I attended PAX Prime 2015 this past weekend with a friend, and ended up going to two talks.

• Ask a Dungeon Master
• So You Want to be a Game Writer

Ask a Dungeon Master

Chris Perkins

• Dungeon Masters are unique.
• Gary Gygax
  • Had the players declare a “caller”, who was the only person to talk to the DM, who sat in an adjacent room.
• Learn first by emulating existing DMs and running existing campaigns.
• In older modules, location is key. In “modern” DMing, characters and politics are key.
  • The older modules are often named after the location, “crypt of the…”
• Chris learned a lot from a few TV shows
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation
    • Character-Driven story
    • Focus on teamwork and character development
    • Episodic content with a repeating cast
    • Some episodes are standalone, while others feed a larger arc
    • In a serialized story, each character has an arc and needs to grow
    • Don’t introduce characters and then not allow them to shine for at least a moment
      • Give everyone a journey
    • Characters:
      • We know nothing about them
      • Choices are made
      • Shit happens
      • Now we know a lot about them
      • (They might not make it to that final step)
  • West Wing
    • Q: How did Aaron Sorkin make politics so interesting?
      • A: Have three or four things going on at the same time
      • Make it overwhelming so that the characters must make choices
      • Give quests with political importance
      • If one conflict gets boring, make sure there are others at the same time to fall back on
  • Buffy
    • (No notes?)
• Storytelling is the art of using narrative to elicit an emotional response
  • PCs get attached to things. NPCs, Locations, Items.
    • But they can only get attached if those things have personality
• Let characters make “real” choices and deal with the consequences
• DMing is challenging as storytelling because it is performed LIVE
• Constantly Improvising
  • (Here, Chris plugs Acquisitions, Inc.)
  • There are no (or, very few) takebacks in DMing
    • Remember what NPCs sound like!
• Chris’ evolution of a DM:
  • Run published campaigns
  • Write your own campaigns
  • Improvise everything
    • This takes practice!
• Good DMs…
  • Have fun!
  • Don’t over-prepare
  • Roll with the punches
  • Don’t fret about the rules
  • When in doubt, just say yes!
• If everyone dies, call it a night
  • Death is the beginning of another story
• Tricks
  • Hoard Maps
  • Use the Three-Story Arc
    • (Example)
      • The heroes need to find a route out of the underdark
      • There are drow kidnapping surface dwellers
      • There are spore-infested creatures
    • All three of these storylines are happening at the same time, the players bump into them as they move through the dungeon
  • Write things as episodes
    • Use episodic recaps to remind your players what happened last time, on D&D…
  • Chris prepares each session as a one-sheet summary
    • What is the basic outline of the episode
    • What are all the notable NPCs that the PCs might run into
    • What major events will probably happen during this episode?
  • There is nothing you can do wrong with NPCs. Give them EMOTION
  • Ask the players what they want!
    • (It’s their game too!)
    • Example Qs:
      • Magic Item wish list
      • Campaign Knowledge wish list
      • Accomplishment wish list
  • Use foreshadowing
    • The players will try to connect things even if you don’t purposely foreshadow.
    • So do it purposely!
  • Imagine an actor to play each NPC if you want a handy way to remember
• Traps
  • Over-Preparation
    • Your PCs will never go where you expect. And if they do, you’re…
  • Railroading
  • Rules Inconsistency
  • Time Travel
    • (You think it’s fun, but experienced DM’s know, it’s a recipe for disaster)
  • Things players hate
    • Don’t do them!
  • “Me vs Them” attitude
    • Remember, you’re all on the same side – everyone just wants to have fun!

