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akemi_666's review against another edition
1.0
y'all know the monomyth took off in america because it's the perfect narrative technique for standardised commodity production, right? endless regurgitation of the same.
games deserve, and are capable of, so much more. they're interactive, modular, rhizomic — sites where multiple distributive simulations can run autonomously, only to suddenly collide and rupture into new geographies of play.
fuck the monomyth — give me dada or new wave any day.
games deserve, and are capable of, so much more. they're interactive, modular, rhizomic — sites where multiple distributive simulations can run autonomously, only to suddenly collide and rupture into new geographies of play.
fuck the monomyth — give me dada or new wave any day.
amandamccormick's review against another edition
4.0
UNLOCK YOUR GAME'S NARRATIVE POTENTIAL!
With increasingly sophisticated video games being consumed by an enthusiastic and expanding audience, the pressure is on game developers like never before to deliver exciting stories and engaging characters. WithVideo Game Storytelling, game writer and producer Evan Skolnick provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guide to storytelling basics and how they can be applied at every stage of the development process—by all members of the team. This clear, concise reference pairs relevant examples from top games and other media with a breakdown of the key roles in game development, showing how a team’s shared understanding and application of core storytelling principles can deepen the player experience. Understanding story and why it matters is no longer just for writers or narrative designers. From team leadership to game design and beyond, Skolnick reveals how each member of the development team can do his or her part to help produce gripping, truly memorable narratives that will enhance gameplay and bring today’s savvy gamers back time and time again. - Goodreads Book Description.
Though this book was written to detail styles for Video Game Narrative telling, I found the descriptions and instructions to be useful in every day writing. I often times find that novels that detail how to properly tell a story can cross venues, from screenplays to video games. Any author who wants to take a look into how to properly narrate a story needs to look no further than this novel - it lays out the basic elements of what is important in a story, the details that should be involved, and what you need to look out for.
I can't really say much more than that! It's an interesting read and something that I am going to happily keep on my reference bookshelf!
With increasingly sophisticated video games being consumed by an enthusiastic and expanding audience, the pressure is on game developers like never before to deliver exciting stories and engaging characters. WithVideo Game Storytelling, game writer and producer Evan Skolnick provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guide to storytelling basics and how they can be applied at every stage of the development process—by all members of the team. This clear, concise reference pairs relevant examples from top games and other media with a breakdown of the key roles in game development, showing how a team’s shared understanding and application of core storytelling principles can deepen the player experience. Understanding story and why it matters is no longer just for writers or narrative designers. From team leadership to game design and beyond, Skolnick reveals how each member of the development team can do his or her part to help produce gripping, truly memorable narratives that will enhance gameplay and bring today’s savvy gamers back time and time again. - Goodreads Book Description.
Though this book was written to detail styles for Video Game Narrative telling, I found the descriptions and instructions to be useful in every day writing. I often times find that novels that detail how to properly tell a story can cross venues, from screenplays to video games. Any author who wants to take a look into how to properly narrate a story needs to look no further than this novel - it lays out the basic elements of what is important in a story, the details that should be involved, and what you need to look out for.
I can't really say much more than that! It's an interesting read and something that I am going to happily keep on my reference bookshelf!
ir85's review against another edition
4.0
A good intro to basics for someone interested in game writing.
my_forest_library's review against another edition
5.0
This review was originally published on my blog, Video Games as Literature (http://blog.videogamesasliterature.com/)
Evan Skolnick, writer for a number of games with interesting variety such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Over the Hedge, and Spider-Man 3 (the surprisingly better of the three Tobey Maguire-based Spider-Man games), has finally written a book that should have been brought to the public long ago: an honest guide to writing good stories in video games. Skolnick teaches the basics of storytelling, something that a veteran creative writing student would already know, but that a member of a video game development team may have yet to learn. He stresses that all members of the development team are responsible for creating an engaging story, and thus should have a basic understanding of how a story is created. Though I personally have learned many of the important techniques and terms that Skolnick presents to his audience through creative writing classes and my own personal study of the subject, someone who is not an English major and writer like myself would likely be unfamiliar with the concepts. And that is exactly the audience that Skolnick is looking for: those game developers, programmers, or even artists who have important roles in the creation of a game and thus should be familiar with the narrative writing process. In other words, Skolnick sets out to cure the creative writing illiteracy of the average game creator-to-be in the hopes of providing the world with more advanced and engaging narrative video games.
