Games Writing

Dialogue

Two samples taken from different interactive narrative games. Echoes of Crius is a group project about a mech pilot hunting a fugitive. Siren Song is a short game about a crashed Space Force scout meeting a strange and lonely alien.

  • “Good morning, soldiers! Sorry to disappoint, but combat training'll be a little different today.

    You've all got an important mission to do, so you can skip the routine. CERES, give SIREN a crash course and hit the road.”

    “Ugh, are you kidding? I'm not a babysitter.”

    WARNING. ATLAS CONSIDERS ANY INSUBORDINATION-

    “God, shut up! Fine. SIREN, here's what you need to know.

    You have two weapons. You attack with one of them at a time. Try not to die.Also your short range comms are a great way to shit talk your enemies.”

    “Shit talk my enemies? shouldn't I be focusing on-”

    “You don't need your mouth to shoot a gun. Why not have fun with it? Plus, manipulating your enemies can get them where you want them.

    The computer does most of your work for you. That way you can focus on how best to kill your opponent!”

    “What if my mech can't keep up? Is there any way to improve its performance?”

    “Well, you can always overclock it.

    Overclocking lets you squeeze out more power from your mech, but it runs your brain real hot so it's pretty rough.

    Or if you think you're hot shit you can try to force your mech to go past its limits. Are you hot shit?”

    <YES/NO>

    “Actually, don't care. Sorry I asked. THEIA, are we done? CALYPSO and I have work to do.”

    CONFIRMING THAT SIREN HAS RECEIVED ALL NECESSARY INSTRUCTION. PROCEED TO MISSION BRIEFING.

  • "Since you're stuck here now though, let's hang out for a bit. I'm Sezel."

    He flashes you a mischevious look. "...and I'm a Siren."

    "A Siren? Like... the ones that used to lure sailors into the ocean? To eat them?"

    He looks offended for a moment, then shakes it off.

    "No, I mostly eat fruits and bugs."

    You can't tell if he's being serious.

    "Anyway, you look like you've got some questions. Ask away!"

    "Why are you being so friendly? I might be an alien invader."

    "An alien invader is still a better conversation partner than a bunch of fish."

    He points towards the nearby river, where you spot a fish jump out of the water. "Yeah, I mean you!"

    "Are there other Sirens?"

    He turns his face away, but you can see the frown he's trying to hide.

    "I think so. If there are, there aren't many. We're... solitary."

    "The Earth Federation doesn't have any record of a species called Sirens."

    "Well, we've got a lot of secrets. Maybe we didn't want to be found."

    "I really have to get back to my ship. I'm supposed to call home."

    He seems disappointed, then gets an idea.

    "Fine by me. I'll come with you!"

    "You're gonna make me say yes anyway, aren't you?"

    "Yep!"

    He gives you a big grin and almost skips along with you up the hill.

Story Brief

A story brief and simple scene description from a hypothetical sci-fi RPG. In the scene “Fly Me to the Moon”, the player is trying to recruit one of two NPCs to serve as their party member and pilot of their spaceship on a journey to the Forbidden Moon.

    • (Player character): a hotshot new starship captain, young and full of energy. On a mission to make it to the Forbidden Moon. Just escaped their home planet with a brand-new ship, which may or may not be stolen. Currently looking for a crew to help them run it.

    • (NPC) Cora Vandrose: professional starship racer, the newly crowned champion of the Velopar circuit. She’s been the reigning champ for years, and only just had to take back her title from the new upstart racer whom she claims, “won by dumb luck alone.” Recently had a very public fight with circuit management and is rumored to be quitting soon.

    • (NPC) Emory Kite: amateur starship racer, who won (and just lost) their champion title all within their first year on the circuit. They claim to have learned all their skills “making milk runs back in the asteroid farming belt.” They’ve decided they’re bored with racing and are looking for something else fun to do.

    • Friendly: Congratulate her on the win and ask to buy her a drink.

    • Urgent: Tell her there’s something you need to talk to her about right away.

    • Confident: Tell her she’s better than this circuit treats her and that you’ve got a better offer.

      • This option gets her attention but is unavailable until you learn about her from Kite.

    You hit a sore spot when you bring up her relationship with the Velopar Circuit, and she shakes off the rest of the crowd to get a private booth with you. It’s unclear at first whether she believes you or just wants to intimidate you into silence, but she immediately gets down to business. She tells you that, unlike Kite who would agree to anything if it sounded fun (a fact that you can then use to advance the Kite route), she needs details upfront. After filling her in, she’s interested in your quest and impressed by your boldness, but she doesn’t do anything for free. She asks you what your offer is for her services.

Script Format

Two samples taken from different screenplays for short films. Cheesecake Makes a Friend is written as an animation from the perspective of a cat, with no dialogue. Becoming Crab is live action and is about a young boy who believes he is turning into a crab.

NOTE: Squarespace is not good at formatting. The full screenplays are correctly formatted.

  • EXT. NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE, SLIDING DOOR — NIGHT


    Alex and the man silhouetted again.

    Man holding a large box. 

    Alex pleads with him, but he shakes his head.

    He turns and walks out of the room.


    CUT TO

    EXT. NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE, DRIVEWAY — CONTINUOUS


    The car door closes, slowly this time.

