The Gamer’s Guide to Writing

 

Introduction

As a kid I was often sick and to compensate for this my parents bought me video games to pass the time. As I spent so much time playing them I got good and would challenge other kids in the neighborhood to play, and this was how I was able to make friends. To this day I’m still a gamer, my favorites being rpgs and fighters. But today I want to talk about what video games can teach us about writing.

Stand Out
When Mortal Kombat debuted in the ’90s it stood out from other games by introducing the concept of death moves,

allowing players to finish off their opponent in gruesome ways by inputting a combination of movements and button pushes.

This caused outrage from certain parents groups and was one of the leading factors to the formation of the ESRB and the creation of a ratings system for games. Given all its controversy Mortal Kombat still found a loyal user base and has gone to become a lucrative franchise, but how do writers stand out?

Well the answer is simple: by honing your voice and finding your niche. To do this you have to write a lot and read a lot. This can take a while so don’t be frustrated if you don’t get it immediately. just keep at it and in time your voice will emerge.

Reward Curiosity
The original Legend of Zelda is still one of my favorite games because it was one of the first games that rewarded you for exploring the world and solving puzzles and riddles. It was also a game that brought me and my father together as we both worked to beat it. This was in the days before the internet and if you got stuck you had to the call the Nintendo helpline.

But how does this translate to writing you might be asking. The answer is world building. Construct your story so it engages the readers for exploring it. Don’t give away all the rules, make readers work for information and give them mysteries to solve. Do this and they will love you for it.

Keep it Fresh
With the exception of House of the Dead, Doom, and Halo I’m not a fan of first person shooters because often they recycle the same mission and plots each games.

The worst offender being Call Of Duty which just changes the guns and level maps each entry in the franchise. And then there are the games which just keeps reusing world war one and two as a back drop ad nauseum.

If you find yourself in a writing rut try working in a new medium or genre and see if that helps. If you’re stuck for ideas a great to use is to ask what if X or Y happens and go from there. You can also make old ideas new again by putting a new twist on things.

Conclusion
Gaming is fun and can bring hours of joy for you and your friends, but It can also teach us a lot about story telling and make for better writing. For more writing tips click here.