The Janus Performance Fee Proposal The Janus fund fee (“performance fee”) recently pitched by Janus Funds is a good example of gamesmanship for higher stakes than seen in your typical RPG or RTS. We don’t usually talk about financial matters here at Game Writer Central, but I believe that it’s important to recognize game elements […]
Tag Archives: videogame writing
Videogame Writing Influences TV?
EDGE Thinks Videogame Writing Is Affecting Television Plots Rely on EDGE Magazine to throw out some interesting memes. Today I stumbled upon this thought – that some of the hot new television writing is actually becoming more like videogame writing. And not in a good way: TV is yet another medium struggling to compete against […]
EGM Magazine is Dead
EGM Magazine Closed by Buyer Well, EGM Magazine lovers… I feel guilty, although I probably shouldn’t. On Jan. 7th, Ziff Davis announced that they’ve closed down the entire EGM magazine publishing operation, only days after my post criticizing the clipping problem they had on their Gears of War 2 cover. Okay, I admit that there’s […]
The videogame writing smackdown of the month
The videogame writing quandry Videogame writing often gets overlooked in the modern videogame development process. There’s no hiding from the raw facts. From EGM’s review of Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360: AITD wants to emulate the presentation of serial television, but neither the writing nor the “performances” compare to even TV’s least-essential shows. […]
Gears of War 2 gets a new smoke grenade
Gears of War fans, rejoice. The gameplay for those previously useless smoke grenades is getting a facelift. In the first Gears of War, the smoke grenades were as useful as they would be in a Quake 3 deathmatch. There’s really nothing tactical about GoW; it’s a pure twitch game with zero stealth. And I’m not […]
Best videogame monster
Best videogame monster: now accepting your nominations The best videogame monster. Now that’s a competitive category. Like best movie villain, except a heck of a lot more likely to make your palms sweat. Even if you’re a novice videogamer, you’ve probably seen your share of incredible videogame monsters. Some examples that spring to my mind: […]
What happened to M. Night Shyamalan?
What the heck happened, M. Night Shyamalan? I just saw the ad for the new M. Night movie. It’s designed to look like some kind of andromeda strain movie. “There appears to be an event happening,” a man intones. This, according to our statistics, is the blandest, most uninformative, passive-voice piece of advertising ever recorded […]
Gameplay Cliches
Gameplay cliches get a lot of chatter, but when the game is successful and has a core experience that people enjoy, no one says a word. Case in point: Gears of War. Mine carts. Ammo boxes that are strewn around abundantly. Crates that contain ammo boxes. Also strewn around at every juncture. Lava levels. Gears […]
Game writing: “I want my car back” and other reasons to fight
Game writing is sometimes worse off than I think it is. Really. It’s just gawdawful ridiculous, even in some of the most hallowed franchises. I have to give props to EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) for their WTFiction!? series. These two-page spreads at the back of the mag are shining examples of how to pinpoint ridiculous […]