Open Question: Why don't CRPG makers get famous writers to lend a hand?
Blobberson
Member Posts: 12
As a starting point, let's all assume that the primary failure of many modern RPGs is a weak story combined with shallow characters. That's my opinion, and I think many people here will agree. Take the Elder Scrolls as an example. Technically and visually, they're incredible. I think their leveling systems suck, but reasonable minds can disagree there. The lore behind those games is great. The main storylines of those games, though, is fairly shitty. The characters are shallow, the secondary storylines are also shallow. And thus, the world is lifeless.
With this as a starting point, I want to know if a game maker has ever contacted a famous writer and attempted to get them to write the storyline, characters, or dialogue (all or part). I think it would be incredible if a game maker could get a famous writer, a NON-FANTASY writer, to write the story and dialogue. That way, the plot could tackle truly deep, adult themes. Imagine: Hemingway reincarnated writing, or helping to write, the story of BGIII.
I feel like convincing a famous, non-fantasy writer to do something like this is totally feasible. Pitch it to them this way: A CRPG is a very unique, cutting edge way to tell a story. Rather than read, or see, or hear the story, you *experience* the story. The author will better be able to convey what he wants to convey when the "reader" is actually the main character, when he is the one making the decisions, when those decisions have consequences, and when the "reader" really cares about those consequences. The author would potentially be reaching an entirely new audience, and would certainly be doing something no other similarly situated author had ever done before.
Going back to the Elder Scrolls series, some of you will remember that they got Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean to voice act a couple of the main characters in that game. For one thing, it was actually kind of weird and broke immersion. For another, I feel like they put their money in the wrong place. Rather than pay big names to voice act, pay big names to write. That's what counts.
With this as a starting point, I want to know if a game maker has ever contacted a famous writer and attempted to get them to write the storyline, characters, or dialogue (all or part). I think it would be incredible if a game maker could get a famous writer, a NON-FANTASY writer, to write the story and dialogue. That way, the plot could tackle truly deep, adult themes. Imagine: Hemingway reincarnated writing, or helping to write, the story of BGIII.
I feel like convincing a famous, non-fantasy writer to do something like this is totally feasible. Pitch it to them this way: A CRPG is a very unique, cutting edge way to tell a story. Rather than read, or see, or hear the story, you *experience* the story. The author will better be able to convey what he wants to convey when the "reader" is actually the main character, when he is the one making the decisions, when those decisions have consequences, and when the "reader" really cares about those consequences. The author would potentially be reaching an entirely new audience, and would certainly be doing something no other similarly situated author had ever done before.
Going back to the Elder Scrolls series, some of you will remember that they got Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean to voice act a couple of the main characters in that game. For one thing, it was actually kind of weird and broke immersion. For another, I feel like they put their money in the wrong place. Rather than pay big names to voice act, pay big names to write. That's what counts.
Post edited by Bhryaen on
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I want a writer that's more of a modern day Hemingway - a writer of that caliber who writes in that same genre.
I don't read fiction anymore so I really don't know who's out there like that right now.
And the Final Fantasy writers are pretty well known within the genre.
Heavenly Sword was directed by Andy Serkis, and a lot of the designers (sound, lighting) are also fairly well-known.
It does yield pretty strong results. I think you can't make a great game without a great story.
Betrayal at Krondor.
It hasn't aged overly well but that's from a graphics and intuitive standpoint, but the story and gameplay is still awesome. And it was written by Raymond E. Feist. I love that man's books, his whole world.
As @Aosaw mentioned, R.A. Salvatore did the story for Kingdoms of Amalur. A lot of people forget but he also wrote the story for "Demon Stone," a hack n slash game from the PS2 era. I really liked the game but it was short and linear so it didn't get terribly good reviews. Kind of odd both R.A. Salvatore games flopped.
Maybe he should do one using his own characters from his own books.
I have my own issues with R.A. Salvatore, but the writing in KoA is pretty solid, even if the gameplay feels a lot like a single-player MMO.
EDIT: Sorry, I misunderstood your original post. Getting a non-fantasy author to help out has the potential of gorgeous outcomes, but why would they lend themselves to videogames (especially fantasy games whereas they have never written fantasy literature)? I think there might be too much of a gap between literature (widely considered art) and videogaming (widely considered adolescent pastime). I can't imagine this working, at the present point in time. Maybe 30 years from now, there will be collaborations between game designers and nobel prize winner writers. I certainly hope so.
