Some information would be great!

I'm an aspiring writer, and I love playing video games.

So why not combine the two? All I'm wondering is, would it be hard for a rather amateur writer, such as myself, to get some sort of experience writing games?

By writing them I mean, the dialogue between characters or even creating the story itself.

I'm full of ideas but have no way of getting them out there. Can someone help?

Comments

  • I haven't used it myself but have you checked out https://twinery.org/?
  • Yes, you can get experience doing the writing for games. And if you're prepared to make the games yourself Twine, already linked, is the best tool to start with.

    At its most basic it allows you to write Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type stories but there are plenty of plugins/mods to do more interactive things.

    At the other end (but not recommended for beginners) is Inform.

    Google for Interactive Fiction as there's an annual international competition with prizes and a suite of other tools focused on writing.
    Thanked by 2dammit EvanGreenwood
  • edited
    Another tool you could try is RPGMaker.

    There have been a few JRPG's made in RPG Maker that have no combat, these games are all about choices and dialogue... Like Always Sometimes Monsters and To The Moon. (They're both 80% off right now btw)

    I have a colleague who has no programming skills, and she made a (very basic) small game in RPGMaker. So I reckon it's fairly simple to start in (especially if you use the sample art they provide), though probably quite difficult to master (and of course it comes with limitations, if you don't like top down 2D perspectives this is probably not the tool for you).
    Thanked by 1Fengol
  • You can also try the editors that ship with certain games like Elder Scrolls titles or older Bioware games like Neverwinter. Those have very well-developed dialogue tools and a bunch of existing assets that you can use to build your story.

    A good mod is also one of the best ways to build a portfolio to show a game company, if you want to work as a games writer.
    Thanked by 1EvanGreenwood
  • edited
    This is the tool used for '80 days'

    https://github.com/inkle/ink

    Ink is inkle's scripting language for writing interactive narrative, both for text-centric games as well as more graphical games that contain highly branching stories. It's designed to be easy to learn, but with powerful enough features to allow an advanced level of structuring.
    Thanked by 2Fengol EvanGreenwood
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