Normally, I enjoy Game Informer magazine. Compared to others, it is a well rounded mag with good info, well written articles, and balanced reviews. This month, however, something caught my eye that prompted me to post.
Aug '08 GI has an article; "The Art of Writing: Today's Game Scribes Are Ushering In A New Era of Interactive Storytelling." This article is about the evolution of storytelling in games, and features quotes and notes from writers of notable recent games regarding storytelling.
None of the writer's quotes grabbed my attention, they are pretty much the standard fare about the current state of "next gen" storytelling; good stuff. What got me thinking and typing was a line by the article's author that stated the following: "While it will likely be a while before games reach a level of writing consistency and quality delivered in other forms of media..."
Wha? What forms of media are you talking about, GI? What form of media has a higher level of writing consistency and quality above games?
Movies, maybe? Have you checked out the bargain bin at Blockbuster? How about USA channel at 2 AM. Yes, there are stand out movies that crush any current game writing, but I would put Wasteland or Starflight, not to mention Bioshock or Portal, up against the AVERAGE DVD movie, or even most blockbusters. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, anyone?
Books? Is that the medium that has a higher level of consistency and quality that smashes game writing? I don't think so. Go to Barnes and Noble and pick a random Sci-Fi book off the shelf. Then compare the writing in that book to Mass Effect. Yes, Niven or Peter F. Hamilton is better. But the average shovelware that gets printed every month? No thank you.
And TV? Don't even get me started.
My point is not that game writing is any better than traditional forms of media. My point is that even within our industry, there is a perception that our great game writing can't stand up against other forms of media, no matter the comparison. This is bullshit. Is the best of our stuff as good or better than the best of theirs? That's debatable. But on average, I'd take the eloquent stylings of Bad Dudes vs The Dragon Ninja over the latest crap serving from the majority of Hollywood or New York shovelware book publishers.
Hey, I often compare game writing to the dross Hollywood and likeminded production companies pump out, too. Thing is, that the comparison is so easy to make is to me a sign that game writing sucks, not that it's OK. Yea, the majority of big-money films suck, and the same goes for books. But quite a few of them actually don't. Games, on the other hand? Genuinely good writing is rare in the extreme.
Posted by: rebuilder | July 23, 2008 at 07:32 AM
Yeah, I realized GameInformer was a crock when I read their guitar hero 4 preview. It was pretty much "This is going to be so awesome, also by the way, rock band sucks did nothing right and was totally unoriginal."
Of course the Rock Band criticisms weren't directly out in the open, but they were subtly peppered throughout the article enough to make me wonder.
Posted by: Ray | July 23, 2008 at 12:06 PM