Writing for Animation,
Comics, and Games

Writing for Animation, Comics, and Games

Second Edition

Christy Marx

Second edition published 2022

by CRC Press

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First edition published by Routledge 2007

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Typeset in Garamond

by codeMantra

To Randy, LoML

Preface

“Writing is easy. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.”

Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith

If you’ve opened this book, you either are a writer, consider yourself to be a writer, or are determined to become one. Not any old kind of writer, but a professional writer. And not any old kind of professional writer, but one who writes for animation or comics or videogames or maybe all three.

It can be done. It can be done if you’re driven enough, passionate enough, persistent enough, and too plain stubborn to be easily turned aside.

One hopes you’re not here for the status, at least not in the “real” world. Even someone as wildly successful as Stephen King is treated with scorn by some in the literary establishment because he writes “pop” fiction. You can guess the esteem with which an animation writer or comics writer or game writer is held outside their fields.

In fact, a lot of people seem oblivious to the fact that the products of these media are written at all, leading to this particular exchange that I’ve had more times than I can count.

“What do you do?”

“I write animation.”

“Oh, you’re an artist.”

“No, I write animation.”

“Do you draw the pictures, too?”

“No, I write the script. You know, the action, the dialogue.”

<blank look>

One also assumes you’re not here looking to get rich. While it’s certainly possible to earn a good living, the odds of becoming fabulously wealthy from working in these fields are against you. Writing is hard work. Getting a job writing is even harder.

If you’re the type of person who reads this and says, “I don’t care. I love animation! I love comics! I love games! I have things to say. I have stories to tell. I have words to shape. I must write.”—then I greet you with open arms. Welcome to the madhouse. Let’s start the tour.

Acknowledgments

I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this book.

My deepest thanks to my editor, Sean Connelly, who has the patience of a saint and then some.

Thanks for invaluable input from Bob Bates, Ellen Guon Beeman, Kurt Busiek, Peter David, Jason Dravis, Mark Evanier, Dave Grossman, Matt Householder, Maureen McHugh, Sarah Reimers, Terry Rossio, Alex Segura, Lee Sheldon, Sarah W. Stocker, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and many more than I can name.

Special thanks to Wendy and Richard Pini, Stan Sakai, and Kurt Busiek for permission to reprint art from their books.

Yet more thanks and appreciation to the helpful people at Blizzard Ent., DC Comics, Episode, Marvel Ent., Naughty Dog, Ubisoft, and Zynga who granted me permission to use material.

I gratefully remember the people who assisted with the first edition: Amy Jollymore, Doug Shults, Stan Wakefield, Skip Press, Randy Littlejohn, Anne Toole, and Heather Ash.

Tip of the hat to the terrific team of staff members at the WGA, and my fellow professionals in the Animation Writers Caucus and the Videogame Caucus.

And enormous thanks to the readers who buy this book instead of pirating it. I appreciate the respect it shows. Enjoy the knowledge that you have contributed directly to my survival as a writer.

If you did pirate this book, consider showing your respect by supporting me on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/christymarx

Author

Christy Marx has an eclectic career as a transmedia writer, TV and animation series developer, game designer/narrative designer working on live-action TV, film, animation, PC games, mobile/social games, console games, MMOG, comic books, graphic novels, manga, and non-fiction educational books. She has won the WGA Animation Writing Award and game design awards for Conquests of Camelot and Conquest of the Longbow. Other credits include Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, Spider-Man, G.I. Joe, Jem and the Holograms, ReBoot, Conan, Beast Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Birds of Prey, and Amethyst.

Introduction

I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.

Peter De Vries

This book is designed to be useful to three main categories of readers:

The student or amateur who wants to break into one or more of these fields.

The writing professional working in another field who wants to move into one of these fields (for example, the TV writer who wants to write games or the book writer who wants to write animation and so on).

The non-writer professional working in a related area of these fields who wants to move into writing (for example, an animator who wants to turn scriptwriter, a game tester who wants to write game stories, and so on).

Think of this as your nuts and bolts manual for what a writer needs to know to create scripts for animation, comics, or games so that they’re in the right format and follow the right rules. It is totally writer-centric, not an all-inclusive guide to related areas such as art or programming.

It is about the craft of writing, the practical rules, guidelines, tips, and tricks that will prepare you to approach these fields on a professional level of competency.

What this book will not do is teach you how to write. I’m assuming that you know your basic three-act structure; that you know how to create a character with motivations, needs, and desires; and that you know how to type, spell, and use correct grammar. If you don’t know these things, close this book and turn your attention to learning the fundamentals of writing. Find your voice. Practice your art. When you’ve done that, you’re ready for the craft guidance you’ll find here.

Transmedia Overview

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.

Thomas Jefferson

In the course of a long career in writing, I discovered that the most valuable action I could take as a writer was to diversify. This is especially true when writing in more volatile fields such as animation, comics, and games where the companies, the business, the corporate hierarchies, and the entire field can change radically in a short time. Animation in particular tends to be cyclical both in content (comedy versus action-adventure) and in opportunity (booms and busts). It’s tremendously useful, if not downright life-saving, to have several arrows in your writer’s quiver.

This book concentrates on the three fields of animation, comics, and games for these reasons, discussed in more detail below:

Similarity of craft

Convergence of media

Transmedia writing.

Similarity of Craft

Animation, comics, and games fall into the category I think of as “shorthand” writing. This is in contrast to prose writing where a writer can write plot, description, and dialogue to any length, and can cover all of the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—using both external storytelling (description, dialogue) and internal storytelling (thought processes, emotional description).

This specialized form of “shorthand” writing requires the discipline to write within a structured format, to pare description down to an absolute minimum, to boil dialogue down to a pithy essence, and to tell concise, tightly plotted stories.

They are visual media, in which the writer must have a strong ability to visualize the story, to see it in the mind’s eye, and to translate that to paper. Being visual media, bear in mind an important, longstanding rule: show, don’t tell—which simply means make the storytelling as visual as possible, and don’t rely on unnecessary exposition.

Granted, these guidelines could apply to live-action film and TV scriptwriting as well. One of the significant differences between live-action and animation/comics/games is who reads and interprets the final shape of the material. In live-action, you are primarily writing for the producers and directors who will then shape and interpret that material, most especially the director who is the main filter for determining how the script will be converted to a film or TV show. In animation/comics/games, you are writing more directly for the artists who will interpret and create what you’ve written. True, there are still producers and sometimes directors involved, but it is the storyboard artist and animators who interpret your animation script, the comic book artist who interprets your comic book script, and the designers, animators, and programmers who integrate your games script. It’s more about communicating to your co-creators than about trying to sell your words to a film or TV executive.

Two of the formats—animation and games—require exterior writing techniques. Everything must be conveyed primarily via two senses: sight and sound.

Comics is an exterior/interior storytelling form that allows more latitude in conveying information about the other senses and the character’s thoughts, but it must all be done within the communication realm of one sense—sight. An exception to this is digital comics that include limited animation and sound, but they aren’t a significant part of the current comics field.

Another aspect these three formats share is that they’re dominated by the same genres. Broadly speaking, those are fantasy, science fiction, and action-adventure (I include super-heroes in one or more of these categories). They require writers who understand these genres and are adept at writing within their boundaries. If you want to write for animation, comics, and games, you probably already have an interest in these genres. You’ll want to stay current on them because you’ll be expected to understand references to other books, movies, TV shows, or games in those genres. It’s not unusual for the people who hire you to depend on those references and comparisons to convey what they want you to infuse in the current project.

This is not to exclude other genres such as sports games, causal games, sims, and so forth. Sports games or sims don’t translate well into animation or comics, by their nature. Those genres are important parts of the videogame medium, but it’s fantasy, science fiction, and action-adventure that provide the most connections between the three media covered in this book.

Convergence of Media

The process of corporate acquisitions and mergers continues to accelerate, steamrolling across the media landscape. Far from creating a level playing field, this process is reducing the diversity of creative markets and putting control of our media into far too few and too powerful hands. Animation studios, comic book companies, and game studios are absorbed by media giants and become another cog in a huge media machine.

As you can tell, I view this type of consolidation as not beneficial for either the creative person or the general public.

Like it or not, convergence has taken over these fields. One big corporation can publish the comic and novelization, produce the movie or TV series, and create the game—all based upon one property that they own and control. Consider two characters: Batman and Spider-Man. Both were published as comic book characters long before being adapted for television, movies, and animated series. Batman’s publisher, DC, is part of the massive Warner Bros. empire. Thus, we see many variations of Batman appearing on TV, in movies, in games, in books, in toys, and every other kind of licensing you can imagine. Spider-Man’s publisher, Marvel Comics, has been absorbed by the massive Disney dynasty, which can similarly release the IP in a vast range of forms.

Games such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil,and Final Fantasy were turned into movies with many more games-to-movies in development. The Witcher game franchise became a Netflix series. TV series such as The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things were spun off into games. It’s worth noting that The Walking Dead is a notable example of a comic book launching both a highly successful TV series and game series.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went from a small, indie, satiric, black and white comic to a major IP that has spawned movies, animation, games, toys, and endless merchandising.

The mobile game app, Angry Birds, was made into animated films and comics. This type of transmedia development is all over the place.

The smaller, independent companies struggle to survive in this world of convergence. The smart ones recognize how important it is to control a property, rather than only doing work-for-hire that is owned by someone else. As often as not, the smaller studios are themselves acquired by new media conglomerates who seek to pull together various assets (animation studios, publishing arms, game development studios, a means of distribution) to make sure their products reach the widest audience.

Selling a property can come down to finding the initial platform on which to launch it and expand from there. For example, Platinum Studios formed specifically to use the format of comics as the initial platform to put an idea in front of the public, and then use the comic book/graphic novel to sell the idea to movies and TV. The big money is in film and TV, but the published comic gives them a property that they control and that they can sell to get at that big money. One such project was Men in Black, so you can see that this is a successful strategy. Convergence isn’t limited to visual media. Over the years, I’ve developed or written animation based on dolls, action figures, remote-controlled cars, interactive toys, comic books, arcade video games, pulp fiction, TV series spin-off, and a classic SF novel.

Everywhere you look, you see convergence. Games are made into movies, TV series, and comics. Comics are made into movies, TV series, and games. Movies and TV series are made into animation series, comics, and games. The marketing ties between these three fields—animation, comics, and games—have never been stronger or more directly related.

Consequently, the reality you face more and more as a writer is the mega-corporation domination of the remaining markets in which you can work. It has narrowed down the number of markets, raised the stakes so that the big corporations are more fearful of taking risks, and increased the tendency of the corporations to create product based on their own properties rather than seeking original work. Knowing the formats in this book increases your odds of getting ahead in one or more of the converged media.

Transmedia Writing

Comic books have been a major source of material for animated TV series for decades. Stan Lee began turning Marvel comic characters into animation series in the late 1970s. Comic book writers living in New York migrated to Los Angeles to take advantage of their backgrounds in the comic book field to start working in animation. Famous comics writers such as Roy Thomas, Steve Gerber, Len Wein, and Marv Wolfman were amongst this early wave of transmedia writers who had the foresight to cross over to a new but related medium. It was a comic book story that gave me my break to write animation and my background as a scriptwriter that opened to the door to writing games.

There have been live-action scriptwriters crossing over to write animation, big names in TV such as Joss Whedon and J. Michael Straczynski writing comics, and writers moving from comics into film, TV series, and games. Not only are the fields themselves converging, but the writers being tapped for those fields are more frequently writers who see the potential in writing for these other fields, or do it simply because they have a love for it.

More and more writers are seeing the value of transmedia writing, either for the opportunities it presents or for the love of the other forms of media.

This leads to one final reason I chose to cover these three fields in one book—because I can. Many writers have worked in two of the three fields, but it’s still unusual for someone to have a large degree of experience in all three. I’ve had some rare and wonderful opportunities, not to mention dollops of luck, which enabled me to create and write animation, create and write comics, and design and write games. It’s given me the experience and perspective to bring it all together in one place.

To that I’ll add this caveat, every writer has a different range of experience from which to draw and no one book can give you everything. I would advise you to read more than one book about writing for these fields. In the “Resources” chapters of each section, you’ll find recommendations for other books.

Transmedia Advice

In each section, I give advice and tips that are specific to animation, comics, or videogames. What I want to give you here is general advice that applies not only to these three forms of media, but pretty much to any form of creative media.

First, I’ll cover advice on conducting oneself as a professional.

Next, I’ll give some advice and tips on creative aspects of writing.

Business Advice

The topics are:

Attitude

Deadlines

Collaboration

Gender and age.

Attitude

For the student, beginner, or non-professional, it’s important that you cultivate the attitude of a professional even before you get your first job. A professional understands that writing for animation, comics, and games is a job. You are expected to perform to certain standards, to know your craft, to know about the business, to listen well, to come up with creative solutions to notes and suggestions, and to do it with a business-like attitude.

While you do want to have faith in your creative vision, you also need to have the wisdom to pick which battles are truly vital enough to take a stand that could cause conflict. The most common mistake a non-pro makes is to react defensively to requests for changes as though personally wounded, to refuse to make changes that are required, to fight over every little thing instead of knowing which battle is worth fighting, to worry that everyone is out to rip her off or steal her brilliant idea, or to behave in a touchy, over-sensitive manner.

If you have a defensive attitude, get rid of it. If you want to be an Artiste, rent a garret and write poetry. Develop thick skin. Remember that notes and feedback are not a personal attack on you. These are professional fields where your job is to give the employer what they want when they want it. It’s about getting the job done, making deadlines, and doing a great job of writing in the process.

When you absolutely need to take a stand to protect the integrity of your work, take it. Be prepared to make a strong professional argument to prove your point based upon the craft of writing, not your emotions. You can’t simply say, “Because I think so.”

You can and will have a lot of fun writing for these fields, but never forget that it is, first and foremost, a job and you must act like a professional.

Deadlines

There are few things more vital to succeeding in these fields than meeting deadlines. Animation schedules are tight and have a tremendous amount of money tied up in getting each phase of the project done in a timely manner, not to mention having storyboard artists, animation studios, actors, and many other stages of the production dependent on getting the script in time.

If you slip up on getting a comic book done on time, the sales slip and you’ll be regarded as unreliable, and you can cause major headaches for your artist, colorist, letterer, and editor.

Games also have big money riding on tight deadlines, along with a host of programmers, artists, animators, composer, and so on whose deadlines will be affected by a writer not meeting a deadline.

Make it a hard and fast rule to never miss a deadline. If you truly find yourself in an unavoidable situation, talk it out with the person who hired you. Never take the avoidance route or refuse to return messages. I learned that the hard way.

What it gets down to is this general rule: a decent writer who always turns in a useable script on deadline will get more work than a brilliant writer who doesn’t make deadlines.

Collaboration

These three fields require a high degree of collaboration with artists, producers, story editors, directors, programmers, and any number of other people in both the executive and creative ends of the business. This is most emphatically true for animation and games because there tends to be even more people involved in the process.

You’ll receive notes and feedback from any variety of people depending on the project. In animation, from story editor, producers, more producers, the producer’s petsitter, maybe a toy executive—whoever is allowed to have a say. In comics, probably primarily the editor, but your artist is your partner, not a hired hand, and should be treated as such. In games, you might get feedback from anyone on the design team—publisher, producer, designers, programmers, animators, and so on.

For all three fields of writing, you need good people skills. Amongst those people skills are ability to listen, ability to clearly communicate your own ideas, ability to praise and find constructive ways to give feedback, flexibility in adjusting your own ideas to the needs of the project, a good sense of humor (a small amount of self-deprecating humor goes a long way), and the ability to set aside temperament and ego for the good of the project. It also helps if you genuinely enjoy interacting with other people and can show interest in their goals, desires, wants, and needs.

Thoughtfulness pays. Express your thanks, send a card, give an appropriate gift, or make some other gesture when someone helps you out. Let people know that you’re aware they exist, and that includes the receptionist at the front desk or the person in accounting who helped you get reimbursed for expenses on a trip.

Gender and Age

There is another commonality to animation, comics, and games that I want to touch upon, without laboring over it. They have traditionally been dominated by white males, on both the creative end and the customer end. It is more true for games and comics, less so for animation.

When you evaluate the images, characters, and stories that are put forth, it’s easy to see why the male-dominated fields churn out male-dominated types of entertainment. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. “We have to make X game or X comic because we have X audience.” But if all they put out is X games and X comics, then they never will attract the other 50% of the potential audience—girls and women.

Happily, we’re seeing changes in these fields with more attention being given to the female audiences, minorities, and other groups that have been under-represented such as the LGBTQ communities. Unhappily, we’re also seeing push-back that can get pretty nasty. Don’t let that stop you.

As a writer, it’s your job to think about who you’re writing for, but it’s also your job to push the boundaries and look for ways to reach new audiences, or to reach the under-represented audience that you represent.

There is also the issue—in the United States—that many people think of these media as being “for kids.” Animation, comics, and games suffer in this country from the attitude that they are for children. Breaking that barrier and creating an adult art form in this country has been an uphill battle, to put it mildly—yet there’s no good reason for this except that we as a culture have generated this mindset—and why? Why should we equate visual storytelling in any medium with children’s entertainment?

There has been far more progress than I honestly expected to see during my career. We have The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Adult Swim, adult-rated comics, and a recognition of an older audience for games. All the same, there remains a large sector of the society that wants to throw comic book retailers into jail for selling adult comics to adults, sue game companies for the content of games, and heavily control the content of animation. This is a dangerous form of censorship in which the narrow-minded want to determine for everyone else what is “adult” and what isn’t. You need to be aware of this issue. More than that, I urge you to take a stand against censorship before you find your own creations on the list of “banned” works.

Having said that, the realities of the audience, or what is perceived to be the audience, must still be addressed when you sit down to write a script. That is one more part of your job.

Creative Advice

Here are some thoughts, advice, and tips for transmedia writers on these topics:

Fantasy Language

Junk Words

Get a Life

Personal Rewards and Responsibility.

Fantasy Language

It’s easy to forget how modern some of our phrases are when writing dialogue for a fantasy project. “Fast as lightning” is fine, but “faster than a bullet” is a problem if your characters only use swords. You don’t want to hear Conan the Barbarian say, “Wow, cool.” or “C’mon, guys.”

Be careful to avoid anachronistic slang. It was jarring to hear characters in the television adaptation of a big-name fantasy videogame use terms such as “ego” and “reverse psychology” in a world where those terms would have no meaning.

The Marx Fantasy Dialogue Scale

I came up with the Marx Fantasy Dialogue Scale to differentiate the various ways in which fantasy dialogue could be spoken, ranging from colloquial/modern (#1) to High Epic/Poetic (#5). Here’s an example:

He doesn’t know what he’s doing.

He does not know what he is doing.

He does not know what he does.

He knows not what he does.

He knows not what his purpose is, for confusion lies heavy upon him.

You would rarely want to use #5 because it’s wordy and sounds least natural to modern ears. Using purely colloquial language can sound jarring in some fantasy settings.

This can be applied beyond fantasy dialogue. The key things that affect how colloquial or how epic your dialogue sounds or looks are:

Contractions: Contractions sound more colloquial; not using contractions creates a different, more formal pattern to dialogue.

Word arrangement: How words are ordered affects how the dialogue feels. On the above scale, consider how the arrangement of words changes the feel between #3 and #4. Another example is Star Wars’ Yoda. Yoda’s inverted word arrangement created a distinct feel for that character’s speech.

Sentence structure: One type of character might speak in short, choppy sentences. Another might speak in long, flowery sentences full of conjunctions. For a young audience, you’ll want to keep sentence structure shorter and simpler.

Tense and grammatical usage: In the above scale, note the difference between #2 and #3. Both are written in present tense, but the change of “doing” to “does” alters the feel of the dialogue.

Word choice: As a writer, you need to think about every word you use to convey character, emotion, action, mood, and imagery. In terms of dialogue, you should ask yourself whether your character would use one word over another, and if so, why? Does your character speak in concrete terms because he has no imagination? Is your character inclined to speak in metaphors or poetic language rather than being straightforward? Does your character speak in riddles or vague esoteric language in order to sound enigmatic?

Junk Words

If you’re anything like me, your everyday speech is riddled with words such as “very,” “really,” “just,” and various other stray words we use for added emphasis. I think of these as junk words because most of the time, they don’t need to be there. We tend to use them out of habit.

As a writer, you should be aware of a tendency to add junk words to your writing, especially dialogue. There are times when they fit, of course, but you should question every usage.

A junk word often detracts from the true emphasis of the sentence. Consider this sentence: “Are you really sure?” When spoken naturally, the emphasis falls on “really.” In terms of dialogue intent, the key word is “sure.” By removing the junk word “really,” the emphasis correctly falls on the key word where it belongs: “Are you sure?”

Another example is: “She was very patient with me.” Removing the junk word “very” puts the emphasis back on “patient” where it belongs: “She was patient with me.”

In the three forms writing this book covers, every word counts, because either they add to time (verbal recordings) or they add to text (taking up limited space). Cleaning out junk words will strengthen and tighten your writing.

Get a Life

I’ve encountered a few too many writers whose only influences seem to be limited to the one medium they want to work in or to current pop culture. The worst mistake people in these fields make is not being grounded in the real world. You need to know your medium well, of course, but you also need to have a breadth and depth of other influences and experiences.

Experience life, read, talk to people, and listen to how people talk. These areas of writing require diverse knowledge which includes understanding political systems, religious systems, mythology, economics, geography, how cultures develop, and many other aspects of world-creation. Inform yourself about diverse ideas, attitudes, and cultures. Travel. Visit other countries. Study mythologies and histories from ancient to modern. This will also help you acquire an ear for coming up with names that are appropriate to what you’re writing.

If you write about shooting guns, go to a range and fire some guns. If you write about archers, loose an arrow or two. Ride a motorcycle. Fly a plane. Go scuba-diving. Take some martial arts. Do whatever you’re capable of. You’ll have a better handle on many of the things you write about if you at least attempt to do some of them. Get life experience to balance out what you learn from passive research.

Personal Rewards and Responsibility

The personal rewards of pursuing creative work can be immense, but there is some level of responsibility that comes with it. Some people write to earn the respect of their peers, some to win awards, some yearn for status, and some are simply driven to do it. Seeing your name on the TV screen, on a book, and in game credits can also be its own reward.

Whatever the motivation, there is nothing quite like hearing from the people who experience your work and who actually make it possible for any of us to have careers as writers. I’ll never forget the sheer ecstasy I felt when I was standing in a comic book store and I heard someone behind me raving to the store owner about this fantastic story he’d just read… and I was able to turn around and say, “Thanks! I wrote that!”

Or the profound impact of knowing that an animation series has touched and shaped lives far beyond simple entertainment, even inspired them to pursue their own creative dreams or helped them survive difficult times in their lives. Or getting mail from someone who was moved to pursue an area of study because he was so intrigued by material in my adventure game.

Examine what drives you as a writer, but never forget that your work is reaching the eyes or ears of people of every age and type who can be impacted by it in a positive or negative way. It’s rewarding to hear from people for whom your work had a positive impact, but accepting that your work can have a positive impact means accepting the corresponding reality that your work could have a negative impact. I don’t mean the rare, unintended incident where a troubled soul uses your work as inspiration to commit a wrongful act. The Beatles certainly never had Charles Manson in mind when they wrote Helter Skelter. This doesn’t change the truth that what you write has the potential to impact another person’s life.

It’s too easy to shrug off taking responsibility for your work by saying “It’s just a game. It’s just a cartoon. It’s just a comic book.”

They can be far more than that, and they can change lives for the better without preaching or moralizing. Merely writing about the human condition, the choices we all face, and the consequences of those choices can be enough. Whether your work will do that or how it does that is up to you. Know what you want your impact to be. Don’t ignore your responsibility to shape minds and move hearts.

Animation

1

History/Evolution of Animation

Animation—or cartoons if you will—has a long, rich history. In order to understand how scriptwriters entered the picture and came to be where they are today, this section will briefly look at how animation developed.

In 1914, the marvelous artist, Winsor McCay, lovingly crafted line-art animation in a masterpiece known as Gertie the Dinosaur. It was the first time someone had created a true character for the screen and had the character act out a little story.

One artist doing all the work was both painstaking and time-consuming, so the next step in the evolution was the development of animation studios where teams of artists would work on projects, leading to specialization. Soon you had artists who did storyboards, character animation, backgrounds, painting cels, or other jobs. However, one area of specialization that never developed in these early studios was an actual scriptwriter. Artists, animators, and other members of the creative team worked out the gags or storylines collectively. In some studios, there was a bullpen of writers whose jobs were to generate ideas and gags which were then worked up in storyboard form, but the writers didn’t write scripts as we think of scripts today.

The Fleischer brothers’ sing-along cartoons beginning in 1924 and Disney’s Steamboat Willie in 1928 were important milestones. They advanced animation styles and introduced the use of sound and music at a time when sound was still new and revolutionary even for live-action films. Although Disney’s Snow White wasn’t the first animated feature ever created, it set a new high in the level of art, sophistication of character development, and memorable music. On the early animation features, there are people credited with the story and adaptation, but no actual animation script was part of the process. It was a fluid process of storyboards and story concepts being worked out in some combination of images and written word.

Other than the Disney features, most animation through the 1950s consisted of short pieces made to run in front of feature films, relying mostly on visual gags and jokes. As interest in theatrical shorts waned, many movie studios shut down their animation production arms. This led William Hanna and Joe Barbera, who had formed H-B Enterprises in 1944 (later Hanna-Barbera Productions), to focus on animation for the young medium of television starting in 1957. Initially, the studio turned out five-to-seven-minute cartoons, giving birth to Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. Then came the next evolutionary step—the half-hour animated sitcom of The Flintstones, debuting in 1960.

Producing animation for television, particularly in this longer format, was vastly different from making theatrical shorts. The need to turn out longer shows week after week on extremely tight budgets had a profound effect on both the quality of the animation and the need to streamline the process. Animators accustomed to working out gags for short pieces couldn’t maintain the volume of work that was required for the longer shows.

During the 1960s, these business-driven necessities led for the first time to the hiring of actual scriptwriters, people who knew how to write a script that could be handed to the storyboard artists. Other studios, such as Filmation, DePatie-Freleng, and Ruby-Spears, sprang up to create animated TV series, and the step of hiring scriptwriters to first create the script was at long last integrated into the creative process.

The role of scriptwriters in the field of animation is relatively recent, given the entire history of the art form. Attempts have been made for a show to go back to creating animation the old way with an animator-creator doing art and writing. I haven’t seen those efforts succeed for regular, half-hour series, though it has taken hold for shorter shows. Although some talented artists create their own shows and do the writing themselves, they are the exceptions. The feature process is different and will be covered later.

Another evolutionary step took place with the development of CGI (computer-generated images, frequently shortened to just CG) animation, also called 3D. The groundbreaker in creating top-quality CG shows was Mainframe Entertainment in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Mainframe’s 1994 TV series ReBoot was the first all-CGI series. Initially, CG was more expensive than traditional cel, or 2D, animation, but as the technology and techniques have continued to advance, CG has become predominant in TV and feature animation. Pixar’s Toy Story in 1995 showed that a CG feature could match the success of a 2D feature.

Since then, there’s been an explosion of feature animation in CGI, 2D, and stop-motion. Stop-motion became big in features such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, and in shorter forms such as the delightful Wallace and Gromit series by Nick Park (Aardman Animation). Animation is flourishing all over the world in a vast range of styles and genres.

The one thing that doesn’t change, regardless of animation process, is the need for strong stories, compelling characters, and well-written scripts. The fact that the Oscars now include a category for best animated feature supports the need for top-quality writing in an art form that continues to mature.

Genres and Categories

Here is a run-down of the realms of animation production that provide opportunities for you as a writer.

Features

Features, or long-form animation, can be made for three major markets:

Theatrical: The powerhouse studios for animation features are major studios such as Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks, and Sony, but many other studios compete in this arena, as well as smaller independent companies, and studios in Canada, France, Australia, Japan, China, India, Ireland, and elsewhere.

Direct-to-video: Some major studios have a separate division to create direct-to-video animated features. There are smaller, independent companies that also create direct-to-video.

Television: There isn’t a lot of feature-length animation made specifically for TV. Although this does happen from time to time, it’s not a regular market.

Television Series and Shows

There was once a thriving market for syndicated animation. Syndication refers to selling directly to as many individual TV stations as possible the rights to broadcast a program rather than selling the rights to a network that broadcasts the program. Syndication of animation has all but vanished from the scene. The current outlets are networks, cable channels, and streaming services. Animation is mostly gone from network channels except for primetime sitcoms. The cable channels such as Fox, Nickelodeon, and the Cartoon Network heavily feature animation.

SVOD (subscription video-on-demand), commonly called streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, has added new outlets for animation. Disney, with its enormous empire of intellectual properties (and major acquisitions), became an instant powerhouse when it moved into the streaming field.

Animation for television tends to break out by age groups more than anything else. We have finally reached the stage where we can divide animation into shows for children and shows for adults.

Children’s Animation

When shows are evaluated for ratings, the age groups are broken down into

Kids 2–11

Kids 6–11

Tweens 9–14.

In development, there are loose guidelines that differ somewhat from the above. It’s more common to break the categories down into roughly:

Pre-school and very young (2–8)

Young heading toward tween (8–12).

I rarely encounter someone asking me to develop or write children’s animation for older than 12, an age when kids begin to move away from animated shows. Veteran agent Jason Dravis observed that a shift in the play patterns of children has had a significant effect on animation development. Children are playing with toys at an earlier age, and tending to set aside toys in favor of electronics around ages six or seven. Previously, much of animation development was driven by consumer products: action figures and similar toys. With kids setting aside their action figures at an earlier age, the animation shows began to skew their content to a younger audience.

Animation for the youngest audience is usually geared toward soft, safe shows with educational content. Laws protect young children from content deemed potentially harmful. One such statute is the Children’s Television Act of 1990, which limits the amount of advertising that a broadcaster can air during children’s programming and prohibiting ads advertising products related to the program currently airing (for example, no ads for G.I. Joe toys could be aired during a G.I. Joe episode). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) laid down guidelines that require stations to air an average of no less than three hours a week of “educational” programming, though what gets approved as educational has been the source of much controversy. The rules were loosened in 2019, acknowledging the changes in how people absorb entertainment in the current market,but most of the basic rules remain in place.

The older group has a wider menu:

Comedy

Humorous action-adventure

Serious action-adventure

Anime.

Educational, comedy, and action-adventure are viable markets for breaking into animation writing. True anime shows from Japan don’t provide work for outside writers, except for one specialized job:

ADR: This stands for Additional Dialogue Recording. English-speaking writers are hired to write the English language dialogue to be either dubbed over the Japanese dialogue or used as subtitles.

Animation for Adults

More animation is being made for the adult audience, mainly due to new outlets becoming available for it such as Netflix, channels such as Comedy Central, and special timeslots such as Adult Swim set aside for adult material on the Cartoon Network. Satirical shows such as The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy have proven their endurance.

The types of shows being done for an adult audience range all over the spectrum. Here’s a partial list:

Sitcoms and satire

Edgy anthropomorphic animals

Science fiction

Fantasy

Cyberpunk

Contemporary, mainstream life with a twist

Sexy, naughty action-adventure

Weird, off-the-wall humor

Adaptations of comic books or comic strips.

One comment needs to be made regarding the sitcom-style animation shows that run in prime time such as The Simpsons or Family Guy. Although they’re produced using animation as the medium, they are written in the same way as sitcoms, meaning they use a staff of in-house writers (who sit together in a room working out the shows), usually with experience in live-action sitcom and comedy. It is possible to break in and get your first job as a writer on a primetime animated series, if you’re an extremely talented comedy writer. You’ll need to study how live-action sitcoms are written and developed, and you’ll need to write two or three brilliantly funny spec scripts for existing live-action sitcoms. A “spec” (for speculative) script is a sample script based on an existing show. You write this script on your own to show how well you can handle the sensibilities of the show and the dialogue of the characters. Move to Los Angeles and get an agent who can represent you well in this specialized area of the business.

Anime

I want to touch a bit more upon the impact of anime on the animation market. Anime created and produced in Japan became wildly popular, not to mention profitable, for the American market, though that popularity has waned somewhat from its peak. “Anime” covers a wide range of content. Pokemon (a fun action show for kids) is quite a different thing from Cowboy Bebop (harder-edged for adults) in look, tone, content, and intended audience. It’s a good idea to become acquainted with a range of anime, both the type intended for children and the type intended for adults.

Anime’s explosion in popularity had ripple effects. The desire to draw upon both the visual and storytelling techniques of anime had an effect on Western animation. I had one situation where it was taken for granted that I knew what the distinctive qualities and features of anime are and that I could incorporate them in the script. Be prepared for a producer or story editor to ask for something to be done in an anime style. Don’t be afraid to ask the story editor or producer what elements of anime they want you to incorporate.

In some cases, the influence is mainly visual: the over-sized eyes, small chins, small nose, small mouth, the hair and clothes flowing elegantly or aggressively in the wind, an action shot of the character that is static while a streaked color background flashes past to simulate motion, and various other visual themes are common to most anime. There are also cultural differences that can trip up a Western viewer. For example, to the American audience, crossed-eyes indicate silliness; to the Japanese audience, they indicate ferocious anger or readiness for battle.

In some cases, there are stylized anime emotional cues—a character emanating heart symbols to indicate being lovesick, wavy streaks down a character’s face to indicate crying, a character’s eyes turning into stars to indicate being bedazzled, and so on.

When the influence reaches the writing level, it means thinking in an anime storytelling manner. This includes certain types of poses, moments of silence and confrontation that cut back and forth between the two antagonists, certain types of shots (for example, ultra-close-up on eyes) and other such poses and characteristics that you can absorb only by watching a sufficient amount of anime.

On another level, there is a more fundamental difference in the nature of the stories the Japanese like to tell in anime. They tend to be more complex, sometimes sadder or grimmer or with a sense of doom, and approach the character’s emotions and actions differently than a Western writer tends to do. For some reason, this aspect of anime hasn’t had the same level of influence on Western writing. When someone says, “Write this in an anime style,” what they usually mean is to mimic the visual storytelling style, not the plot, dramatic structure, or thematic style. Be sure to clarify exactly what aspect of anime someone is asking for.

Alternative Forms of Animation

There are exciting developments for creators who would like to make animated projects on a more independent basis. It allows home-grown talent to develop outside the realm of the media mega-corporations.

Flash software made it possible to create animation for the web, even to the point where Flash animation was used in animated TV series. As Flash is phased out, HTML5 and other software are moving in to take its place. It’s impossible to predict what future software will allow, but the ability to create your own animation is an exciting possibility. Don’t rule it out because you’re a writer. Look at South Park and what they accomplished with funny writing and simplistic animation.

Machinima is animation created by using videogame technology, animation, and art assets, which is then edited, with voice, sound, and music added to create a virtual “film” using the videogame engine. Some of these machinima have won awards at film festivals, two examples being Hardly Workin, and Red vs. Blue.

With the explosion of media being created for the mobile device market, it’s worth paying attention to ways in which animation might be created specifically for that use.

In an interesting overlap between animation and videogames, in 2018 Nickelodeon experimented with creating animation using game engine software, such as Epic’s Unreal Engine or Unity. This would allow them to create assets that could be ported quickly and easily into animation, a game, virtual reality, augmented reality, or other media.

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Terminology

Most of the scriptwriting terms employed in animation scripts are the same as those employed in live-action scripts, with perhaps a few exceptions. Here are the terms you want to know before we move ahead to discuss script format.

They are followed by a further glossary of animation-related terms that will be useful to you.

Script Terms

ACTION

The ACTION, or description, paragraph occurs immediately below the SLUGLINE and is just what you think it is—a line or paragraph that serves any number of functions: to describe a setting, character, or location; to describe what actions the character in the shot is taking; to set mood or tone; to indicate sounds; to give certain specific camera movement directions, or whatever else is required to convey what the reader needs to know about that shot or for establishing a scene.

ANGLE ON, ANGLE -

A more generic way to call out an individual shot that indicates to the storyboard artist what to concentrate on for this shot or simply who is in the shot.

ANGLE ON JACK

ANGLE ON JACK, DICK AND JANE

ANGLE ON CORNER OF WEATHERED BUILDING

ANGLE - JACK

ANGLE - JACK, DICK AND JANE

ANGLE - BARBARIAN HORDE

ANIMATIC

Animatics are essentially animated storyboards, usually loose line art that is turned into rough animations. They’re used to test out character personality and movement, story, scenes and sequences, length, and pacing in a quick, rough form before committing to full animation. They can include scratch tracks, which are temporary voices speaking the dialogue.

B.G. (BACKGROUND)

Used to indicate that some part of the action, an object, a character is to be set in the background of the shot. Or you could just be describing something that’s in the b.g.

BEAT, A BEAT

This term, set inside parentheses, is used to indicate that you want the character to pause briefly between pieces of dialogue. It can convey hesitation, a moment of thought, a point of emphasis, or a moment of silence (where the character might be listening to someone on the other end of a phone conversation, but we don’t hear the other side). (See other uses of the word “beat” under Other Animation Terms.)

ON JACK AND JANE. She glares at him.

                                  JANE
                     You want me to leave? Fine,
                     I’ll leave.
                           (a beat)
                     When I’m good and ready!

JANE answers her phone.

                                 JANE
                     Hello?
                            (beat)
                     He did what?
                            (beat)
                     Of all the stupid tricks. Where
                     are you now?
                            (beat)
                     Stay put. I’m on my way.

CLOSE-UP, CLOSE ON

Used to indicate to the storyboard artist that in this shot, you want the camera to be very close on a person or thing, as indicated. You should have a solid reason for using a close-up rather than calling for it at random. Good reasons include wanting to emphasize a reaction, to call special attention to an important object, or to make sure the camera is close enough to clearly convey a significant piece of action.

CLOSE-UP ON JACK’S EYES. He squints against the painful glare of the
sun that blinds him.

CLOSE ON JACK’S HAND as he secretly passes a flash drive to Jane.

CONT’D (CONTINUED)

It’s used in three ways:

At the bottom of a page on a shooting script to indicate that the script continues. It isn’t generally used this way in animation scripts.

When dialogue is broken up across two pages to indicate there is more dialogue on the following page. In this usage, it’s centered in the middle of the dialogue column at the bottom of the page where the dialogue breaks.

After a character’s name and placed in parentheses to indicate the character is continuing a speech that was begun in another piece of dialogue, but was interrupted by a piece of action.

FAVORING JACK
                                JACK
                     I told you...

Jane reacts with surprise to his anger.

                               JACK (CONT’D)
                 ...I don’t need your help!

CUT TO:

This is a TRANSITION that is used to indicate that this scene is ended and we are cutting to an entirely different scene in a different location. Visually, it means that the image on the screen is instantly gone and instantly replaced by the next image, with no time lag in between. CUT TO: is a general, all-purpose transition, though it’s better to use a DISSOLVE TO: to convey a significant passage of time between scenes.

In a script, a transition is positioned along the right margin and is followed by a colon.

DIALOGUE

The DIALOGUE portion of a script consists of the character name and what the character says. There can be a parenthetical below the character name or within the body of the dialogue. There can be special instructions to the right of the character name, such as V.O., O.S., or CONT’D.

The reason for indenting and setting out the dialogue in this way is old and simple: to make it easy for actors to flip through a script and see what their lines are.

In animation, it also makes it easy to count the number of lines, as is sometimes required. NOTE: each individual “chunk” of dialogue is considered to be a “line” of dialogue. In the sample shown below, this would count as two lines of dialogue for Jack, one line of dialogue for Dick, one line of dialogue for Jane (even though all she has for a “line” is a burst of laughter), and one line for Jack’s Dog for a total of five lines. Jane’s “line” and the Dog’s whine still have to be recorded and still take up time in the audio track, hence being counted as dialogue.

                            JACK
                     (annoyed-to Jane)
               Give me one good reason why I
               shouldn’t drop-kick you from here
               to tomorrow? Well?

                           JACK’S DOG
                     (worried whine)

                            JANE
                     (burst of laughter)

                            JACK
               What’s that supposed to mean?

                            DICK
               It means you’re asking for a
               broken leg, Jack.
                         (a beat)
               Trust me, you want to stay on her
               good side.

DISSOLVE TO:

This is a TRANSITION that is used to indicate that this scene is ended and we are cutting to another scene with some amount of time intervening between the two. Visually, it indicates that the image on the screen will slowly dissolve to be replaced by a new image. The time difference between the two scenes could be minutes, hours, days, years, past, or future. A DISSOLVE TO: is more about changing time than changing location. You might dissolve from Jack collapsing in bed in the morning to Jack waking up on the bed at night—same place, different time. It’s a gradual transition on the screen rather than the instantaneous transition of a CUT TO:.

On occasion, a writer might also use RAPID DISSOLVE TO: (just a faster-than-usual dissolve to indicate a short passage of time).

In a script, a transition is positioned along the right margin and is followed by a colon.

DURING:

This is a handy word to use to indicate that you want a piece of dialogue to occur while a certain piece of action takes place without breaking away from the continuous movement of that shot or cutting it down into smaller shots. However, be careful not to use DURING: at times when you should break out those actions.

JACK AND DICK enter the stairwell and work their way down the
stairs, tense, alert, weapons ready. DURING:

                          JACK
             They could be anywhere around
             here, kid. Don’t get careless.
             And don’t get nervous. And don’t
             get in my way.

ECU, EXTREME CLOSE UP

Just what it sounds like. Going very, very close on someone or something in a shot.

ECU on JANE’S EYES that brim with tears.

ON JACK’S EYES - Go to ECU to show that Jack is also at the point of
tears.

ENTERS FRAME, EXITS FRAME

A command used in the action paragraph when you want to have one or more characters enter or leave the shot after you’ve established it.

INT. BUNGALOW

JACK AND DICK look over the stolen documents. Jane ENTERS
FRAME to join them. Jack barely glances up at Jane.

                          JACK

             Good, you’re here. Get me a glass of water.

Fuming, Jane EXITS FRAME. Dick grins and shakes his head.

                          DICK
             That was a baaaad idea.

Jane ENTERS FRAME and dumps a glass of water on Jack’s head.

EST., ESTABLISHING

Used when you’re establishing where a scene is taking place before jumping into the interior action. This works best when the location has already been seen and only a quick establishing shot is needed to alert the audience that the action is going back to that place. It’s like seeing a quick establishing shot of a spaceship before jumping to the bridge or some other room inside the spaceship, or an exterior shot to establish a well-known city, such as Los Angeles or London, before jumping to another shot that is then assumed to be somewhere in that city. An establishing shot is usually a wide or long shot. Generally speaking, this tends to be used more in live-action than animation. It’s included here so you’ll know it exists.

EXT. ESTABLISH OCEAN LINER - DAY

It plies a calm ocean.

EXT. HOLLYWOOD SIGN

just long enough TO ESTABLISH.

EXT. SPACESHIP - DEEP SPACE

Establishing shot.

EXT. (EXTERIOR)

EXT. is used at the beginning of a SLUGLINE to establish that this scene is in an exterior location. Because you’re establishing a scene, it’s also vital to indicate whether it’s DAY or NIGHT for the exterior location (with a couple of exceptions, such as space or the bottom of the ocean or someplace where day and night are irrelevant).

EXT. AIRPORT CONTROL TOWER - NIGHT

EXT. MEDICAL BUILDING - DAY

EXT. SPACESHIP - DEEP SPACE

FADE IN:, FADE OUT

FADE IN: is used to start the script and start each act; FADE OUT is used to end each act and end the script. Most commonly FADE IN: is on the left margin, whereas FADE OUT is on the right margin. FADE IN: is followed by a colon; FADE OUT isn’t. FADE IN: should lead directly into the first SLUGLINE. Other information, such as TEASER or ACT ONE, comes before the FADE IN:. FADE OUT comes immediately after the final shot of that act or the script, followed by additional information such as END OF TEASER, END OF ACT ONE, and THE END.