    The car drives away.


    CUT TO


    EXT. NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE, BACK PATIO — CONTINUOUS


    Alex quietly opens the back door and steps out. 

    They look at the grill, sausages now burnt.

    Kicks the grill. It crashes to the ground, sausages flying all over the yard.

    Sits down, defeated.


    Cheesecake dodges flying sausages.

    Sniffs one hungrily, then looks up at Alex.

    Looks back at the sausage.

    Back at Alex.

    Approaches them.


    Alex looks up, tears in their eyes.

    Tries to shoo him away.

    Cheesecake meows plaintively.


    Alex, distraught, stands quickly and walks inside.

    Slams the door.


    Cheesecake stares for a moment. 

    Slowly turns and hops back over the fence.

  • INT. JEREMY’S BEDROOM – AFTERNOON

    JEREMY, 10, blonde hair in a bowl cut, sits on the edge of a double bed. 

    He looks between Kevin and a book titled THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.


    Kevin is repeatedly pinching the air, trying to get the pose right. Punctuating each pinch with a vocal “snap”.


    KEVIN

    I told you! Mrs. Helson said people can turn into crabs sometimes. I’m already starting to change!


    JEREMY

    Are you sure? I thought she said…


    KEVIN

    (annoyed)

    Yes! I’m sure! Doesn’t your animal book say anything about crab stuff? Time is running out!


    Jeremy reaches the end of the book, then gently sets it down beside him.

    Kevin is now balancing on one leg while holding a pinching pose.


    JEREMY

    Nothing. It just says some of them live in big shells. Now can we stop and go back to playing— 


    Kevin wobbles, then puts his other foot down.

    Suddenly, he lunges at Jeremy. Pinches inches from his face.

    Jeremy flinches, speechless.


    KEVIN

    I need to borrow your library card.

Barks

A sample of barks written for a hypothetical fantasy RPG. In the scene “Breaking the Seal”, the player is exploring ancient ruins full of traps with two NPC party members. The character Halvar, one of the party members, is a dwarven warrior.

  • Player finds an item: (Curious, excited) "Ooh, what'd you find?"

    Player steps in a trap: (A little condescending, but genuinely concerned) "Why don't you let me take the lead next time?"

    Player fails to pick a lock on a door: (Over it immediately) "Oh well. Probably just another skeleton behind there anyway."

    Player drinks a potion: (Confused) "...you know Nerys has heal spells, right?"

    Player finds a dead end: (Matter-of-fact) "Not that way."

Exposition and Tone

A piece of creative exposition for a cancelled tabletop RPG project based around gothic horror and sci-fi mecha. “I am a Monster Hunter” was an introduction that would give players an introduction to the world of the game and set the tone of its action and storytelling.

  • Humanity has a sickness in it. No one really knows where it comes from, or at least the people that do know don’t want anyone else to. Maybe out of a sense of shame, or self-preservation, or maybe they just don’t live long enough to tell anyone about it. But when the moon comes out, people change. In some, it’s subtle. Fingernails a little bit longer and a little bit sharper than usual. A strangeness in the way they walk. A wild look in their face. For others, it’s a little more obvious. They stretch in unnatural ways, growing claws, fangs, fur, extra limbs, anything that can be used to rip and tear at flesh and bone. Folk stuck together in terrifying masses of flesh and hunger and hate. If I was a religious person I would think that the gates of hell itself had opened up, and the devils had dumped all the sinners that even they didn’t want into the streets above.

    On the nights of a full moon, the gutters and the rooftops run red with blood. It gets worse every time, and the lucky people who manage to stay alive during the pandemonium tend to join their attackers in the next feast. Some of the monsters are crafty, too. They look human, still, but the real beast is just under the surface, thinking through their next move. Enjoying it. Every full moon, a fresh new host of horrors come out. On the nights of a full moon, they call me.

Narrative Analysis

An analytical essay written about one of my personal favorite games, Wildermyth. Written for and submitted to the GDC Game Narrative Review Competition in 2023.

  • The Legacy system represents two game design choices, both heavily based on narrative impact: that the player’s attachment to certain characters should be rewarded with a way to hold on to them longer than one campaign, and that the characters themselves can take on mythical status as larger-than-life figures that can make appearances in any number of folk tales. These two design choices are in a way the same idea; if the player themself is a storyteller, then the desire to bring back favorite characters is the same narrative instinct that leads to folk heroes in stories.

    …

    What remains, however, is a timeline of stories. Much like real-world myths are added onto in subsequent retellings or aspects of a character introduced in “reboots” become mainstays, major changes to a character do persist throughout their iterations. Enona Great’s original story did not include her mighty Queen Axe, but she now wields it in every story she appears in. Will Burenwayl had his arm transformed into a living flame relatively late in his first life, but it is now impossible to remember him as anything other than the powerful half-elemental mystic. These new details have become a permanent part of their legends.

    The Legacy system can also be a way to write fanfic for your favorite characters in new contexts. Rusa Melon’s entire life was shaped by her hatred of the Morthagi, but what would she be like in a war against the Drauven? Will Burenwayl and Nory Fyn never met, but what would it be like if they fell in love? These characters are full of personality, and the flexible writing of story events makes it possible for them to still feel like themselves even divorced from their previous lives.