books or scripts. i think writer has a Masters or PHD in anthropology or sociology. Deep stuff they're doing, almost like writing a trilogy of scripts.

I guess be really good at a specific occupation and someone with $ and an idea will beg you to work for them.

Hi Mehul. I produce games, so I can tell you about what I see around me. TripleA studios hire writers, but they usually ask for experience and one published title. The rest of the studios use the game designer team to od this job. So, either you write a spec game script, in partnership with a game designer, and offer to a game studio, or you atudy gane design, to get a position as game designer first.