So, You Want to be a Game Writer

Toiya Finley (Schnoodle Media), Qais Fulton (Freelance), Anne Toole (The Write Toole), Bobby Stein (ArenaNet), Tom Abernathy (Massive Entertainment), Leah Miller (Carbine Studios)

• Q: Even if you do understand storytelling, what should you know about game writing?
  • Average text length in games is decreasing
    • Avg length of text in Wildstar: tweet length (140 char)
  • Know the audience and technology. What works in the game?
  • These are interactive and nonlinear stories.
    • Sequence and Timing go out the window.
  • Don’t make your stories linear. Make them player-centric.
  • The player cares about “my story”, not “your story”.
  • They should have the choice of how to play the character
  • “The player’s story will trump whatever heartfelt thing you write [for NPCs]”
  • Designers and programmers will do their own thing with your story. You have to deal with their requests. It’s writing in a team setting.
    • Know how to communicate with the people who are actually building the game, to keep them in sync
• Q: Game writing is competitive. How do I get a job?
  • “It’s like breaking out of prison. Once you figure out your path, it’s probably not going to work again.”
    • Try not to copy existing successes. Make your own.
  • Some companies you can start out at the bottom and work your way up to writer over years.
    • Many others, you can’t – you have to get hired in at the top
  • (Ed note, this is good job advice for any field!)
  • Work on your own projects. Have a portfolio that you can show people.
    • Have it online.
      • (Ed note: I build websites! Contact meeeeeee)
    • Make sure it’s recent
    • Work consistently
  • Practice your “Story Sense”
  • If you want to make your own games, you don’t want to be a writer. You want to be a Creative Director
  • Check out text-based game engines
    • Twine
    • Inform7
    • Episode Interactive
    • Pen & Paper RPGs
  • Play with level editors so that you know what the developers are working with
• Q: Portfolio? What should I showcase?
  • BE ENTERTAINING
  • Genre diversity!
    • Have some horror, action, humor, etc.
  • No two employers want the same thing
    • Aim for around 2-3k word games for your portfolio pieces
      • That said, have lots of different length material. Every company wants something different
      • “Short, concentrated awesome”
    • Dialogue Samples
    • Lore Documents
    • Technical game design documents readable by non-writers
  • Know the types of games the company makes, and tailor your portfolio to them
  • Don’t assume the company knows anything about (good) writing
  • Copyright theft is real!
    • Use watermarked PDFs
    • Only post samples
    • Protect yourself against plagiarism
• Join the IGDA
  • Int’l game devs assoc
    • Writers’ interest group
      • Facebook group
• In meeting people, it’s more important to have an interesting conversation, than to “network”
  • Make friends, not contacts
• Q: Freelancing v Employment
  • It’s good to have at least one staff job on your resume, esp. if you did “the trenches” (crunch, ship)
  • Freelancer, you also have to be a salesperson. Always be selling your writing
    • Read marketing books, sales books
    • You’ll also have to be a collections agent
      • Don’t work for free
      • You can get consistent work, but it won’t be consistent money
  • Don’t be afraid to fire bad clients
  • Make “work for hire” agreements
  • DON’T TURN OVER THE RIGHTS TO THE WORK UNTIL YOU’VE BEEN PAID
  • Full Time:
    • Benefits!
    • Work at an office (external motivation)
    • Structure!
    • But: They own you
    • Be aware of your self
    • Better mentorship opportunities
    • Get pushed into weird projects (which is great for experience!)
    • At a smaller place, you can make things happen!
      • Just talk to the CEO
    • When you work on staff through crunch, you become really good friends (which turn into really good contacts after you leave)
    • If you work at a large company, make sure you make friends with people outside your small team. You have an opportunity to get a large network. Use it!
    • Remember that personal work done at work (Even if not on the clock) belongs to them. They own it. Be careful about how/when you work on personal projects.
      • Or, just pitch your ideas to them and see them get made!
    • Know your rights
• Q: How do I write?
  • Write!
  • Just write. Don’t be attached to your writing.
  • FEAR OF BEING YELLED AT  > FEAR OF WRITING POORLY
  • Work back and forth with the developers and designers
  • Write shitty first drafts
    • You’ll have time to revise
    • You’ll have people to get feedback from
  • Be prepared for blunt feedback and people who don’t understand your intent
  • Be prepared to admit failure, but have some confidence, Know your strengths and weaknesses.
  • When you’re working on a game, everyone is on your side. (They all want the game to be good!)
  • Be prepared to throw everything out and start over
• In games, don’t tell, don’t show, do.
  • Let the players learn organically through the environment, instead of trying to cram instructions into words.