FAVORING

Used in a shot to indicate to the storyboard artist that you want a particular character or object to be emphasized. If there are a number of characters in the shot, FAVORING could be used to indicate that you want emphasis given to a particular character (or to more than one). It should be used sparingly, as most shots wouldn’t need it.

FAVORING JACK’S HAND as he reaches out for the crystal skull.

ANGLE FAVORING THE SKULL that reflects Jack’s reaching hand.
The glint of the ring on Jack’s hand creates the illusion of a
glint in the skull’s eye.

F.G. (FOREGROUND)

Used to indicate that some part of the action, an object, or a character is to be set in the foreground of the shot.

INT. (INTERIOR)

INT. is used at the beginning of a SLUGLINE to establish that this scene is in an interior location or set. Generally, you don’t need to worry about establishing whether it’s a DAY or NIGHT location for interiors unless you haven’t established that information previously (such as going from an exterior shot of the same location to an interior shot) and there’s some reason that you need to (an airport control tower, for example, where it would be important to indicate what can be seen from the windows).

INT. AIRPORT CONTROL TOWER – NIGHT

INT. OLD-FASHIONED DINER

INT. SUBWAY STATION

INT. SPACESHIP COCKPIT

INTERCUT TO, INTERCUTTING TO

Another term that can be used when doing quick cuts back and forth between two or more ongoing lines of action, or a larger piece of action (such as a battle) where there might be multiple fronts to deal with or multiple characters to follow, and where everything is happening more or less at the same time. Best used when it doesn’t involve dialogue (see also QUICK CUT), but it can also be used when cutting back and forth between people engaged in a phone conversation. The term appears to have fallen mostly out of use in favor of simply calling out the series of shots.

INTERCUT TO:

     JACK hits the ground and readies his gun.

     JANE takes cover behind a metal container, her gun in hand.

     DICK drops from the roof and takes up position outside a
window, a gun in one hand and smoke bomb in the other.

MATCH DISSOLVE TO:

This is a nice visual trick when called for, but don’t overuse it. In a MATCH DISSOLVE TO:, some element in the scene that is ending will match up to an opening element in the next scene. Obviously, there should be a good thematic or story reason to tie the two elements together.

JACK holds up the crystal skull to study it. MOVE IN on the
skull until it fills the screen.

                                               MATCH DISSOLVE TO:

CLOSE-UP ON CRYSTAL SKULL except that this one is in a display
case at the city museum, labeled “Peruvian Quartz Skull”.

MOVE IN

This tells the storyboard artist that you want a camera movement that moves closer to something on the screen. Use in the ACTION (description) paragraph rather than in a SLUGLINE.

ON A WEATHERED BUILDING where a door <BANGS> crazily in
the storm wind. MOVE IN on the door as a hand suddenly
grabs the door’s edge.

(OC), (O.C.)

OFF-CAMERA. Same as OFF-STAGE. See below.

(OS), (O.S.)

OFF-STAGE. It’s used to the right of the character’s name in dialogue to indicate that the speaker is not seen while the dialogue is delivered. However, the implication in using O.S. is that the speaker is somewhere in the scene, even if we don’t see them yet.

JACK stands by himself, staring moodily out a window.

                           JACK
                     Guess I’m on my own.

                           JANE (O.S.)
                     Not yet, you old grouch.

JACK looks surprised as JANE ENTERS FRAME to stand next to him.

OTS

OVER THE SHOULDER. This tells the storyboard artist to draw the view of the scene with the camera seeing it over the shoulder of a particular character. That character will be in the foreground, with his or her back to the camera.

OTS ON JACK facing Dick and Jane, who wait for him to speak.

PAN

Refers to a horizontal camera movement—either from right to left or from left to right. It’s used in the ACTION paragraph and is especially useful when establishing a new location where you want to show more of it or linger over it for a few seconds more than you would with a quick establishing shot. It’s also useful to reveal something that you don’t want to show immediately.

EXT. SURFACE OF THE MOON - SUNLIT SIDE

PAN ACROSS the stark beauty of sharp-edged craters until we come to
the moon base, a lonely haven on the airless surface.

PARENTHETICALS

A PARENTHETICAL is extra information about the character that is speaking or making a sound. It’s placed inside parentheses below the character’s name in the dialogue. Parentheticals have three basic uses:

Indicating a specific tone, emotion, or inflection for the voice actor. This is discouraged in live-action scripts, but animation voice actors sometimes receive only their own lines and record their lines without interacting with the other voice actors. Consequently, parentheticals are more commonly used in animation scripts to clue in the voice actors to a tone or emotion they might otherwise miss. You would also use the parenthetical to indicate a whisper or low voice (sotto voce). Be careful not to overuse parentheticals.

Indicating that the voice needs special filtering or modification in editing (as in a voice coming through a communications device).

Describing a sound you want the voice actor to make, especially in the case of a non-speaking character or creature. Even if you want a character only to laugh or scream, you need to cover it as a piece of dialogue by using a parenthetical.

JACK stands with his dog.

                                  JACK
                           (sarcastic)
                     Oh, that’s just great.

                                  JACK’S DOG
                           (scolding barks)

                                  JACK
                            (with a snort)
                     Everybody’s got an opinion around
                     here.
                           (laughter)

                                  JACK’S DOG
                           (high-pitched yip)

                                  JACK
                           (whisper)
                     Shhh! Keep it down.

POV (POINT OF VIEW)

In this type of shot, you’re asking the storyboard artist to draw the scene from a specific character’s point of view, to see the scene the way the character is seeing it. The POV character is not seen in the shot.

JACK’S POV THROUGH WINDOW - the thick glass distorts what
he sees so that all he can make out is the dark, indistinct
shape of an unknown person.

JANE’S POV as she looks through the crosshairs of a scope.
She centers on an enemy vehicle. The scope’s laser
indicator LIGHTS UP.

PULL BACK, PULL BACK TO REVEAL

As with MOVE IN, this tells the storyboard artist that you want a camera movement that pulls the camera farther away from the shot or from something in the shot. See also WIDEN.

CLOSE ON CRYSTAL SKULL held in a man’s hand, but we PULL
BACK TO REVEAL it’s held by Dick instead of Jack.

QUICK CUT

This is a method of intercutting (cutting back and forth) between quickly paced shots that may or may not be in the same location but are occurring more or less instantaneously or in very quick sequence. It’s especially useful in an action sequence, such as a battle, where you’ve already established where the characters are and basically what’s going on, but you need to jump around a lot. It saves having to use space-eating CUT TO: transitions where they aren’t really needed.

JACK has settled into position. Satisfied everything’s ready, he
talks into his commlink.

                                   JACK
                            (into commlink)
                    This is it. Countdown!

QUICK CUT - JANE

                                   JANE
                            (into commlink)
                    Three!

QUICK CUT - DICK

                                   DICK
                            (into commlink)
                    Two!

QUICK CUT BACK TO JACK

                                   JACK
                            (into commlink)
                    One! Hit it!

He charges forward!

SCENE HEADING (See SLUGLINE)

(SFX:)

SOUND EFFECTS. This method of specifically notating a sound effect using (SFX:) was more prevalent in animation scripts earlier than it is now. What has become common is to call attention to a specific sound by putting the sound in CAPS. Depending on the preferences of the story editor, some scripts will make the sound effects bold or add carets around the sound: <CAPS&gt;. Adding the carets helps draw attention to the sound. Here are some examples:

WIDE SHOT ON ENEMY TANK hit by Jane’s laser beam. It <EXPLODES>!

Or

WIDE SHOT ON ENEMY TANK hit by Jane’s laser beam. It <explodes>!

JACK <CLUNKS> the crystal skull onto a marble counter. The skull
emits a <CRYSTAL RINGING SOUND>.

Or

JACK <clunks> the crystal skull onto a marble counter. The skull
emits a <crystal ringing sound>.

SLUGLINE

A SLUGLINE is always typed in CAPS (capital letters). The slugline immediately informs the reader that this is a new scene or change of location. A slugline should never be more than a few words, only the bare minimum necessary to establish where, what or who. Any time a script transitions to a different scene or location, the slugline needs to begin with an EXT. or INT. In some scriptwriting software, SLUGLINE is instead called SCENE HEADING.

SOTTO VOCE

Latin for “low voice.” Nowadays, many writers simply write “low voice” or “under his breath” instead. It means just what it says, that the character should speak in a low-volume voice as though not wanting to be overheard, which is different from speaking in a whisper. Use this in a PARENTHETICAL, which is voice direction for the actor.

JACK
(sotto voce)
Do you think she heard us?

TRACK WITH

This is used in the ACTION paragraph when you want to have a shot that follows a particular character, vehicle, or object while in motion.

INT. MEDICAL LAB

JACK enters stealthily. TRACK WITH HIM as he moves silently
across the lab to a table of virus samples.

TRANSITIONS

Transitions are a way of telling the reader and the editor—and ultimately the viewer—that the story is shifting from one time or place to another. The three most common transitions are CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, and WIPE TO:. A show can have specialized transitions. X-Men: Evolution had an X-WIPE TO:. Why? Just for fun, really. There are endless variations on transitions—such as DISSOLVE THRU TO: (as in moving through a wall to see what’s inside), RIPPLE DISSOLVE: (in which a ripple effect is used), and RAPID DISSOLVE TO: (just a faster-than-usual dissolve to indicate a very short passage of time). On occasion, I’ve seen a writer invent weird and meaningless transitions simply to mess with the artists’ heads, but I don’t advise this. I prefer to keep it simple. CUT, DISSOLVE, and WIPE work just fine 99% of the time.

Over the years, I’ve seen a trend in animation scripts toward doing away with transitions almost completely. The main reason for this is to save the three lines that would be used for a transition so that those lines are available for the other parts of the script. In other words, it’s a space-saving method. I don’t recommend completely avoiding transitions for spec scripts or when first breaking in, but I also don’t recommend going overboard with excessive transitions. Use them only when really needed for a major scene or location shift.

In a script, transitions are positioned along the right margin and are followed by a colon.

TWO-SHOT, 2SHOT, 2S

Used to indicate a medium shot, meaning the camera frames two characters fairly tightly. It’s more commonly used in live-action scripts than in animation. I include it mainly in case you run across it somewhere.

(VO), (V.O.)

VOICE OVER. This is placed to the right of the character’s name in dialogue to indicate that the voice being heard is coming from some other location, and that the character is not present in the scene or the shot—such as a voice coming over a phone or communications device. One exception to the rule of the character not being in the scene would be narration where you want to hear the character narrating a piece of the story rather than speaking in dialogue. The narration could be done with the character relating the story as a flashback, or it might be done with the viewer hearing the character’s thoughts in the present.

EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT

Rain drenches the desolate street. Jack comes into view
under a streetlamp, a long figure hunched inside a dripping
wet coat. He looks thoroughly miserable.

                                 JACK (V.O.)
                           (narrating)
                     It began on one of the most
                     miserable nights of my life.

A cell phone <BEEPS> in his pocket. With no great
enthusiasm, he pulls it out and answers.

                                 JACK
                           (into phone)
                     Yeah?

                                 JANE (V.O.)
                           (via phone)
                     If this is Jack, I have an offer for you.

WALLA

An old script term to indicate general crowd or background voice noise. Typical walla would be the murmur of a crowd before a concert begins, the angry noises of a mob, background chatter at a party. It’s never used for individual dialogue. It’s written as a parenthetical.

                        MOB
                 (angry walla)

                        CONCERT AUDIENCE
                 (walla)

WIDE SHOT

Pretty much self-explanatory. Use it when the shot requires seeing a wider view of what’s going on.

WIDE ON A LINE OF ENEMY TANKS that <RUMBLE> toward the camera.

WIDEN, WIDEN TO INCLUDE

This is used in the ACTION paragraph to indicate to the storyboard artist a camera move to widen the frame of the shot to include something else. It’s similar to a PULL BACK, but usually indicates widening the frame to the left or right, rather than overall.

JACK kneels to examine prints on the dusty floor. WIDEN TO
INCLUDE JANE as she kneels down beside him.

WIPE TO:

A TRANSITION that is used to convey a change in location, but not time. Use a WIPE TO: when the new scene could be taking place concurrently with the scene that just ended or immediately after it. The visual swiping effect of a WIPE TO: suggests immediacy, rather than a passage of time between scenes. It says to the eye that “we’ve whipped from here to there.”

In a script, a transition is positioned along the right margin and is followed by a colon.

Other Animation Terms

2D, 3D (CG)

2D = two-dimensional—traditional cel animation that is drawn or painted.

3D = three-dimensional, also called CGI (computer-generated images) or CG for short. This is animation created using computer software. Besides the fully 3D look, CG can be modified to look like 2D cel animation, while retaining the capability of making 3D movements.

ACT BREAK

The point in the script where you end the act to provide for commercials.

BACKGROUNDS

In 2D, the background is a drawing or painting that is used behind the animated characters as the shot requires. It’s important to understand that a background is different from a location. For example, let’s say that in the script, you’ve asked for a location that is the interior of a bus terminal. In your mind, you might think INT. BUS TERMINAL = one background. That depends on what action you’ve written for that bus terminal. If your character enters, walks past a wall lined with seats, buys a ticket at the ticket window, and then looks out a window while waiting for the bus to pull up, you’ve created at least four backgrounds: (1) entrance to terminal, (2) wall of seats, (3) ticket window, and (4) window to the outside. The number of backgrounds that need to be designed and created affects both schedule and cost.

In 3D, the bus terminal is constructed in the computer, but the CG artist might construct only whatever part of it is necessary. If a full 3D effect is wanted (as in being able to move around the room in any direction), then the entire location will be constructed, which affects the schedule and the cost.

BACKSTORY

A term for the story that takes place before the time your script or series begins. It could be an origin story, a series of events leading up to the opening of the series, an epic history, a personal biography—whatever leads up to the current moment of the story you’re telling. The backstory may or may not ever be related within the series or the movie, but you need to know the backstories of your world, your characters, and your current story in order to have the richness and depth a good story requires.

BEATS

A “beat” within a script relates specifically to a pause in dialogue, but there are many other uses of a beat or beats in the writing process, especially during the outline stage where you’re establishing the structure of the story. If you imagine that you’re working out the structure of your story on three-by-five-inch index cards, then each card would have a notation for a key scene to cover your major plot points, your major action moments, your important emotional moments, and so forth. Each index card is a beat, and the sequential beats are the structure of your story. I will often work out the beats of my story using pen and paper, simply because that method somehow feels more comfortable. Then, I go to the computer to put the flesh on the bones until I have an outline.

BIBLE

The show bible, or series bible, or just “the bible” refers to the development document that was written before the show went into production. A bible contains all the information about the concept, character biographies, character relationships, setting, vehicles, weapons, what a story editor does or doesn’t want to have pitched, or any other details that a writer needs to know in order to write for the show. Ideally, a bible is added to and updated throughout the course of a series. For details on creating a bible, see Chapter 4.

BUMPERS

These are very short pieces of animation, only a few seconds long, which are inserted at the end of acts and at the beginning of acts. Their purpose, supposedly, is to make it obvious to the kids that the show is stopping at this point and starting at this other point, and that whatever comes in between isn’t part of the show. At one time, there were advocacy groups complaining that kids had trouble discerning the difference between the show and the commercials, hence the bumpers.

You as the writer do not have to be concerned about bumpers nor include indications for them in your scripts.

CEL

Short for cellulose acetate. Each cel is a clear plastic sheet of acetate (an average size being 12.5″ × 10.5″) on which the characters or objects to be animated as 2D art are painted. The cel is then laid over a background and photographed to complete a single frame of film. One cel = one frame. In full animation, twenty-four frames = 1 second of animation.

CHARACTER ARC

This is a common term used when talking about how a character will begin, develop, and change over the course of time. That time could be one episode, one movie, or an entire series. It’s easier to create a strong character arc for a character in a feature that runs longer and is usually self-contained (unless it’s a trilogy or series). It’s trickier to come up with good character arcs over the course of a continuing, episodic series. If your character never changes at all, never has insights or losses or gains, you have a boring character. But a character who reaches the end of his or her arc before a series ends can cause you all sorts of other problems. If his or her arc is resolved, where do you take the character next? Is there a new arc? Is the character played out and no longer useful to the series?

Obviously, this isn’t much of an issue for comedy shows. You don’t really expect Bart Simpson to have a character arc. He is what he is, and his inherent nature drives the gags. Character arc applies to shows that rely on some level of continuity in the stories.

Example: Jack begins as a loner, unwilling to make friends. During the course of the series, he is forced to ally himself with Dick and Jane in order to achieve his goals. He is indifferent towards them at first, but as they face danger and adventures together, Jack comes to realize the importance of friendship. At the climax, Jack is willing to put his own life on the line to save his friends.

HIGH CONCEPT

This term is commonly used throughout the film and television industry. It means that the underlying concept that is being pitched is strong enough or quirky enough or has a good enough hook that it can be summed up in one to three sentences that sells the idea. Here are some examples of high concept:

A man trapped in a high-rise office building must single-handedly defeat a group of terrorists to save his wife.

A little boy who can see dead people gets help from a doctor who doesn’t realize that he himself is a ghost.

The inner life of an adolescent girl who is undergoing a huge life change is expressed by personifications of her emotions: Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness.

LIMITED ANIMATION

Animation produced using fewer than twenty-four frames per second (FPS) or other production shortcuts. See “SHOT ON THREES,” “SHOT ON TWOS” for more details.

MODELS (“ON MODEL”)

Refers to the drawings that are done of the characters, locations, or major props to pin down exactly how they should look consistently from show to show. If a character that should be short is suddenly tall, the character is no longer “on model.”

“SHOT ON THREES,” “SHOT ON TWOS”

The standard frame rate for anything that is shot on film is twenty-four FPS because this is the rate that tricks the eye into seeing twenty-four still shots as being in fluid motion when run at the proper rate of speed. In digital, the higher-caliber cameras emulate twenty-four FPS or higher. In 2D animation, the only way to achieve truly comparable, fluid motion is to use twenty-four FPS, but this is expensive and time-consuming because one has to create twenty-four unique cels of animation for each second of the show. To cut budget and production time, lesser quality animation may use twelve FPS or only eight FPS. This is achieved by using the same cel for two frames instead of one, or using the same cel for three frames instead of one. It can go even higher than that, but the quality of the animation suffers drastically. Anime is commonly shot on threes.

SIDES

“Sides” is a term that refers to sample dialogue (a paragraph’s worth) for characters that need to be cast. The dialogue should capture the personality and speech patterns of the characters. Sides are then given to the actors who are auditioning for those roles.

SPEC SCRIPT

This is a script written on speculation, not for money nor on an assignment. A spec script is your calling card. It should clearly show your ability as a writer because you will be judged for potential jobs on the quality of your spec scripts. For more details on spec scripts, see Chapter 4.

STOP-MOTION ANIMATION

In this form of animation, physical objects are posed or positioned, then one frame is filmed. A tiny change is made to the pose or position of the object, and one frame is filmed again, and so on. When the complete film is played, the objects appear to move on their own. Any kind of object can be used, but clay models are a common technique. With the advent of 3D printers, physically printed puppets became another method of production, as in the stop-motion movie, Coraline.

STORY ARC

Story arc is how the story changes from the beginning, through the middle, and to the end of your story. In episodic television, it can also apply to the overall story thread that runs through a group of episodes or an entire season. Arcs can encompass anything from a single episode to any number of seasons. With the rise of cable and streaming channels, it has become easier to create episodic series with significant story arcs.

STORYBOARDS

An artist’s rendering in pencil or pen (usually black and white, rarely in color) onto a series of panels to approximate what the composition, angle, and movement within the frame will be for each shot of animation. The storyboard shows what the visual sequence of the entire episode or movie will be. Dialogue and sound effects from the script are placed beneath the shots where the dialogue and sound should occur. The storyboard is used as the guide for further artwork and production in creating that piece of animation, as well as providing an early indication of whether the final product is too long or too short.

TAG

A short scene that is used to wrap up the end of a TV episode. It occurs after the final set of ads and before the closing credits. Tags have fallen out of favor and are rarely used anymore.

TEASER

A short scene that opens a TV episode in some exciting way that grabs the viewer’s attention so they’ll return to watch the rest of the show after the first set of commercials.

3

The Basics

This section covers the fundamentals of how animation is created, the format of a premise, an outline, an animation script for television, and information about feature film animation writing.

After that, we get into “Beyond the Basics” where I give additional tips, tricks, and advice about scriptwriting.

The Television Animation Process

Many books have been written that cover the animation process from beginning to end. Unless you work up to a position of producer, most of these steps don’t have much effect on writing the script.

As the markets and channels for TV animation continue to evolve, the process of writing for animation has morphed to adapt to these changes. At one time, there were mainly 22-minute shows with commercial breaks. As cable channels took over, programs could be developed without commercials, so no act breaks to worry about.

The streaming services in particular have changed the landscape for animation. According to veteran agent Jason Dravis, a streaming service might order, for example, eight hours of content and leave it up to the creators how they want to divide up the length of the segments: short, long, or anything goes when it’s possible for the viewer to binge-watch. It also means they’re more open to a continuing storyline, rather than an episodic approach. Other developments include more 11-minute shows (mainly comedy or shows for young children) and even shorter segments.

This has led to two different approaches to the TV animation process. I’ll refer to them as “Script-Driven” versus “Board-Driven.”

Script-driven Shows

Here’s the basic process for a script-driven show (and there can be variation in the sequence of some of these steps):

DEVELOPMENT: The concept is born, whether it’s an idea pitched by someone from the inside, developed by a producer on the inside, or adapted from an acquired property (such as a comic or game). Someone is hired to write the bible and a pilot episode. For details on writing an animation bible, see Chapter 4. Development can go on for a long time until the concept is either approved and moved into production, or killed.

SCRIPT: A story editor is hired (unless the producer or showrunner fills this role), who in turn hires writers and has scripts written.

STORYBOARDS: The final, approved scripts are given to storyboard artists to break into storyboards that become the primary template for the rest of the animation process. Directors time the storyboards to arrive at an estimate of running time.

VOICE RECORDING: The scripts are sent to a voice director and the dialogue is recorded. The storyboards and animation are matched to these dialogue audio tracks.

BACKGROUNDS AND CHARACTER DESIGN: During development or shortly afterwards, a production designer or art director will be designing the look of the show, the major backgrounds, and the major characters, creating model sheets to be used as the template by the artists and animators. Additional model sheets will be created for new characters, creatures, props, vehicles, or what have you for the individual shows. Something called a Special Pose is a model sheet for an established character wearing an outfit that hasn’t been seen on that character before.

ANIMATIC: An animatic is a very roughly animated storyboard (sometimes also called a leica reel or a pencil test) edited with the vocal track that is used to judge the timing and length of a show. It’s also a good place to catch errors that need fixing before the animatic and other art is shipped overseas to complete the animation. Not every television production will do this.

ANIMATION PRODUCTION: For a 2D show, this is the process of painting the backgrounds, inking the cels of the moving elements, painting the cels, and shooting the cels to create the moving animation. For a 3D show, it goes to the CG studio where the background and all the elements are created on computers using 3D software.

POST-PRODUCTION: The completed animation comes back so that the producer and directors can check for errors, do color correction, fix pacing or timing problems, and send problems or errors back to the animators for retakes (fixing the errors). Once the retakes are done, the dialogue, sound effects, music, titles, and other elements are edited together to create the completed show.

As you can see from this, there is only one step of the process where the writer is involved, and that’s early on. You might, on occasion, get a chance to look at storyboards if you ask for them. Most production companies won’t think of sending storyboards to writers, but any time I’ve asked for them, the company has been willing to send them. By studying storyboards of your own scripts, you may be able to pick up on areas where you can improve your storytelling skills.

Board-Driven Shows

Some shorter shows of eleven or fewer minutes have taken a “Board-Driven” approach. Many of the above production steps are the same (so I won’t duplicate the description), but the writing step is different. Here is a description I was given of the process for one of the Board-Driven shows (other shows may vary in this process):

DEVELOPMENT

STORY: In this process, the writer does only an outline, rather than a complete script. A typical length would be 2–3 pages of prose, single-spaced. These outlines are more detailed than the outline for a Script-Driven show and can include suggested dialogue, but beyond that, the writer has little input on the final dialogue. Because of that, these outlines read more like a short story, if a short story were broken out into chunks by scene locations. Another unhappy aspect of this method (for the writer) is that the writer will usually receive only a “Story By” credit rather than a “Written By” credit.

STORYBOARDS: The director and board artist (or storyboard team) then take the outline and flesh out the details of the episode. In some cases, it’s entirely up to the storyboard artist to create the scenes and dialogue as they create the storyboard. There may be verbal read-throughs at this stage to further tweak dialogue.

ANIMATIC: A rough animatic with scratch voices, meaning temporary voice tracks done by non-actors, is done. Changes and edits to story and dialogue would most commonly happen during this process.

SCRIPT: A “script” is created once the animatic is finalized. This is created primarily to provide final dialogue for voice recording with actors.

VOICE RECORDING

ANIMATION PRODUCTION

POST-PRODUCTION.

The Script Process

The script process I’m covering here is for television on a Script-Driven show. Feature animation development happens on a longer schedule, and the process will vary from studio to studio (see section on feature scripts later in this chapter).

With the exception of the Board-Driven shows, the process of creating an animated TV episode begins with the script. An animation script is created in a series of stages:

Springboard (not as common)

Premise

Outline

First draft

Second draft

Polish.

I’m going to use as an example a produced half-hour script from X-Men: Evolution, co-written with my partner, Randy Littlejohn. The episode was titled “Spykecam” and featured the skateboarding character, Spyke.

The Springboard

A springboard should be no more than a few sentences with the basic concept for a story idea. If we had written a springboard for “Spykecam,” it would have been something like this: “Spyke is given a class assignment to make a documentary about his family... just as Sabretooth decides to attack the X-Men.”

When there are a lot of stories already pitched to a series, a story editor may ask for springboards. This keeps the writers from having to do too much development when the odds are high that an idea may already have been done. If the story editor sees something interesting that hasn’t been done, she can then have the writer work it into a premise.

Sometimes, the story editor or showrunner will generate the springboards themselves and hand them out to writers.

Note that all script writing, including springboards, premises, and outlines, are written in present tense.

The Premise

OUTSIDE PITCHES: A premise must contain the beginning, middle, and end of the story in concise form, but with enough detail to sell the idea. There are two different methods of developing premises: outside pitches or internal development.

The first step, of course, is being invited to pitch. Story editors will not accept unsolicited pitches. On most shows, you’ll receive the show bible and other material to work from. If it’s a brand-new show, you should also get the pilot script. If the show’s been on for a while, try to get a synopsis list of all the episodes approved or produced so far. This will save you from pitching something that has already been approved or done. Be familiar with an established show before pitching for it.

Unless told otherwise, you should come up with three to six premises to submit. Try to keep it within that range. Fewer than three doesn’t make much of an impression, but more than six is too much.

Submit the written pitches as quickly as you can (by email or whatever method the story editor indicates) because you’re in competition with other writers; inevitably, more than one writer will submit similar or the same ideas. Being the first one to submit an idea gives you an edge, though a story editor may go with someone who came up with the best take on the idea rather than whoever submitted the concept first.

INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT: On some series, it works out better for the showrunner, story editor, or others at the production company to come up with the story ideas first and then hand them out to writers. Most commonly, these will be springboards, and you’ll be asked to develop them into a premise first.

LENGTH: For a half-hour show, a premise should consist of not much more than two double-spaced pages or one single-spaced page. It doesn’t have to be broken into acts, but the structure of the acts must clearly be there.

THE “A” STORY AND “B” STORY: The main plot is called the “A” story. Most of the time, you’re expected to have a “B” story. The “B” story is a smaller subplot that parallels and intersects with the “A” story. It usually involves characters different from those used in the “A” story (because those characters are busy dealing with the main plotline) and often tends to reinforce the theme of the “A” story. For example, X character is wrongly put in jail. While X’s friends try to prove his innocence as the “A” story, X might have an encounter in the jail (the “B” story) that gives him an insight regarding his situation.

Or you might start with all your characters involved in the “A” story and need to spin off a couple of them into a “B” story. For example, a team of heroes needs to attack a stronghold. The main attack is the “A” story, but two of the heroes (the “B” story) must learn to work together when they’re separated from the main group and under fire.

The “B” story can directly tie into the “A” story or have a more indirect affect. Sometimes, the “B” story provides a complication or obstacle for some part of the “A” story. For example, your hero learns that his car is wired to explode, and he has one hour to defuse it (the “A” story), but a car thief makes off with the car (the “B” story). The main story is the hero having to find the car in time, while your subplot revolves around the unlucky thief that is unaware he’s driving a ticking bomb.

Once in a while, you might even insert a third thread, a “C” story. This can be tricky when you only have twenty-two minutes to tell a story, but it can be done if the plot threads are simple enough.

Here is the premise for “Spykecam”:

X-MEN: EVOLUTION

Spykecam

(PREMISE)

by Christy Marx and Randy Littlejohn

Mr. Vandermeer is at his wits end trying to get Evan to do an actual book report; that is, one based on the book, not the movie version of the book (no, there are no musical numbers in the original version of Les Miserables). Claiming he wants to put Evan’s media-mania to good use, he arranges for Evan to participate in an NPR-style “day in the life” visual journal. Evan gets a cool, hi-tech camcorder and is told to record every aspect of his life for a few days for a TV show on today’s American teenagers. A new Spielberg is born!

Evan thinks this is the coolest thing ever, but his constant in-your-face camera is driving his teammates and friends crazy. He’s following them around the halls of the school, recording every little deed and misdeed… with the exception of the Toad who desperately wants to be on film and is edited out constantly. The Toad threatens to get even. Mystique doesn’t miss any of this action, either. In a disguised form, she gives Evan encouragement and reminds him to get plenty of tape of his home life as well to “balance” things out.

At the Xavier Mansion, Evan rolls tape with abandon: not only does he tape normal stuff, like institute defense drills and Xavier operating Cerebro, but Kitty and Rogue have a mutant-style tiff over their musical differences and Evan gets it all; Kurt stages some swashbuckling action and teleports himself and Scott into the Danger Room for the “action sequence,” but Scott loses his shades, making the sequence a bit too hairy for their taste; Jean is caught using her powers to do an extra-fast clean-up in the kitchen, and when she realizes Evan is taping her—CRASH!!! She lets her power lapse, and half the kitchenware is in pieces.

The kids, all annoyed, chase Evan outside, planning to make him eat his blasted camera. But this is what Mystique’s crew has been waiting for. Leaping onto the grounds, they attack our heroes in a spectacular frenzy that is actually a diversion—in the ruckus, Toad manages to switch Evan’s camera with a duplicate before the villains flee.

Prof. X is concerned and has a heart-to-heart with Evan. The boy glumly admits he knows he can’t use any of his cool footage… but he has to turn SOMETHING in. Maybe some judicious editing… but when he hits “playback,” there’s just footage of the Toad having what he thinks is that last laugh. Mystique’s crew has made off with a videotape detailing some of the institute’s most closely guarded secrets. The X-Men must rush to track down Toad and the others, and recover the videotape before Mystique gets information that could seriously endanger them all.

The Outline

With luck, the premise is approved, though there may be notes and changes as required by the story editor, showrunner, or producer. You won’t ordinarily be asked to rewrite a premise. Instead, you’ll take the notes into account when you write the outline.

An outline is usually a beat-by-beat description of the script, broken into the necessary number of acts, with the major sluglines (interiors and exteriors) indicated. I say usually because you will write the outline according to what the story editor wants, and I encountered at least one story editor who hated the beat-by-beat format. Instead, you may be instructed to write it as straight descriptive prose without EXT. or INT. sluglines. Use whatever approach the story editor wants, and don’t hesitate to request an example for guidance.

Whatever the format, the outline should convey enough information for the story editor and production people to know how many locations there are, how many locations are new (requiring new background art), and other production items that may need to be taken into account even before getting to script.

A half-hour script that has a teaser and two or three acts (a show with commercials) should be broken out as “Teaser,” “Act 1,” “Act 2” and “Act 3,” and so on, but you don’t need to include fade in’s, fade out’s, or transitions. If it’s an established show, you should know how many acts the episodes contain, and whether they have teasers or tags. If it’s a new show, the story editor will provide you with that information.

An outline is written single-spaced in most instances (unless a story editor specifies otherwise). The length of an outline will vary. An outline for a half-hour (22-minute) episode normally runs around five to eight pages, depending on how detailed you get. I’ve done outlines as short as two to three pages (single-spaced), and up to eighteen (when they wanted it double-spaced). If you’re working on a series, the story editor should give you some guidelines for the length of the outline. If not, ask the story editor what length she’d like to see, or get some already completed outlines to look at.

Obviously, this type of outline for an eleven-minute show would be shorter.

A good outline should cover everything that will be in the script in quick descriptive passages, minus actual dialogue. It’s all right to indicate joke lines or even to include one or two pieces of dialogue within the body of the outline (not broken out in dialogue format as you would do in a script), but generally speaking you avoid putting actual dialogue in a normal outline.

You need to be sure you cover all the action beats, the essence of what the characters are saying to one another, the humor beats (if any), the emotional beats, and whatever else is crucial to conveying what will be in the script.

In the live-action world, the word treatment is used instead of outline. A treatment can be anything from a detailed outline to a shorter summary of the story.

You should be allowed a week to write an outline. If the schedule is very tight, you may be asked to turn an outline around in as little as three days.

In the outline for Spykecam, we had one large change from the premise—instead of having Mystique as the villain, the story editor wanted us to use Sabertooth. The “A” story remains the same—Spyke has to make a video about family. The “B” story is Sabertooth stalking Spyke to get at Logan. And we also had a “C” story, the rivalry between Kitty and Rogue. The “B” story intersects with the “A” story, but doesn’t resolve it. The “C” story is resolved by the “A” story.

To read this outline, go to www.christymarx.info.

The next step will be to get notes on the outline. The story editor might let you go directly to script or might ask you to rewrite the outline before giving you the go-ahead to write the script. That will depend on the nature of the notes, how comfortable the story editor is with your ability, and what her schedule allows. A story editor on a very tight schedule might even present you with her rewrite of the outline and have you go to script from that, simply because it can be faster for the story editor to do the rewrite rather than give you notes.

One rewrite of an outline is perfectly reasonable; a second rewrite would be unusual, but okay. Multiple requests for outline rewrites are not reasonable, unless you’re very new and the story editor is doing you a favor by mentoring you. In that case, do the rewrites.

If you make it past the outline stage, you go to script.

The Script Format

There is no one single, absolute, unvarying script format for either animation or live-action. However, there are some basic rules. The key things you need to know are how to lay out the page (margins, spacing, indents) and how to use the five basic elements that every script is built from:

SLUGLINES/SCENE HEADERS

ACTION DESCRIPTION

DIALOGUE

PARENTHETICALS

TRANSITIONS.

It’s rather like someone handing you a set of five tools from which you can build anything from a five-minute skit to an epic three-hour movie. What makes you stand out as a writer is how you use those tools to create an exciting, evocative read that conveys the images and emotions you want the reader to experience.

Too often I see newer writers obsess over the tools of a script. Know the basic rules, but then make them serve your purpose. The script must look professional, but ultimately the quality of the script is what gets you a sale, not how perfectly your slugline or action or dialogue is arranged on the page.

If you don’t know how the tools work, read the previous chapter on script terms for definitions and examples.

The Basic Layout

Animation and live-action scripts are basically the same in terms of margins, spacing, indents, and fonts.

A standard layout for a script page is

SPACING: Double-spaced for everything except the dialogue and action description.

FONT: 12-point Courier font. For emphasis on a word, use can use CAPS or bold.

MARGINS: 1.5″ for the left margin (the extra half inch allows room for the binding); 1″ for the right, top, and bottom margins.

INDENTS:

– SLUGLINES, ACTION are on the left margin.

– CHARACTER NAME = 2″ from the left margin, 1″ from the right margin

– PARENTHETICAL = 1.5″ from the left margin, 2″ from the right margin

– DIALOGUE = 1″ from the left margin, 1.5″ from the right margin

– TRANSITIONS are aligned to the right margin (or 4″ from the left margin).

NUMBERING: Page number in the upper right corner, except on the cover page. You can leave it off the first page of the script as well.

ACT BREAKS: Begin each act on a new page if writing for a show that has commercial breaks.

You won’t get into trouble using this basic layout. You may encounter a showrunner or a story editor who has a specific template that they want you to use. In that case, they will have to provide you with the template or give you the specific parameters. These vary only slightly from the format given above (maybe half an inch this way or that), but the layout on the page will look the same. Obviously, you use whatever parameters you’re told to use. If you’re required to use a scriptwriting software, the software will handle these settings for you.

Otherwise, use the parameters given here.

The Title Page

If this is a spec script, your title page should contain the name of the series, below that the title of the script, and below that “written by Your Name.” This should be centered and in the upper one-third of the page. At the bottom of the page, aligned to the right, put the name and contact info for your agent (if you have one), or your own contact info. I don’t recommend putting a copyright notice or WGA registration info on the title page of a spec script. Many people consider that the mark of an insecure amateur.

If you’re working on a show, you’ll see an example of what information the company wants, but generally that’s going to be the name of the series, title of the episode, the episode production number, and your name—centered and placed as described above. The company may want a date, and usually, they’ll want the copyright and company’s name centered along the bottom. You don’t need to put contact info on this type of script, because you’re already doing it under a contract.

Covers

These days, you’ll be turning in an electronic version of the script. You’re likely to be sending spec scripts as a PDF or other electronic format, so covers aren’t an issue.

If you should get a request for a hard copy (printed on paper) of a spec script, put on covers (front and back) mainly to keep the script intact. The paper should have three holes punched along one side. Fasten the script with two brass brads, one in the top hole and the other in the bottom hole (that way if the script needs to be taken apart and copied, there are only two brads to deal with rather than three). Avoid ridiculous colors or patterns or outlandish finish for the covers, and don’t go any heavier than 20 lb. stock (many readers like to fold over the pages as they read and you don’t want a cover that is an obstacle). Bizarre covers won’t do you any good or garner special attention (except maybe to look silly). What matters is what’s between the covers.

The Differences

That’s how live-action and television animation scripts are the same. Now let’s get into how they’re different.

Difference #1: Calling Out the Shots

A live-action script uses “master scenes.” This means that a slugline/scene header establishes the location, but the rest of the action and dialogue is laid out without specifying the individual shots. In fact, that’s strongly discouraged in a live-action script, because deciding on the shots and angles is the turf of the director. It’s the live-action director who translates the script into the final visuals.

A television animation script is the opposite. The person who interprets your script and turns it into visual form is the storyboard artist. As an animation writer, you are expected to call out (specify) every single shot. You’re storyboarding as you write. You decide how to open each scene and what is in every shot in the scene in order to convey your action and dialogue. You decide the pacing. You decide what the visuals will be. A good storyboard artist will improve what you’ve done, but it’s still up to you to call out every shot.

When I began writing animation, we used a format in which we had a slugline for every shot. This made for significantly longer scripts. This particular method of calling out shots has fallen out of favor, and for the better, in my opinion. Instead, animation scripts have evolved into what I think of as a “hybrid” format that is somewhere halfway between animation and live-action: it looks more like a live-action format; it indicates every shot for animation purposes, but without sluglines except for establishing the scenes and locations. It makes for a smoother, cleaner read, as well as shorter scripts.

An animation writer must be able to clearly visualize the script as animation. This is where watching a lot of animation becomes valuable. There are some things that you can do in a fully animated feature that you can’t do in a half-hour TV series episode, due to time and budget constraints for TV. You need to be familiar with the look and techniques of the type of animation for which you’re writing. Some things that you can do with 3D (such as swooping around in a 360° circle) you can’t do easily in 2D. Many of the techniques developed for anime have less to do with creating a style than with finding ways to do animation on a tight budget, such as the “speed lines” background to indicate movement rather than showing a background speeding past. You need to study and be aware of how a story is visually told shot by shot in animation before you can recreate that in a script.

Here are two examples of the same scene: as it would be written for a live-action script, and then, as it would be broken out for an animation script.

First, live-action:

INT. JACK’S HOUSE

Jack stands with folded arms watching as Dick and Jane take
in his shabby surroundings.

                                 JACK
                    You said you have a proposition.
                    Start talking.

Jane notices something unusual and goes over to it. It’s a
CRYSTAL SKULL. She picks it up and looks at it with wonder.

                                 JANE
                    How did you get this?

                                 JACK
                    Long story.

                                   DICK
                    If I didn’t know better, I’d say
                    it was stolen.

Jack scowls at him. He goes over to Jane and takes the
skull away from her. He plonks it back down where it was.

                                 JACK
                    Well you don’t know better. You
                    don’t know Jack, as the saying
                    goes. You’re wasting my time and I
                    don’t like people who waste my
                    time.

                                 JANE
                    I think you don’t like people,
                    period.

                                 JACK
                    Perceptive, aren’t you?

Now an example of how this same scene would be broken out in an animation script format:

INT. JACK’S HOUSE

Jack’s living room has peeling wallpaper, an old, patched
sofa, a rickety table and one chair, a bare light bulb
hanging from the ceiling instead of a fixture. Any windows
we see are covered with shabby, but very opaque curtains.
Off to one side (not seen in this shot) is an old bookshelf
holding only a few ragged books and a CRYSTAL SKULL.
Jack stands with folded arms watching as Dick and Jane take
in his shabby surroundings.

                                 JACK
                          (irritated)
                    You said you have a proposition.
                    Start talking.

JANE reacts with curiosity and heads toward the bookshelf.

FAVORING THE CRYSTAL SKULL IN F.G. Jane picks it up and
looks at it with wonder, her face partially distorted by
being seen through the crystal.

                                 JANE
                           (amazed)
                    How did you get this?

JACK grows more irritated.

                                 JACK
                    Long story.

DICK lounges on the old sofa.

                                 DICK
                    If I didn’t know better, I’d say
                    it was stolen.

JACK scowls at Dick. TRACK WITH Jack as he moves across the
room toward Jane.

                                 JACK
                    Well you don’t know better. You
                    don’t know Jack, as the saying goes.

ON JANE holding the skull. Jack ENTERS FRAME, takes the
skull away from her and <PLONKS> it back onto the shelf.

                                 JACK
                    You’re wasting my time and I don’t
                    like people who waste my time.

JANE is annoyed with him.

                                 JANE
                    I think you don’t like people,
                    period.

CLOSE ON JACK who narrows his eyes at her.

                                 JACK
                           (sarcastic)
                    Perceptive, aren’t you?

In a live-action script, you can get away with less detail about the surroundings, which will be filled in by the director in conjunction with a production designer, art designer, set designer, prop master, and so forth.

In animation, the artist knows what to draw only if you tell him. You aren’t trying to keep the storyboard artist in suspense, so if you need something specific (such as a crystal skull) in the setting that he has to create, let him know up front. Sometimes, an important prop will be designed in detail by the prop artist and that design will be given to the storyboard artist. Either way, the artist needs to know that the prop requires special attention. Keep your description as concise and to the point as you can. Animation scripts must be written to a specific length and you can’t afford to waste a single line on superfluous description.

If you’re using backgrounds that already exist, don’t worry about description, unless you need to add something new to it.

You can leave most of the choice of angles up to the storyboard artist and only specify a type of shot (wide, close, track, pan) when it feels necessary.

Difference #2: Dialogue and the Lip Synch Factor

Another major difference between live-action and animation is the nature of the dialogue. In live-action, you can do long passages of dialogue because you have a real person delivering the lines. The director decides how to move the camera or break up the delivery of the dialogue into shots, but no matter how it’s shot, you have the reality of that live actor on-screen to carry the dialogue using eyes, facial muscles, body language, and a host of subtle factors.

