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I purchased The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Writing and Design to aid me in writing this game of mine. It’s nice and to the point - not too convoluted in its description of the writing process and writing methods. The book sheds light on the specifics of writing for games as opposed to other media, as well as a bunch of recommended methods to go about constructing narrative through tension, reward, dialogue, theme, character etc.

Thumbs up so far

Are they desirable? We’ve had the whimsical fantasy settings of King’s Quest and the light-hearted storylines of Phoenix Wright, but what about a 2D game where you explore dark and gritty environments without sugar-coating the experience with zany characters? Would it still be as appealing as long as the narrative and gameplay is up to scratch? That’s what I’m wondering to myself.

There are plenty of recent 3D (and 2.5D) adventure games out there that base themselves in the dark depths of reality, solving malevolent murder cases, but not very often do you see a 2D-only game presenting mature themes in a realistic way.

In art and design, being “realistic” simply means expressing an awareness of things as they really are. This doesn’t mean that you’re condemned to photorealism for your backgrounds. A realistic style is just as valid as a cartoonier or abstract style, so why don’t we see many realistic 2D games?

There are loads of potential reasons and the same can be applied for the lack of mature themes. It could be due to the shortage of 2D adventure games nowadays, or that quirky settings and themes allow for more creativity (and possibly challenge) in game design. Maybe 2D just doesn’t lend itself to realistic depictions of a world as much as a 3D engine does. Then there’s the notion that the simplicity of 2D games appeal more to casual gamers, the majority of which may not want a thought provoking, story-driven experience.

Is it time for someone to attempt a mature 2D game e.g. Mindtank Studios? Let us know what you think…and let us know of any games that fit the description. We’d love to play them.

To give myself a better knowledge of game design and development, I purchased “Introduction to Game Development”, edited by Steve Rabin. It’s a huge book attempting to cover all aspects of game development, from story and character to programming methods. Each chapter is written by a different industry veteran; a great way to structure a book I thought. A handful of different perspectives and areas of expertise are much preferred (at least for such a broad book) over one man’s ideas on making a game.

I’m learning a lot, especially on the topic of “natural funativity” — the different types of fun people have whilst playing games and why — and the structure of games (pacing, difficulty, building a consistent world etc.) However, despite having a fairly comprehensive section on writing for video games (they even use LeChuck of Monkey Island fame to illustrate a point), I feel I still want more on this particular subject. Adventure games are made or broken by their stories and character’s so I want to know as much as I can about successfully constructing these elements. I think the next stop for me will be Steve Ince’s “Writing for Video Games”. It sounds perfect for what I’m after.