Skolnick uses a number of examples throughout his book through which to demonstrate various storytelling techniques. He does fall back on Star Wars as an example many times because a) a large majority of the population has seen at least the original trilogy and b) the series is well known as being a prime example of "The Hero's Journey," one of the most basic and well known plot structures in existence. Skolnick doesn't only use film examples, however: he also gives many wonderfully detailed examples from popular video games and books.
Another nice thing about Skolnick's work is that the writing is not too technical, nor is it condescendingly simple. The text is legitimately enjoyable to read. I even found myself re-learning old knowledge through a new lens, which I found helpful and fascinating. This book seems like something that anyone interested in writing or in video games would benefit from. I feel that Skolnick's book is a leap forward towards public understanding that video games can be literature, and often are. The next time I hear an argument against video games and their impact on society, I intend to direct the cynic to Skolnick's book.
NOTE: I received a free review copy of this book from BloggingForBooks.org. This in no way means that I have falsified my review -- had the book been garbage, I would certainly have let everyone know.
Evan Skolnick, writer for a number of games with interesting variety such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Over the Hedge, and Spider-Man 3 (the surprisingly better of the three Tobey Maguire-based Spider-Man games), has finally written a book that should have been brought to the public long ago: an honest guide to writing good stories in video games. Skolnick teaches the basics of storytelling, something that a veteran creative writing student would already know, but that a member of a video game development team may have yet to learn. He stresses that all members of the development team are responsible for creating an engaging story, and thus should have a basic understanding of how a story is created. Though I personally have learned many of the important techniques and terms that Skolnick presents to his audience through creative writing classes and my own personal study of the subject, someone who is not an English major and writer like myself would likely be unfamiliar with the concepts. And that is exactly the audience that Skolnick is looking for: those game developers, programmers, or even artists who have important roles in the creation of a game and thus should be familiar with the narrative writing process. In other words, Skolnick sets out to cure the creative writing illiteracy of the average game creator-to-be in the hopes of providing the world with more advanced and engaging narrative video games.
Skolnick uses a number of examples throughout his book through which to demonstrate various storytelling techniques. He does fall back on Star Wars as an example many times because a) a large majority of the population has seen at least the original trilogy and b) the series is well known as being a prime example of "The Hero's Journey," one of the most basic and well known plot structures in existence. Skolnick doesn't only use film examples, however: he also gives many wonderfully detailed examples from popular video games and books.
Another nice thing about Skolnick's work is that the writing is not too technical, nor is it condescendingly simple. The text is legitimately enjoyable to read. I even found myself re-learning old knowledge through a new lens, which I found helpful and fascinating. This book seems like something that anyone interested in writing or in video games would benefit from. I feel that Skolnick's book is a leap forward towards public understanding that video games can be literature, and often are. The next time I hear an argument against video games and their impact on society, I intend to direct the cynic to Skolnick's book.
NOTE: I received a free review copy of this book from BloggingForBooks.org. This in no way means that I have falsified my review -- had the book been garbage, I would certainly have let everyone know.
artemishi's review
5.0
Video Game Storytelling is a handy, fairly comprehensive guide to creating and sustaining narrative in the video game industry. I'm an avid reader, have my degree in English, am a published author, and have read a lot about narrative technique, so most of this wasn't new for me in concept.
But what I wanted to read this book for, the specifics on how narrative techniques differ for video games than for books or screenplays, is exactly what I got out of it. Skolnick does a good job of drawing easy parallels to illustrate his point, and pointing out what bits of storytelling are more difficult for game developers (and why). By the end of it, I felt 100% ready to write video game scripts. In fact, I felt like I already knew all of this stuff, and this book just reminded me of it.
It's a handy tool to have, whether you're considering writing video game stories, books, or screenplays. I'd recommend even for current video game authors and developers, just as a handy reference tool.
But what I wanted to read this book for, the specifics on how narrative techniques differ for video games than for books or screenplays, is exactly what I got out of it. Skolnick does a good job of drawing easy parallels to illustrate his point, and pointing out what bits of storytelling are more difficult for game developers (and why). By the end of it, I felt 100% ready to write video game scripts. In fact, I felt like I already knew all of this stuff, and this book just reminded me of it.
It's a handy tool to have, whether you're considering writing video game stories, books, or screenplays. I'd recommend even for current video game authors and developers, just as a handy reference tool.
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