Full animation in an animated feature can come closer to this at a greater cost in artist hours, though it still won’t equal what a live actor can do. In the limited animation of television, the last thing you want to have sitting on the screen is a flat animated face with minimal expression delivering long speeches. First, because it’s not very interesting. Second, because lip-synching takes time (and time = money).

Some anime takes a shortcut around this by not bothering with a realistic mouth, so no lip-synch is necessary. You’ll find that the requirements of short dialogue still apply, perhaps even more so because there’s no lip-synch and it looks funky when it goes on for too long. The same has been true for CG. As CG animation techniques improve, lip-synching will become less of a factor, but if you look at the early CG shows for TV, you’ll notice how often they tried to design characters wearing full-face helmets or masks in order to trim down the lip-synching work as much as possible.

Dialogue in animation is expected to be minimal, pithy, concise, strong, and punchy. Each piece of dialogue should be kept down to one or two fairly short sentences at most. In the examples I gave under Difference #1, notice how I took one of Jack’s longer speeches in the live-action format, split it into two shorter pieces, and spread it across two shots in the animation sample.

Even short dialogue needs to be kept under control. Having pages of characters trading one-liners is as much of a mistake as having long pieces of dialogue.

When you craft a story and set up a scene for animation, you need to boil down your dialogue to the bare minimum and make that dialogue have the maximum impact, utilizing visuals in place of dialogue as much as you can. Avoid exposition like the plague. If your character absolutely must say several things in a row, break it up across a number of shots and make those shots interesting. Either give your character something to do (what’s called “business” as in “give this character some piece of business here.”) or have some other action going on.

Difference #3: Script Length

One of the other things you should notice from these samples is that calling out the shots for animation makes for a longer script.

Scripts became codified in their present form of font and layout for numerous reasons, but one of the big reasons is to write scripts that are the right length for specific periods of time.

There’s an old formula for how much time = one page of script. This is rough guidance, but generally holds true for live-action. It’s slightly different for animation.

LIVE-ACTION: 1 minute = 1 page

ANIMATION: 1 minute = 1 1/2 pages.

Theoretically then, a 22-minute live-action script would be 22 pages. A 22-minute animation script would be 33 pages. Emphasis on the word “theoretically,” because the real determining factor in the length of the television animation script will be what the story editor or showrunner tells you the length should be.

In live-action, this “1 page = 1 minute” is why the standard length for a live-action movie script is 90 pages to a maximum of 120 pages, because most movies are expected to run between 90 and 120 minutes in length.

Television requires scripts written to precise lengths to fit their air times, but even here you run into exceptions. Some live-action shows that are heavy in dialogue exchanges without a lot of action might run to 55 or 60 pages for an hour show. This is because dialogue alone eats up a lot more pages than heavy action or a combo of action plus dialogue, but dialogue usually takes up less air time.

When I first began writing animation scripts, we were doing 55- to 60-page scripts for a half-hour action show (with sluglines for every shot) and most of it ended up on the screen, in contradiction to the formula given above. Over the years, I’ve watched the length of half-hour animation scripts shrink to 45 pages, then to 38 pages, and then to around 32–33 pages.

There are a couple of reasons for this. For one, the actual air time of shows with commercial breaks has shrunk. The granddaddy of half-hour animation, The Flintstones, had 27 minutes of air time. More and more commercials and breaks have been added so that the current half-hour of animation with commercial breaks is about 21–22 minutes. Sit down and time out the actual animation time of a few shows to get a feel for this. It will vary depending on the channel or outlet on which it’s airing, whether they show commercials, and how much time they carve out for the commercials or other promotional material. Episodes on streaming channels might run to 11, 23, 25, or a full 30 minutes, which will affect the length of the script.

Another reason is that a show with a low or tight budget might do less actual animation-per-minute (being shot on twos or shot on threes) as a way to cut costs. Stories by necessity become simpler and the pacing slower to accommodate the shorter script length.

Writing to Length

Getting back to television, when a story editor says that the length of the script should be no more than, say, 33 pages, you must take that seriously. You should turn in a script that is between 32 and 33 pages. TV writing is precision writing. If the script is too long, it simply means that pages are cut and you may not have any control over what gets cut. Naturally, it shouldn’t be too short either, at the risk of annoying the story editor who will need material added, and may have to do it herself if she’s in a rush.

The overall length is one issue, and the other is act breaks.

Working Out Act Breaks

Many animated shows on cable channels run without commercial breaks, and the information below obviously doesn’t apply to them.

If you’re writing a script for a show that’s already on the air and has commercial breaks, you’ll get the act structure from watching the show. Otherwise, you’ll get the info from the show bible or from the story editor. A very common structure is a teaser and three acts, or no teaser and three acts. An alternative is a teaser, two acts, and a tag (which has become rare). One-hour animation is extremely rare, but a live-action one-hour show commonly has a teaser and five acts; some do without a teaser.

For a 90-minute animated TV movie with commercials, there are usually eight acts.

You might encounter a show that does individual 11-minute segments (two per show), rather than one half-hour story. Those are generally written as one act without teasers or other breaks.

The acts should be roughly equal in length. You might observe in many one-hour live-action dramas that they will let the first act run extremely long in order to make sure they’ve hooked the audience before cutting to the first set of commercials or showing the credits. With a longer form, such as a 90-minute animated TV movie, you can also get away with a longer first act.

In half-hour animation, you have the option to make the first act a little longer, but not by any more than one or two pages. Assuming a 33-page script, you should strive for a formula that is as close as possible to 11-11-11 (11 pages per act). If you have a teaser, you have to carve out a couple of pages for that, so your formula might be 2-11-10-10 or 2-10-11-10, and similar variations, depending on the demands of the story and the best place to put an act break. You can probably get away with 2-12-10-9 or similar variation.

What you absolutely don’t want to do is let one act become so long that it unbalances the script. If you turn in a script that breaks out as 9-6-17, you can count on your story editor wondering what on earth you were thinking and telling you to fix the act breaks. There’s room to be somewhat flexible, but no more than a couple of pages in any one direction.

Act breaks provide an extra challenge in working out the pacing and dramatic three-act structure of your story. By dramatic three-act structure, I refer to the triad of exposition-conflict-resolution that is the blueprint of your beginning, middle, and end. Exposition-conflict-resolution applies equally to a three-minute comedy short or to a 90-minute epic adventure. Keep that dramatic structure in mind when you’re crafting the overall story, without tying it to any specific act in the script. It might seem easy to divide up the dramatic triad to a three-act script, but do you really want to spend the entire third act solely on resolution? It’s more likely the resolution will take place toward the end of the third act of the script, especially given the compressed nature of animation stories.

We’ll assume you have a grasp of your dramatic three-act structure as it applies overall to your story. Now you have to figure out how to build to a critical act break that takes place at approximately so many pages into the script. Your act breaks must be gripping, exciting, and dramatic. If you don’t have your viewers totally hooked, you’ll lose them during the commercial break. That purpose of a cliffhanger act break is to keep the audience in enough suspense to stick around. The act break doesn’t have to be a cliffhanger based on physical peril. It could be a moment of suspense or mystery, or it could be a moment of emotional confrontation.

This means that each act should have its own internal momentum that brings it to that critical point at the right time. In a 90-minute animated film, this means finding seven points at which you can break the story with either a physical or emotional cliffhanger… while not making it look contrived.

This is where having a solid outline is so important. Most of your scenes are going to run somewhere around 2–3 pages. Simple math tells us that trying to fit, say, 10 scenes into an 11-page act isn’t going to work, unless you have an insanely frenetic story. This is where you need good instincts to estimate how many pages you will actually need for a scene versus how many scenes you can realistically fit into a single act. As you work out your major story beats, you can reasonably estimate on being able to fit 3 to 4 major story beats into an 11-page act. You might be able to squeeze in 5 scenes if one is really short. By the time you take into account dialogue and breaking out all the shots, you’ll find that 3–4 beats, or scenes, will easily fill 11 pages. You might have an instance where you’re cutting back and forth between two major story beats rather than having separate scenes, and you’ll need to estimate how many pages that will eat.

The best way to become good at this is practice. Write lots of sample outlines and sample scripts.

In the past, it was common to allow two weeks to write a half-hour animation script. These days, it isn’t unusual to be given only one week to turn in a half-hour script.

You’ll find the “Spykecam” script available to read at www.christymarx.info.

The 3D Script versus the 2D Script

Most major animation movie companies have abandoned 2D in favor of 3D. This is a function of CGI getting better and better, combined with dramatic successes in 3D features. At first, CGI elements were incorporated cautiously into 2D films such as Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. The steamroller began with Pixar’s wonderful Toy Story and subsequent successes with Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, along with the success of Dreamworks SKG’s Shrek and its sequels. At the same time, some expensive 2D films didn’t perform well and turned into large losses for the studios.

What some of these companies forget is that the best visuals in the universe, 2D or 3D, won’t save a weak story or weak script. Disney’s Treasure Planet had spectacular CGI, but a story that didn’t quite work.

Though CGI has become dominant in animated features, 2D will never entirely go away.

Meanwhile, in TV there were some superb CG shows made early on (such as ReBoot and Shadow Raiders), but they were expensive and it was tricky to churn them out on a tight TV production schedule. As 3D software continues to advance, it becomes more affordable and practical to use in TV, often with a more stylized look. There is also a style in which 3D is rendered to look like 2D while retaining the ability to move in 3D. MTV’s version of Spider-Man is an example of this.

I wrote for some of the early CG TV series, all for the same production company. At the time, we wrote the scripts in a live-action format using master scenes, rather than an animation script format. This was largely due to that particular company’s method of parceling out the art tasks without using storyboards.

In TV animation with commercial breaks, one artist is given one act of a script to storyboard, so you can end up with three artists drawing storyboards for a half-hour show with three acts. Those three artists determine the look and flow of the visuals.

This company instead assigned a CG artist to handle particular characters and the artist would create the animation for the scenes containing those characters. Essentially, the artist took the place of the storyboard artist on a rather piecemeal basis, but with a director to pull the various pieces together.

However, the last time I met with someone from that company, I was told they had gone to doing storyboards. Note that even scripts that are written in a live-action format have to adhere to other animation “rules,” such as keeping dialogue short.

When it comes to something that is rapidly evolving, as CG is, each company or studio will likely have its own approach to how it wants the scripts done. Your best bet is to be familiar with both live-action and animation formats, as well as the rules and requirements of each.

As for writing television animation spec scripts, as you will certainly need to do, my advice is to write in an animation script format regardless of which technology will be used to animate it. It shows that you know how to do it and is more likely to be the right way to go. Just be sure that the visuals you create in your script will work for the technology you have in mind. If you’re writing for 3D, your visuals should utilize the strengths of 3D animation. If you’re writing a 2D series spec, your visuals must be in line with what can be done in 2D.

What tends to be “expensive” in CG is creating the three-dimensional characters, especially when doing a TV series. This is because of the time it takes to create the wire frame of the body shape, rig it for motion, and then add texture, color, and all the other details to it. This is also true for creating buildings, sets, and backgrounds as 3D models. In some situations, for example, spaceships, it’s not unusual to create only those parts of the ship that are needed for a particular shot, rather than building out an entire model of the ship.

As the technology develops, this will be less of an issue, but when I was writing for Beast Wars, we had a specific set of characters and a very strict rule against creating any new characters that would require creating a 3D model. I pitched a story idea that I thought got around the “no new characters” rule by calling for a new character that would be a conglomeration of parts from the other characters, so that existing components could be recombined rather than something new created. The story editor nearly didn’t pitch it, but liked the idea enough that he went ahead. It became the episode “Transmutate,” and the company liked the story enough that they went to the extra trouble of creating something entirely new for the Transmutate character.

Restrictions Breed Creativity

I’ve heard writers enthuse about doing animation because “you can do anything in animation!” This was usually said in comparing animation to live-action. This was truer in the past than it is now, due to the increased use of CG elements in live-action. It also highlights the difference between feature animation and TV animation.

Features have multi-million-dollar budgets and long development periods. They can afford to pull out the stops. They need to because they have a big investment to recoup.

TV animation is about doing the best you can within the limitations of a shrinking production budgets and a tight production schedule.

Here are some examples of the type of restrictions I’ve run up against in animation that called for adaptation and creative thinking.

THE CROWD SCENE RULE: Movies can afford to use sophisticated programs to generate and control huge crowds of 3D animated characters on the screen (look, a zillion CG orcs are storming the Hornburg!). For a TV episode, you should avoid crowd scenes. When you need to have a crowd scene for some reason, you find ways to cheat around it. You stick to close shots or pick shots that show as few random people as possible (such as a few feet rushing by at ground level). In short, you get creative.

LIMITED BACKGROUNDS: One show had a very tight budget that prohibited more than a few new backgrounds per show. Remember my example of how quickly one location can eat up several backgrounds? The challenge with that show was to use the maximum number of already existing backgrounds from episodes in production and sharply curtail how many new backgrounds were in the script. It’s also helpful to have generic backgrounds like “jungle” or “rock wall.”

LIMITED VOICES: Another show would only allow me to use a relatively low number of voices. Let’s say it was ten voices. The trick here is that the cast I was required to use took up eight of the voices. The challenge was to come up with stories that stayed tightly focused on those characters with almost no outside characters.

LIMITED DIALOGUE: Besides limiting voices, I’ve had shows where I could only have so many lines of dialogue per episode. It was a matter of going through the script and counting the lines. If there were too many lines, I had to either find places to trim dialogue out or rewrite it to be more condensed.

TOO MANY PROPS OR MODELS: Shows with a very tight budget might also prohibit the writer from asking for too many new characters that have to be designed, or even new props that have to be designed. Once again, it’s a matter of finding a way to work around it, by changing the scene or altering the story. Whatever it takes.

Other Things You May Be Expected to Do

Once you’re given a script assignment, you should be told what additional info you might be expected to provide along with the script. The most common ones are as follows:

LOGLINE AND/OR SYNOPSIS: The logline being one sentence of the type you’d see in the TV Guide to give the gist of the episode, and a synopsis being about three short paragraphs. This type of synopsis should be crafted to give other writers enough detail to gain a quick knowledge of what’s in your script, so they can avoid having situations or scenes that are too similar to yours.

CAST LIST: For established characters, you only need to give the name. Characters should be listed in order of importance. For any new, secondary, or incidental characters, you will need to give the character name, and indicate whether it’s a speaking part; if it’s a speaking part, you should give an indication of how many lines and a description of the character (usually the same description you put into the script).

SET LIST: This would be a list of your major INTERIOR and EXTERIOR backgrounds. If it’s a new background, include full description.

PROPS LIST: This isn’t as commonly asked for these days, but this would be a list of special or unusual props that would have to be designed for your episode, such as a handheld GPS that transforms into a laser gun, a type of vehicle not used before, or something like the crystal skull I used in my script examples where it is more than just a background object.

Scriptwriting Software

More and more companies, especially with TV series, are requiring writers who work on their shows to use scriptwriting software. There are various pieces of scriptwriting software such as Movie Magic Screenwriter and Celtx, but so far, every company that has required me to use scriptwriting software has used Final Draft, whether it was a live-action show or an animated show. Final Draft is prevalent on live-action shows and rapidly becoming prevalent in animation, including theatrical features.

This doesn’t mean you should run out and buy a copy of Final Draft. That depends on your budget. If you have plenty of money to spare, go for it. However, it is perfectly legitimate to ask the company to loan you a copy of the software if they’re requiring you to use it. The advantages to having the software already are that it sounds more professional to say you have it (and less hassle for the story editor to get it to you), and you’ll have a chance to become familiar with it ahead of time, thus not having to deal with a learning curve while trying to get a script done under deadline.

Scriptwriting software has its good point and bad points. It automates much of the process and gives you handy shortcuts. I haven’t had much luck importing previously written scripts into the software or exporting scripts to a plain Word format from the software. Both actions left me having to do a lot of editing to fix the odd quirks that happened in the process. You can only print a Final Draft formatted script from Final Draft itself, so you will either need to have the program in order to print out a copy later (such as for samples of your work), or need to have an exported version in Word, .rtf (rich text format), or PDF (Adobe’s Portable Document Format).

An alternative is a free writing system called Fountain (fountain.io). It allows the writer to use any text-based software with the addition of markup syntaxes (see their website for examples). It’s basic, but simple to use. Then, the file is opened using various apps that automatically format the text document into a script format. There are apps that will export the script to HTML, Final Draft format, print to PDF, and other options.

If you’re sending out electronic versions of a spec script, be sure that it’s in a format that the reader can easily access. If you’ve written it in a specific type of scriptwriting software, find out whether the reader has that software. Your best option is to send a PDF because it means your spec script can’t easily be edited or changed by someone else.

The Animated Feature Film

The animation development process is different for theatrical projects. Writing actual scripts for theatrical animation is a recent development, beginning mainly with Michael Eisner (as head of Disney) mandating that the script be done before any animation work for Disney’s The Little Mermaid. This created a major shift in how feature animation was developed. However, it’s an even more collaborative process than television, and each studio can have its own particular approach to development.

On features, there tend to be more writers hired, sometimes one writer, or team of writers, or additional writers to rewrite or polish. Often writers are hired as “story consultants” to give their input. Plus, many other people are involved in coming up with character arcs, scenes, and dialogue, such as directors, story artists, and editors.

The writers go back and forth in a more fluid process with the animators with script influencing storyboards and storyboards influencing script. There are big meetings with everyone involved to go over storyboards in detail. There’s an unspoken etiquette that the directors get to comment first, and then everyone else in the room can give an opinion. It’s a highly iterative process.

After an internal screening, notes from the crew and executive teams are reviewed and rewrites happen. The process begins all over again, with the writer(s) delivering new script pages to editorial and the story crew (not all rewrites require new storyboards). The story team will re-draw to the new script pages, again adding their own embellishments, and editorial takes it all for another spin, addressing notes and working in the latest changes. Another screening, another round of notes and another round of changes, and on it goes.

Storyboards are turned into “story reels” that are carefully evaluated to get a sense of how the story is working, especially in a visual sense. At its most effective, a feature animation film should convey just about everything the viewer needs to know when viewed without sound or dialogue, as though it were a silent movie. After input on the story reels, there is more rewriting. The rewriting is a constant back-and-forth process.

An editor at Pixar gave me this run-down on Pixar’s approach, which is a similar example to my generalized description:

“The script has 3 different phases—Director/Screenwriter, Story, and then Editorial. Some Directors write their own scripts, others are paired with screenwriters who handle the writing. The Story department is also involved in the writing process to different degrees, depending on the Director and the writer. Story-Artists pitch ideas for gags and character arcs and sometimes are encouraged to write some dialogue for scenes they are boarding, if the director is agreeable with that.

First drafts of scripts tend to be overly descriptive and verbose, giving the story artist as much to guide them as possible. Storyboards and recorded dialogue are completed.

The storyboards and recorded dialogue go to editorial. In the editorial stage, dialogue is excised, rewritten, and moved. Editors at Pixar edit picture, sfx (special effects), dialogue, performances, and they rewrite and add dialogue. Directors also rewrite on the fly in the editorial suite. Editorial is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, so when the storyboards and dialogue are finally together up on the screen, it becomes apparent what works and what doesn’t, which is not the case when you are just looking at a script or storyboards in isolation. The process continues until the clock runs out and the movie has to be released.”

I consulted with Terry Rossio, who with his partner Ted Elliott has written or worked on numerous feature animation projects including Aladdin, Small Soldiers, The Road to El Dorado, Treasure Planet, and Shrek (I and II), among others. Terry generously shared his experience in this area.

A feature animation script runs about 80–85 pages (and no more than 85), containing around 20 sequences. Sequences in this sense would be similar to beats. It refers to the major story beats, events or action, or a series of events that are grouped together because they are related. Terry said, “[Jeffrey] Katzenberg (co-founder of Dreamworks Animation) would speak of a 5/10/5 act breakdown of sequences (meaning five sequences in act one, ten in act two and five in act three), but that’s very loose and informal. We tend to think of animated movies as having a two-act play structure. In the end just about any structure fits a good story.”

The emphasis in features is on simple story, but complex characters. The focus is on the characters and on the underlying theme, not the plot. Having a clear theme is also at the heart of creating an animated feature. That theme should have a simple, strong core, such as “family is important” or “if you love someone, you must be willing to let them go.”

Because of the fluid process I described earlier of the writers working more closely in collaboration with the artists, the studios don’t want the writers to break their scripts out shot by shot. Instead, they’re written in a live-action script format, which keeps the scripts shorter and leaves the scene and shot layouts to the animators.

Another reason for using the live-action format is that the first people to read the scripts are studio executives, who are more accustomed to reading live-action scripts.

These scripts are shorter than the norm because animated features are (mostly) designed for a young audience with a shorter attention span, so they tend to be shorter movies.

I asked Terry about the inclusion of music, since it often plays a significant role in animation features. Terry said, “If music is important to the film then it gets included in the screenplay, exactly as it is intended to be in the final cut. A musical sequence can be a montage, or we prefer ‘series of shots.’ But it can also be a single scene designed to move the story forward, or anything in between.”

Aside from these major differences between television and feature animation scripts, a couple of the rules for television should still apply. You will want to keep your dialogue short and pithy. You will want to remember that you’re working with animated actors and not live actors when it comes to calling for subtle emotion.

The time span of the development and production for animated features typically runs four to five years, though a writer probably wouldn’t be involved for the entire development time.

An article on the Animation World Network (awn.com) from December 2017 covered the writing development of the animated feature Coco. One of the writers, Matthew Aldrich, became involved in brainstorming early ideas in 2012. Co-writer/co-director, Adrian Molina, was a story-artist that worked on many iterations of storyboards, and ended up writing outlines and a full draft of the script. He worked out much of the story with a director/editor by bouncing ideas back and forth. Many people were involved in collaborating on the final story over the next five years. The movie was finally released in October of 2017 with a budget somewhere in the $175–200 million range.

I should mention that direct-to-video features are developed in a fashion more like television animation and have the same kind of tight, short schedules of a television series.

Beyond the Basics

Now we’ll assume that you’re actually working on a show. Here’s a grab bag of additional advice, tips, and tricks.

Keep Your Story Editor Happy

There are certain things you should never, ever do to your story editor or showrunner:

Never turn a script in late, unless there’s a very good reason and your story editor has approved an extension. It’s vital to meet deadlines.

Never fail to return phone calls, messages, or emails as a way of avoiding having to give your story editor bad news or an excuse for missing a deadline. Avoidance is a bad, bad idea, as I learned the hard way. Be honest and stay in communication with your story editor, showrunner, or producer.

Never cheat on the format. If you’re using a program such as Final Draft, this is moot because the program will set standard margins. But if you’re using Word or some other program, never deviate from the template or guidelines set by the story editor. Adding one extra line per page can add one entire extra page to the script. Don’t try to cheat the margins or use a smaller font or anything else that will provide the story editor with a headache later having to reformat it. You only hurt yourself in the end because when the script is properly formatted and comes out too long, it will have to be cut. Make it the right length the first time around. After all, the reason standard formatting came about is to provide a reasonably accurate way to judge how many minutes of air time will result from a script of a given length.

Do not argue excessively with your story editor. This is something I sometimes encountered with new writers doing their first scripts who wanted to argue about every single note I gave them. I’m not talking about asking for clarification on a note. I’m talking about a stubborn resistance to changing anything. Not only is this irritating on a personal level, it takes a lot of time that most story editors don’t have. This gets down to two things: (1) if you don’t have the temperament to get notes from ten different people that all have to be reconciled, then don’t even think about getting into scriptwriting; and (2) learn to pick your battles. I can’t emphasize this second point enough. To put it another way, don’t sweat the small stuff. Make the changes. When it comes to something that you truly consider significant to the story, don’t argue it, discuss it. This is a fine point of semantics, but an important one. What you really want to do is get at the precise reason for the change, present your reasoning in a non-confrontational manner, and if you can’t win your point, look for a compromise. Often, if you listen carefully, you can defuse the change by coming up with an alternate way to do basically the same thing. Then, both sides win. But the minute you get the sense that this isn’t a battle you can win, make the best of it with good grace and find a way to make it work for you rather than risk never working for that story editor again.

Needless to say (I hope), never flatly refuse to change something. That’s the kiss of death. If the notes are really that bad, your only remaining course of action is to give up the job and walk away, regardless of the consequences.

Be Kind to the Storyboard Artist

Don’t keep secrets from the artists. If there is an important prop that will be used in a room in a later scene, be sure to include it in the first description of the room, so that it can be taken into account when that background is being designed and created. Likewise, if you need some special feature in a location, such as a hidden trap door, give some indication of it in the first place you describe the location. Capitalizing it is a good idea. Even though the door may not be revealed until act 3, the artist will need to design the room to account for it when working on act 1. The same rule applies to characters. Don’t suddenly mention that your character has a scar on his right cheek several scenes after you introduce the character. When you first introduce or describe the character, make sure all the significant information is there.

Be consistent in how you refer to a character, prop, or place. Remember that there can be a different storyboard artist working on each act. You don’t want to confuse them by saying “trap door” in one act and “flip-up hidden door” in another act, or referring to an “Aztec temple” one time and “ancient Mexican temple” another time.

Present Tense and “-ing” Words

All scripts are written in the present tense in third person. If you’re not accustomed to writing in present tense, check your scripts afterwards to make sure you didn’t slip into past tense here or there. While it’s not absolutely forbidden to use something other than third person (such as “we see Jack at work”), you’d better be very good at it or you may turn off a reader who is expecting standard third person. There is one fairly common usage of “we” when ending an act or a script. It looks like this:

CLOSE ON JACK

pinned down by <GUNFIRE> from both sides! And as Jack
desperately hunches behind a flimsy wall, we...

                                                       FADE OUT

This is a stylistic choice. Some people like it; some don’t.

Avoid writing passive sentences or using words that end in “-ing.” For example, avoid “Jack is looking at Jane.” It reads better as “Jack looks at Jane.” It’s shorter and more dynamic. Make sure your characters “walk” instead of “are walking,” “run” instead of “are running,” “talk” instead of “are talking,” and so on. This is a not 100% rule, and there may be times you want an “-ing” word, but for the most part, go for shorter and stronger in your language. This holds true for dialogue as well.

Verboten Words

Have you ever wondered why the villains in a cartoon will cry “Destroy them!” or “Annihilate them!”? In children’s animation, certain words are considered forbidden, with rare exceptions. Words that are commonly forbidden are “death,” “die,” and “kill.”

I’ve also been told not to use “idiot,” “moron,” and “cretin” as being offensive. Sometimes, it’s a personal quirk of the producer or story editor, such as one exec who hated the use of the slang word, “idjit.”

Employ common sense when writing a script for kids. Avoid the forbidden words noted here as well as swear words, innuendo, or words with explicit sexual meanings.

Everybody Gets Out Alive

You may have also noticed in most action-adventure cartoons that no matter how big the explosion, anybody inside or riding the exploding vehicle/building/object will get out safely. As with the forbidden words, having anyone (good or bad) die on the screen in children’s animation is usually taboo. There have been some rare exceptions, depending on the type of show (pure comedy is an exception), but generally you should take it for granted that you need to show good guys or bad guys escaping from explosive or destructive situations to make it clear they didn’t die.

Imitatable Behavior

The following “rules” do not apply to full-on comedy, such as squash-and-stretch cartoons (e.g., Looney Tunes, The Roadrunner & Coyote), where the action is obviously not real. It applies to action or adventure shows or anything that isn’t pure comedy.

“Imitatable behavior” refers to any physical action seen on the TV screen that a child could imitate that would do damage or cause injury to that child or another living thing (especially to other kids). This is something that anyone producing visual works for kids worries about and it governs much of what is considered acceptable or unacceptable in a script.

A prime example of this is the use of fire. One of the reasons there was no Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in the early Fantastic Four series is that the producers worried about kids trying to imitate him and set themselves on fire. Use of fire in a way that could lead to imitatable behavior is strongly frowned upon.

This means that other forbidden behaviors are poking anything into eyes, punching, hitting, kicking, choking around the neck, and so forth. It means no guns, no knives, and no weapons that kids could manage to obtain (which is why you see a lot of beam or laser or other unreal weapons).

There are exceptions, of course. Shows geared for a tween/teen audience might allow a careful use of weapons, but the show would specifically have to allow that. For a show that has martial arts characters, the producers/story editor will lay down guidelines about what type of martial arts moves are acceptable and where on the body the blows can land.

Then, we have something like The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who carry martial arts weapons. When I wrote for TMNT, the unwritten rule of indirect use of force applied. By indirect use of force, I mean that the Turtles couldn’t use their weapons directly against an opponent. Instead, they would have to use the weapon against some other inanimate object that would then in turn have some impact on the enemy: for example, if they’re in a store, the weapon is used to knock down a pile of canned goods that fall on the villain or trip him up; or if the villain is standing under a tree branch, you have the Turtles cut off the branch so it falls onto the villain.

I’ve seen this go so far that on one show, I wasn’t allowed to have a character throw a cream pie directly into the face of another character. Instead, the pie had to levitate out of the character’s hand and then be thrown.

This rule about indirect use of force applies to a lot of shows, but a truly classic example was when I was asked to develop Robert E. Howard’s CONAN character into an animated series. Conan is a barbarian. He uses a sword. He isn’t squeamish about using a sword. But I couldn’t let him kill anyone, not even the villains, or use a sword directly against them. This was a challenge, to say the least.

I began by researching the source material and pulled an element from one of Howard’s original stories, then bent it to my own use. I gave Conan not an ordinary sword, but a “magic” sword. In this case, it was made of star-metal that had fallen from the sky. Any weapon made with this star-metal (and all of Conan’s companions ended up with some type of weapon made of star-metal) had the ability to reveal and vanquish Conan’s main enemies. These enemies were the lizard-men who could assume a human disguise. Merely getting close to Conan’s sword made them revert to lizard-man form, and the merest touch of the sword sent the lizard-men POOF! into an alternate lizard-man dimension where they couldn’t get back to Earth. The end result: Conan gets to “use” his sword (sort of) and get rid of his enemies, but nobody dies, not even lizard-men.

And of course, any other use of Conan’s sword had to follow the indirect use of force rule, if he was using it against a living foe.

Or you can have the villains be robots, machines, or rock monsters or something else far enough removed from human-like that the rule can be ignored.

There is one other factor that is having an increasing influence on what level of action can be used in animation series. Many shows are financed as foreign co-productions. Studios in France, Canada, German, Britain, China, India, and elsewhere help finance the production in exchange for owning the rights to the series in their territories. However, Europe and Britain have a lower threshold of acceptability in physical action (some people call it “violence,” but I draw the line at calling any kind of action “violence”). These sensibilities will affect what is allowed in a show. In general terms, they want kids’ shows to be less “violent” than American shows. You need to have a good mind for coming up with clever alternatives when writing your physical action.

And if you think all this sounds extreme, it’s even more restrictive writing children’s live-action shows.

Subtle Emotion

Don’t write lines such as “There is deep sadness in her eyes.” Or “His eyes radiate cold anger.” Most animation, and especially the limited animation of television, can’t adequately convey subtle emotion. Flat, animated eyes can’t communicate that level of emotion that we can read from human eyes. It has to be done with broader facial movement and body language, as well as emotion in dialogue.

Use of Slang

Using contemporary slang will make you sound hip, but will also quickly date the show (or for that matter, a comic or videogame). Many clever writers get around this by inventing slang that doesn’t really exist, but sounds appropriate for the show. This is even more useful when dealing a futuristic or science fiction show where you don’t want modern slang to sound out of place or archaic… unless that’s by deliberate intent.

If you’re going to use foreign slang, do your homework! It’s embarrassing to read slang, say for a contemporary Australian, that hasn’t been used for twenty years except as a joke.

Dialect

Let’s say you have a character that is Russian and speaks with a heavy Russian accent, or a character who is Irish or French. How do you express that in dialogue?

Mainly, just indicate the character’s nationality when you describe the character and leave it to the actor. Don’t try to write in dialect unless you’re very, very good at it and only if it doesn’t distract from giving the actors readable dialogue. You might want to play around with grammatical structure in a way that’s appropriate to that dialect, or toss in verbal quirks, but make sure you get it right.

If you want a piece of dialogue spoken in a foreign language, but you’re unable to come up with a translation yourself, I would recommend this:

                          JANE
                    (spoken in French)
              What do you know about the crystal
              skull?

This throws the responsibility onto the casting or voice director to find an actor that can speak French. Which raises another point: if you create a major, recurring character that needs to speak another language, make sure you include this in the character description before the casting takes place.

The Other Translation Problem

As I’ve mentioned, most television animation is done overseas. This means that the scripts have to be translated into Japanese, Korean, French, Chinese, and so on for non-English-speaking animation production houses.

This can create some quite funny glitches, particularly when it comes to the use of English idioms. A friend of mine likes to tell the story of a G.I. Joe script he wrote in which his characters were in a desert location having an argument. He used the idiom, “X decides to stick his oar in the water” meaning X character decides to give his opinion.

When the animation came back, his characters suddenly went from standing in the desert to sitting in a rowboat with oars in water that suddenly appears out of nowhere. The idiom had been given a literal translation.

It has become necessary to avoid the use of confusing English idioms in animation scripts that will go overseas for production. This can also apply to using references that are too obscurely American and might mean nothing to an overseas animator. An overseas animator might understand something as internationally known as “he had ears like Mickey Mouse,” but a phrase like “he had hair like Don King” will leave them mystified.

Getting around the Lip-Synch Problem

As I mentioned earlier, lip-synching (when used) can be expensive and any time you can come up with a useful way to have dialogue without requiring lip-synch, it helps the schedule and the budget. Here are a few tips:

Have dialogue begin during your EXT. establishing shot (as V.O. dialogue) and partway through the dialogue, cut to the interior shot with the character completing the speech. Or vice versa, have the character begin a speech about something, then cut to the location or object under discussion, and complete the dialogue as V.O. or O.S.

A variation on this first tip would be to start the character’s dialogue during a long pan when the character is O.S. at the beginning of the pan and then finishes the speech when the camera brings the character into view.

Have the character turned away from camera in a way that hides most of the face (such as an OTS or POV shot).

If it fits the story, have something else (such as a helmet, scarf, or mask) obscure the face. In CG shows, they often create secondary characters with helmets or face masks for exactly this reason.

Go to an ECU on the eyes so the mouth doesn’t show. I wouldn’t recommend this for more than one very short speech, because of what I said about the lack of emotive power in animated eyes.

Self-reflective dialogue (such as the character’s inner thoughts) can be done as a narrative V.O. rather than having the character talking out loud to himself. However, whether or not this method of hearing inner thoughts is appropriate in your script depends on whether it’s been established in the show already. You wouldn’t want to suddenly have a character’s inner dialogue be heard when that technique hasn’t been used in the series previously—unless the story editor or showrunner says it’s ok.

Capitalizing Character Names

It’s a common practice to put the name of a character IN CAPS the first time that character appears in the script, but not afterwards. This refers only to naming the character in the action description paragraph, not sluglines or dialogue where the character name is always in caps.

Be a Good Net Citizen

Animation writing became one of the first sectors of writing to become wired. I attribute much of this to Steve Gerber in the 1980s. He required writers on G.I. Joe to do their scripts on a computer, communicate via his BBS (electronic Bulletin Board System), and send scripts by modem. That was what propelled me abruptly into the world of computers.

In animation, the majority of pitches, outlines, scripts, and notes are exchanged via email or other electronic messaging. Sometimes, artwork for a series is posted on hidden web pages for the writers or exchanged via dropboxes. In addition to having a good handle on net tech, it’s very important to have good anti-virus protection in place so that you don’t become the pariah who spreads an infection to the story editor or other writers. Or conversely, so you don’t get hit by someone else who’s being careless.

The “Spykecam” Outline and Script

You’ll find the outline and full script of the “Spykecam” episode of The X-Men: Evolution available to read and study by going to www.christymarx.info. If you happen to see the finished episode, you’ll notice differences between our script and the finished version after rewrites by the story editor. For example, we used a Shakespearean play in our version, not realizing that another writer had already used a Shakespearean play as a key element in her script. Rather than be repetitive, the story editor changed our script to use a different play. Noting such changes can be instructive when studying scripts versus finished episodes.

4

Breaking and Entering

There is no one way to break into writing, especially in television or film. If you ask a hundred different writers how they broke in, you’ll get a hundred different stories. There is no magic way to go about it and no secrets that will guarantee getting a break, but there are ways to improve the odds. Because it’s one of the things everyone asks, I’ll relate how I broke in.

I was living in Los Angeles and had managed to sell a couple of stories to Marvel Comics editor, Roy Thomas, who had recently moved to L.A. One of the stories I sold was about The Fantastic Four. I began attending the monthly meetings of a group of professional comic book writers and artists. I got to know people and made friends in that circle.

One day, one of the writers I’d gotten to know passed me a tip that an animation studio called DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was looking for writers, especially writers who had worked on The Fantastic Four, because they were doing an animated version of the FF.

On the basis of the one comic book story, I was able to get a meeting with one of the founders of the studio, David DePatie. He was a small, dapper man with a huge antique desk and two nice, but absolutely enormous Standard Poodles. As I sat across from him, the dogs pressed up to me and I spent the meeting bookended between them, doing my best to get a job. Apparently, I passed the test. DePatie asked me if I knew what an animation script looked like. I said no. He slid a script across at me to use as a template and off I went to work on The Diamond of Doom. I studied and studied that script, though I was completely clueless about what some of the terms meant. Somehow, I managed and that led to more work with DePatie-Freleng.

Nowadays, you would certainly be expected to know what an animation script is and to have a very good spec script (or two or three) already written. Back then, animation scripts were so new, perfectly understandable not to know. Although it would be hard to recreate this type of break given today’s competitive field, my experience does contain one of the most important steps: networking.

Breaking into Television Animation

If you’re a writer who already has credits in another field, such as comics or games, you should have an easier time making a lateral move into animation writing. You likely have contacts that can get you in the door, and you probably won’t have much trouble getting a meeting at an animation studio based on your other work. I would still recommend that you have one or two sample animation scripts that will show that you know how to handle the format, but it may not be necessary if your other credits are impressive enough.

If you’re brand new, you should consider the words of Louis Pasteur: “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” No matter how much raw talent you may have, it won’t do you much good unless you are prepared to take full advantage of whatever piece of luck or opportunity comes your way. This means knowing the animation field, being familiar with what shows are on, and having well-written animation spec scripts as samples of your work for a studio exec or story editor to read when that opportunity comes along.

Spec Scripts

A script is called “spec” or “speculative” because you don’t expect to sell it. The purpose of a spec script is to show your writing chops and your ability to “get” the show you’re writing for. Remember that your primary goal is to be hired to write, whether it’s for that show or another one. Actually selling a spec script would be the cherry on the whipped cream.

There are two schools of thought about writing a spec script for a show and submitting the script to that show’s story editor or producer. One school of thought favors it because there is always at least the slim chance they could buy your script. A more predominant school of thought is that it’s a bad idea because unless your script is absolutely, positively spot-on in every respect, it’s more likely to fail. The reasoning is that the story editor or producer is judging the spec script by more exacting standards because it’s their show and they know the characters so well. I would go with the shows you feel the most compelled to write rather than worrying about this choice.

Choose a show that’s been on the air more than one year, is going strong, and is well known. Don’t pick a show that is so obscure that no one will know what it is. Write to your interests or strengths, meaning write spec scripts based on the genre of animation that you most want to write for. If you’re great at light humor, pick that type of show. If you’re great at hard action, pick one of those. If you’re crazy about the anime-style shows, pick an anime series. If you’re versatile, do one of each. If you write a spec script for a show that goes off the air and has been off for over a year, set it aside and write something new.

Avoid the three prime mistakes many newcomers make:

Mistake No. 1: Don’t write a story that is clearly contradicted by something that happened in the series or contradicts how the characters normally behave. Obviously, you must be very familiar with the show’s characters, tone, themes, and everything that is unique to that show. If you haven’t seen every episode, go online and research the storylines. Internet fan sites are also useful for this. You want to be sure you don’t write a story that’s already been done, or too similar to something that’s been done.

Mistake No. 2: Don’t write a story that causes a significant change or life upheaval for one or more of the major characters, or an event that would turn the series upside down (such as killing off a major character). Only a story editor or producer gets to write those kinds of shows. You want to write a really great, but typical stand-alone episode of the series, something that wouldn’t feel out of place if it were aired in the middle of the series’ other episodes.

Mistake No. 3: Don’t introduce a new, unknown character and build the story around that character. Stay focused on the central characters of the series. You can take a secondary character that already exists in the series and do something interesting with him or her, but make sure you have plenty of action focused on the central characters as well.

Do your best to acquire copies of scripts for that show: (1) because it’s helpful to see what format that series uses; and (2) because sometimes the story editor or producer has some special quirk related specifically to that show. For example, I saw scripts for comedy series The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Family Guy where the dialogue was double-spaced rather than the normal single-spaced. Scripts I saw for Rick and Morty and Bojack Horseman were written more like live-action scripts with long passages of dialogue that wasn’t broken out into shots.

Getting hold of animation scripts isn’t easy. They’re not commonly put out for sale. I would try a few different methods:

If, by some chance, you already have an agent, have your agent contact the production companies for the shows you’re interested in, explain that their client wants to write a spec script, and ask for sample scripts.

Contact the production company or studio that makes the show yourself, explain that you want to write a spec script, and ask them if they will send you the bible and/or sample scripts. This is iffy, but worth a shot.

Do a search on the story editor and writers of the show to see if they have websites with a way to contact them, or whether they’ve posted sample scripts on their sites. Ask to buy scripts from the show for the purpose of writing a spec script. Or locate them on Twitter or some other form of social media, and ask them there (a less likely approach). Do NOT ask these people to read your script when it’s done. Asking for that kind of favor might prevent them from answering you at all.

If you live in L.A., go to the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library at the Writers Guild of America. This will allow you to at least read scripts, though you won’t be able to take them with you nor photocopy them. I would recommend calling the WGA library first (323-782-4544) and inquire whether they have animation scripts for the specific show you want. They have series and feature scripts that are worth studying. The library is working to obtain more animation scripts. Unfortunately, not many animation writers think of donating their scripts to the library, but you may find something.

Do an internet search for “TV animation scripts” or the specific series. If you search on “animation scripts,” you’ll tend to get results mainly for feature animation scripts. Feature animation scripts will be useful to read and study, but aren’t as useful as a basis for a TV teleplay. CAUTION: Make sure that it’s an actual script and not a transcript that someone has created from watching the episode. Most of what I saw listed as “scripts” were a transcript of dialogue done by a fan. Also, don’t use very old TV animation scripts as a template for how a current script should look because the format has evolved (see Chapter 3 on script formats).

Try the websites in the “Animation Resources” section, after Chapter 4, to see whether they have animation scripts for sale or for downloading.

Networking

You’ve done your research, studied animation, written your terrific spec scripts… now you network. This is the single most important activity you must engage in if you want to get that lucky break that—because you are prepared—you’ll be able to use to your advantage.

Animation, as with any area of scriptwriting, is a people business, so a great deal of succeeding at networking is having good social skills and strong communication skills; knowing how to interact with people, how to make a good impression, and how to be witty and chatty without coming across like a sycophant; and all the while subtly conveying that you’re a professional who would be fun to work with. Even if you’re not a professional yet, you want to put forth a professional attitude consisting of awareness of the business, self-confidence, enthusiasm, and pragmatism. Easy.

It’s way beyond the bounds of this book to teach you those skills, but you need to have them.

Networking is about making the business contacts any way you can, but in a way that leaves a positive impression. You must walk that fine line between putting yourself forward and being obnoxious.

Ways to Network

Don’t restrict yourself to these methods. Be creative. Consider these as starting points, but do it any way you can.

Use the Internet: You may, stress may, be able to strike up a relationship with a story editor or producer via web forums, social media, or email. Most pros are frankly too busy to carry on an extended email or message exchange. Forums exist here and there where you might be able to bump into some pros. I don’t consider this to be a highly effective route, but I wouldn’t rule it out. The net will probably be more useful as a research tool to learn about the animation business and about people in the business.