Honestly, I don't think fantasy writers are very good writers. Plus, bringing in a non-fantasy writer will eliminate a lot of the cheesy or juvenile aspects of fantasy books and fantasy RPGs. BG series did a great job of this without a big time writer, but it's one in a million. By cheesy/juvenile aspects, I mean things like (1) saving the entire world, repeatedly; (2) the villain being some ridiculous, stereotypical evil force with a cheeseball name like the "Darkspawn" from Dragon Age - which is the worst RPG of all time, period; (3) cliche plot twists like an obvious betrayal; etcetera.
What it sounds like you're looking for is a good writer, period. Skill with a pen is about more than the genre you choose to write for.
I don't know if I agree with your assessment that the Elder Scrolls game are 'failures'. They are not are telling a story in the same way. These games are about world-building. It's a case of breadth versus depth; the Elder Scrolls series is all about breadth.
I think the main reason more high-profile writers do not write for video games is the limitations involved in doing so. To write for a video game, a writer must be mindful of the lore of the world, technical limitations posed by the games engine and the expectations of several parent companies. There is also a fear of branding...you're associating yourself with another company and its line of products, both of which have a reputation of their own.
If we want a famous writer to help out the genre it's not as simple as asking him to create a storyline. You're actually asking them to create multiple separate storylines (for sidequests) or branching storylines (for main quests). That kind of output would cost more $$$ than most companies are comfortable with.
PS Besides, just because someone is a famous writer doesn't mean they have the skills to write for a video game and vice versa.
PPS I think you might want to substitute 'skilled' writer for 'famous' writer. Otherwise your criteria includes Dan Brown (among others) and I discourage him from writing anything ever again.
And Drew Kapinsky did start by doing RPG, but now he write pretty good novels too, Darth bane trilogy anyone
There's only two kind of writers: Good or Bad writers.
There's plenty of bad writers in any genre and there's several exceptionally good writers who predominately write fantasy.
I don't know if it would be financially profitable to get a professional author on board for a video game, but if you're gonna do so in a fantasy role playing game, it would be stupid not to go for a writer who's comfortable in the genre, and knows how to crank out a good tale in the setting,
I don't think Elmore Leonard would do well writing for a fantasy game, but he would be marvelous for a game set in the wild west or a game in a modern crime based setting. That's the genres he's been writing in, and he does it well because he loves to write in these settings.
Now, the OP mentioned some pet peeves and cheesy storylines that he believes fantasy writers use too often.
They do exist, especially in books marketed for teens, but like any other genre, there's many writers who take their craft more seriously, and know how to tell a tale that is unpredictable and exciting.
It's like saying Sci-Fi stories is all about robots and timetravelling all the time.
Most people who reads Sci-Fi know that's very far from the truth.
Likewise in fantasy writing.
I also thought about why getting a famous writer to cooperate (especially a non-fantasy one) probably wouldn't work out. My opinion is that designing videogames is fundamentally different from writing a book: it's teamwork. Writing your own book is not. I believe most good writers want to have full creative control over their work, that means they get to decide on the characters, on their actions and what they say, on the setting, the overarching plot, the description of the world, the timing and style of writing, heck even the music, if you so will. Were they to collaborate on a videogame, a lot of that would be taken away from them by graphics designers, composers, limitations of the engine, visions of the producer and the like. I don't think it is likely that they'd committ into this.
It's like asking a famous one-man band/music project like say Panda Bear, Bright Eyes or Fatboy Slim to make the music for a game, but then tell them they will only get to write the lyrics, not the score, they won't be able to play all the instruments themselves (or even decide on who gets to play them), the length of the songs is already pre-set and they ain't gonna decide on the artwork. Most of those guys probably see themselves as "wholesale artists", and it just doesn't work out well if you put them into a team.
So basically, if my premise is correct, the only way this could work out would be an extremely small team or even a setup where the famous writer is simultaneously the author of the game (you know, like those one-man indie projects). Those setups are imaginable, but I strongly believe they wouldn't be creating fantasy roleplaying games but more stuff of the "auteur" or art game variety.
I'm sorry, but that's just flat out wrong.
I'm not an avid fantasy reader, so I can't go through lots and lots of books and writers, but I'll just mention Terry Pratchett's Discworld books as fantasy fiction that can teach you about history, science, life in general and heaps of other stuff, all in the disguise of a humoristic fantasy story.
He can do this because he is a fenomenal writer, and he is knowledgeable in so many areas and knows how to use it in his books to the advantage of the story.
Now, he probably won't win the Nobel prize, but, honestly, so what?
That doesn't mean he is a worse writer than someone who does.
He just operates in a different way, mainly, he wants to tell you a story, and the main focus of that story is to entertain.
Everything else comes second. I will much rather be entertained and learn something while reading, than read something boring but acclaimed by a committee that claims its "literature".
In fact that one writer fits everything you stated in the above quote you want from a "serious writer".
Myself, I read stories in every genre imaginable, my only criteria is that the story is good.