Media Conventions: The mother of all conventions is Comic Con International, which is held every summer in San Diego, California. The San Diego Comic Con began decades ago as a little comic book convention. It is now a massive monster convention that covers comics, animation, anime, TV, and film with almost equal fervor. Computer games have also been making an appearance. Hundreds of pros show up. Some are there to promote new projects, some do panels and lectures, some do signings at the big company booths, and some show up just to have fun. The WGA Animation Writers Caucus does a panel every year.

This is not a place to shove your resume or spec script in someone’s face. That’s the last thing a speaker wants to deal with during a busy convention. You can hand out a business card, but frankly, it’s most likely that it will simply be thrown away later unless there’s a special reason for someone to keep it. However, it gives you a chance to at least meet pros and then follow up afterwards in the hope they’ll remember you. Plus, the panels and lectures can be extremely informative.

The problem with the San Diego Comic Con is that it’s becoming more and more difficult to get into it. Tickets sell out quickly, and hotel rooms in the area become nearly impossible to get. Consider alternatives. There are numerous other comic cons that have sprung up, for example, in New York City; Denver, Colorado; Baltimore, Maryland; Pasadena, California; Seattle, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; and many, many others. The New York Comic Con has grown enormously in recent years, and the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle has become hotly popular. You have a better chance of connecting and networking at a smaller convention. Check the conventions website to see whether they feature much in the way of animation or whether animation pros are attending.

Trade Shows/Conferences: Search for writing conferences, lectures, or panels that might touch upon animation writing or feature animation writers, story editors, or producers. Again, the point is to make some sort of contact and attempt to follow up on it afterwards.

Join animation-related organizations: Professional groups have a variety of members, but may have writers and story editors, amongst them. Any way you can get to know people is worth it. Women in Animation requires professional credentials to join (and men are welcome), but they also have a student membership, if you qualify. ASIFA (Association International du Film d’Animation, or International Animated Film Association) is an international group dedicated to animation. Contact information is given at the end of this chapter.

Get an entry-level job: This is an old, standard method of breaking in. You get any kind of entry-level job you can at an animation studio or production house, learn the ropes, meet people, make a good impression, and try to leverage your way into a writing job. Getting a writing job may not happen while you’re working at that particular place, but could happen later if you maintain contact with the right people. Of course, this requires living in a city that has animation studios or animation production of some kind, having the skills to land the job, and a lot of luck.

Parties: It may sound humorous, but one of the all-time best ways to make contacts is to get invited to parties where the pros hang out. I can’t tell you how to do this, other than meeting or knowing someone who can invite you. Animation writers are not, in general, big party animals, so it’s going to take some luck to go this route.

Schools and classes: There are more and more courses popping up to teach animation writing. Some are offered by colleges or universities, some are online. Look especially for courses that are taught by someone who is actually working in the business and has professional credits. If you can make a good impression on that person, you might gain a mentor.

Writer’s programs: Try to get into a writer’s program such as the one offered by the Nickelodeon channel. See additional info in the “Animation Resources” section after Chapter 4

Writing Contests and Other Outlets

In the world of live-action and feature writing, there are many writing contests that can prove an extremely good way to gain entry-level attention if you can win or place highly. Unfortunately, there’s nothing comparable in the world of animation writing, but more of these contests are accepting animation scripts and pilots.

Go for well-established, reputable contests such as Scriptapalooza, the Black List, and The Austin Film Festival.

Currently, there are animation writing fellowships or workshops offered by Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, and Universal.

For further information on these contests, workshops, and additional contests, See the “Animation Resources” section after Chapter 4.

Script Database Services

There are online sites such as InkTip.com (http://www.inktip.com), an internet database of scripts that are made available for registered, legitimate producers, production companies, or studios to read. You pay a fee to upload your script to the site, and they will host both screenplays and television scripts. In order to qualify for listing with InkTip, scripts/books must be registered through the Writers Guild, U.S. Copyright Office, or any other recognized copyright/registration agency. Mailing it to yourself is not acceptable. You also receive a regular newsletter in which producers or production companies indicate specific types of scripts they’re looking for. Every once in a while, a producer will be looking for an animation script. This is more of a longshot, but you may want to try it out and see what you think.

See the “Animation Resources” section after Chapter 4 for more such services.

Internet Searches

You can do something as simple as an internet search for “animation writing jobs” or “animation writer jobs.” There are sites that post freelance writing jobs, and sometimes, these will include animation writing of one kind or another. Be extremely careful about taking such jobs. Frequently, they are posted by people who want others to do free work. Never do free work. Make sure they can pay you.

What may also show up from such a search are related jobs, such as an Administrative Assistant to an animation development executive. It may not be a writing job, but if you could land such a plum job, it would be a way to get yourself on the inside, to learn the business, to network, and to eventually work yourself into a writing job.

Learning about the Business

It’s also extremely important to learn as much as you can about the business in general. You need to know who produces animation, which channels air animation shows, what type of shows each channel puts on the air, and how the overseas producers of animation and the overseas market are affecting animation in the United States.

I recommend these sources:

Animation Magazine: (URL: https://www.animationmagazine.net). It covers not only television and film animation, but also increasingly the world of games. It does a good job of covering overseas animation and anime. Animation produces ten issues a year, both print and digital. They also put on The World Animation & VFX Summit, which could provide good opportunities for networking.

The Animation World Network: (URL: https://www.awn.com). This is a highly useful internet site bursting with information about the world of animation, along with blogs, events and festivals, forums, and a place to post your resume. It also features job listings, though you need to be wary of the people who want you to work for free.

Cynopsis: Kids! Cynopsis deals with television and film data, including ratings and box office results, with a slant more toward the marketing and sales end of the business. Subscribe by going to https://www.cynopsis.com/category/cynopsis-kids.

The Trades: By “the trades,” I mean the two major trade papers that deal with the entertainment business: Variety (https://www.variety.com) and The Hollywood Reporter (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com). The Hollywood Reporter offers a newsletter called Animation Showcase: “A deep dive into the rapidly-growing category of animation, from profiles and news on major awards contenders to the art and technology of the medium.” The sign-up link is https://link.hollywoodreporter.com/join/38o/thr-signup. Variety will have the occasional story about animation. Both are expensive for a full subscription, so it depends on what you can afford and how much value it offers.

Breaking into Feature Animation

Terry Rossio put it rather succinctly, “There is no strategy that doesn’t fail over 99% of the time, and no strategy that is far more effective than any other. I would say it makes more sense to write a live action screenplay because there actually is a market for live action screenplays!”

From everything I’ve gathered, landing a job writing an animation feature is the ultimate crap shoot. The trend is toward big name feature writers, or someone who happens to be hot in the live-action feature realm or hot in some other realm of writing, or someone who already has a feature development deal with a studio and is tapped for an animated feature under that deal (in other words, the studio is already committed to paying them to write a feature, so they may as well write an animation feature).

The studios are not open to an unknown walking through the door to pitch an idea for an animation feature. The exception to that would be that you’ve created or own the rights to a property that the studio is dying to have, a highly successful children’s book (preferably a series of them), for example. There is still no guarantee that you would be offered the chance to write the script, unless you have a strong script sample or other credits that would convince them.

Selling an Animation Series Concept

Far too often I’m asked by someone with no credits or experience how to sell a series. It’s hard enough for established pros to sell a series. However, there are some general guidelines and things you need to know if you want to attempt to sell a series or property at some stage in your career.

First, you will need to create a pitch bible.

The Animation Bible

Every series has a bible. In fact, there are actually two different kinds of bibles that serve two different purposes. Though the purposes are different, they contain the same basic elements. Those two kinds of bibles are the PITCH BIBLE and the SHOW BIBLE (or series bible, or writers’ bible).

THE PITCH BIBLE: This is a short version of the bible, no more than maybe 10–12 pages double-spaced, often with large type and lots of white space, often with sample artwork—in other words, designed to be a very quick and exciting read with the purpose of selling the series idea. Increasingly, it can also be a PowerPoint deck, and the slides should also feature images and be light on words. A pitch bible must be entirely written with one thing in mind—how exciting and fresh and fantastic your idea is.

THE SHOW BIBLE: If you’re being hired to develop a bible for a show that is a definite go, the bible will primarily be intended for the writers who will work on the show. When I do that kind of bible, I use single-spacing, get into detail, and don’t worry about length. It still needs to be a good read, of course, but your purpose in this case is to make sure the writers have enough information about the show to go off and write the appropriate scripts.

I’ve also heard mention of the so-called “mini-bible,” which usually means they want to pay you half the price to write a smaller version of a regular bible. Be wary of someone asking for a “mini-bible.” Clarify what they really want, and don’t let shortness be an excuse for cheapness.

It’s not unusual for the pitch bible to end up being the show bible/writers’ bible, with perhaps a few extra pages of info added. Those extra pages are usually from the story editor, dealing with production details (such as “keep the length to 33–34 pages”), or giving specific guidelines about the show (such as “we don’t want time travel stories,” or “it’s a fantasy show, so don’t use modern slang”), or whatever else the writers need to know that might not have been covered by the pitch bible.

It’s also not unusual for a show bible on a new series to be rewritten even while you’re in the middle of doing a script. There can be a lot of last-minute and ongoing adjustments to a show that’s in development. You need to be flexible and go with the changes.

In the live-action world, a bible or a proposal for a series is called a format. This is due to the specific language used in the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement.

What Goes into an Animation Bible

A more or less standard format has developed that calls for these elements:

TITLE PAGE

CONCEPT/HOOK: The opening pages must immediately convey what the show is. It must tell in a quick and exciting way what the concept is, what the hook is, who the significant characters are, what the show is about, and where it’s set. For a pitch bible, it must draw the reader in and make that reader want to know more. For a show bible, it must also convey necessary information.

THE SETTING: If there’s something special about where the series is set, you might want to do a section about that, especially if you’re doing a science fiction or fantasy series. Or you may be dealing with a special time period (past, future, alternative timeline) and need to go into more detail in order to convey that aspect of the series.

CHARACTER BIOS: For a pitch bible, these would be short, exciting descriptions of each major character (heroes, villains, important pets/creatures). For a show bible, these are hopefully more detailed and accompanied by a section on character interactions or relationships: for example, how does Jack get along (or not) with Jane and Dick; how does Jane relate to Jack and Dick; and how does Dick interact with Jane and Jack. This section can be put under each character’s bio, or off in a section by itself, depending on what seems to work better for your bible or style. A short paragraph for each interaction should suffice. You would want to touch on character relationships in a pitch bible, but not at this level of detail.

SPECIAL ELEMENTS: Depending on the nature of the show, you might want to add sections that deal with weapons or vehicles or other unique elements. In a pitch bible, this is a good place to show what sort of toy property potential your show has (if that’s appropriate). For science fiction/fantasy shows, it can be helpful in establishing more details about how this series will handle these special elements. If it’s set in a future world, for example, how has the technology evolved? Have we gone backwards and are living a more primitive life? Are the characters using alien technology? Some of this would be covered earlier under your opening concept pages or pages about the setting, but you may want a section that gives more detail.

STORY/SPRINGBOARDS: In some bibles, I’ve seen the entire pilot episode laid out, told in an exciting story form but with enough detail that you have everything you need for an outline. This can come earlier and be a part of your concept/hook pages, if that works in setting up the series. Toward the end of the bible, it’s a good idea to include anywhere from 5 to 12 story ideas, done as springboards, to indicate that you have lots of good ideas and the series has plenty of potential. I’ve seen presentations that lay out entire seasons, but that feels like massive overkill. Indicating an overall season arc would be good, though.

Bear in mind these are only guidelines. The basic elements should be present in the bible, but how you present them and how it’s all put together can vary tremendously. Each writer that creates a bible will develop a personal style and approach. Some writers like to use larger type and bold emphasis on certain passages or words to make them stand out. Some writers like to get into a lot of story description; others stick with generalities.

The main thing in a pitch bible is to have plenty of white space (no pages crammed with tight rows of text) and a fast, engrossing read. If making a presentation with a PowerPoint deck, you should have only the most vital words on the slide and the rest would be part of your verbal pitch.

You’ll find an example of a pitch bible at www.christymarx.info.

Using Artwork in a Pitch Bible

This issue gets a lot of debate amongst writers, and there is no easy answer. Many people will swear that having artwork is a must. Having a hot, popular artist do the artwork might be an asset if you aren’t that well known yourself. On the other hand, I’ve heard a studio executive tell me that he’d rather not see artwork because if he doesn’t like the art, it might turn him off to the whole idea. On the other, other hand, I’ve encountered studio executives who had no interest in the written work and only wanted to see images or hear a verbal pitch. It’s the luck of the draw and there’s no way to predict it.

It might be that you have a truly special approach to the look of the show, and showing what the look will be might be vital to selling your idea.

Or, if you’re working from an established property, you may have art that is already associated with that property. This is ideal.

One thing is certain: if it isn’t good, professional-grade, quality art, don’t use it. Far better to have no art at all than to have poor or obviously amateur art. You’d better study enough animation art to know the difference.

Finding an artist is another issue. How much can you afford to pay someone? You could attend comic book conventions where both professional and aspiring artists abound. You could go to local colleges or art schools that have illustration or graphic design classes and connect with students there. You could contact schools that specialize in teaching comic book art (see the “Comics Resources” section after Chapter 7 for more information on those schools). You could go to your local comic book store and inquire about really good local artists. (See also my advice about looking for artists in the comics writing section of this book.)

If you’re paying a professional artist, have a signed, written agreement that specifies that you retain all rights to your work (not the artist’s), but at least offer to use your best efforts to get the artist work on the show if it should sell.

If you have someone working for free (not recommended), definitely have a signed, written agreement that clearly states you retain all rights to your work (not the artist’s), that you have free use of the artwork, but work out a payment for the artist if the show should sell, as well as offering to use your best efforts to get the artist work on the show.

You can’t make hard and fast guarantees to get an artist work on a show (that would usually not be under your control), so be careful to phrase it as “best efforts” or a similar term.

What Will Sell and Why

The most difficult thing to sell in today’s market is an original concept. You have a better shot at selling an established property, whether it’s a published children’s book, a comic book, a computer game, or a toy. Marv Wolfman and Craig Miller (jointly as Wolfmill Productions) produced an animation show based on a line of popular sculptures, The Pocket Dragons.

However, you can only do this if you have legally obtained the rights from the creator or owner of the property to make this adaptation. I’ve encountered far too many people who want to write a script based on some big property, thinking they can somehow magically sell it and then somehow equally magically get the rights. Put this notion entirely out of your head. With a very big IP (intellectual property), something major like Batman or G.I. Joe, the studio or company that owns the rights will want to have it developed and written by well-known people with strong credits and status in the field. They won’t turn over such an important property to an unknown.

But let’s say it’s something not as well known that has potential. You have to option the property first. This means a signed contract that clearly spells out what rights are being granted, what you’re paying or offering in return, and the time period allowed for you to sell the idea. You would want to have an option for at least two years. These things take more time than you might think.

The trick with optioning an established property is a) beating out people with bigger reps, more power and more money than you, and b) having the means to buy an option and pay a lawyer to draw up an option agreement. If you’re very lucky, you might be able to work out a deal that doesn’t involve money up front, but you can’t shortcut having a professionally written agreement. To do it on the cheap, you could try to find a sample option agreement on the net, but you’d better know a lot about IP law, copyright law, and trademark law first. Otherwise, you need to use an attorney who specializes in IP and/or copyright law. Sometimes, they’re called entertainment attorneys.

Alternatively, you can take your original concept and try to get it made in some other format first, such as putting out a comic book, or putting it on the internet as a web comic. Register your copyright with the Federal Copyright office first to protect yourself. See the “Animation Resources” section after Chapter 4 for more information.

Whatever you decide to pitch, it will need to be so extraordinary, so unique, and so special that it can grab the attention of studio or production executives who have hundreds, if not thousands, of ideas pitched at them year in and year out. Believe me, they’re heard it all. You will need to be good at delivering a quick, coherent, cohesive, and interesting verbal pitch of your idea. You must be thoroughly prepared for any question they might throw at you, which means having your concept fleshed out enough to cover anything they could want to know about it, beyond what is in the pitch bible. If the exec expresses interest, you can leave them a written version (often referred to as a “leave behind”).

Then, if the gods smile upon you, you may get a development deal and be paid money to continue working toward developing your idea into a full-fledged series. This is often known as “development hell.” Bear in mind that studios develop many more projects than they actually make. They might develop dozens of ideas for only a handful of series openings.

Getting in the Door

There is the obstacle of even getting in the door to pitch an idea to someone. Your strongest chance lies in having a list of animation credits to your name and an agent who can make the call to set the pitch meeting.

If you have strong credits in a related field, such as comics, games, or children’s books, or have an established property, you might still be able to pitch your concept, but you may not be considered as a candidate to write the show if you don’t have animation writing credits. One alternative is to write the pilot episode or a sample episode as part of your presentation in order to show that you have a grasp on writing an animation script. Of course, it had better be a very good script, or it could have the opposite effect. It’s still likely they’ll want to pair you up with an experienced animation producer and story editor whom they trust.

Without an agent or someone with connections to do it for you, you would have to make a cold call to the studio, network, or company to ask for a meeting. Your first step is to watch a lot of animation to determine which studio/network/channel is producing the type of animated show you want to pitch. Once you have a list, research them on the net, find out where they’re located, and try to get the names of their development executives. The title will be something along the lines of Director of Development, VP of Development, VP Creative Affairs, Senior VP Original Programming, and so on. If you want to pitch comedy, you want to make sure you get to the development executive who handles comedy rather than action-adventure, as these jobs are sometimes divided into genres. The jobs can also be divided by audience age range.

If you make the call yourself and ask for the executive’s office, you will end up dealing with an assistant. The assistant’s job is to be the gatekeeper—to weed out unwanted calls and make sure any calls that get through are valid business. The best thing you can do is win the good will of this assistant, who is very important to you in getting anywhere. Be unfailingly polite and professional. Have a clear and concise explanation of who you are and what you want. If the assistant deems you worth consideration, the odds are high you will first be requested to send a query letter and material for evaluation. If they request you to sign a release form or NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), do so. It’s a standard legal method of protecting themselves.

They may allow you to send it in digital form. If so, put your materials into a PDF format.

Keep your query letter short and to the point. Remind them that you spoke by phone and that the material was requested, so they don’t think it’s an unsolicited submission. Don’t waste a lot of time in a query letter trying to describe the property or do a big sales job. Give just enough to get a taste of who you are and what you’re offering, and let the material speak for itself.

If they ask for a hard copy, confirm that you have the proper mailing address. If you want the materials back, include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Otherwise, indicate that the materials don’t need to be returned.

Wait 3–4 weeks for a reply. If you don’t hear anything, place a very polite follow-up phone call or email to inquire. This will take patience, as it could take a long time for the exec (usually surrounded by reading material up to their eyebrows) to get to your material. If you hit the bulls-eye, then you might be invited to meet with an exec for further discussion. It’s a long shot, but my attitude is, the worst they can do is say no.

Getting an Agent

One of the frequent questions about animation is “Do I need an agent?” While I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary for animation in the way it is to write for live-action, I strongly recommend getting an agent. An agent gives you legitimacy. It immediately says to a potential employer that you’ve gotten through a significant gate that separates the amateur from the professional. An agent knows the market and the execs, who is looking for what, and should have the connections you need.

Having an agent also allows you to keep clear of the negotiating and money end of things, which is what you want. Let the agent run interference for any problems that come up so that you remain above the fray.

Back when I started out, I had no animation agent for the simple reason that television and film agents only dealt with live-action, and either had no awareness of animation, or didn’t consider it worth the effort.

Then, Candace Monteiro, of the Monteiro-Rose Agency, had the brilliant idea to gather up all those loose animation writers for representation. For a long time, this resulted in Candace repping the majority of animation writers.

Gradually, other agents and agencies realized there was something to be had here, and it’s now more common for agents to include animation writers for representation.

Probably, the best way to determine who the current animation agents are is via the online database setup by the WGA’s Department of Organizing. Go to https://www.wga.org, click on the Employers & Agents tab, click on find a writer, and enter the names of animation writers whose credits you’ve seen on the screen. If that writer is listed in the WGA database, it will show the writer’s agent and contact information. Do that for enough writers, and you will begin to see the same agent names showing up consistently. This will give you a good place to start.

Also, there is a general list of agents at wga.org. Click on the Employers & Agents tab, and click on Signatory Agency List. This provides a list of agents and agencies who have signed agreements with the WGA. It’s a good idea to double-check an agent here.

Getting an agent to read your spec script is the next hurdle. Do not send an unsolicited script to an agent. It will be returned unread. Many of these agents have as many clients as they feel comfortable handling and may not be open to taking on a new person. The task is to find one that will be open to at least reading your spec. Never pay a fee to have an agent read your script. Anyone who asks for a reading fee is not someone you want to deal with.

Your best bet is to get a personal recommendation, either from someone already represented by that agent or from someone (such as a producer, director, writer, or story editor) who has read your script and liked it enough to recommend you to an agent. This gets back to the value of networking and personal connections. A personal connection of some sort will get you the agent’s attention more effectively than coming in cold.

If you don’t have that sort of personal connection, your first step is to send a query letter or query email. As with any query letter, keep it short, simple, and to the point. Agents have highly attuned b.s. detectors, so keep it factual. Explain who you are, list any pertinent accomplishments (college degree, work in other media, winning contests, and so on), and ask whether the agent would be kind enough to read one of your spec scripts. Be patient. Follow up with polite inquires after a few weeks. If you never get an answer back, strike that one off your list and keep going.

A standard script agent’s commission is 10%. Avoid anyone who wants more. If you happen upon someone calling himself a manager, check carefully into his credentials. Who else does he manage? What has he accomplished for his clients? Managers are not held to the same licensing standards as agents, and they can charge whatever commission they want. Anything over 15%, however, should make you think long and hard about the value of that manager. Also, having a manager doesn’t negate the need for an agent. They perform two different functions. To put it in simple terms: an agent advises you, sends your scripts out to be read, and negotiates deals; a manager manages your overall career, connects you to people who can advance your career, and helps put together deals.

If you want or choose to proceed without an agent, consider using an entertainment attorney when you need a deal negotiated or a contract finalized. You’re going to pay upwards of $250–300.00 an hour, so be prepared for that. Those hours can pile up quickly. Work out ahead of time exactly what you can afford. State that very clearly to the lawyer and stick to it. In some instances, a lawyer might consider handling you for a commission instead, but usually only if that lawyer considers you a good prospect to be a long-term, high-earning client.

The one thing you don’t want to do is negotiate a deal yourself, unless you happen to have a law degree in IP and copyright law.

Once You Have an Agent

The worst mistake any writer can make is to think, “Great, I’ve got an agent. Now I can kick back, relax, let the agent get the jobs, and wait for the phone to ring.” Certainly, a good agent will be putting your name out and scouting for work, but you must continue to network, promote, get scripts out there, and do everything you can to bring in the work.

Agents are not the magic answer to success. They are a calling card, a confidante, an advisor, a negotiator, and a money-collector. But you must bring in the work using any and all techniques you would utilize without an agent.

Be positive and honest in your dealings with your agent. It’s a professional partnership that needs to be nurtured from both sides. Remember that you are not your agent’s sole client. They won’t be calling you every day or every week, maybe not even every month. You should stay in touch regularly with little reminders that you exist. That doesn’t mean pestering your agent every day, but once every couple of weeks is a good idea. Having new material or bits of good news will help keep your agent excited about repping you and gives them something to work with when putting your name out.

Getting Paid

Ideally, you will have an agent who will handle all negotiations, contractual affairs, and payments. If you’re new to the business and perhaps have just gotten an agent, I will share the primary rule that my first agent quickly pounded into my head with a sledgehammer: never, never, NEVER talk money. Always let your agent handle the money discussions. The agent’s job is to get you the best money and deal possible. Your job is to be creative and do the writing. Keep those things separate.

If you don’t have an agent, consider using an entertainment lawyer, as mentioned earlier, and let the lawyer talk money.

If you insist on doing it yourself, it will be up to you to handle the contract; find out from the company to whom, when, and how you send an invoice; and follow up on getting paid.

Don’t expect to get rich writing animation. There are exceptions (as in any business), those exceptions being people covered by a WGA (Writers Guild of America) agreement, or who have the clout to command large money.

The dirty secret of the majority of television series animation is that animation writers are making little more than they made in the 1980s. There has been a small improvement in rates, but not much. Back in the mid-1980s, getting $6,000 for a half-hour script was considered terrific money. How many people do you know whose income has barely budged in decades?

What a company or studio pays depends on how big or how successful they are, and what market they operate in. The smaller, independent studios, foreign co-production, or the company doing syndicated animation can’t afford to pay as well as a major studio, network, or big cable channel.

At the time I write this, average fees for a half-hour are between $8,000 and $9,000, with some places paying $10,000. The Animation Guild has a base rate of only $7,400. The fees for an eleven-minute script would be half of these rates. Beware of anyone trying to pay less than $7,400 for a half hour. Writing a bible or pilot can go for $15,000 and up.

If it happened to be a show covered by the WGA, agents commonly negotiate scale plus 10%. The additional 10% is to cover their commission. See the section on the WGA below for more information on what scale is.

There will also be no residuals (additional payments for repeat airings of the episode), and no royalties from DVD sales or other auxiliary markets unless the show is covered by the WGA.

So let’s talk about unions.

Unions and Organizations

There are two labor organizations that deal with animation writers: the WGA, and IATSE Local 839 (The Animation Guild). This is an especially tricky and complicated topic, due to the history of animation development and the quirks of Federal labor law governing unions.

As you may recall in my brief opening chapter on animation history, actual scriptwriters entered the process very late when the needs of television required writers in addition to storyboard artists or “gagmen.” Consequently, there were no writers taken into account by the two unions involved until very much after the fact, by which time the animation business was set in its ways and had no interest in seeing animation writers get the benefits of union protection.

Without the protection of a union, animation writers were (and are) subject to a great many abuses. Typical abuses in the past have included the following:

Getting writers to work for unacceptably low amounts of money or do ridiculous amounts of work for one payment.

“Cattle calls” in which dozens of writers are called together at once to pitch for a series which only had a limited number of scripts available. Writers would generate pitch after pitch with no guarantee of getting a job, against the dozens of other writers doing the same. This practice has been pretty much stamped out by animation writers taking a stand, but there is nothing to prevent it from happening again.

Giving writers only a gang credit or no credit at all. A gang credit would be one long list of every writer who worked on a series, ganged together in the end credits so that it was impossible to know who had written which episode. While most shows now do a much better job of giving a writer a proper credit up front, there is nothing to guarantee it except the good will of the company or studio.

Animation writers aren’t guaranteed the right to sell their scripts (copies of the script itself), as WGA writers are.

No residuals or other participation (for DVD, streaming, and so on).

No health insurance or pension.

No arbitration over disputes, nor anyone to help a writer with a dispute.

Along with many of my fellow writers, I have been part of a fight going on for decades to achieve WGA union protection for animation writers.

The WGAw and the Animation Writers Caucus

The Screen Writers Guild was formed in 1933, reorganized into the Writers Guild of America, west, and Writers Guild of America, east, in 1954 (members living west of the Mississippi River belong to the WGAw, and members living east of that boundary belong to the WGAe). The early union was focused on the only game in town at the time—live-action movies. Because theatrical animation of the time was created by artists, it was specifically excluded from later bargaining negotiations. Coverage for television writing was included much later.

The document that lays out every detail concerning how scriptwriters are paid and treated is the MBA (Minimum Basic Agreement). The MBA covers what the minimum payment will be to the writer. Minimum payment is known as scale (for example, “My agent negotiated a deal that was scale plus 10%.”).

The minimum payments for any project are based on several factors, such as

Whether it’s a theatrical feature, TV feature, series, and so on.

The project’s budget (mainly for theatrical features).

The time length (mainly for TV).

For TV, the time slot in which the show will air (daytime versus primetime, and so on).

The MBA also covers how writing credits are determined, what the residuals will be (a residual is a payment that is made each time a TV show is rerun), rules on how writers have to be treated, provisions for arbitration in case a credit is disputed, payments to cover health and pension, and a myriad of other details designed to protect the rights and interests of writers. The MBA is renegotiated every three years.

When a studio or company signs the MBA, they become signatories to that agreement, meaning they are legally bound to abide by these rules in every detail. While the company must pay no less than the minimum amount set out in the MBA, it’s up to your agent, lawyer, or you to negotiate a higher price, if possible. There is no upper limit to how much a writer can be paid.

Most movie and television production entities that produce live-action are signatories to the MBA, but until fairly recently there were few studios or companies that exclusively produced animation that were signatories. Because scriptwriters only became a serious factor in the animation process in the 1960s, it wasn’t until around the 1980s that we began the first serious efforts to be covered by the WGA. I won’t go into the tedious details (which is a book in itself), but we found ourselves up against two major obstacles. One was due to the tangled complications of Federal labor law that governs how guilds and unions can operate. The other—no surprise—was (and is) stiff resistance by the animation companies and studios.

In the early 1990s, I joined the Steering Committee of the newly established Animation Writers Caucus. The WGAw formed this caucus as a means for organizing and representing animation writers under the Guild. For a minimal fee (waived if you already belong to the WGA), anyone who has written the equivalent of a half hour of produced animation can join the AWC. A member of the AWC is considered an associate member of the WGAw, which provides certain benefits that include receiving Written By magazine, Guild mailings, access to the credit union, reduced member rate for registering scripts, and joining the WGA Film Society. The AWC arranges panels, a monthly gathering, and other events. Each year the AWC bestows an Animation Writing Award. According to their website, the award is “given to members of the Animation Writers Caucus or Writers Guild who have advanced the literature of animation in film and/or television through the years and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the animation writer.”

Most importantly, the AWC, under the auspices of the WGAw, works to bring animation writers fully into the WGAw by having studios or companies sign the MBA. Note that the WGAw will accept applications for the AWC no matter which part of the United States you live in.

I had the pleasure to work on the first animation series covered by a WGA agreement, Pocket Dragon Adventures, in 1997. The first show fully covered by the MBA was the primetime animated series The PJs in 1998. Since then, more shows have been organized and become signatories to the MBA, though nearly all of them are primetime series. This is because of what I said earlier about primetime animation shows being mostly written by sitcom and live-action writers who were accustomed to writing as WGA members and expected to have those rights, benefits, and protections.

The important thing to know about all of this is that should you ever find yourself in a position of power or have the necessary clout, you should fight to have your show done as a signatory to the WGA. To get help in doing this, contact the WGA Organizing Department at 323-782-4567.

Having worked in live-action as a WGA writer and in animation without the benefit of the WGA, I cannot emphasize enough how important this struggle is. The WGA is the right home for animation writers. Let’s make it happen.

IATSE Union 839 aka The Animation Guild

The cartoonists union began as the Commercial Artists and Designers Union which won their first contract after a courageous strike in 1937. This was followed by a Screen Cartoonists Guild in Hollywood and numerous battles to organize the artists and animators at major studios such as Disney and Warner Brothers.

In 1951, the animators voted to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and a year later they became Local 839 under IATSE. More recently, Local 839 renamed itself The Animation Guild (TAG).

Local 839 covers layout artist, ink and paint artists, 2D and 3D animators, storyboard artists, and other related categories. Since there were no actual scriptwriters early on, the people who came up with story were simply called “story men.” And by the odd manner in which writing developed in animation, the people writing animation fell under this category of “story men” (later “story persons”). Thus rather by accident, 839 has ended up with scriptwriters (now at least referred to as “animation writers”) within the body of union members who are otherwise working in the art end of the business.

If you get a job to write for a show that is covered by 839 and you are unable to get WGA representation instead, you will need to pay an initiation fee and dues to 839. Depending on what you earn, you may also be eligible for health insurance, and there will be payments made to a pension and welfare plan. There are no individually paid residuals in the manner of the WGA. As of the publication of this book, the bottom rate for a half hour of animation under 839 was around $2,015 for a synopsis and outline, and around $7,083 for a teleplay.

Location, Location, Location

In the United States, if you want to break into animation writing in a serious way, your best bet is to be in Los Angeles. That is still where the bulk of animation development is done, where the major studios are, and where most of the conceptual and writing work originates. This is also where you need to be to meet the people who hire writers and to do personal networking.

There are some animation companies in San Francisco and New York and those would be other possibilities to explore, provided those companies actually hire writers. In many cases, the animation company provides the art while the scripts come from somewhere else ...like L.A.

There is independent animation production being done elsewhere, as in Florida, but the trick once again is to find places that hire writers.

If you’re in Canada, go to the major centers of animation production, Vancouver or Toronto.

Finally, there is the overseas factor. More and more animation is being done using co-production financing from studios in France, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, India, Taiwan, and elsewhere. There’s no easy, straightforward way for an American to get work for those companies. It would once again be a matter of networking. If you live overseas, however, you would be advised to find out where the largest producers of animation are in your country and move to that location. Your goal would be to meet people at that company who can hire you, and you want to be close enough physically to do that.

You can do virtual networking, of course, and attempt to make connections through social media or animation-related groups. The bottom line is that if you have terrific scripts and can get people to read them and give you work, you can live wherever you want. The trick is making that happen from a distance.

Animation Resources

Books

Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer, by J. Michael Straczynski.

The Complete Book of Scriptwriting, by J. Michael Straczynski.

How to Write for Animation, by Jeffrey Scott.

On Story—Screenwriters and Their Craft, edited by Barbara Morgan and Maya Perez, published by the Austin Film Festival.

Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films, by Dean Movshovitz.

Television Writing from the Inside Out, by Larry Brody.

Trades and Magazines

ANIMATION MAGAZINE

https://www.animationmagazine.net

WRITTEN BY (WGA monthly magazine)

To subscribe: http://www.writtenby.com/subscribe

To see a digital version: http://www.writtenby.com

VARIETY

http://www.variety.com

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com

Organizations

WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA WEST

https://www.wga.org

WGA ANIMATION WRITERS CAUCUS

https://www.wga.org/the-guild/going-guild/caucuses/animation

LOCAL 839/THE ANIMATION GUILD

https://animationguild.org

ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DU FILM D’ANIMATION (ASIFA)

https://www.asifa-hollywood.org

WOMEN IN ANIMATION

https://womeninanimation.org

Contests and Competitive Writing Programs

SCRIPTAPALOOZA SCRIPTWRITING CONTEST

This contest has been around since 1998. It takes script submissions for both features and television, and also offers script feedback services and a fellowship. The contest welcomes writers from around the world.

While Scriptapalooza is not specifically for animation writing, there were at least two writers who won Emmy awards for writing animated programs who used the Scriptapalooza TV competition to get their breaks into the industry.

https://scriptapaloozatv.com

email: info@scriptapalooza.com

call or text 310-594-5384

NICKELODEON WRITING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Nickelodeon Productions has begun a Writing Fellowship Program for both live-action and animation, and if you qualify, you will not only get to write, but also receive a salary. They have two tracks: general and preschool. According to their website, “The Preschool Track was created to develop writers specifically interested in writing and/or creating shows for the preschool demographic.”

This requires submitting a spec script based on their requirements, so prepare to do that work. Being accepted into a program like this would be a huge boost to getting started in animation writing.

The program has both domestic and international branches. For more information, go to https://www.nickanimation.com/writing-program. You can sign up for a mailing list of updates and news.

They also have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NickWriting) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/NickWriting).

email: info.writing@nick.com

Or contact them via:

Nickelodeon Animation

231 W. Olive Avenue

Burbank, CA 91502

WARNER BROTHERS WRITERS WORKSHOP

https://televisionworkshop.warnerbros.com

Note: You must submit a spec script based on a list of accepted shows. There were a few animated shows included in the Comedy category, such as South Park, Archer, and Family Guy. There were no animated shows in the Drama category, but succeeding with a live-action script would be another way to move into animation writing.

UNIVERSAL ANIMATION WRITING PROGRAM

https://www.universaltalentdevelopment.com/universal-animation-writers

Note: Writers have the option to submit writing samples for a feature film, or one of two Television categories, Kids 6–11 or Preschool 3–5.

SCREENCRAFT.ORG

https://screencraft.org/animation

Note: Their website says “Accepting features, shorts and TV pilots, with top industry judges who love and produce great animated film and television.”

SCRIPT SOFTWARE

SCREENCRAFT.ORG offers a deal on three different scriptwriting software, including Final Draft.

https://screencraft.org/screenwriting-software

Script Networking Sites

THE BLACK LIST

https://blcklst.com

Note: This is a highly prestigious list. Originally, it consisted only of screenplays already in circulation that were highly recommended by industry professionals. However, they have also launched a service as follows that allows anyone with a screenplay to have it added to their database for $25 a month. It becomes available to their industry professional membership.

In addition, they offer a reading service: “Writers can also pay an additional $50 per read to have their script read by readers we have hired who have expressed a specific interest in the genre that they are evaluating. We encourage, but do not require, writers to purchase these reads as it generates additional data which we can use to more efficiently and effectively connect these scripts to people who may like them and want to reach out to the authors.”

At this writing, they accept only screenplays, but they’ve indicated that they may expand to television scripts in the future. When I asked whether they accepted animation scripts in their TV pilot category, they replied, “Absolutely! Writers are more than welcome to host and evaluate their animated pilots.”

INKTIP

According to their site: “The mission of InkTip.com is threefold:

Help the producer easily find a good script.

Save time for the agent and manager in locating the right people for their clients’ scripts, or new clients.

Greatly increase exposure for the screenwriter.

Our initial research indicated that over 150 production companies use the internet to find scripts, with more than twenty-five percent of these companies boasting good to excellent film credits. Since that time, the figure has greatly increased and InkTip.com, by itself, has more than 2000 registered industry members who now have access to writers’ scripts.”

There are fees to post scripts to Inktip.

https://www.inktip.com

COVERFLY: SCREENPLAY DATABASE SERVICE

https://www.coverfly.com

Note: Coverfly responded to a request for info with “Yes, Coverfly tracks TV Pilots and animation scripts!”

Film Festivals for Writers

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL

https://austinfilmfestival.com

Note: The festival responded to my request about animation scripts with this info: “Yes our competition is open to animation scripts in all categories including the teleplay competition. We’ve had a number of animation scripts advance over the years and had one advance to the Semifinals last year. The number is, of course, far less than live-action material but since we are known as ‘The Writers Festival’, the quality of the story and writing come first regardless of the type of script. We’ve also brought on many leading animation studios and production companies to be involved with our competition including Pixar, Dreamworks Animation, Walt Disney Animation, Nickelodeon, and Sony Pictures Animation.”

SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

https://slamdance.com

Note: Slamdance responded to my request for info with “Yes, we do accept animation scripts in all categories, including TV pilots.”

PAGE INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITING AWARDS

https://pageawards.com

Note: See their “Short Film Scripts” category.

NEW MEDIA FILM FESTIVAL

https://newmediafilmfestival.com

Note: Their website says, “All Scripts. Short or long form, animation, comedy, sitcom, drama, books, web series, reality, live, TV anything scripted, this is for you. There is not a limit on page numbers. Top 3 winners in this category win Industry memberships valued at $1000.00 each & are still considered for Grand Prize Award.”

Schools

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES EXTENSION

https://writers.uclaextension.edu/courses

FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY—ONLINE

https://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/creative-writing-bachelor/courses

https://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/creative-writing-certificate

https://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/creative-writing-master

COMICS EXPERIENCE: WRITING FOR ANIMATION

https://www.comicsexperience.com/courses/film-tv-animation

Note: They offer this course about once a year. Sign up on their site to receive notifications.

VANCOUVER ANIMATION SCHOOL

https://www.vanas.ca/certificates/writing-for-animation

KHAN ACADEMY: PIXAR STORYTELLING

https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/pixar/storytelling

This offers a free six-part educational series that includes We Are All Storytellers, Character, Story Structure, Visual Language, Film Grammar, Pitching, and Feedback.

WRITERS BOOT CAMP

http://www.writersbootcamp.com/index.asp

Note: Not specifically about animation writing, but deals with scriptwriting.

Informational Sites

THE ANIMATION WORLD NETWORK

overflowing with general industry news, also has a database of job offerings.

https://www.awn.com

THE WRITERS STORE

articles and other useful info about scriptwriting in general

https://www.writersstore.com

ANIME SUPERHERO

https://animesuperhero.com/category/channels/toons

ONSTORY.TV

http://www.onstory.tv

Note: Website by the Austin Film Festival with material on the creative process from leading writers and filmmakers. Not specifically about animation, but generally informative about scriptwriting

Copyright and Legal Information

FEDERAL COPYRIGHT AND REGISTRATION INFO

https://www.copyright.gov

FCC REGULATIONS ON CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING

https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/childtv.html

Note: The Federal Communications Commission oversees programming regulations for the United States only.

Writers on Writing

STEPHEN J. CANNELL

Top TV writer wrote a five-part lecture on scriptwriting (full of excellent tips).

https://www.writerswrite.com/screenwriting/cannell

WORDPLAY

Website of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, writers of Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean and other features. The site features numerous columns about writing and Hollywood.

http://www.wordplayer.com

JEFFREY SCOTT

Long-time animation writer. He has several of his scripts available for free on his site.

http://jeffreyscott.tv

Jeffrey also writes a blog for the Animation World Network.

https://www.awn.com/blogs/fade-screenwriting-jeffrey-scott

Entry Level Industry Jobs

TRACKINGB: INTERACTIVE ONLINE HOLLYWOOD TRACKING BOARD

http://www.trackingb.com/jobs

Note: Accessing the jobs section requires subscribing to the site at an annual rate.

Obtaining Scripts

SCRIPTSLUG.COM

https://scriptslug.com—this site has a wealth of animation scripts that are free to read, both feature and television.

SCRIPTCITY.COM

https://www.scriptcity.com—mostly live-action scripts, but there are some animation scripts. These scripts must be purchased.

In addition, investigate writers’ personal websites and search on eBay. I sell scripts via my website: www.christymarx.com

Comics

5

History/Evolution of the Comic Book

My belief is that the storytelling form we know today as “comic books” goes back tens of thousands of years to the paintings of animals, hunters, and shamans on cave walls. After all, they are visual depictions “framed” by their setting, and no one can authoritatively say they weren’t intended to tell a pictorial story. I believe that the urge to tell a story through images is as old as human consciousness.

Egyptian artwork qualifies, with scenes sometimes set out in strips or panels, accompanied by “text” in the form of hieroglyphs.

The Greeks told visual stories by wrapping them around vases or around the friezes of their temples.

Comic books are referred to as one of the true American-generated art forms (along with jazz), but I think the truth is more universal. However, because this section deals with writing for the modern form, I should define it.

Essentially, what I’m talking about is sequential storytelling conveyed by a combination of pictures and text. Text could potentially be absent, but there is still writing involved in coming up with the storyline.

From a modern viewpoint, the evolution of comic books goes back to the invention of the printing press and the development of the newspaper. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics defines newspaper strip comics as “…a serially published, episodic, open-ended dramatic narrative or series of linked anecdotes about recurrent, identified characters, told in successive drawings regularly enclosing ballooned dialogue or its equivalent, and minimized narrative text.”

Prior to that form, however, there were political and social satirical single-panel cartoons dating back to the early 1800s. Beginning in 1867, the British magazine Judy had a long-running serial character called Alley Slope whose misadventures were told with illustrations accompanied by text captions beneath the image. The disreputable Alley Slope was an illustrated superstar of his time, appearing on a wide range of merchandise from pocket watches to ashtrays to cast-iron doorstops.

A key turning point in the evolution of comics came on October 18, 1896 with the publication of a strip called The Yellow Kid, drawn by Richard Felton Outcault and published in William Randolph Hearst’s American Humorist, a weekly comic supplement that came with his New York Journal.

In this six-panel cartoon strip, a young boy (The Yellow Kid of the series) has an exchange with a parrot. The dialogue for The Yellow Kid himself is printed on the Kid’s long, blank garment, but the dialogue for the parrot appears in a rough balloon form. The action is dynamic and directly sequential, each panel leading from one instant of action to the next.

The success of The Yellow Kid led to the continued development of integrating dialogue with images from the late 1800s into the 1900s, expanding upon the use of word balloons. The early newspaper strips were humorous or fantastical, such as the beautiful whimsy of Little Nemo in Slumberland. A next step in the early 1900s was introducing continuing storylines and weekly comic strips. In 1912, the New York Journal again broke ground with the first full daily comic strip page. Soon, other papers followed suit and the popularity of the comic strip took off.

From the 1920s into the 1940s, there was an explosion of serious storytelling and continued stories that led to such enduring series as Little Orphan Annie, Terry and the Pirates, Dick Tracy, The Phantom, Prince Valiant, and Brenda Starr, and the development of soap-opera strips such as Mary Worth and Apartment 3-G.

The first steps toward what we think of as a comic book now began when the early newspaper strips were reprinted in a magazine/book format. The Yellow Kid, like his predecessor Alley Slope, was republished in a book format and was heavily merchandised. The modern comic book really took shape with the publication of Famous Funnies in 1934. It was the inspiration of Maxwell Gaines, Harry Wildenberg, and George Janosik who worked at Eastern Color Printing Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. Promotional one-off compilations of newspaper strips had done well, so they began a line of books featuring existing newspaper strips and put out something slightly larger than today’s comic books, but in the same basic format.

Famous Funnies was distributed to newsstands and sold for ten cents, a price that would endure until 1961 when the price of a comic book went to twelve cents. George Delacourte of Dell Publishing got into publishing comic books in 1936 by creating Dell Comics. Maxwell Gaines went on to establish All-American Comics (later a part of DC) and then the EC comic line which became infamous for its no-holds-barred horror stories.

Harry Donenfeld and J.S. Liebowitz began Detective Comics (now DC Comics) in 1935. A few years later, in November 1939, a pulp publisher named Martin Goodman began publishing Marvel Comics (going through a number of name changes such as Atlas and Timely before settling down to Marvel Comics in 1963). DC and Marvel have dominated comic book publishing ever since.

It was the work of two young men in Cleveland, Ohio, that brought about the next key turning point in the evolution of comics. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created an entirely new kind of character—an alien transported to Earth, with superhuman powers and a secret identity. They called him Superman. Although the concept of a secret identity wasn’t new (having been seen in novels such as The Scarlet Pimpernel and in pulp fiction with Zorro), the concept of a being with super-powers was new.

Siegel and Shuster spent four years trying to sell their new hero as a newspaper strip. They finally sold him to editor Vin Sullivan at DC. Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938. The superhero genre was born.

Though not technically a superhero, one cannot overlook the creation of The Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Other long-lasting superheroes followed throughout the 1940s, such as The Flash, The Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Hawkman.

The point at which comic books were created using new and original characters, rather than relying upon newspaper strips, is also the point where the writer became a separate entity from the single writer/artist of the strips. This was largely a function of the need for more material than a single person could produce. Siegel was the writer and Shuster the artist in the Superman team. Bob Kane the artist credited Bill Finger the writer as his partner in creation of The Batman.

The success of Superman and Batman spawned a host of copycats, most of which are long-forgotten. Early on, Marvel Comics created some memorable characters such as The Human Torch (the original being an android rather than a human being), Sub-Mariner, and Captain America.

From Superman, comics gained the archetype of the suspicious girlfriend trying to ferret out the hero’s true identity. The creation of Robin spawned a horde of teenage sidekicks, forever imprinting that archetype upon the field.

Comics hit their first major stumbling block and went into a steep decline primarily due to a psychiatrist named Fredric Wertham. In the 1940s, Wertham linked crimes by juvenile delinquents to the association of reading comic books. He published his first anti-comics article in 1947, beginning a crusade to ban comics that culminated with publication in 1953 of his book, Seduction of the Innocent. He was the first in a long line of authoritarian figures who blame crime and acts of violence on some form of media, as we’ve seen since with similar blame laid on television, toys, and videogames. I won’t debate the merits of Wertham’s arguments, but the outcome was to cripple comics publishing.

Publishers defended themselves by establishing the Comics Code Authority (CCA) in 1954. A comic book that wanted to stay on the newsstands needed the CCA stamp on the cover of the book. The Code directed how crime and criminals could be portrayed, how legal authorities had to be portrayed (always in a positive light), that good had to triumph over evil, that gore was forbidden, that use of the words “crime,” “horror,” and “terror” were greatly restricted, and that vampires and cannibals and zombies were forbidden. There were restrictions on how comics could deal with such topics such as religion, marriage, and sex. There were regulations on what sort of advertising could be accepted. It boiled down to reducing comics to a bland, wholesome medium considered safe for children, and children were considered the only readership.

Sales plummeted. Superheroes took a nose dive. Comics floundered. There was still variety in comics, covering genres of war, westerns, and romance, along with humor books, but horror comics mostly ceased to exist. Eventually, at the end of the 1950s, DC revived and updated a number of superhero characters and had success doing so. Superheroes were about to explode into the limelight once more.

The next big step in the evolution of comics and comic writing came in the form of prolific, long-time comics writer, Stan Lee, and his dynamic creative partnerships with artists such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. In 1961, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created The Fantastic Four, an entirely new way of portraying comic book superheroes. The FF had no secret identities, had family relationships, argued and carried on like real people, and had none of the usual superhero stereotypes. The success of The Fantastic Four was followed by the creation of Spider-Man, The Hulk, The X-Men, Thor, Dr. Strange, The Avengers, and many more that rejuvenated the comics medium. Heroes from the 1940s, such as Captain America and Sub-Mariner, were resurrected.

Counterculture latched onto comics. In 1968, what is considered the first “underground” comic was published—Zap #1 by R. Crumb. Other great underground comics followed, such as Mr. Natural, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, and Air Pirates. Being filled with sex and violence, plus political, cultural, and religious satire, they operated well outside of the mainstream.

Then came Spider-Man issues #96 to #98 in 1971 in which Stan Lee wrote a three-part anti-drug storyline. It doesn’t sound groundbreaking, but even mentioning drug use meant that the books had to be published without the approval stamp of the CCA. And so they were… with no ramifications whatsoever. They weren’t picketed by angry mobs, sued, or confiscated by the government. They just sold, like any other comic, but without that little CCA stamp.

By the 1980s, the CCA was defunct. Underground publishers ignored it, and gradually, the mainstream publishers stopped worrying about it.

Soon, DC began publishing more “relevant” stories and creators everywhere rebelled against the narrow strictures of the Code. In 1974, Mike Friedrich published a line of “above ground” black and white comics called Star Reach. The Star Reach books used professional comic book writers and artists, but didn’t go through the CCA because they were sold only by direct sale, meaning to comic book stores rather than on the newsstands. It was the first attempt at creating alternative, independent comics.

In 1979, Wendy and Richard Pini began the publication of their long-running, highly successful independently published series, Elfquest. Numerous alternative comics publishers have come and gone: Pacific, Eclipse, First, and CrossGen. Others have managed to stay in the business, such as Dark Horse and IDW, by moving beyond pure comics publishing and into other media, such as movies.

As those of us who grew up reading comics became adults who wrote and drew comics, we wanted comics to grow up with us. Marvel and DC both have lines of comics for a more mature audience, and comics designed for younger children. With the CCA no longer valid, DC, Marvel, Image, and other publishers instituted their own ratings systems. DC instituted a rating system with four tiers: Everyone (good for all readers); T for Teen—ages 12–13 and up; T+ for Teen Plus—ages 15 and up; and Mature (17 years and older). Marvel’s rating system is nearly the same.

With the creation of the direct sale market and comic book stores (replacing newsstand distribution), it was possible for comics publishing to reach an older audience. Innovative alternative comics such as Love & Rockets by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Concrete by Paul Chadwick, and Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore further proved that comics can be a mature, challenging, and intelligent medium for adults.

Graphic novels gained in presence and prestige. Unlike the transient monthly comics, graphic novels occupy more permanent space in bookstores and libraries, where they are treated more like print books. Traditional publishers are publishing more graphic novels via special divisions and publishing groups. Graphic novels have become a popular format for serious, non-genre, and genre-breaking explorations, such as Maus by Art Spiegelman, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, and March by Congressman John Lewis.

This divide between graphic novels and monthly comics is the divide between a book that has its own publishing schedule and is sold like a print book (whether in a comics shop or a bookstore), and what are considered magazine periodicals that must maintain a monthly (or shorter) schedule with a continuous grind for new content and a short shelf life mainly in comics stores. Much of the advice in this book is geared toward the latter, but is relevant to graphic novels as well.

Whatever the content, comics are also a business and one that has been in decline, as far as the numbers are concerned. The big publishers turn to gimmicks (special covers, multiple variant covers for a single issue, the “death” of a major character, reboots of the entire line of a publisher’s characters) to pump up sales, or they totally reinvent old characters in an attempt to connect with a new audience. Comic book sales have dropped; comics have become less a medium unto themselves and more a medium that is used to generate other, more profitable product.

More than ever, comics are used as a launching platform for blockbuster films, television series, toys, licensed merchandise, and videogames. DC is part of the Time-Warner entertainment juggernaut and has moved its entire business from its traditional home in New York to Burbank, CA. Marvel was acquired by Disney and has established a special division strictly to deal with turning their characters into movies and other media. Movie production companies are being formed specifically for the purpose of turning comic books into film. Streaming companies, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, turn comics properties into series. It’s common to see a popular movie or television series generate a subsequent line of comics, along with the requisite media novel tie-in or videogame or what have you.

Big name TV/movie writers such as Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) write comics, while numerous comic book writers (such as Stan Lee, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Jeph Loeb, Geoff Johns) moved into writing for film, TV, and animation.

Comics have moved beyond their original paper and ink medium, spawning a growing library of digital comics available through such services as Comixology. In 2018, Comixology moved beyond being a hosting service and began publishing their own line of original books. Some digital comics have incorporated limited amounts of animation. Madefire offers a large library of digitized comics from major publishers, as well as their motion book tech.

In 2018, Archie Comics announced a line of Archie motion comics (using the Madefire motion book tech) streaming exclusively on music platform Spotify.

Whether paper or digital, comics continue to entertain us with visual storytelling.

Publishing Options

What you decide to do as a writer for comics depends a great deal on your personal goals and what you want to accomplish. You can be a purist creating a comic book purely for the sake of telling a story in that medium, or you can go to work for a large publisher hoping for a consistent career and income, or you can create a book specifically aimed at the comics-to-film market. The difference between now and a few decades ago is that you have that choice.

While a large segment of the population continues to mistakenly believe comics are “kids’ stuff,” that is no longer true. The major publishers have realized that they need books aimed for younger kids, in the hope they will grow into readers of the myriad of comics made for teenagers and adults.

That’s a function of the marketing, not the form itself. Like any other art form, it can be inspired and inspiring, or it can be insipid.

Here are your major outlets for writing a comic:

Work-for-hire for a major publisher—Marvel or DC. This means writing for one of their established books in which you have no rights or ownership.

Write for an alternative publisher, such as Dark Horse, Boom! Studios, Aftershock Comics, or IDW. Publishers on this tier are more open to new ideas for books.

Image Comics was formed in 1992 by a number of comics creators for the purpose of publishing work in which they kept complete ownership. It was a smart idea and one that worked especially well for Spawn creator Todd MacFarlane. Image publishes creator-owned comics only, and they require a proposal that includes sample artwork, so you would need to have an artist working with you. Their submission guidelines give the details: https://imagecomics.com/about/submissions.

Publish your own book. This is a tough road to walk and works best if you are both a writer and an artist (otherwise, you need to form a partnership with an artist), but it gives you the maximum control over your work, if you can afford to do it. There have been many Kickstarter comics projects, but those are usually by more established writers and artists.

Publish on the internet. Web comics are a viable alternative, though it’s hard to make money doing it, unless you’re discovered by a publisher or producer or someone who can finance your dream. Some successful web comics hold Kickstarter campaigns to publish the webcomic in a paper edition.

Genres and Categories

Comics are best served by having a variety of genres and types. Here’s a sampling of various categories:

Superhero: Certainly one of the predominant genres, ranging from individuals—Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Black Panther—to teams—X-Men, The Avengers, Justice League, Teen Titans—to the offbeat—Astro City and Umbrella Academy

Anthropomorphic animals: Ranging from “funny animals” (Donald Duck, Looney Tunes) to semi-serious (My Little Pony, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) to serious (Usagi Yojimbo, Maus)

Family fare: Archie and Disney

Media tie-ins: Buffy, Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, The Simpsons, and Rick and Morty

sf/fantasy: Saga, Star Wars, A Distant Soil, Elfquest, Lumberjanes, Bone, Love & Rockets, Hellboy, Descender, and Paper Girls

Horror: The Walking Dead

Contemporary: Sin City, Stray Bullets, and Strangers in Paradise

Autobiographical and memoir: American Splendor, March, Fun Home, and They Called Us Enemy

Manga: Japanese comics, also American comics done in this style

Miscellaneous genres: War stories, westerns, horror, erotica, and romances (genres that are scarce in the current market, but a few titles can be found here and there)

Political/historical events (usually one-off books): March and Anne Frank

Fumetti: Also called photo comics, these are comics using photos in the panels instead of illustrations, complete with word balloons like a regular comic. “Fumetti” means “little puffs of smoke,” taken from the idea that the word balloons look like clouds of smoke coming out of the characters’ mouths.

6

What Is a Comic Book?

Make mistakes. Make great mistakes, make wonderful mistakes, make glorious mistakes. Better to make a hundred mistakes than to stare at a blank piece of paper too scared to do anything wrong, too scared to do anything.

Neil Gaiman

Before getting into terminology, which is minimal, let’s examine the standard formats in which “comic books” appear:

MONTHLY COMIC BOOK: The best-known format, fairly standardized (at the moment) at 10 1/8″ tall by 6 5/8″ wide, center-stapled. Quality can vary, but paper and coloring is vastly better now than in the old newsprint, four-color days of comics. Story content in the mainstream book run around 22–23 pages, though the actual length of a book can be quite a bit more depending on how many ads it contains. The number of pages in a monthly book, or any comic format, is also determined by the number of pages that are printed per sheet. For example, a standard figure is 4 pages to a printing sheet; therefore, a book that is 24 pages long is printed on 6 large sheets of paper, which are then cut and folded to make the book. To print one less sheet would give you a book with 20 pages; add a sheet, and you get 28 pages. The printing requirements determine the overall length of a book.

Books from alternative publishers can vary. The various comics put out by the Hernandez brothers (Love & Rockets spin-offs) ran around 50–52 pages of story in black and white, for example. Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo has 24 pages of story, also in black and white.

GRAPHIC NOVEL/TRADE PAPERBACK: A graphic novel (new material) or trade paperback (a collection of previously published material) can vary in size and length, but tend to be roughly the same length and height dimensions of a monthly book (6 1/2″ by 10″). They are perfect-bound rather than stapled, meaning they have a square spine and the pages are glued to the spine, with a thick stock for the cover. The title and other info are printed on the spine. The story might run 100 pages or so. Usually, they have high-quality paper, coloring, and printing because they are higher priced. A graphic novel/trade paperback can occupy a bookshelf indefinitely because it is treated as a book rather than a monthly magazine.

HARDCOVER GRAPHIC NOVEL: More rare, but when we printed The Sisterhood of Steel Graphic Novel, we also did a limited edition run of hardcovers which were signed and numbered and sold for a higher price.

MINI-SERIES, LIMITED SERIES: These might run anywhere from 3 issues on up (I’ve seen something billed as a 2-issue mini-series, but I think that’s pushing the concept a bit far) and might be printed in the same format and same length as a monthly book, or in a graphic novel form, though usually less pages than a stand-alone graphic novel. A mini-series might also later be collected and published as one or more trade paperbacks.

EXPERIMENTAL SIZES: In 2018, DC experimented with a number of new lines of books. The books aimed at the YA (Young Adult) audience were a smaller trim size than a standard comic. Another line was aimed for a more mature and serious audience in a taller, wider, perfect-bound format. And yet another experiment was 100-page comics sold only in a single market, in this case Walmart. A comic from France was republished at 11″ high by 8 3/8″ wide with 64 pages. Variations like these can catch attention, but may cause retailers problems with presentation and storage.

MANGA: As Japanese comics, called manga, grew in popularity, American publishers jumped on the bandwagon to produce manga-sized books (Figure 6.1). The format size is usually 5″ by 7.5″, soft cover, perfect bound, in black and white. They are thicker than usual books, and page length can vary a lot. I’ve seen them with anywhere between 61 and 110 pages of story.

Figure 6.1
This Elfquest graphic novel (left) was also published in a manga format and size, seen on the right for comparison.

Just to confuse things, there are people publishing actual manga from Japanese creators. True Japanese manga is read back to front, right to left—the total opposite of how we in the Western world read comics or books. This makes reprinting them for a western market trickier than it sounds, because rearranging the pages disrupts the flow of the artwork. Some manga published in the American market have dealt with this by keeping the right-to-left arrangement of art and balloons, requiring Western readers to learn that method of reading.

It isn’t just American comics publishers grabbing onto the manga format. Regular book publishers are seeing a potential market, ranging from educational publishers wanting to reach out to younger readers to publishers of romance novels seeking to expand their audience by converting prose romance novels into manga.

One final comment about manga: if done right, manga is about much more than a mere size and shape format. There is, of course, the unique visual look of manga, represented by a number of styles. In terms of content, manga focuses heavily upon the characters, character angst, and character interactions over plot or action. They are more introspective about the characters’ thoughts and feelings. Manga reaches a broader audience in Japan and increasingly here in the States, gaining popularity with a female market.

ASHCAN: This term refers to a small-sized (usually around 4″ × 5″), short booklet form of comic, done in black and white. Basically, these are quick, inexpensive do-it-yourself comics produced by the original creators. They don’t generally receive regular distribution and are sold via mail, internet, at cons, and so on. The original purpose of ashcans was for the creator who couldn’t afford to do a full-production book to have at least something she could hand out to show off her work, to give out to editors or publishers in an attempt to sell the idea or get work, and to establish copyright ownership. I’ve seen professionals who sell ashcans as promotional pieces.

This only covers American comics and doesn’t touch upon the other formats you might find in Europe and elsewhere. But size, shape, and thickness of the book, while relevant, are secondary considerations. They set the parameters for how much can go into a story, without determining in any way how you will tell that story or what the story will be.

Web Comics

Then, we have comics that are purely digital. Web comics use the same characteristics and elements of a traditional comic, but can push into entirely new territory. There are strip-like web comics that look and feel like reading a comic strip from a newspaper, either as continued stories or as stand-alone jokes. Scott McCloud took some of his published Zot! comics and relaid the panels in a clever, vertical design that took advantage of how webpages read best on a computer screen (see http://www.scottmccloud.com/1-webcomics/zot/index.html). The Oatmeal is a brilliant and popular long-running web comic that relies on satire and humorous art (see https://theoatmeal.com). Web comics have taken off in a big way, covering many different categories and genres, with some web comics getting optioned for TV or film development. Creators of web comics with a good following have also had success with crowdfunding campaigns to produce a printed version of the comics.

Mobile Platform Comics

A new development comes from a South Korean company that is publishing digital comics for mobile phones. The company, Webtoon (https://www.webtoons.com/en), began with purely anime offerings, but moved into the American market by publishing works by comics writers and artists, such as Stan Lee, Warren Ellis, and Colleen Doran.

Because Webtoon is formatting specifically for mobile phones, the layout of panels is significantly different—it’s completely vertical, using vertical gutters for pacing. They have an editorial guide for how to work in this format. See the “Comics Resources” section after Chapter 7 for the URL.

In addition, they allow individuals to publish their own comics, as long as they follow these formatting guidelines, so this is another potential outlet to get a comic out there.

Newspaper Comic Strips

Creating a comic strip for newspaper distribution is a highly specialized field. Although I’ve been hired to create two newspaper strip presentations (several weeks’ worth of strips), I don’t know enough overall about newspaper strips to offer advice.

Instead, I’ll point you to an excellent and detailed book, Your Career in Comics, by Lee Nordling. It covers every aspect of the art and business of a newspaper comic strip, and includes advice from many top professionals. I will point out that the vast majority of newspaper strips are created by one person who is both the writer and the artist, so if you are strictly a writer, you face the same issues I talk about later in this chapter in regard to finding an art partner for a comic book.

I asked Lee Nordling what he felt was relevant or not relevant about the book as it relates to the current state of newspaper strip publishing.

He wrote, “Ways in which it’s dated: it was published before electronic delivery by cartoonists to syndicates and by syndicates to newspapers; it refers to a more robust industry that isn’t in a death spiral due to newspaper sales; there are only a few major syndicates left; there hasn’t been a new strip that’s made a huge impact on our culture in too many years; editorial tastes and needs have changed, because there’s now direct competition from online comics; in short, the industry is in ‘last survivor’ mode, so creating and selling a new comic strip for syndication is like noticing how many empty seats just became available on the Titanic. This doesn’t mean that it can’t or shouldn’t be done, but a young cartoonist shouldn’t consider doing newspaper strips alone to be enough for a lifetime career.”

“Ways in which the book remains relevant: the advice from cartoonists, syndicate editors and execs, and newspaper editors and execs is still, over twenty years later, the gold standard for what it takes to succeed. Even if the newspaper syndication business model doesn’t make sense for the online comics creator, the advice about how to successfully compete with others (whether it’s newspapers or online) is still the best advice out there for the short-form, multi-times-per-week comics creators. In some ways, it’s even more important for the self-producing cartoonist, because she doesn’t have an editor to help develop a foundation of consistent quality while trying to meet the relentless deadlines.”

The Production Process

A comic can be an expensive, full-color graphic novel or a less expensive black and white effort. Unless the comic is being done by an artist who also writes, there will always be a need for a written script.

Comic book production has changed dramatically with the rise of computer graphics programs. A book might be entirely penciled, inked, colored, and lettered digitally and never see a piece of paper until it’s printed.

Here are the traditional steps of comic book production:

The writer creates the script or plot outline. At a publisher, the script goes to the editor for revisions or approval. In other circumstances, it might go directly to your artist.

On rare occasions, the script could go to an artist who does rough layouts. This happened when I was working on Birds of Prey for DC, but it is an unusual extra step in the process.

The primary artist is the penciler, who breaks out the penciled art of the story from the script (or plot outline). A penciler might work digitally or on art board that is about twice the final printed size of the page and later scanned.

If the artist was working from a plot outline, the penciled pages go back to the writer to complete the script by writing the final dialogue and captions to fit the art. Sometimes, a writer may get to indicate where the balloons and captions should go in each panel, but it’s more likely to be done by the letterer.

The penciled pages go to an inker who inks the pencils, either digitally or on paper. The inks would be transmitted digitally.

The inked pages go to the colorist to add the color work, if it’s a color book. Most books are being colored digitally now rather than done as blue line.

Blue Line: Blue line refers to a comic book page in which the black line art (penciling and inking) has been reproduced in blue lines instead of black. These pages are usually twice up from what the printed size will be. Blue lines are printed onto art paper so that the colorists or painter can paint directly onto them to create the color art. The black lines are a separate production element printed onto a clear overlay, so that when the final page is reproduced, it will have the black lines on top of the painted page.

The art goes to a letterer who adds the balloons, dialogue, captions, and sound effects. At one time, it was done on a clear overlay, rather than onto the original art. Nowadays, it’s almost always done digitally, and usually, the digital art would go to the colorist and letterer at the same time to speed up the production process.

Depending on the writer’s relationship with the publisher, the digital version of the lettering may be sent to the writer to check for typos or last-minute fixes.

Terminology

BALLOONS

The visual unit that conveys dialogue, either spoken or thought. It has developed into a more-or-less oval shape with a pointer or tail to indicate to which character it belongs. There are many specialized forms of balloons, either traditional or invented. Pretty much anything goes, as long as the balloon serves its function. Some of the standard balloon types are shown in Figures 6.2–6.5.

Figure 6.2
SPEECH BALLOON: The usual rounded oval shape and pointer tail to indicate normal speech.

Long Alternative Text

Figure 6.3
THOUGHT BALLOON: Cloud-like scalloped edges with the pointer tail replaced by dots of decreasing size.

Long Alternative Text

Figure 6.4
WHISPER BALLOON: Like a speech balloon, but drawn with a dotted outline rather than solid.

Long Alternative Text

Figure 6.5
JAGGY BALLOON: a speech balloon drawn with pointy “barbs” all around to indicate yelling, extreme emotion, or anything way beyond normal speech.

CAPTION

A caption can have a number of uses, but mainly, it’s a square or rectangle that sits by itself on the panel, not visually connected to anything in the panel. A caption is mostly used to convey narrative information, such as time or place, set a mood, perhaps to convey additional non-visual information such as a smell (Figure 6.6).

Figure 6.6
A regular caption. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

Long Alternative Text

Another use has developed in which the caption takes the place of a thought balloon (Figure 6.7). It allows the reader to have the insight into what a character is thinking, while keeping the effect of those thoughts distanced from the image, as though the character were narrating to the reader rather than the reader looking into the character’s thoughts.

Figure 6.7
A narrative caption. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

Long Alternative Text

A caption doesn’t absolutely have to be enclosed by a border (Figure 6.8). It can sit as floating text inside a panel, but for the purposes of a script, you would still indicate it as a caption.

Figure 6.8
A borderless caption. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

Long Alternative Text

GUTTER

The space between panels. In the old days, this was simple white space. The appearance and usage of gutters has also changed tremendously. In some comics, panels are laid onto panels without actual gutters. The gutters may be black instead of white. However, the conceptual purpose of a “gutter” remains unchanged. It is more than a simple graphic element to separate panels. Gutters = time. Fundamentally, the gutter encompasses everything that happens between what happens in the panels. For more on this, see the “Panels and Gutters” subsection under “Beyond the Basics” section later in this chapter.

NEGATIVE SPACE

This refers to athe amount of space allowed in a panel or on a page to accommodate the non-visual elements of balloons and captions. The artist needs to make sure there’s enough negative space so that vital sections of the artwork aren’t obscured by the text elements. Negative space can also be used purely for visual effect. Will Eisner, the creator of The Spirit, was a master of this.

PANEL

A “frame” around one image that is a component of telling the story. There are endless ways of creating panels. The most common panel is a square or rectangle bounded by a black line, but a panel can be any size or any shape as long as it creates a cohesive visual unit of storytelling. For more on this, see “The Page and Panels” section under the “Beyond the Basics” section later in this chapter.

SFX (SOUND EFFECTS)

Used in a comic book script where the writer is telling the letterer when the panel needs a sound effect and what that sound effect should be.

SPEED LINES, ACTION LINES

These are lines the artist uses to convey that someone or something is moving swiftly through the space of the panel. It might be the lines that describe the arc of Thor’s hammer through the air, or the lines behind The Flash to indicate he’s moving at extremely fast speed. These are one of the artist’s tools and not something you need to worry about as a writer, but it doesn’t hurt to know what they’re called.

SPLASH PAGE

Traditionally, this referred to an opening page that consisted entirely of one large panel filling the entire page, containing whatever image led into the story, plus the creative and publishing credits, such as writer, artist, letterer, colorist, editor, and others. Nowadays, there may not be a splash page, or it occurs some number of pages into the story, or it might be a double-page spread. There is no requirement to use a splash page up front. It’s more a tradition than anything else. Splash pages can be used anywhere in a comic for heightened effect.

The Comic Book Script

While there is a general template for a comic book script, there are also many variations. You will see about as many variations on comic book scripts as there are writers. There is a basic, somewhat standard format, and these variations usually fall within the parameters of that format.

When I first learned to write comic book scripts, I was taught that there were two main “styles”—the DC style (script first) and the Marvel style (outline, then script).

These old publisher designations are no longer relevant. At the end of 2017, DC (which had traditionally used a full script approach) announced an initiative to have the artists more involved in the writing or at least the plotting of the books. This was referred to as a plot-art-script approach versus a plot-script-art approach.

In brief, they can be defined this way:

SCRIPT STYLE (plot-script-art): After an outline or plot is approved, the writer does a fully detailed script in which all the pages are broken down into panel descriptions, with the dialogue and captions written, and the sound effects indicated. All elements of the script are complete before it goes to the artist.

PLOT STYLE (plot-art-script): In this approach, an outline or descriptive version of the story is written, allowing the artist more freedom to decide how to break out the visuals. Writer and artist may collaborate more on the story. The final writing of dialogue and captions is done after the pencils are finished. The plot can be written like a set of instructions or like a short story. This is up to you, your editor, and your artist. The final script would be written in a more standard comic format, with or without panel description.

You may be lucky enough to choose which approach you want to take, but other factors may determine how you’ll be required to write the script. For example, I wrote some manga-style books for an educational publisher that was sending the scripts overseas to artists in the Philippines. I was required to use a specific script format because it was a format these artists were familiar with. It wasn’t a format that was easy to use or that I especially liked, but that was the requirement, so that was what I used.

With that in mind, let’s examine the pros and cons of the two styles before getting into a sample script layout.

Script Style (Plot-Script-Art)

By writing a full script with every single element specified, you as the writer have more control over the finished book. You determine the page breaks and the number of panels per page. You are more in control of the pacing and layout. The artist will know exactly how much lettering has to fit in each panel and can take that into account when doing the art. However, it also ends your creative input pretty much at the writing stage, unless the editor or publisher includes you again after the art is done.

For an editor or publisher on a tight schedule, this is a faster method. If you’re not in close contact with the artist, it may be necessary (as when using artists who are overseas). This style does take away from the artist’s freedom to come up with different, possibly more interesting ways to break out a page that may not have occurred to you, depending on how stringently the artist is required to follow your script.

There can be room for variation in the script style if you’re an experienced writer working with an experienced artist, and the editor is okay with it. You could give description and text without specifically calling out panels, leaving wiggle room for the artist to come up with the final page layout.

Plot Style (Plot-Art-Script)

Writing an outline first opens more of the creative decision-making process to the artist. You can still indicate thoughts about how the page might be broken out. For example, you might call for a splash page when you want to create special emphasis for a special moment. You can break your outline into pages, with a rough idea of what you want to fit on each page, or leave out any page breaks at all and leave it entirely up to the artist.

This works best when you fully trust the artist and feel confident that you’ll get the results you want. If you aren’t including dialogue in your outline, you should at least give the artist as much indication of dialogue as you can. The two big things an artist needs to know to lay out a page is how much visual material she has to pack into it, and how much negative space she has to leave for the balloons and captions.

Once the pencils are done, they would come back to you so that you can write the rest of the script, meaning the specific dialogue, captions, or other text, to go with the art you receive. You may have the freedom to indicate where you want the balloons placed, but more likely that will be left up to the letterer to determine. That brings up the weakness of this method in that you are stuck with the artwork you get, and if it doesn’t quite provide you with the layout or arrangement of characters that you wanted, you’ll have to work around it. You might be able to have changes made to the art, but that would depend entirely on your working relationship with the artist, publisher, editor, or whoever, plus considerations of scheduling and cost.

While this method gives the artist more creative freedom, in worst cases it can lead to sloppy writing. There’s a story that’s probably apocryphal, but is a good example of lazy writing. The story goes that the writer set up the action then simply wrote, “And they fight for the next 20 pages.”

Never do that.

The Script Format

As I said, there’s no completely standardized format for a comic book script. I’ve seen some writers use a format that looks very much like a film or TV script. I don’t personally recommend that.

What I’m showing here is a format that is commonly used. Some writers like to do their description paragraph IN ALL CAPS. Some might use bold or have other quirks. But in general, this format will look familiar to an editor or artist. You indicate

The comic book page number at the top.

Below that, the panel number.

Below that, your description for the images and action of the panel.

Finally, you write your captions, dialogue, and sound effects (if any). Note that the text to be lettered is indented to keep it separate from the character name.

The default for text next to a character’s name is that it will be in a regular balloon. If you want the text to be in a different kind of balloon, indicate it by adding THOUGHT BALLOON, WHISPER, THOUGHT CAPTION, or other special instructions next to the character name. See the sample script below for an example of this.

Exclamation points: There was a time in comics publishing when every sentence ended with an exclamation point. It was an attempt to add excitement to every line, but it was simply bad writing. Use exclamation points sparingly in your dialogue. Save them for short, punchy sentences where it makes sense to use them. Otherwise, avoid them!

When breaking a script out into panels, there’s a common numbering system for the panels that is the page number and then panel number. For example, the panels for page 2 of the comic would be 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, and so on. For page 3, the numbering would be 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and so on.

If you have a panel that is visual-only with no text at all, it’s helpful to indicate “No dialogue” below the description area to ensure that the artist and letterer have no doubts about missing dialogue.

Some companies may ask you to number the captions and balloons. The numbering is sequential for each comic book page, and then starts the numbering over again on the next page. For example, the captions and balloons on page 2 might be numbered 1–5, and on page 3, they would also be numbered 1–5 (or whatever that number might be). Each piece of text is numbered going down the page with captions, balloons, and SFX being treated the same for purposes of numbering. This makes it easier to refer to a specific piece of text when communicating with the editor, artist, and letterer as you can say “panel 3.1, text 4” or “panel 6.4, text 2.”

If you are the person indicating where a caption or balloon is placed on a page, it can be helpful to number it to indicate to the letterer which piece of text belongs inside it.

If your script for a single comic book page goes longer than a page of printed document, be sure to indicate the comic book page number at the top and indicate that the comic book page is continued on that script page. That way if the script pages should get separated or mixed up, the editor or artist or letterer will know which comic book page belongs to which script pages.

I also recommend putting a hard page break at the end of the script pages for each comic book page. This makes it easier for the artist. If your script for page one of the comic runs to two script pages, the artist can easily separate out those two script pages and refer to them as he designs page one of the comic, without having to worry about part of the information for page two being on the same script page as page one.

You should put a header at the top of each page to identify the book, the issue (if applicable), and the writer.

Here’s an example of a full script style, as though broken into two script pages.

THE CRYSTAL SKULL #1-- Christy Marx

PAGE 1

PANEL 1.1

Panel should occupy the top half of the page.

Jack is a scruffy, dissolute white man in his 40s, a man who looks like he has a lot more mileage on him than that. He’s in a run-down, rural Mexican hacienda that, like him, has seen better days. We can glimpse the ocean and bit of beach through the open door. The furnishings are crude and devoid of personality. There are no special objects in the room that would give a hint about the owner’s background… with one exception — a crystal skull sitting in the middle of a battered wooden kitchen table.

Also in the room is JANE, an attractive African-American woman in her early 20s, wearing jeans, t-shirt and black leather jacket (in spite of the heat). She wears her hair in tight braids. Her companion, DICK, white, in his early 20s, looks like a frat boy in a Hawaiian camp shirt. They’re an odd pair.

In the panel, the three of them stand at the table where Dick, on the left, gazes at the skull in awe. Jack, in the middle between them, is sardonic. Jane, to the right, is self-contained, giving away little.

CAPTION:

Somewhere in Mexico…

DICK:

It’s awesome.

JANE:

Where did you find it, Jack?

PANEL 1.2

Closer on Jack who comes across like a smart alec.

JACK:

Found it in a thrift shop. Salvation Army, I think. Somewhere in Cleveland.

PANEL 1.3

Jane, cold as ice, has smoothly snapped open a folding blade and placed it against Jack’s jugular. Jack is as cool as ever, not the least bit worried.

JANE:

Let’s try the truth this time, shall we?

JACK:

OK, it was Nepal. A Salvation Army thrift store in Nepal.

JACK THOUGHT BALLOON:

Joke’s on you, babe. It really was in Cleveland.

SFX:

Snikk!

Several things to think about:

Note that I gave only a general description of Jack’s appearance. If you wanted to have Jack wearing a specific type of clothing or have a certain haircut or other details, you would need to include that in the description for the artist. If you don’t specify something, you leave it up to the artist to fill in the blanks. That’s a matter of comfort level between you and the artist.

Note that in the first two panels, the characters are laid out so that Jack is to the left of Jane, but in panel #3, in order to fit the flow of dialogue, Jane will need to be to the left of Jack. This requires the artist to reverse the angle at which he’s been laying out the flow of action so far. Otherwise, the artist will have to come up with another way of arranging the characters in the panel so that the balloons can still be placed in the correct reading sequence. You have to think about whether that will help or hinder the visual flow of the page.

Notice how much action happens between panels 2 and 3: she has gone from standing next to Jack without a knife, to having a knife at Jack’s neck. See more about the significance of what happens “in the gutter” in the “Panels and Gutters” section under the “Beyond the Basics” section.

Note also that in panel 3, the artist will have to leave room for two talking heads, a sound effect, two speech balloons, and a thought balloon, so it’s best to keep the actual dialogue as short as possible. The alternative is to break it out into a separate panel so that Jane makes her threat at the bottom right panel of page 1, and Jack gives his reply in the top left panel of page 2. Remember that the reader will have to flip the page before seeing Jack’s reply. As the writer, you need to decide which alternative feels better to you. Do you prefer the immediacy of Jack’s reply right after Jane makes her threat, or do you mind that there’s an implied beat of time between her threat and his reply in a separate panel on the next page?

You’ll make countless such decisions throughout the script if you’re visualizing properly. I’ve heard of one company that won’t allow more than one balloon per panel, so to accomplish the same amount of dialogue, I would have had to add many more panels. That would in turn have a large impact on how much story I could tell.

Instructions for Letterer and Colorist

In the example above, I wanted the letterer to give certain words in the dialogues an extra emphasis, so I made them bold. This indicates to the letterer to also make them bolder on the page. It’s the writer’s choice whether to emphasize certain words in dialogue. There’s no requirement to do or not do it. It’s a stylistic choice.

In the old days, when writers used typewriters, the methods were either to underline the word or put it in CAPS because neither bold nor italics was an option on a typewriter. That is still acceptable, if you want to make sure the letterer can’t miss it. With scripts being done by computer, I’ve used bold, italics, and caps in my dialogue to convey a certain type of emphasis, and the letterer didn’t have a problem with it. I use bold when I want the word to be emphasized in the reader’s mind. I use italics when I want an emphasis that isn’t as strong as using bold. I use caps when I want the letterer to render it as the equivalent of shouting or a loud cry. If I want the equivalent of someone speaking in a small voice such as mumbling to themselves, I’ll indicate that to the letterer like this:

JACK (small type): Now what?

In the first issue I wrote of the Amethyst comic, my main character has entered a world where everyone is speaking a language she can’t understand. I included this note in the script:

NOTE TO LETTERER: For this issue, all characters other than Amy and Gracie (except where indicated otherwise) will speak in a foreign tongue that Amy doesn’t understand. To represent this, please use some form of artistic font reminiscent of Hindu lettering. It should look at though it’s a form of writing descended long ago from Hindu calligraphy.

And for the characters’ dialogue, I did this:

INGVIE: <foreign tongue&gt;

Don’t be afraid to give extra information addressed specifically to the letterer or colorist, if there’s something special you want them to know. Anything that makes their jobs easier is welcomed.

The Visual Elements

As with the other forms of writing covered in this book, writing for comics requires that you have a strong sense of visualization. Whether writing script style or plot style, you should have a clear mental image of each page so that your writing will be precise enough to convey that vision to the artist (and to other readers, such as the editor, but mostly the artist).

There are different trends of thought about how to visualize for comics. Some writers like the cinematic approach, to think of comics as a strip of film from which one selects individual frames to represent the action. If you were to take a movie and had to tell the story by selecting a few frames of action per scene, which frames would you choose? In this approach, you need to distill it to those particular frozen moments that best capture the story, mood, theme, and pacing.

While a chunk of action can be distilled down to one panel, it can be even more effective to show that action broken into a series of successive panels that simulate a cinematic flow. In other words, rather than reducing it to the one frame that represents the whole action, you would be using three or four frames. On the comics page, it comes out as three or four successive panels that convey a more dynamic sense of pacing and movement (Figure 6.9). It affects pacing by calling more attention to that piece of action. When an action is represented by a single panel, the brain processes it as happening in a split-second. When the same action is told across three or four successive panels, the brain “reads” it as taking more time, even if the time is only another few split-seconds.

Figure 6.9
A cinematic flow of action. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

Personally, I think the straight cinematic method ignores the full range of possibilities in the printed page. It’s not a bad approach, and if it works for you, then go for it. I would consider it one method of storytelling that can be used, rather than the only one.

My recommendation is to visualize a comic book page as a comic book page, not as any other medium. It is what it is. You can span all of space and time, and you can be linear or non-linear, staccato or static, realistic, or abstract. The comic book page can be straightforward storytelling or a piece of conceptual art.

As a comic book storyteller, you want mastery over telling your story with the images as much as with the words. The alchemy is in how you combine them to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Script Length

A comic book script can be any length at all. Animation and live-action scripts use their particular format because each page roughly equals a certain amount of time; therefore, the page count has to relate to the number of minutes the film or TV show runs. A film or TV script centers the actors’ dialogue the way it does to make it easy for the actors to flip through the script and pick out what they have to memorize.

Neither of those things applies to a comic book script. Your main reader is the artist, so most of what you write is for the artist’s benefit. The layout of the captions and dialogue in the script are mainly for the benefit of the letterer, who needs to know the sequence in which each element has to be placed in the panels, and also to make it quite clear to the letterer what is the text he’s lettering (versus description for the artist) and how many balloons or captions are required for it. For example, only one character may be speaking in the panel, but the writer can break up a chunk of dialogue into three pieces, requiring three connected balloons. I’ll get into more detail on this below, under the “Panels and Text”section.

With comics, the actual script length is irrelevant. You’re writing to match the number of pages in the printed book. You need to have an instinctive sense of how much story will fit onto those pages. Beyond that, you can write a sparse script that is minimal on details, or you can write a novel. Your script for a single page of the comic could be one page or ten pages. The amount of detail you include depends mainly on your relationship with the artist and your own inclinations as a writer. Another factor is whether you’re using established characters (who don’t need description) or inventing new ones. It also depends on whether you’re dealing with a known, familiar setting or with settings or situations that are newly invented, as in science fiction and fantasy. An artist can research “a typical middle-class kitchen from 1960.” She can’t research, “The Magorgian Temple in the peaks of Ziggatron.”

It gets down to this—the purpose of the description is to tell the artist everything she needs to know in order to bring your mental vision to the page. No matter how poetic or epic you are in your descriptions, those descriptions don’t reach the end reader. Only the images and the actual words on the page will have that impact.

Beyond the Basics (Advice, Tips, and Tricks)

The Page and Panels

One of the key decisions a writer will make, whether writing a full script broken into panels or an outline, is how many panels to have per page. Cramming too much onto a single page makes it hard for the artist to do justice to the visuals, and a crammed page makes it hard for the reader to sort it out. I wouldn’t recommend more than four or five panels per page as a general rule, and fewer panels when you have a lot of characters, scenery, or action that needs to fit. Otherwise, everything becomes too small, and you defeat the purpose of using visual storytelling rather than prose.

The comic book page is a visual unit that the eyes take in first as a whole, then as a sequence of visual elements flowing (generally) top to bottom, left to right (Figure 6.10). When you visualize a comic book page, you need to have that sense of the whole and the parts and how they work as a unit. Your page can be full of cinematic flow, or it can be a mosaic of separate but inter-related images happening anywhere at any time. The bottom line is, does it work? Do the words and images get across what you want the reader to know and feel?

Figure 6.10
A comics page is read top to bottom, left to right in a zigzag pattern. In this case, the artist was working from an outline and decided to break out the page into numerous small panels because he knew he could make it work. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

You need to ask yourself whether it’s such a big or dramatic moment and it calls for an entire page or an extra-large panel. Do you need to cram in a huge number of people or things (big panel)? Is it a good moment to go in ultra-close on someone’s eyes for a single panel? Would a long horizontal panel (Figure 6.11) work better for what you want to convey, or would a tall, vertical panel work better?

Figure 6.11
A horizontal panel spanning two pages used for extra effect, from the Elfquest Wolfrider graphic novel.

Panels can be used for pacing. A page of characters talking can include a “silent” panel, in which the art focuses on the character’s expression and omits words to create the sense of a pause in the conversation, of a moment in which the character thinks, emotes, or reacts rather than talks. A page of no text, such as a character carrying out an action in silence (Figure 6.12), can convey anything from loneliness to serene meditation to stealth. Not using text is another one of the tools in your storytelling toolbox.

Figure 6.12
Panels of no text can convey silence or contemplation, or in this example from Usagi Yojimbo (by Stan Sakai), an unexpected moment of emotional connection between the characters.

I’ve seen this use of no-text panels carried to extremes. One book tried to tell an entire issue’s worth of story with no text at all. I found that didn’t work well. For me, the storytelling was out of balance. There are, conversely, times when you want the words.

Other experiments have included an entire issue of splash pages or an entire issue done sideways so that the reader had to flip through the book as though they were calendar pages. I found the latter especially annoying because it didn’t accomplish anything useful and was a pain to hold and read. Beware of innovation for the sake of innovation. Do you really need to do that to tell your story effectively?

An interesting example of panel storytelling experimentation was done by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in their exceptional twelve-issue mini-series, Watchmen. Each page was based upon a strict nine-panel grid with each section of the grid the exact same size. Certain panels would be larger as needed scattered throughout the book, but the underlying grid pattern remained firmly in place. Using this simple, highly structured page layout, The Watchmen series is some of the finest work ever done in comics due to the tremendous strength of the writing and the superbly matched art. It was a strong balance between writing and art that didn’t resort to visual gimmickry.

Be Kind to Your Artist

One final note about what you put into your panels. Be aware that what seems like a simple sentence to you can amount to a huge amount of work for your artist. You need to be aware when you’re asking for something that is unusually difficult. There may be another way to do it that won’t demand so much of the artist’s time. Or it may be something you feel you must have for the effect. But at least think about it.

A classic example was the opening that I wrote for The Sisterhood of Steel #6. I wrote, “The army marches out of the city.” Seven simple words. My artist, Mike Vosburg (a dear, sweet saint of a man), called me and gave me such a ribbing over that sentence. Seven words that took me a second to type meant hours of work for him, which never occurred to me when I wrote it. Being a clever artist, he found a way to reduce the work by rendering key characters up front (Figure 6.13) and then switching to an indistinct mass for the rest of army, but we’re still talking about a huge amount of work. See for yourself.

I will also do research to find photos or other visual reference that I put into my scripts if there is some special object that I want the artist to draw, or if I want to suggest a look for a character or location. It’s easier than trying to describe something in minute detail. It also saves the artist the time and effort of having to do the research to figure out what you want.

Figure 6.13
Double splash pages from The Sisterhood of Steel #6, illustrated by Mike Vosburg.

Panels and Gutters

For a long time, the standard way of laying out panels was to have blank white space (the gutters) between them. As artists experimented, they tried layouts that eliminated gutters, with large background art that had smaller, floating panels laid on top of it. Or “open” (borderless) panels (Figure 6.14) that had no borderlines to define their space, leaving the viewer’s eye to decide where the panels began and ended. There’s no end to the way panels can be laid out on the page, but no matter how it’s done, the gutter is there, if not in fact, then in concept.

Figure 6.14
A partially borderless panel from The Sisterhood of Steel.

In his book, Understanding Comics, writer/artist Scott McCloud writes, “Here in the limbo of the gutter, human imagination takes two separate images and transforms them into a single idea.” Conceptually, the gutter encompasses everything that happens between the panels. That can be time, ranging from a nanosecond to eons. It can be space, moving from near to close, near to far, or it can range across the entire universe. The potential of the gutter is without limit. If you use the cinematic approach, the gutter is all of the other frames you’ve cut from the strip of film that connects one frame to the next one. They are gone, but they are implied. The eye and the mind fill in that gap, working out what the relationship is between the panels (and the images in those panels), what the action is, what the timing is, and what happens between here and there.

The gutter is a mental negative space that is filled with everything that isn’t in the panels. Even if your page is laid out without the traditional white space, it is still there in essence and remains a crucial part of your storytelling.

Panels and Text

Beyond the layout and flow of the panels, the writer also has to think about the balance between both the amount of text and the placement of text on the page and in the panels. This is where the strengths and weaknesses of script style versus plot style have a large effect.

When writing a full script, you have to be conscious of the amount of text (in captions and/or balloons or elsewhere) you’re creating in relation to how much art you want in the panel. There’s certainly no hard, fast rule about word count (with the rare exception I’ll give below), so it’s very much a matter of getting an instinctive feel for what works.

When I was writing the educational manga books, which were geared toward achieving a specific reading level, I was given a strict word restriction of no less than seventy and no more than one hundred words per page to be put into no more than five panels. Given the smaller size of the manga page, this feels like a good rule of thumb, but you’d be amazed at how quickly you can burn through one hundred words on a page.

With the larger size of the typical American comic book, you can obviously use more panels and have more text, but you still need to find a good balance between the two so that a page doesn’t become cluttered and difficult to read by having too much art or too much text packed into it.

The most useful exercise I was ever given to do came from Jim Shooter, during the time he was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. Epic Comics (Marvel’s line of creator-owned books) was publishing my The Sisterhood of Steel series. Jim told me to get some large-size tracing paper and a pencil (mechanical pencil is a really good idea), lay the tracing paper over the finished pencils (these were the full-sized, physical art pages), and actually write the script onto the tracing paper, printing my text within captions and balloons exactly as I would want them placed on the page. I went through a lot of pencil leads, but I gained an invaluable sense of how many words would fit on a page. This isn’t easy to do with so much art being digital, but if you could find a way to do this exercise, I recommend it.

I’ve seen some writers who write such massive amounts of dialogue that their pages are overwhelmed by the text, which often has to be lettered at a smaller size to try and squeeze it in. Not only is this hard on the eyes, it’s a poor balance between the images and words. This gets down to my personal opinion, but when it comes to a visual medium like comics, I feel that the least amount of text you can use to achieve your ends is the best balance. For those times when you simply do need a large chunk of text, make sure you allow for it with fewer panels or larger panels and adjust your pacing to fit.

Creators can do a lot with the sheer visual possibilities of text, even to the point of using symbols rather than text. There was an issue of the Grendel series, created by Matt Wagner, in which symbols and icons were used inside the balloons to convey the emotion and ideas instead of words. Oddly enough, I found that this did work for me, at least for one issue. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of it, but it was a fascinating way to look at how one can communicate the essence of a story.

Stan Sakai, in his Usagi Yojimbo series, always shows a little death’s head to indicate a character’s death cry, rather than relying on text (Figure 6.15). It’s a wonderful addition to the visual storytelling.

Figure 6.15
Panel from Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo.

Another creator who was skilled at combining visual elements of text and balloons with the storytelling is Dave Sim. In his long-running Cerebus series, he would use the shape of the balloons, the font of the text, size and layout of the text, symbols, and other tricks to make the text elements as much a part of the visual design as the images. Pick up any of his books from the latter half of the series and study how much he experimented with conveying character and emotion through the visual quality of his text.

An old-fashioned style of storytelling goes back to the days of the Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant newspaper comic strips in which there were no balloons at all. Each panel had an illustration that was free and clear of any text, and at the bottom of the panel was a chunk of prose, which was either descriptive or contained a quote from the character, as though excerpted from a novel. While it’s hard to see this form of storytelling working in a modern comic, it doesn’t hurt to consider all of the possibilities of how text can be used. It might be applicable for a highly stylized graphic novel or another experimental form.

Another issue is the placement of speaking characters. If you have an experienced artist working from a full script, she will understand that the sequence of the dialogue you’ve written will dictate the placement of the balloons or captions and will design the placement of characters and visual elements to accommodate that placement.

If you want Character A to speak first, Character A’s line of text needs to come first in the script, and the artist knows that Character A needs to be placed correctly in the panel for that line to be read first.

If Character B replies in the same panel, Character B’s line of text is the next text in the script.

Captions often tend to come first in the script, depending on the purpose of the caption. If the caption is establishing a place or time, you would likely want it positioned to be read first, and so the caption would come first in your script. If the caption is being used for some other purpose, you may want it positioned in the panel so that it’s read after dialogue. In that case, your dialogue would come first in the script and then the caption.

Some writers will always put the SFX line at the bottom. There’s no rule to govern this because sound effects are placed separately from balloons or captions (Figure 6.16).

Figure 6.16
Example of sound effects as part of the visual effect, from The Sisterhood of Steel.

You can have back-and-forth conversation in a panel, where balloons are connected by stems to avoid having extra pointers, like pearls on a string (Figure 6.17). If you want to have character 1 speak, then character 2, then character 1 again, you would write your dialogue in that order as well. This takes more room, of course, and the artist has to allow for that, so it’s better not to get carried away with too much back-and-forth dialogue in one panel. If you want a lot of back and forth for effect, keep the dialogue as short as possible.

Figure 6.17
A string of balloons indicates quick back-and-forth patter between the characters. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

Long Alternative Text

But sometimes, you can get a panel layout you didn’t think of that you can use to your advantage. When I saw that my artist, Mike Vosburg, had done a vertical panel for the action of a falling flower (Figure 6.18), I laid out the captions and broke up the text to utilize the visual element to my advantage. I let the text work with the art to emphasize that sense of the flower fluttering from side to side as it reaches the ground.

Figure 6.18
Vertical panel with captions used to reinforce the motion of the falling flower. Sample from The Sisterhood of Steel.

Long Alternative Text

One final comment regarding text and images. It may seem obvious, but I’ve seen it done, so it’s worth mentioning. Avoid having your character say in dialogue what the reader can see the character is doing in the panel. As in, don’t have a character say “I’m going to jump that wall” if we can clearly see the character jumping the wall.

Comic Book Script Sample

Here are samples of outline, script, pencils, and lettering from the Amethyst series I wrote for DC Comics, published as Sword of Sorcery. This is an example of the plot-script-art writing process.

You’ll find additional sample script and comics pages at www.christymarx.info.

This is a section of the outline for Sword of Sorcery #5, the first three pages of the story. This went to my editor for her feedback before I started the script. “v1” indicates that this is version 1 of the outline (Figures 6.19 and 6.20).

AMETHYST: THE CATALYST: issue 5 “Vyrian’s Tomb”

Christy Marx: outline v1

PAGES 1–3

Senshe and Ingvie try to comfort Graciel who hasn’t budged from the room where the portal crystal is kept since Amaya left. She’s tried over and over to activate the crystal, but it requires activation from the other side as well before the portal will open.

Suddenly the portal opens and Amaya returns. Graciel is overcome with relief to have Amaya back and hugs her tightly. Amaya tries to explain things, but the whiff of pizza on her breath quickly turns Graciel’s relief to full-blown anger. She was worried sick and Amy was off having pizza?!

Again, Amaya tries to explain about Constantine and that there is magic on Earth, unlike what her mother thought, and she was fighting cultists and helping a boy recover his magic, but Graciel is having none of it. She doesn’t care. This is their home now, this is where Amaya belongs, and the portal to Earth should be destroyed. (During the argument, Ingvie will stand by Amaya while Senshe stands by Graciel, subtly reinforcing the matching mother-daughter split going on here).

Graciel and Amaya grapple over the crystal, with Amaya fiercely trying to keep her mother from destroying it. Amaya gets a good grip on it and her transformative abilities suddenly flare up in an unpredictable way.

Though Amaya can’t see it, a ghostly figure of her father, Vyrian, appears behind her in the turquoise energy that is being unleashed, gesturing for Graciel to stop. Graciel cries out and falls back in shock.

Twin strands of amethyst and turquoise energy arc between Amaya and the crystal. The crystal dissolves into energy that is absorbed into the amethysts that Amaya wears on her gear. She has, in essence, become the Nilaa side of the portal.

Shaken by this vision, Graciel decides it’s time to visit Vyrian’s tomb.

Based on this outline, here is the script for page 3. It’s labeled “v4,” meaning version 4, because I ended up making four revisions to the script before it was considered done.

PAGE 3

3.1

Graciel grabs her daughter in a bear hug, her face one of absolute motherly relief and tears. Amaya hugs her back.

GRACIEL:

Amy! Oh, sweetheart!

AMAYA:

I’m okay, Mom, really.

3.2

Graciel draws back, her relief shifting instantly to outrage. Where possible in the following panels, show the subtle sides that Senshe and Ingvie take by having Senshe stand near Graciel and Ingvie take up position near Amaya.

GRACIEL:

I smell… pizza.

GRACIEL:

I’ve been worried sick and you’ve been eating PIZZA?!!

AMAYA:

Well, I had to eat. I can explain—

3.3

Graciel grabs the portal crystal in her fist and Amaya realizes what she intends and also reaches for it.

GRACIEL:

This is your home now! This is where you belong!

GRACIEL:

I should have destroyed this the minute we got here.

AMAYA:

Mom, no, don’t!

3.4

They grapple for control of the crystal, with Amaya as fierce as her mother. Turquoise power begins to surge around Amaya here.

GRACIEL:

Let go of it, Amaya!

AMAYA:

No, you can’t! I won’t let you!

3.5

Amaya has wrested the stone away as the turquoise power surges even brighter. Behind Amaya a ghostly figure has become visible within the flare of the turquoise power: this figure is VYRIAN, as he looked 17 years ago (age 22) when he was the Lord of House Turquoise. There should be only the hint of a shape, a bit of detail in the face and head, but little detail in the clothing. Here he has no colors from life and is only a ghostly vision, yet he is holding up a hand in a gesture of “stop” — not aimed at Amaya, but at Graciel (off-panel).

AMAYA: I feel… something… someone….

VYRIAN will also be shown in flashbacks, so I’ll put his full description here: He will have the same genetic traits as his father, Lord Firojha:

turquoise-colored eyes

reddish-brown skin

longish, wavy dark reddish-brown cinnamon hair (tending more toward brown than red — he’s not a red-head).

22 years old when he died

sensual mouth

expressive eyes

3.6

Graciel reacts with shock.

GRACIEL: Vyrian!

Figure 6.19
Page 3 of Amethyst before lettering is added. Sword of Sorcery #5 © 2012 DC Comics. Written by Christy Marx and illustrated by Aaron Lopresti.

Figure 6.20
Page 3 of Amethyst with lettering added. Sword of Sorcery #5 © 2012 DC Comics. Written by Christy Marx and illustrated by Aaron Lopresti. Lettering by Rob Leigh.

7

Breaking and Entering

Breaking into comics solely as a writer is a challenge. It’s easy for an editor or publisher to evaluate an artist’s portfolio at a glance. Writers require more effort.

Obviously, if you’re an established pro in another area, such as TV, film, or novels, it’s easier to contact a comics company, lay out your background, and make inquiries into writing for their books. Recently, established novelists have become desirable for writing comics, especially writers with a YA (Young Adult) background. Major publishers such as Random House and Macmillan Publishing have created publishing arms specifically for graphic novels. Gina Gagliano of Random House Graphic said of their first releases in 2019, “Our list is for the most part new authors, and we really have a focus on building up new people who are starting their careers.”

If you’re a new writer without credits in other areas of writing, you’ll need to prove yourself as a writer first. In a series of Tweets in 2018, well-known comics writer Scott Snyder made it painfully clear that big publishers aren’t going to hire you to write one of their characters based solely on a pitch. He wrote “You have to be hired for your writing first, before you pitch them any ideas.” He stressed making your own original stories and books to use as proof of your writing ability. Snyder began his career by writing short stories before being given an opportunity at Marvel to write a one-shot book, so his advice is based on the path that he took. Other writers will have taken different paths.

Snyder touched upon another truth in those Tweets that the execution of an idea is what the companies want to see. To put it another way, ideas are cheap. Everybody has ideas. It might even be a brilliant idea. But an idea is meaningless until it’s put into its final expression. There are many people in love with the idea of writing. Some of them will even start working on a story. The number of people who actually complete a story is much smaller. And the number of people who complete a story and get it produced in some form is even smaller. By overcoming those hurdles, you’ve gone a long way toward proving that you have what it takes to be a professional comics writer, plus you have viable samples of your creativity to show.

Never, under any conditions, submit an unsolicited pitch or script, meaning a pitch or script that has not been specifically approved and requested to be submitted. At DC Comics, editors are not allowed to look at unsolicited material, and I can guarantee it’s the same at other publishers. One big reason for this is to protect companies against accusations of stealing someone’s ideas. It’s a legal protection; however, it’s also to keep editors from being buried in submissions they don’t have time to evaluate.

Here’s the guidance from Marvel’s website: “While we can’t accept your unsolicited submissions, please know that Marvel is always looking for new comic book artists and writers. We constantly read and review indie, self-published, creator-owned, and web comics, review popular online art communities, ask other artists for opinions and recommendations, and host portfolio reviews at conventions from time to time. If you are an aspiring comic book artist or writer, we suggest you publish or publicly post your material, continue to create, and if you have the right stuff… we’ll find you.”

Alex Segura (comics writer, Archie Comics editor, novelist) provides this advice: “I think one of the big challenges is people’s idea that you can come in and immediately get a shot at writing established characters like Batman or the X-Men, and then, realizing that’s not the case, many writers are left adrift. The best advice I can give them is to figure out the stories they want to tell with their characters - the stories only they can tell, from their unique points of view - and tell them. Find an artist, work together, and create. Eventually, people will start to notice your stories and, maybe, down the line, you’ll get a shot to write those characters you loved as a kid. But you might like your own too much to bother.”

Kurt Busiek (Astro City, Superman) wrote an excellent essay called “Breaking in Without Rules” (printed in Write Now! magazine, issue #13, 2006). Although the overall essay may be dated, he gave a cogent and vital piece of advice: there are no rules for breaking in. You must be clever, inventive, and creative in finding the method that will work for you. Each writer will have a different story for how they broke in, and in most cases, the only thing they’ll have in common is dogged persistence and enough talent to pull it off.

Kurt says, “The trick to it, if there is one, is to remember that you’re a craftsman with something to sell, and if you’re trying to break in to the business, you need to find someone willing to buy it. No one will hire you to write X-Men just because you really, really want to. They won’t even hire you because you’ve got really good ideas for how to revolutionize the Batman books—they have experienced pros lined up for those assignments. What you have to do is find someone who needs what you have to sell.”

He emphasizes the need to study the market, “That’s half the job anyway, and you’ll need to keep doing it even after you break in. Look for opportunities. Make the best of them. And then look for another.”

“These days, there are far fewer openings at the bigger companies for new talent—but the good news is that there are a ton of smaller companies that didn’t exist when I was looking for opportunities. They need books to publish, and they might need you. But it’s up to you to do the research, to figure out who’s out there, what they’re publishing, where your particular skills might fit best—and where they’re most likely to need you, which is even more important—and approach them.”

When submitting material to a publisher, follow their guidelines carefully. Pay attention to what they’re willing to look at from a writer. Don’t waste time submitting to a publisher with guidelines that clearly state they only look at completed work from a writer and artist team.

Assuming you have your material in hand and ready to show, your best bet is to establish a connection with an editor or assistant editor to the point where you can submit your sample material. This is also a delicate and tricky process, but it can be done. The first step is to connect with an editor, preferably in person.

Figure 7.1
Astro City by Kurt Busiek. Cover art: Alex Ross.

Here are some of the possible methods:

Conventions

Social media

Workshops and seminars

Clubs or associations

Mail or email contact

Personal appointment.

Conventions

A primary meeting ground is a comic book convention, and the mother of all comic book conventions is Comic-Con International (http://www.comic-con.org) in San Diego, California. It’s held sometime in late July or early August. You need to act quickly when they begin to offer tickets, because it’s selling out almost instantly, and getting a hotel room has become like finding the fabled lost city of El Dorado.

When I first began attending Comic-Con in the late 1970s, it was a small, cozy gathering of comic book people and comics dealers. Now it is a massive, gigantic, sprawling convention that covers comics, animation, anime, TV shows, movies, and videogames, usually but not always with some connection to comics. All the major and independent publishers have booths with editors and creators there to meet the public. Plus, there is a section for the small, independents to display their books, an artists’ alley, and the gigantic dealers’ room (now selling a lot more than just comics).

This is also a good place to look for an artist to team up with and produce your own book.

When researching comic book conventions, find out whether they will have editors there as guests. There is a plethora of comic book conventions these days all over the country, so at least one should be easily available to you.

Cons always have a need for volunteers to help run the show, manage crowds and events, and assist attendees. It’s a good way to get into a con and meet people if you have limited funds. Note that the competition to volunteer for the big cons is fierce, so start early and be persistent. Check the con’s website for information on how to be a volunteer.

The plus to a big convention like San Diego Comic-Con is that nearly everybody in the business comes to it. The downside is that nearly everybody in the universe comes to it, which means the chance to have a quiet, intimate conversation with an editor is pretty much non-existent. However, it’s a place to start, and certainly an invaluable place to get a feel for what’s happening in the business. And there’s always the chance you can get invited to a party where you’ll get that chance for a more personal conversation.

At the very least, strive to meet the editor and exchange a few memorable words, hand her a business card and get an okay from her to submit your books or published stories. If she says yes, get her business card. If she’s out of cards or doesn’t hand them out (it happens), get the pertinent email or mailing info from her or an associate.

Do not—repeat, do not—try to pitch to her or hand her your material to read at a convention. The last thing an over-burdened editor needs is someone’s unknown work to haul around in luggage all the way back to New York or wherever. The exception, of course, would be a direct request from the editor wanting a copy of your material right then and there, but I wouldn’t count on that.

Timing and situation are also important. Editors will be there representing the interests of the publisher. They don’t want to be bombarded with your personal sales pitch, while they’re insanely busy and distracted. They have too much to deal with already, and any pitch you make about yourself in this situation will be quickly forgotten. You’ll need to find a time and situation that is more relaxed and when the editor can be receptive to you.

Be open to making contacts with assistant editors. These are enthusiastic people on their way up who may be editors in the future. They may be more open to an aspiring writer and help you get in the door, even if they aren’t in a position to hire you themselves.

If you get an okay to submit your material, act promptly. Allow two or three days for people to get back to their offices and/or recover from the con, but then send off your samples with a short, polite, simple email or cover letter (if sending a paper copy) indicating that you met at the convention (specify which one) and that said editor asked to see your material, so here it is, with a brief description of what it is. Editors are busy people and need to have the info at a glance. They don’t have time to read tomes. It’s important to remind them that this was a requested item and not unsolicited.

A good email or cover letter should include three short paragraphs: one paragraph to remind her that you met, where and how and that she gave you permission to submit; one paragraph with a brief description of the material (don’t forget to mention your artist); and one closing paragraph in which you should say anything about yourself that might help sell you as a writer (such as having sold other pieces of writing, writing columns or articles for a fanzine or prozine, a self-published comic you’ve put out, that sort of thing). You don’t have to do these in this order, but these are the three points you want to cover.

If sending this by email, be sure that your pitches are in an easily accessible format, such as a PDF. This would be the most common method for submissions.

If you send paper submissions and want the materials returned, be sure to enclosed S.A.S.E. (self-addressed, stamped envelope for mailing them back to you). If you don’t care about having it sent back, indicate in your cover letter that the material doesn’t need to be returned, so the editor will know why you didn’t include S.A.S.E. Be sure to provide an email address so the editor can contact you with a response.

One more tip about cons: most cons, and certainly the bigger ones, tend to run from Thursday to Sunday. The most insane days are the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. If you can manage to get in on a Thursday or Friday, before the big crush and before attendees are burned out, you stand a better chance of making a connection.

Social Media

There are many comics professionals on Twitter and probably on other social media. Do your research by making a list of the editors and associate editors on the books you like, and then search for them on social media. You may be able to learn about the business from them and find out when and where they might attend cons or other events, and depending on the social media, you may be able to open a dialogue by asking a pertinent question about the business, especially about what it’s like to be an editor.

Do NOT try to pitch to them or otherwise bother them in DMs, unless they actually invite you to connect that way. They don’t have time for that, and it’s poor etiquette.

Workshops, Seminars

Once in a rare while, a company or creator may hold introductory workshops or seminars. DC Comics has a Talent Workshop open to both writers and artists. You’ll need to regularly research publishers’ websites and social media to stumble across these. See the “Comics Resources” section after Chapter 7 for more info.

Clubs or Associations

Another route is to search out comic book clubs or associations that might have regular meetings and might possibly be able to have a comic book pro as a guest. That was how I met Roy Thomas and led to selling him my first story for Savage Sword of Conan. This is probably only likely if you’re in or near a large city, though.

If you have a comic book retailer in your area, check with them to see if they ever manage to have comic pros make appearances at their stores. These will generally be appearances by writers and artists, but you could approach them for advice and see where that goes. Again, this tends to happen mainly with stores in or near big cities and depends on how savvy the owner is with setting up such appearances. Maybe you could offer to help with that and thereby become personally involved in contacting pros to make visits to the store. Be creative in finding ways to bring pros to your area, if you can’t go to them.

Email Contact

This method isn’t recommended, but if you’re simply too far away to attend conventions and can’t travel, you may have no choice. Most editors will probably ignore email inquiries, unless they get to know you and welcome hearing from you.

A cold inquiry email should follow the basic guidelines laid out above in following up to a contact at a convention. You should have your absolute best sample scripts or finished materials ready to send, so if by chance you get an okay to submit, you’ll have them ready to go. However, editors at the big publishers aren’t allowed to look at unsolicited submissions. Never send anything without permission.

Personal Appointment

Back in the 1980s, I contacted the editors at DC and Marvel and made appointments to meet with them and pitch ideas to them in person. I had a few small writing credits behind me by that time, but I think they were also impressed that I was willing to travel from California to New York to have meetings (back in the days when both companies were located in New York City).

The catch here is to have strong ideas to pitch or finished materials to show, with the hope they might actually let you in the door. It’s a tough form of cold calling, but what have you got to lose? Other than the cost of travel?

It would require a polite phone call to the editor’s assistant, explaining that you want to travel from The Far Ends of the Earth to have a half-hour of the editor’s time to show your work and pitch your ideas. They will want to know more about you. Have a short sales pitch about yourself ready to provide. Even if a personal meeting isn’t on the agenda, try to leverage it into an invite to submit by email. Most importantly, don’t be obnoxious, over-anxious or a pest. Keep it light, friendly and professional. Don’t call on a daily basis if you don’t make progress. Track when you call, who you talk to, and what they said. Allow several days between calls, if waiting for a response. Give it a try, but if you get the feeling they don’t really want to see you and are trying to discourage you, you should quickly backpedal and ask if you can submit by email instead. Most of all, remain polite at all times and be able to take no for an answer. Thank them for their time and move on to someone else.

Alternatively, if you can make it to a comics convention that is coming up, you could cold call to try and arrange a meeting with an editor or assistant editor that will be at the con. You would want to do this two or three months in advance, as their schedules will fill up quickly.

What If You’re Invited to Pitch?

Let’s say you’ve gotten someone’s attention and proven yourself to the point where you’re invited to pitch ideas for their books to a publisher. Obviously, you must be extremely well-versed and up-to-date on their books. A very long time ago, I embarrassed myself in a pitch meeting by pitching an idea based on something that had radically changed within that company’s universe. I hadn’t been following their books closely enough, and I missed that event. I didn’t make a good impression by failing to do my research.

Possibly, the editor will provide guidance, such as “pitch me something about this particular character or group.” If not, here are some recommendations:

Method #1: Pitch a stand-alone or fill-in idea using non-major characters. By stand-alone, I mean one that could easily fit into the series, stands on its own (not a continued story), matches the tone and feel of the book, and doesn’t include any changes in the series’ continuity. In fact, much of the advice I give about pitches in the animation section applies here as well. For example, don’t kill off, maim, resurrect, or make radical changes to any major character. You’re not trying to revise their continuity; you want to show that you can come up with good, useable ideas.

Although you might want to use a big-ticket book like Batman or Spider-Man for your pitches, be realistic about writing for those books. The publishers are only going to want big name and established writers for their top-of-the-line books.

Method #2: If you’re submitting to one of the Big Two (Marvel or DC), pick one of their characters or books that hasn’t been active for a long time and isn’t currently being utilized. Come up with your unique, updated approach to bringing back that character or set of characters. This is trickier because you’ll have to be very, very good at it and come up with an approach that grabs the editor’s interest. If you have the guts and a fantastic “hook” for revitalizing the character, go for it. Even if that particular approach doesn’t work, you could get the editor interested enough in you to pursue other work.

Alternatively, you could pick some minor, secondary character that appeared in one of their books and then disappeared. If no one has done anything else with the character and you can see some potential there, you might come up with a spin-off idea utilizing the character in a new and interesting way.

Peter David, a prolific comics and novel writer, had this advice: “I always recommend that [the prospective writer] should come up with story springboards (five to six lines) designed as ‘evergreen’ (or as we used to call them, fill-in stories) that could be used for popular characters in multiple books. Then send them, not to the editors of the respective books, but the ASSISTANT editors. Why? Because no one ever writes to the assistant editors, so they’ll actually open the envelopes and read the contents. That’s the biggest problem right there: Getting your material in front of people’s eyes. Now I don’t know for sure that that will actually work, but it seems a good theory.”

For the independent and smaller companies, you might have a chance to pitch an original idea. With indies, Method #1 isn’t quite as useful since the books tend to be more personal creations of a specific writer and/or artist, unlike the corporate fare of the Big Two. And Method #2 doesn’t apply very well, either, for the same reason.

Indies are usually interested in finding new creators and are more willing to look at proposals for a new series. The drawback is that an indie is more likely to require that you have an artist attached. A publisher’s website should have submission guidelines. If submitting original material to an indie that is probably the first question you need to have answered—will they look at your series proposal on its own, or do they want to see a full-fledged book with an artist attached?

Create Your Own Comic

This provides more challenges to the writer than to the writer-artist since it means you have to find an artist that is willing to work with you, either for free or because you can pay her.

Your first effort doesn’t have to be a full-sized, color book. If you can find a like-minded artist to take a risk along with you, you can start by creating a black-and-white ashcan of your idea. Then, send that sample to editors and publishers. Sell it at conventions, and hand it to anyone in the business that you meet there. An ashcan is small, light, and a quick read, so it makes a nice calling card… provided it’s of professional quality. You must be a good judge of the quality of art and able to recognize that vague but crucial borderline between amateur art and professional-quality art. Poor quality art will do more damage than good, because the reader’s lasting impression will be of the art first and the writing second.

Many independent creators have done well for themselves by creating their own black-and-white series that they produce consistently year after year so they build a following. Examples that come to mind are writer-artists: Wendy Pini’s Elfquest (Figure 7.2), Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise, the Hernandez Brothers’ Love and Rockets, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo (Figure 7.3), Colleen Doran’s A Distant Soil, Donna Barr’s Desert Peach, and Dave Sims’ Cerebus.

Figure 7.2
Wendy Pini’s Elfquest, published by Richard and Wendy Pini.

Figure 7.3
Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo.

A special example that must be mentioned is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. What became a multi-million-dollar powerhouse phenomenon spawning animation series, movies, toys, and tons of merchandising began life as a small indie black-and-white comic book parody. It’s a bit of a fluke, but if the commercial potential is there and the right people discover it, this kind of success can happen. Film and TV companies search for comic book properties to develop, so it never hurts to think of a self-published comic as a launching platform to other media.

Your task as a writer is to find an artist that is willing to partner with you, who is not only a good artist, but is reliable and professional enough to keep working on a long-term basis. One or both of you need to have the funds to get your book published, promoted, and distributed.

Crowdsourcing is one possibility. Many comic book projects show up on Kickstarter, but you’ll need to have good sample material, a solid business plan with a detailed realistic budget, and good promotional skills in order to do well with crowdsourcing, especially if you’re an unknown.

You must, must (I can’t emphasize this enough), must have a written agreement with your artist partner to lay out who owns what part of the art, the rights to the book, how the copyright will read, how you’ll divide the money and responsibility, and so on. You should have a lawyer well versed in copyright issues draw up an agreement for both of you to sign. There should be no surprises that can destroy your working relationship later on. Both sides should know very clearly exactly what they’re putting into and getting out of the partnership.

It would take an entire book to tell you how to self-publish a comic and that’s not the purpose of this one, though I will recommend some books in the “Comics Resources” section after Chapter 7. You will need to research self-publishing and learn a great deal about printers. When getting quotes, it will immediately become clear why the indies go for black and white rather than color. You’ll need to learn about promotion, and how and where to buy ads, and you’ll need to contact comics distributors and find out how they operate and what they’ll demand of you. Mainly, they’ll want to see the book, and if it’s a monthly comic, they’ll want to know whether you continue to put the book out on a regular basis. Maintaining a regular, dependable output is one of the single most important elements of succeeding in self-publishing. Nothing is more ruinous to establishing a career than a monthly book that doesn’t come out on time. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to a graphic novel that can stand on its own as a book.

Web Comics

Creating your own comic and putting it up on the net, instead of publishing on paper, is another alternative. As with any alternative, it has pros and cons.

On the pro side, it’s cheap and easy. You need a website and some basic knowledge to get the digital version of your comic onto the website, and off you go. You can do color without the associated costs of printing in color.

On the con side, you don’t make money from it. Charging people to look at a web comic is out of the question. You can link to a Patreon page or ask for direct donations (such as a Paypal “tip jar”). You can add banner ads and hope for some income that way. You can have an online store to sell associated products, such as t-shirts or mugs. All of this depends on building up a sufficiently large and loyal following, which again requires good quality work put out on a regular basis. If you have a good comic that will attract readers, and you do a lot of promotion, you can build up a readership that might eventually enable you to sell paper versions of the book.

What you mainly hope for with an online comic is attracting the attention of people who can do something more with it, whether we’re talking about a regular comics publisher, or someone from the TV or film business. With a large enough following, it could be feasible to run a Kickstarter campaign to have it published.

Research web comics to see how they lay out panels for easy reading. Also take a look at how Scott McCloud adapted one of his Zot! comics to the website page. What he did is creative and brilliant and takes full advantage of how webpages work. Go to: http://www.scottmccloud.com/1-webcomics/zot/index.html.

Finding an Artist

Places to look for an artist partner:

Facebook. There is a group created specifically to help comic book writers and artists connect: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Connecting.Comic.Book.Writers.and.Artists.

Facebook. A page for Women in Illustration, Comic, Game, and Media Arts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/womeninmediaarts.

Websites such as deviantart.com, artstation.com (see the Comic Art category), or behance.net where artists display their work.

Local or nearby art schools.

Specialized art schools that teach comic book illustration, such as the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc. (http://www.kubertschool.edu), The Center for Cartoon Studies (https://www.cartoonstudies.org), The Savannah College of Art and Design (https://www.scad.edu/academics/programs/sequential-art), and AICAD—the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (http://www.aicad.org/programs/two-dimensional-design/comic-art), or the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (https://mcad.edu/academic-programs/comic-art).

Twitter. Many comics artists post their work on Twitter, plus there are numerous hashtags for comics artists, such as #comicartist, #comicbookart, #visiblewomen, #illustration.

Instagram. There are many artists posting work on Instagram, but most of the comics people tend to be established professionals. It can’t hurt to look for inspiration and possible discovery of a new artist.

Comic book conventions. Check the Artists’ Alley and art shows.

Through your local comic book store, where aspiring artists might hang out, though it may be hard to find professional quality.

Comics club (though it may be too fan-oriented and hard to find professional-quality artists).

If You Absolutely Cannot Find an Artist

What are your options if you’ve tried everything and simply can’t find an artist to work with you? This is where you’ll have to think outside the box. You’ll have to get creative and inventive about ways to show your ability as a writer.

Here are three ideas to get you started thinking in new directions:

Wattpad.com: Wattpad.com is a website and mobile app where anyone can post their writings in the form of chapters of a novel or a short story, receive feedback from readers, rewrite and repost, and continue this way in an episodic fashion. There are dozens of genre categories. The site has become huge, boasting a community of over 65 million people. More significantly, TV and film studios have turned to Wattpad as a source of new material. There is no money involved: you aren’t paid and don’t earn anything from having your material on Wattpad, but that isn’t the point. You own your material, so it must be your own creation, not based on existing IP. You could write your comic book story as a short story or serialize it as chapters in an ongoing story, do your best to build up a following, and use that as your leverage with a comics publisher to have it “adapted” as a comic book. Or use it as a submission, such as for the DC Talent Workshop.

Fumetti: I mentioned this obscure form of comic in Chapter 5. Are you good with a camera? Do you have friends that like to do cosplay or access to a local theater group? Rather than using art, you could use digital photos to tell your story. It would be different and eye-catching. You could find royalty-free photos to use for establishing shots (be careful not to violate copyright by using photos without a photographer’s permission). Text could be added using comic creating software.

Comic creating software: There a number of programs that make it possible to create comics using their panel layout templates, libraries of characters and backgrounds, importing photos, and methods of adding balloons, captions, and SFX. Two that I came across were Pixton Comics (https://www.pixton.com) and Comic Creator Studio (https://summitsoft.com/products/comic-creator). Other programs seemed more oriented toward kids. These things come and go, but doing a search for “comic creating software” should point you to these or alternatives. With enough creativity, it might be possible to produce commercially viable comics, or at least something you could use as a sample.

Copyright and Ownership

If you’re new to writing, it’s important to understand the difference between owning your material and doing work-for-hire. Anytime you’re hired to work on an existing property, or a property in development that belongs to someone else, you’ll be employed as work-for-hire. This means that you have no ownership or rights at all on the work that you do. If you’re hired to write for Spider-Man or Superman, it is obviously going to be a work-for-hire situation because those are corporate franchise characters.

Copyright is a complex issue, and I urge you to become as informed as you can about copyright and trademarks. Here is a brief primer.

Intellectual Property: This definition is taken from Cornell University’s website (https://www.library.cornell.edu) “Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.”

If you create an original ashcan, single graphic novel, comic book series, online comic, or a proposal for a comic book based entirely on your ideas and execution, that is an IP. It’s a creation of your mind that has commercial value, or at least the potential for commercial value.

Copyright: The word conveys exactly what it means—the right to copy. Once you create an original and unique work (be it a book, drawing, painting, song, movie, game), you automatically own the copyright to that work. That means that you and you alone can determine who will make copies of that work, how they will make the copies, what they’ll pay you for that privilege, and where or how they can distribute those copies. You own that right to control the copies of your work by any means in any media. You get to decide how you will share, sell, or license any part of your copyright to others.

Although copyright law automatically gives you that protection from the moment of creation, the trick is having absolute proof of your creative ownership and the date you created it. A court of law isn’t going to take your word for it. That is why you want to register your copyright as soon as you can, and before you set out to sell your work to anyone else. If you self-publish your own comic, it’s a standard part of your business procedure to register each issue with the Federal copyright office. It would be wise to do the same for an online comic.

You register your copyright by going to https://www.copyright.gov, print out the correct form for the type of media you’re copyrighting (for a comic book series it would be “serials/periodicals,” for a script or proposal, including illustrations, it would be “Literary Works”), fill it out, include a copy of your book or script, and send it in along with the registration fee, or follow instructions for digital filing. Consult their fee schedule for the type of copyright you’re registering: https://www.copyright.gov/about/fees.html. The website has useful information and instructions.

You cannot copyright an idea or a concept. For example, you can’t copyright “A series of adventure tales about warrior-women set on an island.” You can only copyright your specific, exact expression of that idea in a finalized form, whether that form is a prose novel, a script, a comic book, a proposal for a series, and so on. That is why it’s possible to have two such different approaches to the same idea as DC’s Wonder Woman and my The Sisterhood of Steel. Your specific expression of an idea is the only thing you can protect.

A copyright does have to be protected. Allowing other people to create fan-based material based on your copyrighted work undermines your copyright. If you freely allow others to make new creations based on your IP without exercising your rights or control, it is viewed as giving up ownership in your copyright.

There is a movement to allow a more flexible form of copyright, called Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org) designed to make it easier to share creative works on the net. You may want to investigate this and see whether it suits how you feel about copyright of your work.

Trademark: The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) defines it this way: “A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name.”

You have to file for a trademark for each category where you want that protection. A comic book trademark would fall under “Publications,” which would also cover other types of publications, such as coloring books, activity books, story books (paperback and hard cover), tape sets, magazines, and so on. If you wanted to trademark your character for an action figure, you’d have to trademark it under another class that includes toys, games, playthings, dolls, action figures, stuffed animals, miniatures, and so on. Clothing is a separate class, and so on and so forth. It’s extremely complicated and only relevant when you have merchandising to protect.

To register a trademark, you are best advised to use a legal professional who knows how to do the necessary trademark searches and applications. Filing a trademark is considerably more expensive (we’re talking hundreds of dollars for each class in which you register your trademark), and you have to make sure there isn’t already a similar trademark in existence with which yours might conflict.

For more information, the website for the United States Trademark and Patent Office is https://www.uspto.gov. Their website does allow you to do a basic search by yourself, but the USPTO will do its own search once you make an application, and they could still turn you down. They don’t refund your application fee if they turn you down, which is why you’re better off using a lawyer who can make sure it will be done right.

The Trade-Off: Ownership versus Making a Deal

One of the most important decisions you could potentially be faced with is whether to give up partial, or even full, ownership of your IP should someone offer you a publication deal with such terms.

If you’re only getting started and this is your first chance to be published, you have to weigh the pros and cons of giving up ownership. It depends on your temperament and how important it is to you to get those first credits.

From a publisher’s perspective, they’re putting up money, time, and effort to get your book out there, so it’s only fair that they profit from it. And they should, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to own it.

The major publishers have had creator-owned lines of books from time to time. That’s why I still own all rights to The Sisterhood of Steel. I licensed it to Marvel’s Epic line, which was publishing creator-owned books at the time. If you want to sell your proposal to a big publisher and own the rights, you’ll need to research whether or not they have a creator-owned line of books in existence. Then, you’ll need to research what type of books they buy and see whether your idea falls within their guidelines. A search on “creator-owned comics publishers” should bring up plenty of info.

There are some independent comics and graphic novel publishers who might like your material and offer a deal, but the details are important.

There are many aspects of negotiating a publishing deal to consider, but here are the key points:

COPYRIGHT: Would they file the copyright in your name (and that of your artist, if applicable)? Remember, whoever holds the copyright owns the IP.

RIGHTS: Precisely what rights are being acquired? Think of IP rights as a pie that can be sliced into any number of pieces. Does the publisher want rights for all countries and all languages, or for specific territory and language? If the publisher wants all foreign rights, can they deliver on selling your work in other countries?

PAYMENT: How and when would you be paid? Does the deal include royalties or additional payments for foreign sales, reprints, and future uses of the material (such as collecting individual issues into a trade paperback)? Study up on the difference between gross and net payments on royalties. Net payments mean the publisher gets to repay itself for publishing, marketing, and other expenses before you get paid. When agreeing to net payments, make sure those expenses are spelled out in detail and feel reasonable.

TIME PERIOD: What is the term (number of years) of the agreement? It should be a reasonable time period, but not open-ended. Make sure all rights revert to you at the end of that period. Watch out for clauses that might require you to take some special action to regain your rights.

ANCILLARY: Who controls the ancillary rights? What participation or percentage would you receive from such sales? Ancillary rights refer to selling your IP into other markets, such as TV, film, streaming media, merchandising, or any other way an IP can be applied. The reason George Lucas became massively rich from Star Wars was that he negotiated a deal in which he kept the ancillary rights. At the time, the people who drafted his agreement never imagined that Star Wars would become the phenomenon that it did. A publisher would most likely expect to control those rights, but must give you a good deal on whatever may be earned from ancillary rights. You should question how well the publisher can handle such rights. Are they experienced at doing so? Have they made other such deals? On the other hand, if you’re not already working in other areas such as TV and film, or you’re not represented by an agent, you probably have no ability to sell ancillary rights yourself. And if you’re not well established in TV or film, don’t expect a publisher to give you a deal that says you’ll be the one to write the TV or film script if the rights were sold. They can’t and won’t.

In May of 2019, Dark Horse Comics signed a deal with Netflix that gives them a tremendous edge in having their comics adapted to television series. It’s an advantage to getting published by Dark Horse, in that it increases your chances of a Netflix deal. On the downside, if Netflix isn’t interested in adapting your book, you may or may not be able to take it elsewhere. These are issues you need to be aware of when signing a contract. Look carefully at how the ancillary rights are granted. Use a lawyer if you don’t feel you have a good enough grasp on it yourself.

Is it worth it to give up ownership to get published? That’s a personal decision. You may not have a problem with making that trade-off, or you may feel strongly about owning your material. It’s something you need to think about if you get serious about trying to sell your IP to a publisher rather than doing it yourself.

Getting Paid

Each publisher will have its own system for payment, but the dominant method these days is direct deposit to your bank. You’ll have to find out what the procedure is for the company that hires you or publishes your work.

It will be up to you to track payments that are pending to make sure you get paid on time. When it’s a work-for-hire situation, you’ll receive a contract first. Your contract must specify how your payments are broken out, what you have to turn in for each payment, how long they can take to pay you, and whether they have to accept or approve your work before you’ll be paid. Be sure your contract sets a specific time for approval or acceptance of work that’s turned in. Otherwise, your payment could sit in limbo while you wait for an editor to accept your work or ask for revisions.

The larger companies offer royalties or incentives which will be based on how well your book sells. You might have a royalty that only kicks in when your book sells a certain number of copies, so you should do some research and try to determine how well certain books sell (this is not easy info to come by, I should add). Sales of comics have fallen tremendously over recent decades. Setting a royalty that doesn’t kick in until a book sells 300,000 copies a month, for example, means it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see a penny in royalties.

Your contract should specify what percentage the royalty or incentive will be, what sales figures it’s based on, and when such royalties or incentives are paid (quarterly? twice a year? once a year?). Unless you’re a big name and have tremendous clout, you won’t see a royalty based on gross (total profit from sales with no publisher expenses deducted). You’ll be offered royalties based on net. Again, unless you have some kind of clout, you won’t have much chance of changing what they offer you.

If a company doesn’t offer a royalty, they should instead offer a greatly increased amount of money up front to make up for this. It depends on the size of the company and what they can afford.

Going rates: It’s tough to give a going rate in a changing business, but a rough guideline for a writer would be anywhere from $50 to $150 per page and up (higher for writers who are in demand). However, smaller companies or independents may ask you to accept a deal with no money up front and only royalties on the back end. They’re asking you to take the risk of publishing with them. If they’re a reputable, established company that doesn’t seem like it might fold at any minute, and you can afford to do that in order to break in, then you might consider it. Otherwise, avoid such offers.

By “per page,” that means the number of pages in the printed book. If you get $50 per page for a 22-page book, you make $1,100.00 for that script (plus royalties later, if any).

Location, Location, Location

At one time, where you lived was more of an issue than it is now. Marvel and DC were in New York City, and at one time that meant that you needed to live in New York to work for them. Marvel remains in New York City, with entertainment divisions in Los Angeles, and DC has moved entirely to the Los Angeles area.

With everything being done digitally and via email, location is no longer the crucial factor it once was. Comic book companies sprout up everywhere, from Oregon to Florida, and most of them aren’t going to decide whether or not to hire you based on where you live, as long as you have good internet access for sending and receiving material.

This applies equally to going the self-publishing route. It’s ideal to be able to meet with an artist in person while working together, but certainly not a necessity as long as you both have good communication. The same goes for working with letterers and colorists.

Agents

There are no agents for writers in the comic book field. I had an agent for a while. He’d worked in the comics business for decades, had published the first ever line of alternative comics (that weren’t undergrounds), helped establish the direct market (selling to retail comic book stores rather than relying on newsstand sales), and really knew his way around. He set up an agency to represent writers, artists, and other creatives in comics. Yet after putting a lot of years into it, he finally closed it down.

The resistance to agents is partly history. It’s a business in which the creators never had any significant say and never had anyone to represent their interests, so there’s no precedent for it. It’s in the interest of the big companies to avoid that. And since the majority of comic book deals aren’t for big money, there’s not a lot of pay-off in it for the agents who have to battle this resistance.

It’s possible that big name writers from film or TV have their Hollywood agents negotiate comic book deals for them, since they already have those agents and by virtue of being a big name, they may be able to command enough money to make it worth the agent’s while. I don’t know of any agent, however, that actively tries to represent comic book writers, plus you run into the problem that a Hollywood agent won’t know much about the comic book business. If they don’t know any more than you do about the business, they’re not of much help to you.

If you’re breaking in and being offered a standard work-for-hire contract, there’s not much you can realistically do except take what’s offered.

If you’re selling an original IP where a contract needs to be negotiated, you should immediately hire a good entertainment or copyright lawyer. It will cost you, but it will be worth it to let the lawyer handle the negotiations and legal end of the deal. It’s the only way to truly protect yourself.

Having covered all this, I did come across a site that listed literary agents who represent graphic novels, which are treated as books (rather than magazines as monthly comics are). Check the “Comics Resources” section, after Chapter 7, for the link to this site. Be sure to carefully investigate anyone claiming to represent comics writers or graphic novels. If it’s a literary agent or agency, you can check Writer Beware (https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware) to see whether they’ve been flagged as being not reputable.

Unions and Organizations

There is no union or organization that represents people in the comic book field. Artists and writers are notoriously difficult people to organize under any conditions, and as stated earlier in this chapter, there was never any precedent set for that type of representation.

There are local groups, such as CAPS (Comic Art Professional Society) in Los Angeles. CAPS requires that you have professional credits to join. It’s a nice way to socialize and network. There are other, less formal groups that I’ve heard of that meet for dinner once a month or get together for a “writers’ lunch.” If you get into the business, keep your ears open for groups like that and join in. Social networking is a great way to pick up work.

Comics Resources

Books

Alan Moore’s Writing for Comics by Alan Moore.

Comics Experience Guide to Writing Comics: Scripting Your Story Ideas from Start to Finish by Andy Schmidt

Comics & Sequential Art by Will Eisner.

The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O’Neil. Focuses more on the art of writing and storytelling by a highly respected comic book writer and editor with decades of experience in the business.

The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels by Andy Schmidt.

Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers edited by Nat Gertler.

Panel Two: More Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers edited by Nat Gertler.

Paul Kupperberg’s Illustrated Guide to Writing Comics by Paul Kupperberg.

Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form by Scott McCloud.

Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics by Stan Lee.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. As both an artist and writer, his book on visual storytelling is excellent. This is a must-read.

Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels by Brian Michael Bendis.

Writers on Comics Scriptwriting Vol. 1 by Mark Salisbury.

Writers on Comics Scriptwriting Vol. 2 by Andrew Kardon and Tom Root.

Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels with Peter David by Peter David.

Talent Searches and Submission Guidelines

CREATORS FOR CREATORS

This is a non-profit organization supported by numerous comics professionals. From their website: “The goal of the Creators for Creators grant is to help pave the way for the next generation of comics creators by supporting their work financially and through mentorship, as well as providing opportunities for their creations to reach a wide audience. We plan to give $30,000 to a single cartoonist or writer/artist duo in order to support the creation of a new and original work of a length between sixty-four and one hundred pages over the course of a single year. The recipient will be selected by committee according to rigorous criteria.” The grant is international.

http://creatorsforcreators.org/about

TOP COW

Top Cow is a partner studio of Image Comics. Although there was no obvious information on their site, it appears they have a Talent Hunt for writers and artists once a year with winners announced in May. You may need to visit their site or Facebook often to watch for news of a new Talent Hunt or sign up for notices. They have detailed and specific requirements for what they want, so you’ll need to obtain those for the year in which you want to submit. The contest is international and open only to unpublished writers and artists.

https://topcow.com/talent-hunt

IMAGE COMICS SUBMISSIONS

https://imagecomics.com/submissions

MAD CAVE STUDIOS TALENT SEARCH

https://madcavestudios.com/talent-search

THE DEFINITIVE LIST OF COMIC PUBLISHER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Jason Thibault has been publishing this list once a year for over a decade.

https://jasonthibault.com/definitive-list-comic-publisher-submission-guidelines

FIRST SECOND BOOKS (imprint of MacMillan Publishing)

First Second doesn’t accept unsolicited proposals, but this blog post is helpful in talking about their submission process.

https://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2010/02/inside-the-submissions-process-at-first-second-part-ii.html

Legal Help

GAMAL HENNESSSY

“This is a modified excerpt from a book I’m working on called Independent Comic Book Publishing. It’s designed to walk you through the basics of work for hire agreements.”

https://www.creativecontractconsulting.com/c3blog/2019/4/9/a-simple-guide-to-work-for-hire-agreements

On-line Courses

COMICSEXPERIENCE.COM

From their website: “Learn from renowned comics writer/editors Andy Schmidt and Paul Allor who have edited and written for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and IDW Publishing. In this class you will conceive, outline and write a complete 5-page comic book script!”

https://www.comicsexperience.com/course/introduction-to-writing-comics

COMIXPLEX.COM

Amongst their offerings, they had an extensive workshop by J.M. DeMatteis. There’s no way to tell how long it will be offered, but it’s worth checking comixplex.com for similar workshops.

https://www.comixplex.com/plans/56411

LIT REACTOR.COM

Alex Segura’s Splash Page: From their website: “We’ve recruited Alex Segura, an editor at Archie Comics and its genre-defying Dark Circle Comics imprint, to walk you through the basics, from tightening up your concept, to whittling down what you include, to getting your pitch in the right hands.”

http://litreactor.com/classes/splash-page-with-alex-segura

RAINDANCE.ORG

From their website: “In this unique workshop, #1 New York Times Bestselling List and Eagle Award winning comic book and graphic novel writer and screenwriter Tony Lee (Doctor Who, Superboy, 2000AD, Spider Man, X-Men, Battlestar Galactica) takes you through the steps to turn your idea into a comic book or graphic novel and the steps you need to take to get yourself published.”

https://www.raindance.org/courses/introduction-comic-book-graphic-novel-scriptwriting/

SEQUENTIAL ARTISTS WORKSHOP

From their website: “This is an online, continuous-running, self-paced course taught by Tom Hart, New York Times #1 Bestselling graphic novelist and founder of SAW—the Sequential Artists Workshop—in Gainesville, Florida.”

https://sequentialartistsworkshop.thinkific.com/courses/comics-for-writers

UDEMY.COM:

From their website: “A comprehensive look at creating comic books specifically for the writer. NOT a course in drawing, these two hours and forty minutes of video lectures by comic veteran Stefan Petrucha combine nuts-and-bolts tips, rules and insider info with easy-to-understand theory.”

https://www.udemy.com/course/writing-comics

Websites about Comics

THE BEAT: Also subscribe to their email newsletter.

https://www.comicsbeat.com

BLEEDING COOL

https://www.bleedingcool.com/comics

COLLEEN DORAN: Video about webcomics by an experienced comics artist.

https://www.facebook.com/ACEcomiccon/videos/1543730825682298

COMICS ALLIANCE

https://comicsalliance.com

COMIC BOOK NEWS

https://comicbook.com/comics/news

COMICS CONTINUUM

http://www.comicscontinuum.com

COMICS EXPERIENCE: This page has examples of comics scripts by numerous writers.

https://www.comicsexperience.com/scripts

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES

https://www.cbr.com

THE COMICS JOURNAL

http://tcj.com

THE COMICS REPORTER: Now primarily an archival site.

http://www.comicsreporter.com

COMICSVERSE

https://comicsverse.com

DIGITAL WEBBING: Has a forum where writers can post ads looking for artists.

https://digitalwebbing.com

HERO COLLECTOR

https://www.herocollector.com/en-us/Category/comics

IGN: Primarily about games, but with a comics category added.

https://www.ign.com/comics

THE MARYSUE

https://www.themarysue.com/category/comics

NEWSARAMA: Check out their forums for occasional workshop news as well.

https://www.gamesradar.com/newsarama

SCOTT MCCLOUD’S WEBSITE

http://scottmccloud.com

WRITEUPS: Per their website “Writeups.org is an encyclopedia of characters in genre fiction—comic books, video games, action movies, etc. It offers illustrated, researched profiles. These also include technical data for role-players. If you need a robust understanding of a character’s abilities, personality, history, etc. this is *the* place to be.”

http://www.writeups.org

Digital Publishing

WEBTOON: Publishes digital comics specifically for mobile phones.

https://www.webtoons.com/en

Their formatting guidelines: https://www.webtoons.com/en/tiptoon/lozolz/webtoon- editing-tips/viewer?title_no=1268&episode_no=24

COMIXOLOGY

https://www.comixology.com

MADEFIRE

https://www.madefire.com

Organizations

COMICS EXPERIENCE: Includes courses, workshops, and publishing opportunities. Run by Andy Schmidt, former Senior Editor at IDW Publishing, former Editor and Writer at Marvel Comics.

https://www.comicsexperience.com

COMIC ART PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY

http://www.capscentral.org

https://www.facebook.com/comicartprofessionalsociety

THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND

http://cbldf.org

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMICS ART EDUCATORS promotes teaching comics in schools and has some script samples on their site.

http://www.teachingcomics.org

WRITER BEWARE

https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware

Conventions (A Short List)

CONVENTIONS SCENE: Lists comic cons around the world.

https://www.conventionscene.com/schedules/comicbookconventions

CHICAGO COMICS & ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (Chicago, IL)

https://www.c2e2.com

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL SAN DIEGO (San Diego, CA)

https://www.comic-con.org

https://www.comic-con.org/cci/volunteers (for volunteering)

COMICPALOOZA (Houston, TX)

https://www.comicpalooza.com

DRAGONCON (Atlanta, GA)

https://www.dragoncon.org

EMERALD CITY COMIC CON (Seattle, WA)

https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com

HEROES CONVENTION (Charlotte, NC)

http://www.heroesonline.com/heroescon

MEGA CON (Orlando, FL)

https://fanexpohq.com/megaconorlando

NEW YORK COMIC-CON (New York, NY)

https://www.facebook.com/newyorkcomiccon

ROSE CITY COMIC CON (Portland, OR)

https://rosecitycomiccon.com

SMALL PRESS EXPO (Bethesda, MD)

“The Small Press Expo (SPX) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in 1994 to promote artists and publishers who produce independent comics. SPX hosts an annual festival that provides a forum for artists, writers and publishers of comic art in its various forms to present to the public comic art not accessible through normal commercial channels.”

http://www.smallpressexpo.com

WONDER CON (Anaheim, CA)

https://www.comic-con.org/wca

Copyright and Trademark

FEDERAL COPYRIGHT & REGISTRATION INFO

https://www.copyright.gov

UNITED STATES TRADEMARK AND PATENT OFFICE

https://www.uspto.gov

Literary Agents that Represent Graphic Novels

NIKI SMITH COMICS AND ILLUSTRATION

http://niki-smith.com/about/graphic-novel-agents

INKWELL MANAGEMENT (New York, NY)

Charlie Olsen: From his website: “Charlie Olsen started his publishing career at InkWell in 2007 and has been building his client list since. He is interested in fiction, children’s books, graphic novels and illustrated works, and compelling narrative non-fiction.”

https://inkwellmanagement.com/staff/charlie-olsen

MERCHANDISING SERVICE

WHITE SQUIRREL: From their website: “White Squirrel is a small company based just north of Seattle, with a focus on creators and their customers. We work with artists, authors, designers, and makers who have products they want to sell, but don’t have the time or brain space to take care of all the details.”

Although this site is about helping creators sell products, it’s also a good place to find artists through their shops.

https://www.whitesquirrel.com

Videogames

8

History/Evolution of Videogames

There are many forms of entertainment called “games” that are created by and for electronic devices. There are arcade games for a large machine that sits in a corner of your local movie theater or pizza parlor and takes your quarters. There is entertainment created specifically for your home computer (PC), which can be enjoyed individually, in a pair, in small groups, or with thousands of other people on the internet. There is entertainment designed for a special console box attached to your TV or the mobile phone held in your hand or the headset that creates a full world around you. More recently, there is audio-only interactive entertainment being written for smart speakers such as Amazon’s Alexa. The technology is a moving target, with new methods and means of delivering the visuals, sound, and in some cases tactile sensations advancing on almost a daily basis.

No matter what the tech or method of delivery, they have one important thing in common—they are a form of interactive entertainment. They allow the users to make choices that can affect the direction in which the entertainment will play out. It is input-active entertainment in contrast to the receptive-only entertainment of books, TV, and films.

The Boundaries of Interactive Entertainment

There are endless discussions about how to define a “game.” I’m going to keep it simple and say that a game is an activity one engages in either alone or with others that has a set of rules, and has one or more goals. Thus, a game can be as simple as playing solitaire with a deck of cards or a round of poker with tough-as-nails pros for big stakes. It can be a friendly game of touch football in the back yard, or it can be the NFL. It can be three-dimensional chess or hopscotch drawn in chalk on the sidewalk.

A game becomes a videogame when it is produced and experienced as audio-visual entertainment on an electronic device.

Videogames can be straightforward “shoot your enemies” roller coaster rides or a sprawling, complex online game populated by thousands of people from around the world, where the player’s options are fluid and vast. And of course, a videogame can also be a game of virtual solitaire or playing as a virtual member of the NFL. The possibilities are limited only by imagination.

A videogame is only one form of interactive entertainment. In print form, there are “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that rely on extremely simple branching options to allow for multiple paths through a story. There were attempts to make “interactive movies,” some using live-actors, but they’re cost-intensive and didn’t make it in the marketplace. There has been experimentation with interactive stories for TV, notably by Netflix. There are Dungeons & Dragons-style role-playing games in which people gather to play their imaginary character, and live-action role-playing (LARP) games in which, for example, people get together in a real location to unravel a make-believe murder mystery as though they were the actors in a play. There’s a variety of interactive entertainment, but the videogame is the one that’s achieved the greatest market success, becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry.

There are experiments in digital, interactive drama that fall outside the realm of games, such as Façade. This early internet-based program explored interpersonal relationships with no “win” or “lose,” and no specific goals other than exploring how the characters will react to what you do.

These chapters will focus on the Narrative Design and writing aspects of videogames, for both games driven by gameplay and games driven by story.

The Evolution of the Videogame

The following brief history is from my perspective as a writer, rather than detailing the march of technological development. Obviously, videogames advanced as the technology advanced and will continue to do so. Games in two colors gave way to four colors, then twelve colors, then 256 colors, and onward to the beautifully rendered, full-color masterpieces we see today. Ditto with sound and music. A similar technical progression is taking place in mobile games and VR (Virtual Reality). While the technology is a significant driving force, it can only take a game so far. Without a well-realized world, a coherent story, and compelling characters, the best technology in the world can fall flat.

There are exceptions, such as playing Tetris, Candy Crush, or some other match-3 type of game where all you have to worry about are matching tile patterns in colorful graphics. I freely admit that there are certain types of games that provide entertainment on a simpler, but no less entertaining level. Let’s rule those out and agree that we’re talking about the more complex form of videogame where the participation of a writer makes sense.

Early computer games that wanted to tell story were text-based, relying on the imagination of the player to fill in the “world” in which they played. The only “video” involved was seeing the words on the screen. A small chunk of narrative was given, and then, the player was given two or more choices to determine what would happen next. After making the choice, the result of that choice was given in the next chunk of narrative and a new set of choices were presented based on that result. The player could type in a response or chose a response from a numbered list by typing in the number. The earliest parsers (software that analyzes and processes the text input) could only handle extremely simple sentences, basically a verb and noun combination (“go west”), or a single descriptive word (like “west”). The software had to parse the input and provide an appropriate response. Later parsers became more complex, such as the one created for Zork. Zork was a benchmark game of interactive fiction that let the player adventure through a huge underground labyrinth in search of treasure. It went beyond the simple verb–noun parser and used one that could understand full sentences.

Text-based games relied on the cleverness of the writer to set up the story and situations, to anticipate how players might respond, and to decide what to give them in return for those various responses. That, in turn, increased the sheer volume of writing that was required. The more options you give the player, the more variables you have to take into account, and the more replies you have to write.

The next major evolutionary step in games with story was to introduce graphics, the first one being Mystery House, a simple murder mystery with rudimentary animation. Rather than the player creating the environment in her mind based on text alone, she was given the environment in which to interact.

The early animated adventure games were also parser-based. The player could move his character around on the screen using cursor keys, but had to type in commands in order to talk, look, take things, and make his character perform other actions. As with purely text-based games, the designer/writer had to anticipate whatever the player might want to do and then create a response for it. Design choices often included responses for the crazy things people may do while playing a computer game just to see what will happen, like cursing or typing nonsense, or purposely jumping their character off a cliff. As games became more complex, with more and more choices for the player, the scripts for these games became massive. My script for my first adventure game was a stack about a foot high. It was the equivalent of writing a dozen screenplays.

Along came the mouse. This called for an evolution in the interface of games. Game Designers adjusted by switching from text input to screen icons that represented possible actions. Instead of typing in “take gold,” the player used the mouse to click on a screen icon that represented “take,” and then click the icon on the gold; an eye icon could be used to “look at” items represented within the screen environment; a talk icon could bring up a set of dialogue options; a map icon could bring up an interactive map; and so forth. The designer/writer had to shift away from thinking about every possible thing a player could type in and instead focus on how to tell a story using a limited set of interface icons. The new interface eliminated puzzles or story choices that required typing in text that could be parsed.

Although the interface became easier for the player, this form of interactivity could seem more limited than earlier parsed games that allowed more input from the player. To compensate for this, many early computer games insisted that the player get a response no matter where she clicked on the screen. This, once again, made for a massive amount of writing, nearly as much writing as a parser-based game demanded. If the writer wanted to have dialogue between the player’s on-screen persona (avatar) and a NPC (Non-Player Character, a character controlled by the computer rather than the player), he had to provide both sides of the dialogue and allow the player to select from pre-written dialogue options. Each option demanded more writing. Because early computer memory was limited, the early computer games used a fairly simple branching path dialogue tree. These memory restrictions meant that writers had to figure out how to hold the player’s interest with the fewest amount of words possible.

The next step in the evolution of videogames was to minimize the interface to almost nothing. The two breakout examples in 1993 were Myst and The 7th Guest. Both of these games were minimal on story, and there was no NPC dialogue interaction—they were purely puzzle games. They provided visual puzzles to solve. Like previous games, they were 2D, meaning their graphics were two-dimensional and the ability of the player to move around inside the environment was restricted by that. However, both of these games provided stunning and detailed visuals (including video sequences with live-actors in 7th Guest), along with an interface so simple, anyone could easily master it. When the cursor passed over an interactive element (a “hotspot”) on the screen, the cursor would visually change and the player knew she could click on that hotspot, which would cause some piece of animation to happen or some object to move. Finding the solution to a puzzle involved figuring out how to move an object, or trying to decide in what sequence objects should be configured, or the frustrating “pixel hunt” (searching for the one spot on the screen that was a hotspot)—and that was the totality of the interface. The writing for such a game would have been limited to the designer’s document detailing what the puzzles were and scripts for the few minimal pieces of video to cover the thin story. Yet these games were wildly successful. Myst in particular became such a financial powerhouse that other game companies scrambled to produce look-alikes based on the same minimal style of interface. Nearly all of these imitators failed because the mere novelty of the minimal interface wasn’t enough to support an entire genre. The lack of story and low level of interactivity didn’t prove satisfying enough to players in the long run.

By contrast, Gabriel Knight II: The Beast Within (designed and written by Jane Jensen) was a game that heavily utilized live-actors and a simple point-and-click interface like other games of its time period, but in addition, it had a complex, character-driven story that set it apart from the competition. It was both a financial and critical success, one which should have proven the value of strong writing.

SimCity (1989) was responsible for another evolution and created an entire segment of the videogame market unto itself. It was one of the first and most successful of the simulation-based “games.” Though usually referred to and sold as a game, SimCity had no story and no pre-ordained goals. It provided a giant playground in which the player was able to build a city any way he wanted to, managing resources and determining the zoning, taxes, and so on. The player had the freedom to build up, tear down, design, and rebuild any way he wanted. The game then simulated the results of those machinations and how the virtual denizens of the city reacted to them. These sims are also called “god games” because the player essentially plays god to his virtual subjects.

Other sims followed, leading to The Sims in which the player gets to play god with a cast of NPCs whose lives she completely controls. She can determine how and where they’ll live, when they eat, how they interact with other NPCs, and so on, and then, the sim characters react to these decisions in a continuously evolving process based on their inherent drives, goals, and desires. The outcome of those god-like manipulations depends upon the game design, programming, and artificial intelligence of the NPCs, rather than a predetermined story. Sims are a fascinating form of interactive entertainment, which may or may not use any form of story writing.

Doom (1993) established the popular form of play known as a first-person shooter (FPS) in which the action is seen as though the player is inside the game environment and looking through his own eyes. In this early type of FPS game, story was virtually non-existent and the goals were basic—shoot things, survive, shoot more things. Doom also took advantage of yet another significant graphical development, the 3D game engine, which created a three-dimensional virtual world through which the player’s character could move. Now the player could feel more immersed in the virtual world by being able to move around freely. The heightened sense of reality, combined with great sound and music, had a major impact on players. From a writing perspective, they had little to offer as there was only the barest excuse for story and none of the other elements that call for good writing, such as character development. However, they set the stage on a technical level for immersive games with story that could push the boundaries of digital storytelling.

The boom in console games altered the videogame landscape with big-budget games that advanced graphics, AI, and other technical aspects of videogames. This results in more development money being spent on console games than on PC games, which in turn affects what writing jobs might be available. Some of the most successful console games have done an exceptional job of storytelling, such as the later Lara Croft games, The Last of Us series, and the Uncharted series.

What is significant about console games for the writer and designer is their interface between the player and the game. Because a console controller consists of a limited set of buttons, the designer of the game is restricted to those limited interactive options with which to tell an interactive story. To convey story, console games often make use of “cinematics,” non-interactive real-time animated scenes between NPCs. These are similar to “cutscenes” developed for PC adventure games, which are non-interactive, pre-rendered animated sequences. One of the consequences of relying on scenes of this type was a trend toward giving console games more linear storylines.

MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) are a unique blend of virtual worlds, adventure game, role-playing game, and social club. They have also opened new doors for Narrative Designers/Game Writers as the amount of writing that goes into them is especially massive and ongoing. An MMOG requires an enormous amount of writing to create: the vast worlds and races it has to provide; the backstories for all those races and locations; an overarching metastory of some kind; and endless numbers of smaller, individual quests, missions, and tasks—all of which to keep the legion of online players occupied for weeks, months, and years.

Another major development that wasn’t dependent on technology was the emergence of F2P (Free-to-Play) games. These began in the Asian markets, one of the most successful of the early F2P games being a South Korean MMOG called Maple Story that released in 2003. PC games and console games were sold for a set price. MMOGs were based on a monthly subscription price. By contrast, in the F2P model the player can play the game for free and the game-maker makes money by selling the player virtual items or special currency that can be used in the game to purchase things. These small purchases are called microtransactions, and as a general rule, it’s a tiny percentage of players making these microtransactions that fund the entire game. Some people also call these freemium games, a mash-up of free and premium because even though players technically play for free, people can enhance their mastery of the game by paying for items, currency, or boosts.

Designing on the F2P model is significantly different than designing a premium game with a set price up front. When I worked on an MMOG in development in 2007, there was a raging argument over whether to keep the subscription model or transition to a F2P model, as making that transition would have required a major rethinking of the entire game design. The game was canceled before a consensus could be reached.

The person advocating for the F2P model was prescient, as some MMOGs did end up converting from subscription to F2P, and nearly all mobile games are F2P. Even the biggest MMOG, World of Warcraft, has supplemented its subscription model by selling players additional premium vanity items such as pets and mounts.

The area where F2P truly had the biggest impact was in the massive explosion of games made for Facebook (as a game platform), mobiles, and tablets. This has led to a large category of “evergreen” games, meaning games that are designed to be ongoing, rather than having a completion point.

F2P has caused the biggest paradigm shift in game design that I’ve seen in decades, and anything that causes such a big change in game design has an equal impact on storytelling and writing. I’ll discuss this aspect of F2P in more detail later.

In the past few decades, videogames have grown from a small business run out of someone’s garage into a gigantic industry whose products spawn movies, comics, animation, toys, etc. or whose products are based on one of those media. Sometimes, they happen simultaneously with a movie, game, and other merchandising being created at the same time.

One thing hasn’t changed—there is still a low priority given to storytelling and writing within the videogames business. This has improved somewhat since I began designing games in 1988 and advocating for the importance of writers, but not enough. A few enlightened producers or executives understand how much a writer can add to the quality of the game. Too often, writers are brought in as an afterthought when a game is already partly or mostly completed and someone suddenly realizes they don’t have a coherent story, or because the dialogue needs to be done and nobody else around the company has time to do it.

Mainly, this comes from the reality that games first emerged through the creativity of programmers. You can have a videogame without visuals or music or professional writing, but you can’t have a videogame without code. Consequently, programmers-as-writers were the norm in the beginning. Back when I began designing, I had an argument with a long-time designer-programmer who told me that I couldn’t design games unless I knew how to write algorithms. I countered that you didn’t have to know how to build an engine from scratch in order to drive a car.

As games have grown up, so have the budgets and amount of people required to produce them. This isn’t necessarily a good thing because some game budgets have become enormous (if not outright astronomical) and the consequence of that is that (1) it’s harder to get a game made, and (2) companies are a lot more nervous about the whole process. They’re less willing to take risks and can become more dependent on existing licensed properties. The bottom line and marketing have largely come to dictate what the creative process will be.

Countering this is a flourishing movement of small, indie game makers, though they don’t tend to have a budget for a Narrative Designer (a writer with game design knowledge) or writer.

Large companies, especially those that are part of or tied to major entertainment studios, are more likely to want a Narrative Designer or professional writer to be involved in the development process.

Nowadays, a typical game design team might consist of a producer/manager or product manager, lead designer, lead programmer, lead artist/art director, composer, sound engineer/designer, and the teams of designers, programmers, artists, and possibly a Narrative Designer.

You’ll notice I didn’t include writer. They’re rarely included in the initial design team. My personal opinion is that the ideal design team should include an experienced Game Writer or a Narrative Designer from the earliest stages. The trick is to get a company to budget for one.

Beneath the surface, it gets back to the mistaken notion that anybody can write. While a company wouldn’t hire a programmer to create beautiful art, or an artist to write elegant code, they somehow think that any spare person can match the quality of an experienced, professional writer. It’s a hurdle that still needs to be overcome for anyone who wants to write for games.

On the positive side, there are more and more jobs opening up for Narrative Designers who are in-house, full-time employees.

Story-Driven versus Gameplay-Driven

Everything discussed so far covers games in which the gameplay comes first, meaning that the game mechanics have priority over story (if the game has any story). If there’s a conflict in development where a choice has to be made between gameplay and story, gameplay will always be on top. Story is usually low in priority and sacrificed as needed to preserve gameplay. This is understandable when the primary purpose is to play a game rather than tell a story.

More recently, I’ve seen heartening development in “games” that are story-driven. These “games” are generally F2P mobile apps that are purely about story, even though they might contain some F2P game features, such as buying vanity items, or needing to use energy or in-game currency to advance. They’re loosely categorized as games, probably more for convenience than anything else. They’re more correctly a type of interactive fiction.

What sets them apart is that they’re about story first, before anything else. The Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game that came out in 2014 was an enormous hit. It had more game-like elements, but the story was a priority. The drawback was that the branching choices had little genuine effect on the story.

Then along came Episode also in 2014 and a competitor, Choices. They’ve greatly expanded the market for branching storytelling, with a lineage that traces back to the Choose Your Own Adventure print books and other digital interactive fiction that is pure text.

In addition to game companies, other media outlets—such as Netflix, Amazon’s Alexa, and Snapchat—are creating interactive stories that utilize the same skills as writing for games.

In the following chapters, I’ll delve into the writing needs of both story-driven and gameplay-driven games. For the rest of this chapter, the focus is on gameplay-driven games.

Game Genres

Games can be broken into the same genres as animation and comics, such as science fiction, fantasy, action-adventure, military, and historical, but more commonly games are defined first by their hardware platform category, then by categories that describe their type of gameplay. In games business lingo, “genre” refers to the type of game (RPG, match-3, FPS, MMO, and so on). The platform dictates how extensive or complex the gameplay can be. A desktop PC or console has vastly more computing power than a tablet and provides higher quality graphics and that affects what sort of game can be played on it. The hardware interface (keyboard, controllers, tapping the screen with a finger) will further dictate how complex the gameplay can be and how a story can be told.

The major platform categories are:

Console: A gameplaying box that connects to a television set or monitor, with a hand-held controller for gameplay, such as the Nintendo, X-Box, or PlayStation (each platform having its own proprietary systems that aren’t compatible with other platforms).

Handhelds: Any gameplaying device that is its own independent system that can be held in the hands while played, such as those made by Nintendo, Sony, or using controllers designed to work with smartphones.

Mobile: Cell phones, tablets, and other mobile/wireless devices that have more functions than a game machine (further divided into Android, Apple, and Kindle platforms). Cloud-based tech enables players to access a variety of games, including console games, on their mobile devices.

PC: A desktop computer or laptop (further divided into computers using Windows, Apple, and Linux operating systems).

Streaming: Various services offer access to a library of games for a monthly subscription fee, with the games streamed via console boxes, PC, Smart TVs, or other devices. Games streamed via the Cloud allow the choice of playing console and other types of games on mobile devices, PCs, or whatever the player chooses.

VR, AR, MR: Virtual Reality devices are worn over the head (mainly the eyes) and often accompanied by some form of hand-held controllers; Augmented Reality devices can range from a pair of glasses to a mobile phone that display computer-generated images or data over the real world; Mixed Reality devices blend reality and virtual reality via some kind of eyewear or glasses.

Web-based: Games that are delivered via the internet and/or World Wide Web, usually via browsers (and is therefore widely accessible to any machine), such as Facebook Messenger games.

Game Categories

This doesn’t cover every type of game out there, plus there will be games that combine elements of two or more types, but these are the major categories, along with my evaluation of how significant story or writing is to them.

Adventure

Adventure games tend to be more story-driven with more emphasis on characters and story situations, but often with puzzle-solving features such as using finding and using inventory objects. Certain adventure games incorporate hidden object gameplay and match-3 puzzles as part of the story. Other games that could be put in this category are more about exploring an environment in order to uncover or learn about the story or solve a mystery, such as Gone Home (described as a story exploration game), Tacoma, Firewatch, The Flame in the Flood, Dear Esther, Heavy Rain, or Journey. They rarely include any form of combat, being designed for a more casual audience rather than hardcore players (though such designations as “casual” and “hardcore” are hotly debated within the games business).

Need for story: high

Action/Adventure

Often this type of game is simply referred to as “Adventure,” but I prefer to draw a distinction between the story-oriented adventure games and the combat-oriented action/adventure games.

Action/adventure games provide the avatar that the player will play throughout the game, along with a story and an overall large quest, side quests, NPCs, navigating hostile environments, adding and upgrading gear, and other features. Combat is a key component, usually the driving force of the gameplay.

Examples include Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, Fallout, Unavowed, The Last of Us, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed, Lara Croft.

Need for story: high

Arcade Games

Games made specifically for large, stand-alone gameplaying machines with a screen and a panel of buttons or other gameplaying controls. It provides a set amount of game time for coins or tokens, so named because they were usually found in arcades, and a few other places such as movie theaters or pizza parlors. They tend to be fighting/combat, racing, or hunting games.

Need for story: Little to none

ARG: Alternate Reality Games

These games are often used for promotional and marketing purposes, such as creating buzz for a major movie or console game release. They represent a tiny market for now, but have potential for enterprising writers. An ARG uses real-world assets to “push” various pieces of a storyline to the participants, such assets being YouTube videos, email, Tweets, text messages, voice messages, diary entries, photographs on a blog or website, and so on.

To give a sense of what it’s like to write for this niche market, I consulted with novelist Maureen McHugh who has worked on them. She said that getting work in this small field mainly involves being in the right place at the right time. “I got work in the ARG field because I’m a science fiction writer and the head writer knew me. I had been following his work in one of the very first ARGs ever. I was enthusiastic about his work and the field because I loved what he was doing.”

She points out that it’s actually quite possible to set up a website and create your own ARG… if you can convince a couple of other people to spend eighty hours a week in this labor of love. However, she also points out that she knows of at least one person who now does game design who started by running one of these games.

Most ARGs are seen as marketing and advertising, and many of them are designed and written by advertising firms. They are “pitched” by teams to potential clients.

She describes this type of writing as highly collaborative, similar to the TV writing process that is often done by a team who re-writes each other’s work and plot stories as a group process. “The writing on them ranges. The first big ARG, for the Steven Spielberg film A.I., was very story driven. That rather set a kind of expectation that they would be stories told in interactive, innovative ways. Many of them are still very writing intensive, built around a design lead and writing lead working in partnership. Because they are often advertising for a movie or a console game, they are always done in a huge hurry. A nine-month development cycle is long. The pace is blistering for people used to the traditional game industry. When they are story heavy, the story can make or break the experience. An ARG has to have a sharp and innovative design, including an element of novelty (t-shirts, phone calls and live events) and a story so that once the innovation becomes familiar, the story pulls the players back again and again. On the games I’ve worked on, the traditional aspects of storytelling—interesting situations and compelling characters—have been essential. At the same time, each game must establish the conventions of that game. For example, that the game will be told entirely through diary entries, voice mail, stolen e-mails, photographs, and websites.”

Examples include Waking Titan, That Poppy, The Sun Vanished.

Need for story: high

AR: Augmented Reality

The one big success in AR was the Pokemon Go mobile app game, and this was primarily due to the Pokemon license. Pokemon Go utilized the resources of a previous game by the same company called Ingress that used GPS tracking on a real-world map. It was primarily a collecting game (find and collect Pokemon) with some light combat sections (battle Pokemon at special locations called Gyms). It was wildly popular and somewhat controversial at its height, with people thronging in the streets in search of Pokemon, and problems with trespassing or stumbling into dangerous locations on the map.

There may yet be a market for AR games, but so far nothing else has matched the reach of Pokemon Go. Another version of the game based on the Harry Potter IP didn’t fare as well. This type of game didn’t offer opportunities for game writing, but it’s worth staying current on AR development in case new types of games come along that include story elements.

Need for story: Little to none

Battle Royale

Players are dropped into a terrain where they must find resources and weapons with the goal of taking out other players until only one survivor or team remains.

Fortnite is a successful example of the type of game. Other examples are Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

Need for story: Little to none

Casual

A large, loose market that includes such sub-categories as puzzle & match-3 (such as Candy Crush), word & trivia, invest/express (such as Farmville, Gardenscapes), card & board, poker, slots, and casino. Of these types, most don’t use story or writing. The invest/express games tend to have some light story and simple quests.

Need for story: low to moderate

Educational

Games primarily for children, to teach through entertainment.

Examples include Todo Math, Lightbot: Code Hour, Be George Washington, Free Rice, The Waiting Game, Fake It to Make It.

Need for story: low to moderate

First-Person Puzzlers

This is a minor subcategory of games, but it’s showing up in enough VR games to rate a mention. There is no player avatar. There is usually beautiful, detailed art and various types of puzzles to solve within the settings or environment. These work especially well in VR because of the trend to show only the disembodied hands of the player manipulating elements within the VR world.

Myst was the first major breakout game of this type. VR examples include Twilight Path and Torn.

Need for story: moderate

FPS: First-Person Shooters

A game that is played through the first-person perspective of the player, showing whatever weapon the player is holding, and usually involves a lot of running around and shooting things. Some games have a social PvP (Player vs. Player) element in which players can team up to take on other players.

Examples are Overwatch, Far Cry, Call of Duty.

Need for story: low to moderate

Hypercasual

This category consists of extremely simple, easy games that can be learned in a matter of seconds. They’re often arcade-like and make money through advertising.

Examples are The Tower, Ballz, Tomb of the Mask, Hello Stars, Ultra Sharp, Bumper.io.

Need for story: None

MMOG: Massively Multiplayer Online Games

This type of game combines elements of RPG, action/adventure, and sandbox, but adds a community of people from around the world, with hundreds or thousands playing at the same time. They involve large amounts of typical RPG play, but can be played from either first-person perspective with no avatar on the screen or third-person perspective where the player sees the avatar on the screen. They evolve in real time (an ongoing, persistent game world). They have some background story and plot, but differ in that they are more open-ended (new material is constantly generated.) Players interact with one another in real time, sharing quests or missions, crafting, selling their crafts, chatting, socializing, or engaging in combat.

Examples include World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, Guild Wars.

Need for story: high

MOBA: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

Two teams battle over an existing territory with the goal of taking out the other team’s base; somewhat related to tower defense games. They combine elements of action, RPG, and RTS.

Examples include League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Smite, Dota2, Vainglory.

Need for story: Low

RPG: Role-Playing Games

A game in which the player plays the role of a particular character from a third-person perspective. These are usually more story-based, involving long stories and a quest or mission to be achieved. The character is usually from a certain class type, such as “warrior,” “ranger,” “priest,” “rogue,” in a fantasy-based game. The player builds up the experience, abilities, appearance and other characteristics of their character as the game progresses.

Examples include Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Pillars of Eternity, The Witcher. In mobile, Game of Sultans combines RPG with empire-building strategy gameplay.

Need for story: high

RTS: Real-Time Strategy

A game which progresses in “real time” as the player plays so that the action is continuous. RTS games usually have a combination of combat, strategic planning, building bases, directing individuals or units, and managing resources (such as gathering, manufacturing, production, and so on).

Examples are Command & Conquer, Age of Empires, Game of Sultans, King’s Throne.

Need for story: Low

Sandbox

A sandbox game provides the player with a virtual space or environment, provides a lot of “toys” (objects, items that can be used), possibly some story in the form of side quests, and then gives the player total freedom (as much as is possible) to do anything at any time to anyone or anything within that virtual environment. The main thing about the concept of a sandbox game is the amount of freedom given to the player to use or abuse the interactive environment in any way they want without necessarily having to accomplish a goal unless they choose to do so. Minecraft, a game in which anything in the game world can be built out of blocks, is probably the biggest and most successful sandbox game. The Grand Theft Auto games are also big in this category.

Need for story: low to moderate

Serious Games

Sectors that wouldn’t normally be involved in game design are learning to make use of the expertise of the game business to create “games” that are not simply for entertainment, but serve a more serious purpose. These games are designed to teach or raise awareness in real life, especially subjects such as medicine and health, politics, military simulations, war and terrorism, women’s rights, economics, the environment, climate change, and other serious subjects. There are conferences that deal entirely with the category of serious games.

Examples include AppClinic, 13 Minutes Ago, Read to Lead, That Dragon Cancer, Re-Mission, Myobeatz, 3rd World Farmer, and A Closed World.

Need for story: low to moderate

Sims: Simulators

The idea of a sim game is to create a virtual reality in which the player has various levels of control over how the virtual reality evolves. A flight sim lets the player experience what it would be like to fly a plane. The Sims game lets the player explore what will happen to NPCs in a range of virtual life situations as the player manipulations aspects of the virtual world. The Sims has experimented with light storylines in expansion packs such as Strangerville.

Examples include The Sims, Frostpunk, Euro Truck Simulator, Cities: Skylines, This War of Mine, SimCity, and Tropico.

Need for story: Little to none

Sports (also eSports)

Any sport you can imagine from skateboarding to volleyball to football. It’s a huge section of the market with huge sales on numerous platforms. Unfortunately, it rarely offers work for writers.

Examples include Madden NFL, NBA, FIFA, and Rocket League.

Need for story: Little to none

Strategy

A large category of games designed around 4X = explore, expand, exploit, exterminate. Players explore territory, expand into new territory, exploit resources, exterminate opposition, and so on.

Examples include Lords Mobile, Rise of Kingdoms, Game of War, Star Trek Fleet Command, and Clash of Clans.

Need for story: Little to none

Third-Person Shooters

Much like a FPS, except that the player sees their avatar during gameplay. A prime example of this, Fortnite, combines PvP and cooperative social elements. This is another type of game that doesn’t call for story or writing. “Story” is user-generated, based on the player’s personal experiences, though the developers can drop in the occasional plot device, such as a meteor strike.

Need for story: Little to none

Virtual Worlds

These developed separately from MMOGs and are not related (yet) to immersive headset VR. These are usually played on PCs. They aren’t technically “games” in that they don’t have typical game elements and are designed more for purely social interaction. What is unique about them is that everything in them is created by the players themselves. That includes architecture, landscaping, vehicles, clothing, accessories, and scripted actions such as dancing or gesturing. What they don’t have is writing or story content, since everything is user-created, but those users can establish entire virtual life subcultures and social groups. These virtual worlds operate on a different economic model that involves both subscription fees and real-world economics, such as buying and selling virtual assets for real-world money.

Examples include secondlife.com, there.com.

Need for story: None

Need for Story Summary

To summarize, here are the types of games according to their use of story and writing.

HIGH

Adventure

Action-adventure

ARG

MMOG

RPG

MODERATE

First-Person Puzzlers

LOW TO MODERATE

Casual

Educational

Sandbox

Serious

LOW

MOBA

RTS

LITTLE TO NONE

AR (so far)

Arcade

Battle Royale

Simulators

Sports

Third-Person Shooters

NONE

Hypercasual

Virtual Worlds

9

Design Roles and Terminology

I’m frequently asked how one goes about becoming a Game Designer because people sometimes think that designer is also the writer of the game. However, as game production became more and more specialized, so did the roles of designers. Given the scope and complexity of writing for videogames, it’s important to understand the difference between being a Game Designer, Narrative Designer, and Game Writer.

One of the first things to understand is that Game Designer and Narrative Designer are specific job positions at game companies and studios. They are usually full-time, in-house employee positions. The position of Game Writer would rarely exist as a job position in gameplay-driven companies. The exception might be something like lore masters on a big massively multiplayer on-line game (MMOG).

This is different from story-driven companies where both Narrative Designers and story writers are absolutely vital.

While it’s certainly possible to be a freelance Game Designer or Narrative Designer, you are more likely to see full-time jobs in a company in those positions, whereas you’re more likely to be working freelance (as an independent contractor) as a Game Writer.

Next, let’s clarify these roles.

Game Designers

The role of Game Designer has evolved considerably since I began work as a designer. As explained earlier, the first designers were programmers for the simple reason that they were the only ones who knew how. As the games business grew and games became more complex, the role of designer became more of an entity unto itself. Back then (at least at Sierra On-Line), it seemed as though anyone who could come up with good ideas for a game and put them down in a reasonably coherent manner could be hired to design. It was more about having the creative vision and enough technical skill to know what could or could not be done within the existing programming and animation capabilities.

Today, the roles of designer have multiplied and become more specialized. As game development teams grew larger, more designers we needed to carry out the projects, along with more programmers and artists, and more layers of producers and managers. Job titles vary from company to company, but this is a general idea of how they work.

At the top of the totem pole with the highest level of responsibility will be someone with a title such as General Manager, Producer, Executive Producer, Creative Director, or Director of Design. This person is more likely to run one or more teams and be responsible for all aspects of the game production, but mainly as a manager.

Next on the design side is the Lead Designer. Leads are usually more of a management position, with the Lead Designer overseeing Senior and Junior (or Associate) Designers. On a big enough team, you might also have Leads for specific categories, such a Lead Systems Designer with a team of Systems Designers. It will vary from company to company, depending on the needs of the game.

Here are common types of Game Designers:

Game Designer: The designer understands the mechanics and fundamentals of game design, knows how to design new features and game mechanics, has a very good grasp of what makes a game fun, knows something about programming and art tools, and is good at communicating the game design to a team. Boiling it all down, it is the job of the designer to ensure that the game is entertaining, engaging, and functional.

Systems Designer: Someone who focuses on developing, balancing, and tuning various game systems, such as a combat system, experience points, economy, leveling, itemization, and rewards. Tuning is tweaking the numbers and algorithms behind the system. Balancing means working out the optimum mathematical progression to make the system fun and challenging. It’s the Goldilocks principle. Progression shouldn’t be too easy or too hard; it needs to be just right. Systems Designers require strong math skills and are masters of spreadsheets.

Level Designer: A level in a game is a zone, region, location, or other aspects of the physical layout that the player must move through and interact with in order to complete the game. Level Designers create the physical layout in a way that integrates the key elements of the game design, can be navigated, and is exciting to see and experience. Artistic ability and 3D modeling skills are important for a Level Designer.

UI Designer: UI is User Interface. This type of designer straddles art and design. They’re responsible for designing the graphical interface that a game player uses to interact with the game.

UX Designer or Experience Designer: This is a relatively new type of designer, and they overlap with UI and other areas of design. An Experience Designer focuses on how the player the player interacts with the game, with the interface, and with the controls, whether the player is getting the right feedback at the right times, whether the player has a good flow through the game, and how good the player’s overall experience is with the game. They are player advocates.

Content Designer: This isn’t a common position and one that shouldn’t be confused with a Narrative Designer or Game Writer. Large-scale games (MMOGs, RPGs) would be most likely to have Content Designers to add extra content to their large worlds. The Content Designer may come up with characters, additional quests or missions or scenarios, names, write dialogue or in-game text (such as lore in a book), write descriptions for items and other game assets, and so on. The main thing that sets it apart from Narrative Design or game writing is that a Content Designer isn’t usually doing the main storyline or primary writing. They’re commonly expected to perform more technical implementation such as being able to write code in Python or Lua, or work in a game engine such as Unity.

One more word of caution about job postings for a Content Designer—this is a position that also exists outside of games, so if you look for this type of a job, be sure it’s a game company rather than a non-game company. Non-game companies are looking for something completely different.

In large teams, designer roles can be broken down even further, with more specialization and more types, for example, Feature Designers, World-Building Designers, Combat Designers, or Quest Designers.

The best way to understand what companies require in a Game Designer is to look at the skill requirements in job listings for designers. There are many websites where designer jobs are listed. The best place to go is www.gamasutra.com, a site that is intensely useful for all things related to game development, including job listings. High-tech headhunters have websites looking to fill the positions for the companies. Game companies have job listings on their own websites. See the “Games Resources” section after Chapter 13 for more information on game jobs sources.

For those who are interested specifically in being a Game Designer, looking at these lists of requirements will tell you exactly where you stand and what you need to acquire (experience, skills, education) in order to qualify. Numerous universities and colleges teach courses in game design, so there is at least a starting point now that didn’t exist earlier.

You’ll notice that many of these job listings will include “a passion for games” as one of their requirements. If you get interviewed, you can be sure they’ll test you for your knowledge of and experience with playing games. If you go after a job with Company A, make sure you play as many games as you can that are made by Company A. Feel free to rave about the games to the person interviewing you. If you thought the games sucked, you’d better find something else to be positive and enthusiastic about (though one wonders why you’d want to work there anyway if you don’t like their games).

No one will hire you right out of the gate to be a lead or senior designer. The most likely path to become the top person designing a game is to find an entry-level job and work your way up. Search for paid internships as well. Some people recommend finding any kind of entry level job, for example as a game tester (QA). Other people contest this. The advice is all over the place. From what I’ve been able to distill, it depends on three big factors: the internal attitude of the company (will they promote from within, or do they look down upon lowly game testers?); how good you are at proving you can do design work; and luck.

It’s not unusual for a Game Designer to be stuck with the responsibility of handling the writing for a game. This happens when the company doesn’t have the budget to hire a Narrative Designer or a full-time writer, or when the company doesn’t feel it’s important enough to have a professional writer doing that job.

Narrative Designer

When I was hired to be a Narrative Designer at Zynga in 2010, I had an amusing exchange with a producer. She asked me why I didn’t have more Narrative Design credits on my resume. I laughed and informed her that it was because the idea of a Narrative Designer hadn’t been around very long. It was a new thing. It was so new that when I was creating a game IP in 2007 for an MMOG project, they allowed me to come up with my own job title because nothing definitive existed. I vacillated between Narrative Designer and Story Designer. I ended up going with Story Designer. Three years later, by the time I went to Zynga, the term “Narrative Designer” was becoming the established job title and has become even more so since then.

The title came about in 2006 when Game Designer and writer Stephen Dinehart came up with “Narrative Designer” as a job description for someone dedicated to story on a game project. It took a while to catch on, but now it is well established.

My definition of a Narrative Designer is simple. A Narrative Designer is the person who meshes storytelling with gameplay. It’s a writer with game design chops. Although it’s vital to be a good writer first and foremost, Narrative Design goes beyond writing and calls for an understanding of basic design principles. A Narrative Designer should be the champion of storytelling on a project, while adapting it to the needs and restrictions of the game design. Other skills of a Narrative Designer include the following: having a solid understanding of story structure and visual storytelling; having the ability to convey story via whatever interface the game allows and perhaps help design that interface; being good at both linear and non-linear storytelling; able to use spreadsheets and various other technical programs (version control programs such as GIT or Perforce) to do implementation of story and quests; having the ability to design narrative tools (that programmers will build) to implement story, quests, and dialogue; and being good at working collaboratively with a game team.

At many game studios, the word “narrative” has become another way of saying “story,” while encompassing more than story alone.

Game Writer

A Game Writer is someone hired solely to do writing. A Game Writer shouldn’t be expected to design a quest system or design a tool to implement dialogue or do other design tasks. A Game Writer might be hired to come up with an overall story or backstory, create and write quests, write dialogue, write character biographies, write cutscenes or cinematics, write lore, and perhaps write other aspects such as barks (short, generic dialogue such as “Watch out!”) or item descriptions, or whatever other text or dialogue needs the game may have. A Game Writer, like a Narrative Designer, should have a strong grasp of storytelling structure in games, skilled at both linear and non-linear writing, and enormous flexibility to respond quickly and inventively to last-minute changes in game design that affect the story.

For example, on one game I was hired to write a detailed story and character bible for a martial art fighting game, but none of the backstory or biographies affected the actual game design or the gameplay. It added background and flavor, but created nothing interactive.

In contrast, on another game I was hired not only to create the world bible and biographies, but also to come up with the backstory, game story, overall questline, the story-related subquests, how the story would be expressed from the beginning of the game through all the quests to the end, plus write cutscenes and dialogue. I didn’t design the combat system or the magic-using system or the interface, but integrating the game story and quests into the game was design work all the same. Had the title of Narrative Designer been around at the time, I should have been hired in that capacity.

If you’re hired as a writer and are asked to do work that fits under Narrative Design, you should be paid accordingly. Writing + design should pay more than writing alone.

“We Can Do Anything…”

The single most useful advice I’ve been given as a Game Designer happened when I was teaching myself how to design a game at Sierra On-Line in the early days of adventure games. I went to Robert Heitman, the senior programmer who had built their game engine, and asked him a series of questions about what I could and couldn’t do with my ideas for gameplay.

His answer invariably was, “We can do anything. Do you have the time, and do you have the money?”

Time (meaning schedule) and money (meaning budget) are the two big governing factors in game development. A game needs to come in on schedule and hopefully on or under budget. It’s not uncommon for a big game to blow past the original schedule or blow up its budget, and either one of those means it will be that much harder for the game to make a profit. Every day that a game runs over-schedule automatically inflates the budget because that team of developers has to be paid. Overhead has to be paid. All related expenses to support those developers have to be paid.

The linked pressures of SCHEDULE + BUDGET can lead to chunks of a game being cut, or developers pushed into crunch mode, or more developers being thrown at a game (inflating the team), or any other number of actions. This inevitably affects the job of a Narrative Designer or Game Writer.

On one console game, the producer had to suddenly cut a large chunk of the story from the game toward the end of development because of schedule and budget issues. Luckily, the story was modular enough to lose that chunk without totally destroying the entire storyline, but it is wise to anticipate ahead of time how to deal with that situation when laying out a Narrative Design.

I worked on one mobile game where I wanted a simple narrative tool that would have improved how I delivered story to the player. I never got it because the manager wasn’t willing to find time in the schedule for a programmer to work on it. There was too much other work for the limited team of programmers to do within a tight and relentless release schedule, and it was all considered more important than narrative.

Your work as a Game Designer, Narrative Designer, or Game Writer will always be affected by the SCHEDULE + BUDGET requirements of the game. Be aware of this and produce work within schedule and within what the budget will allow. Understand that massive changes to story may have nothing to do with the quality of your work and may well be the result of these two overriding pressures.

Videogames and Hollywood

There’s much traffic between Hollywood and the games business. Movies, TV series, and animation are turned into games, while games are turned mostly into movies, but could easily become TV series and animation as well. One announced project was a MMOG and reality series created in tandem.

If you were a Narrative Designer responsible for adapting a movie or TV IP into a game, you might end up dealing with people on the Hollywood side, so there are some potential pitfalls in communication that are good to know about.

Words that mean one thing in Hollywood can mean something extremely different in games. The most important of these is development.

In Hollywood, development is mainly a writing process. It’s about acquiring an existing script or a concept (a pitch, book, videogame, comics/graphic novels, and so on), hiring or acquiring a scriptwriter, getting it written and rewritten, while possibly attaching creative elements such as a director or star actor to help ensure it will get made. Once development, meaning the script, is finished, the project is either killed or is greenlit. If it gets a greenlight, the movie or show can go into pre-production and finally, with luck, into actual production. A studio or an executive or whoever has the power can take credit for “developing” the project.

In games, development is the process of making the game from start to release. The development team (the developers, or devs for short) consists of the people creating every aspect of the game design and game assets. That includes the producers, designers, programmers, artists, animators, composer, sound editor, and QA.

Another term that can cause confusion is scripting. In Hollywood, everyone knows what a scriptwriter is—the person who writes the TV or movie script. In games, however, a “scripter” or a “scripting” job refers to writing code using software such as Python or Lua, programming languages commonly used in game development. If you’re a writer looking for writing jobs in the games business, be careful not to get snagged by jobs looking for scripters or people able to do scripting. It’s a programming job, not a writing job.

Another term to avoid is world-building or world-builder. It’s a term that writers use a lot, especially fantasy and science fiction writers, but in games, it’s a technical term for the work a Level Designer does in creating the geography/architecture for a level or region.

Terminology

The terms below are a tiny fraction of the huge vocabulary that surrounds the process of making games. I’ve subjectively grabbed a batch of the terms that I think are useful for a writer to know, especially if you’re not already familiar with games.

The first few definitions are terms that a writer absolutely needs to know. The second batch of definitions relates more to playing games in general. The third batch is terminology more specific to F2P and mobile games.

Terminology for Writers

Assets: Any digital file that comprises part of the game, such as art, animation, code, sound, music, voice recording, text dialogue, and so on. If you write dialogue for a game, each piece of dialogue is an asset.

Cinematic: A non-interactive scene written for the game that is rendered in real time by the game engine. It’s a scene that the player can only watch, but cannot affect (other than to skip over it). A cinematic can be used to convey a key story point, give the player an extra “pat on the back” for completing some important section of the game, create atmosphere, provide clues to the player about what to do next, and so on. See also “cutscene.” The two terms, cinematic and cutscene, are used interchangeably, however, and most people no longer make a distinction between them.

Cutscene: A non-interactive, pre-rendered scene written for the game, the same as a cinematic in purpose, but a cutscene might use art assets beyond what the game itself can provide. For example, a cutscene could be shot with live actors, or it might use a higher resolution of animation. The two terms, cinematic and cutscene, are used interchangeably, however, and most people no longer make a distinction between them.

Deliverables: A term commonly used to refer to game assets that have to be delivered to meet a milestone. In the case of a Game Writer, deliverables would be such things as a story treatment, quests, dialogue for a particular character, or some other specific chunk of writing.

Design document: This can vary from company to company, but ideally a design document contains the design specifics for every aspect of a game, from the game bible, explanation of the interface, world-building description, character biographies, lists of NPCs, specifications of features, and so on. In short, it is the complete blueprint for the game. F2P and mobile games don’t bother with design documents to the degree a more complex game might.

FMV (full motion video): Pre-rendered video (animation or live-action) done in broadcast-quality resolution (30 frames per second) and played like a mini-movie. Note that as game platforms continue to advance in their ability to render high-quality animation, there may no longer be a need for FMVs. FMVs have primarily been used as opening trailers for the beginning of the game to set up the story, situation, or environment, or for cutscenes.

Milestones: Game schedules work to milestones. A milestone is a date by which a certain chunk of the game design must be done, or the assets created, or code implemented and so on. For a writer, chunks of game writing could be assigned as milestones.

Walkthrough: A written description of how to follow one or more paths through a game. A walkthrough generally tells the player how to get to locations, how to find the necessary NPCs or what to do there, and other details that help the player find their way through the game.

Game Development and Game Playing Terms

Aggro, aggro radius (aggro = aggression): Aggro refers to how likely it is that a mob (see definition below) or object in the game will attack your avatar (see definition below). If the mob has high aggro, it’s more likely to attack you. Your own level as a player can also affect this: for example, a higher-level mob will tend to have more aggro toward you if you’re a lower level, while a very low-level mob may completely ignore you if you’re a much higher level than it. Aggro radius is the size of the area around the mob that your avatar must enter in order to trigger the aggressive action. You might be able to run right into or through some mobs without triggering an aggro response, but other mobs might attack you when you’re yards away.

AI (Artificial Intelligence): In computer science, AI is a computer system that is programmed to “think” like a human, and reason, learn and perform cognitive functions that mimic human intelligence. In games, AI is more loosely used to refer to the level of intelligence programmed into the computer-controlled NPCs and other objects to determine how they’ll respond to the player or to other objects in the game. The AI given to the human characters in The Sims, for example, is much higher than that for a minor NPC in a role-playing game that only needs to have a specific and limited set of things to say or do.

Attributes: Mostly, a Role-Player game term that refers to the vital statistics that player can control and improve for their avatar, such as strength, agility, speed, stealth, spirit, and stamina.

Avatar: The avatar is the player’s character in the game and is always controlled by the player. There are games in which a player can control more than one character, but the player has only one avatar and the secondary characters are NPCs, even though the player controls them. The avatar may be a specific character that is created for the player (such as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider), or a character the player builds from scratch and assigns a unique name, as in role-playing games (RPGs), MMOGs, and some story-first games (in which the player becomes the central story character). Note that while the term “avatar” is commonly used, some companies may use other terminology, such as “player character” or “hero character.” (See also “toon.”)

Beta testing: A stage of game testing in which people outside the company (meaning potential customers) are invited to test the game before it is officially released. The idea is to find bugs or gameplay problems with the game and fix them before the game is released. It can also build a loyal customer base and give the game good word of mouth (you hope).

Boost: A game item or commodity that gives the player a beneficial advantage in the game. Boosts usually have a limited usage or limited time.

Boss: A boss is a mob that is a higher level than the others around it, thus posing a greater challenge to the player. A boss is usually the last one the player fights as the pay-off for getting past the lower mobs.

Buff: A spell or other effect cast in the game that benefits the player’s avatar, usually for some limited period of time. For example, an avatar might get a boost in strength or an increase in agility or stamina, or might gain an ability, such as turning invisible.

Bug: An error in code or asset entry that causes a game to work incorrectly. The bane of a developer’s existence.

Crunch: The practice of making developers work excessively long, grinding hours to get a game done. This is the result of poor management, poor scheduling, and failure to understand that extra hours don’t necessarily equate to better productivity. Avoid companies that fail to promote a good work–life balance because they consistently force or encourage people to crunch.

Dailies: Quests that a player can do over and over again indefinitely. It could be on a daily basis (hence dailies), or on some kind of regular schedule such as weekly.

DPS (damage per second): A common stat that indicates how much damage your avatar or avatar’s weapon/spell/attack can do to opponents or vice versa.

Dungeons: In game usage, this refers to special spaces set aside for dangerous exploration and combat, sometimes but not always underground. It usually indicates a large and complex space with lots of room for the player to get into trouble rather than a single room or simple cave. “Dungeon crawlers” are games built entirely around large, multi-level dungeons where all the action takes place.

Elegant: If you hear a programmer refer to something as elegant, he means that it’s a beautifully written piece of code that is clear, clean, easy to understand, well documented, and works well.

Elite: A Boss mob or NPC that is high level and difficult to battle. It can also refer to a dungeon or quest in which such are found.

Emotes: Commands that cause the avatar to perform some emoting action, such as waving, dancing, cheering, flirting, bowing, or blowing a kiss. In mobile games, emotes are also images or animations of an emotional state that NPCs would display, such as sad, happy, and angry.

Exploit: A bug in the game or a loophole in the game design that allows a player to exploit the flaw in some way that wasn’t anticipated, isn’t necessarily desirable, and is advantageous to the player, giving him an unfair advantage over other players. For example, a player might discover a bug that allows him to get unlimited numbers of some item and sell them, thus becoming very rich very quickly in a way that wasn’t intended and unbalances the game’s economy.

Faction: A group or organization to which the player and NPCs can belong that has an effect on what the player can do in the game. A well-known example is the Alliance versus the Horde in the World of Warcraft MMOG. The player’s choice of which faction to belong to determines their race, appearance, attributes, territories, stories, and quests, and whether NPCs will be friends or enemies. More broadly, faction is a tool that can be used to affect player and NPC interactions in many different ways. Later, I’ll discuss the use of faction in writing.

Feature: To put it simply, the features are the actions you’re able to do in a game via the interface. Being able to save a game at any point is a feature. Being able to craft or manufacture something in a game is a feature. Being able to customize the appearance of your avatar is a feature. There’s an old joke amongst programmers, “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!” This is another way of saying, “It’s not really broken, we meant it to work badly like that.” The joke is sometimes applied to bad design decisions. Another aspect of feature is “feature creep,” which refers to new features being added to a game because they seem like a cool idea, but which can seriously mess up the budget and schedule. Adding a feature means adding code, art, and possibly other assets, so a good producer or Game Designer needs to keep feature creep under control.

Griefers: People who play multi-user games only for the purpose of interfering with or taking unfair advantage of other players. They cause grief, hence griefers.

HP (Hit Points): A mathematical value that represents how much damage the player’s character can take before dying.

Instance, instancing: This applies to MMOGs in which there can be hundreds to thousands of players sharing the same game locations or zones, so special zones will be set aside to be instances. This means that many copies of the zone can exist on the same server, so that one particular group of players can enter that version of the zone and carry out a quest or mission without the intrusion of other players. Basically, an instance is your own private universe for your group of players. Simultaneously, any number of groups can be playing the same quest or mission within their own versions of that zone. For example, a particular dungeon can be set aside to be an instance. As soon as the player or party of players enters the dungeon, they are in a unique version of it that is accessible only to them and not to any other players. It is often used to avoid overcrowding in significant quest areas so that players get a quality experience for that quest.

Interface: The software and hardware controls used by the player to interact with the game. The hardware part of the interface can be a keyboard, mouse, handheld controller, joystick, smartphone screen, and so on. The software part of the interface can be icons, symbols, boxes, or other input areas on the screen that are used to play the game. On phones and tablets, actions such as tapping, swiping, or pinching also become part of the interface.

Intuitive: Game Designers use this word a lot when discussing the design of the game interface. Every designer strives to make the game interface and design as intuitive as possible, meaning extremely easy and natural for the player to understand and use. The idea is that the player intuitively understands what something does or how it works, rather than having to be trained in how to use it or having to read instructions.

Levels, leveling up: A level can be assigned to a zone (region or location) of the game (such as a desert, a range of mountains, a swamp, a dungeon, a city, an entire country, a neighborhood, or even the single floor of a huge building structure) to determine when a player will have access to it. It also refers to the levels achieved by the player when they’ve racked up a certain number of experience points (or similar stat). The player then “levels up” (usually a numeric level, such as going from level 41 to level 42) and gains enhancements, such as increased strength, spirit, stamina, or other abilities. Levels can also unlock access to new items, locations, quests, and so on. In mobile games, leveling often gives rewards that help the player continue with the game, such as in-game currency, boosts, energy, lives, or other forms of useful game attributes.

Localization: The branch of game development that deals with translating the native language of the game into other languages in order to make the game playable in other countries. Localization is primarily about translating text and dialogue, but it may also need to translate numbers or other elements into their foreign language equivalents. A good localization team will also advise on cultural differences that could affect the game.

Loot box, loot crate: A game mechanic in which the player acquires or finds an object—often a chest, crate, box, but could be anything—and gains a random assortment of loot (game items) by opening it. For example, World of Warcraft has chests throughout the game that give out gold, armor, and other stray objects. In F2P mobile games, loot boxes can be an important source of monetization, in which players purchase the “box” with real-world money to get virtual rewards in the game. An example is the mobile version of Fallout Shelter that sells packs of cards. When the player taps on a card, it flips over to reveal the prize. Loot boxes operate using randomized tables that sort the rewards into common (not worth much), uncommon (low value), rare (valuable), and possibly an ultra-rare (extremely hard to get and highly valuable). Some countries have debated banning the sale of loot boxes because they consider it gambling.

Mechanics: Game mechanics are rules and procedures that determine how the player can interact with the game, and how the game will respond to that action. The more game mechanics a game has, the more complex it is. Examples are equipping a weapon is a mechanic (with rules that determine how it’s equipped, what effects it has once equipped), while using the weapon is gameplay; riding a mount is a mechanic (with rules that determine how you acquire or activate it, how fast it can go, how it functions), but where the player chooses to go on the mount is gameplay; and harvesting a farm crop is a mechanic (with rules that determine the length of time each crop requires, how much of each crop will be produced), but the strategies behind what crop to plant, how many crops to plant, and what to do with the crops are gameplay.

MOB (mobile or mobile object): A mob is any NPC or other creature, monster or object that is mobile within the game and is controlled by the computer. More commonly it refers to mobile objects that can move around, attack, or chase the player, rather than an NPC who simply stands around and gives out information, such as a quest giver.

NPC (Non-Player Character): A NPC is any other computer-generated character in the game that is not an avatar. NPCs are usually controlled by the computer, but there can be NPCs, such as a squad of soldiers, that are controlled by the player.

Nerf: Means to weaken the abilities of a character class or other game object that is considered too powerful: for example, players of World of Warcraft who feel that the Paladin class is too powerful could ask the devs to “nerf the Pallies.” This would mean having to change the underlying rules that govern what that character class can do in order to have a weakening or negative affect on them.

Patch: In general computer terms, a patch is a software update that is meant to fix bugs or other problems with an earlier version of the software. In games, the patch would not only fix bugs, but might include changes to the gameplay (nerfs, buffs, new features, new game items, and so on) and new graphics, new sound, or new music to go along with new features. One example of a patch to improve gameplay would be adding the ability to have changing weather, such as a rainstorm, in a game region.

Polygons: What cells are to the human body, polygons are to 3D digital art. A single 3D character or building can be made up of thousands of polygons, which are tiny individual shapes that fit together to create the whole object. The more polygons, the more detailed and higher the resolution of the art becomes.

Power-up: A game item or commodity that can be acquired that gives the player’s character an advantage over other players. These items often have a limited usage or limited time.

PvE (Player versus Environment): An MMOG realm where the player is primarily playing against the game environment and the mobs in it, rather than against other players. It’s considered a safer form of gameplay because the player can enjoy the game without constantly having to worry about being jumped by some other player.

PvP (Player versus Player): A form of gameplay designed to allow players to attack other players, or to attack and loot their territories and assets.

QA (Quality Assurance): The process of testing a game (by playing and playing and playing it) to find bugs so they can be fixed before the game ships. Most companies have a lead QA person who runs a team of QA testers. Ideally, QA should be included early in the design process, as their input is valuable.

Replayability: A game that contains enough entertainment value and variability that the player will play it two or more times to see what the alternative game experience is. The Sims has infinite replayability. A strongly linear game with little difference in how it plays out from one time to the next has low replayability.

Reputation: A rank achieved by gaining favor in a faction. Doing quests for the faction is a common way to gain rep. It should confer special benefits, such as skills, items, or access to special locations.

Sidescrollers: Games that use 2D graphics so that the background scenery has to scroll from side to side (or top to bottom) as the player moves their avatar.

Sink: Used as a noun, a sink refers to a game mechanism or action that pushes players to spend in-game currency, so that they don’t hoard it. Having good sinks is part of balancing the economy of the game.

Spawning: When a mob or monster or NPC suddenly appears in the game world, they have “spawned.” That is, the game engine has caused them to appear in a designated spot to carry out their function.

Spawn camping: The practice some players use in order to kill the same mob repeatedly (for loot or experience) by first killing the mob, then sitting and waiting at that spot for the mob to re-spawn, and killing the mob again.

Stats (statistics): Stats are vital to every sort of game, whether they’re an obvious part of the interface (such as RPG character and weapon stats) or a hidden part of the game (underlying code). In certain types of games (MMOGs, RPGs, PvP-style), the player is constantly trying to improve the stats of their characters, such stats governing characteristics such as strength, speed, agility, stamina, and durability. Stats also apply to what damage or effect an attack, weapon, spell or other effect will have on the player, other players, NPCs, and mobs.

Toon: Slang word for an avatar, mainly used by people playing MMOGs.

Tuning: Making design changes to game mechanics, features, game economy, and other design elements, usually to make them easier or harder in order to make sure the gameplay is well-balanced for the players.

Trigger, flag, hook: These are all programming terms that indicate a piece of code that checks for specific conditions and activates the correct response depending on those conditions. The trigger can also be tied to a spatial area and executes a response when the avatar enters the boundaries of that area, such as having to get close enough to an NPC to begin a dialogue. The response can be an action (fight, run away, give something to the player), and/or it might be a piece of dialogue. For example, if the player encounters a NPC that’s a dwarf, the NPC code might check for hooks such as: what character class the avatar is; what level the avatar has achieved; whether or not the avatar is shown as friendly or hostile to the NPCs character class; what the avatar is carrying in inventory; or any other number of variables. Thus, the NPC might respond one way if the avatar is a hostile, low-level warrior (“Get lost, bud.”), and a very different way if the avatar is a friendly, high-level dwarf (“Hail, friend. Here’s some gold to help you out.”).

Twinking: Done when a higher-level player helps a low-level player rise more quickly in levels and experience than would be possible in normal play, usually by providing the lower level player with money or useful game objects (weapons, gear, armor).

UI (User Interface): The graphics and other visual elements that a player uses to interact with a game, such as boxes, buttons, icons, sliders, dialogue choices, and color schemes.

Waypoints: These are specific points in the virtual terrain that are used to determine the movements of NPCs, or other moving objects (which are coded to move from one waypoint to another, or within a set of waypoints). Another example might be satellites positioned in space in order to serve as waypoints (spatial and navigational guidance) for the player in a spaceship so they can figure out how to get from one star system to another.

XP (Experience Points): The points an avatar gains by accomplishing missions/quests, killing mobs or enemies, exploring new locations, building assets, gathering resources, crafting, and so on, which are used to determine when the avatar will level up.

F2P (Free-to-Play) Terms

F2P games have additional terms that have arisen from the unique demands of making this type of game. Free to Play is simply that—the player can download the game at no cost and the company only makes money if the player buys special in-game currency or gameplay items for real money. Usually, only a tiny percentage of players (around 5%) are the ones who make it possible for a F2P game to be available for the other 95% of players who don’t spend money.

The terms I list are terms I learned during my six years at Zynga. Other companies may have other terms, but these seem to be in general use. Acronyms are rampant in F2P game development.

A/B testing: A data collection method in which two versions of a webpage or game screen are presented to different sets of players/viewers with one or more variable (such as price or type of items) changed. Whichever version gets the most clicks or the best response becomes the dominant version. In F2P games, A/B testing is used to learn what players respond to the best for monetization. Nor is it limited to only two versions. For example, a game may test out three or more versions of offers to buy premium currency with each version set at a different price point, in order to determine which price point gets the most purchases.

CTA (Call To Action): A UI element that specifically directs the player to perform an immediate action, for example, a button that says “Play now!”

Churn: Refers to players leaving the game rather than becoming long-term players. High churn is a bad metric for a F2P game that depends on holding onto as many players as possible (retention).

Cohort: A group of players who started the game at the same time, or are otherwise linked by some trait that is treated as an associated group for metric analysis. For example, a Day 1 cohort would be the players who installed and began playing the game from the first day it was released.

Core loop: A circular sequence of game actions that form a compulsive, fun, repeatable loop that is the heart of the gameplay. In a farm game, the basic core loop might be: plant seeds, harvest plants, sell plants for coins, use coins to buy more seeds and more farm plots, plant more seeds, harvest more plants, and so on.

CPI (Cost Per Install): How much it costs a company to get a player to install a game. Companies purchase digital ads across a range of media. They’re only charged if the ad results in someone installing the game. The CPI is the cost of advertising divided by the number of installs it generates.

DAU (Daily Active Users): The number of players who play a game on any given day. F2P games need a high DAU in order to survive. These must be unique users, meaning that repeat visits from the same players don’t count in the DAU. Each player is counted once no matter how many sessions they might play in a day. A high DAU is vital because F2P games depend on a tiny percentage of players who actually make purchases in the game. The more people who play the game on a daily basis, the more chance that game has of making enough money to remain on the market.

DLC (downloadable content): New, additional content that is downloaded and installed in an existing game. In mobile, there is an important distinction between a release and a DLC. A release contains new code, assets, and other changes (often a large holiday feature) to the game that require getting approval from the platform holders (primarily Apple and Android), a process that takes time. A DLC can only contain minor changes (such as changes to the tuning of features), or bug fixes, or other small additions, and it can be made available to players immediately without going through the approval process.

Doobers: Doobers are the reward icons that pop onto the screen after a player has tapped on an object that gives out those rewards. An example would be tapping on a chest, money or gems or other items pop out of the chest, the player taps on the doobers to collect them (or the doobers are automatically collected for the player after a few seconds), and the doobers fly into the associated UI element (inventory, premium currency counter, and so on) where they are added to the player’s inventory or currency.

Elder players: This doesn’t refer to the age of game players. It refers to players who stick with a game for a long time. Such players burn through the game’s content, and they constantly need new content to keep them engaged. It’s important to design to hold onto the elder players, who tend to be the most devoted to the game and therefore most likely to spend money.

Events: Having new events, also called features, are crucial to many F2P games. They take place over a limited time period (days to weeks), they change the look of the game with special assets (for example, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day), and they provide variety from the regular gameplay, sometimes including quests to drive the story of the event.

Evergreen: An evergreen game is one that is intended to go on indefinitely with no final goal or end state to the gameplay. F2P games are nearly always designed to be evergreen so they can continue for as long as they have enough players to be profitable. Obviously, this has a significant impact on storytelling for those evergreen games that have story because the story can’t come to an end in a way that would cause the game to end or cause players to leave.

Freemium games: A combination of the words “free” and “premium.” This type of game offers a chunk of gameplay for free up front, but at some point, the player has to purchase the game in order to continue playing. Or it offers a game with restricted features, and the player has to pay to upgrade to a full set of features and a full playing experience.

FTUE (First Time User Experience): A mobile F2P game can live or die by the first minute or less of what a player experiences after installing the game. The FTUE has to incorporate whatever story or premise sets up the gameplay (if any), plus instructions and guidance for how to play the game. A FTUE should be quick, easy, and short. It needs to keep the player engaged in wanting to play the game further. Developers spend a lot of time agonizing over the FTUE, tweaking and retweaking it countless times trying to find the best possible flow.

Gating, gated: Gating is a mechanism that determines when or how a player will have access to some aspect of the game. The most common form of gating is the player’s level, which can be used to determine when certain features or locations in the game are unlocked. Other common gating mechanisms are “energy” or some form of in-game premium currency. The player needs to have enough energy or currency to continue the gameplay, which is overcome either by time (waiting for the energy to regenerate), by time + effort (performing actions that earn currency), or by monetization (player buys energy or currency with real-world money in order to advance without delay).

Invest/express: A style of game, exemplified by games such as FarmVille, The Simpson’s Tapped Out, and HayDay, where the player invests their time (and hopefully money) in creating their farm (or town, city, garden, realm, or whatever), building and expanding upon it, and expressing themselves in how they arrange their virtual assets on the screen.

Leaderboards: One of the major forms of gameplay to keep elder players engaged is ongoing competitions, with winning players listed on Leaderboards. Top winners receive advantageous rewards.

MAU (Monthly Active Users): A metric that measures how many players log in and are active in a game in a one-month time period. These must be unique users, meaning that repeat visits from the same players don’t count in the MAU. Each player is counted once no matter how many sessions they might play in a month.

Metrics: A set of numbers that give information about a particular process or activity. Metrics are vital to F2P games. Metrics are used to gauge the success of a game; to improve the profitability of a game; to find problems or weaknesses; and to determine engagement, retention, and so on. DAU, MAU, and D1 (Day 1) retention are examples of common metrics for F2P games, but metrics can be used to track nearly any kind of interaction. For example, it’s possible track how many players begin a quest chain, how many of the quests they complete, or how long it takes them to do a quest.

Monetization: One of the most vital aspects of designing a F2P game is finding methods to get players to spend money on the game. Those methods are referred to as monetization. Common methods of monetization are getting players to buy boosts, premium currency, or vanity items (items that aren’t necessary to gameplay, but look cool or confer some other form of status on the player). Here is a good paper on ethical monetization: https://www.projecthorseshoe.com/reports/featured/ph17r4.htm

Premium currency: A virtual, in-game currency acquired by either putting a lot of time and effort into the game or by purchasing it with real-world money (see also “monetization”). Premium currency is necessary for achieving goals or advancing in the game. It can be expressed as a coin or monetary unit, diamonds, gems, or other types of objects that fit the theme of the game. Also common is the use of “energy” as a premium currency, in which doing tasks requires using a certain amount of energy. It takes time for the energy to recharge, or players can purchase more energy for real-world money.

Premium game: A game app that is purchased up front for a set price.

Retention: The Holy Grail of F2P games is the ability to retain players who start the games. A high retention of players usually means more people who pay to play, which keeps the game going. Companies track retention by days and weeks. D1 (Day 1) retention is the first crucial step. A game that loses players on Day 1 is a game that is likely to fail. D7-D14 is short-term retention.

ROI (Return On Investment): There are various methods that F2P game companies use to acquire players. ROI is the measurement of whether that cost provides a sufficient return (players spending money on the game) to make that method worthwhile. A F2P game can’t afford to spend more acquiring on players than those players spend on the game.

LTV (Long-Term Value): Similar to ROI, this measurement looks at how much a player spends over the longer term in the life of the game. It looks at how much the company spends on marketing, promotions, acquisition, and other costs versus how much the player spends per day over some longer period of time. There are various methods for measuring LTV.

Organic installs: Refers to players who begin playing a F2P game on their own, because they’ve discovered it somehow, read reviews, or heard about it from a friend. This is what F2P games strive for because it doesn’t cost them money to acquire these players, so they have a better chance of making money from them.

UGC (User Generated Content): User Generated Content refers to games that allow the players to create their own content. This ranges from building worlds in Minecraft to creating original interactive stories in story-driven apps.

Whales: Players who spend a lot of money on F2P games. This can be thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars. They are the top spenders in the tiny percentage of players who keep a F2P game afloat. Personally, I dislike this term as being disrespectful of players and prefer the term “high payers,” which is also used.

Wide funnel: Refers to designing a feature, event, or game mechanic in such a way that the largest number of players can access it. This is usually gated by the player’s level in the game. This is a balancing act because a game will have elder players who are higher level, have been in the game a long time, and have gone through a lot of the content. But a F2P game is always seeking to bring in new players, and those players will be at a lower level. If a feature or quest is set to become available at a lower level, it has a wide funnel because both new and elder players can access it.

10

Deeper Dive into Narrative Design

Repeating my definition—a Narrative Designer is someone who meshes storytelling with gameplay. To do this, I feel a Narrative Designer needs to be a skilled writer who is also well versed in the needs and requirements of game design.

The following refers to gameplay-driven games. I’ll address story-driven games in Chapter 11.

The Pizza Box Metaphor

My friend and fellow transmedia writer, Lee Sheldon, came up with this metaphor about creating story for a game: it’s like being asked to make a pizza (the content). The game is the pizza box. Depending on the type of game, the pizza box might be round, square, triangular, hexagonal, or have some other odd shape. You know what ingredients to use, how to put the ingredients together, and how to cook it to produce a satisfying pizza. Your job as the Narrative Designer is to create a tasty pizza to fit that particular box. Content is content, but the possibilities and restrictions inherent in different types of game will determine how you shape that content.

Linear versus Non-linear

The biggest learning curve for someone entering games with a background in writing for linear media (books, movies, TV) is how think of story and dialogue in a non-linear way. That is, how do you convey story or allow a character to grow and change, or a story to unfold when you can’t entirely control the sequence in which the player will experience the story elements? As a writer, I’m all about putting as much storytelling into a game as I can. As a designer, my mantra is empower the player. The trick is to find a way to both empower the player and infuse the game with story and character development.

There’s a constant tension between storytelling and interactivity. Storytelling, in the traditional linear sense, depends upon a specific sequence of events which form a beginning, middle, and end. The writer controls how the reader/viewer will experience this sequence which leads to only one conclusion. The writer determines the structure and pacing of the story.

Note that linear storytelling can be non-linear in the chronological sense, such as using flashbacks, flashforwards, telling the story backwards (from end to beginning), or showing events out of chronological sequence (such as the film Pulp Fiction).

However, the kind of non-linear we mean in games is that the player has significant control over when and how and in what order she experiences those events, not the writer. In sandbox and open-world games, it might be possible for the player to take quests or experience events in any order. Story then becomes modular with separate pieces of story that add up to an overarching storyline.

Another term for this is breadcrumbing. In this technique, various bits of a larger story are included in quests or events, and laid out like a trail of breadcrumbs that eventually add up to a completed story. The trick is keeping in mind that the breadcrumbs might be found in any order, so each one needs to stand alone.

Furthermore, the input of the player can potentially be significant in the resolution of the story. For example, in both of my adventure games, I offered the player options that were moral choices. In Conquests of Camelot, the player’s avatar was King Arthur. Arthur was put in situations along the way where he could either rescue or decide not to rescue three of his knights, including Lancelot. If the player let his knights die, he could still complete the game, but when he placed his hands on the Holy Grail (the object of his quest), he was found not worthy and was burned to dust, rather than taking the Grail home in triumph.

In Conquests of the Longbow, the player’s avatar was Robin Hood. On numerous occasions throughout the game, Robin Hood had various options for dealing with non-player characters (NPCs), which could include killing, helping, bribing, convincing by talking, and so on. The options chosen by the player, along with various other actions during the game story, determined which of the multiple endings the player would get, ranging from a full pardon from King Richard, restoration of his title as Earl, and the hand of Maid Marian to being hung as a good-for-nothing robber.

The essence of games is interactivity, which means putting the player in control as much as possible. There is still structure, and there are still rules, but they are designed to give the player as much freedom as the structure can allow. Videogames can be non-linear and interactive, and still have a basic three-act structure.

It’s easy to see how a linear story (Figure 10.1) can progress from one story node to another, with later story nodes able to build on or make reference to earlier story nodes.

Figure 10.1
A simple linear storyline.

In a completely non-linear story (Figure 10.2), each story node has to stand alone and be self-sufficient without depending on the other story nodes, or making reference to them in a specific sequence. Story becomes modular, broken into sections that can be played independently of the other modules.

Figure 10.2
A non-linear storyline.

Most games will fall somewhere between these two extremes, as other examples will show.

Basically, what it gets down to is the more interactivity (player freedom) the game allows, the less linear a story the writer can tell.

Many console games have quite linear stories threading through them, and the interactivity is mainly about the combat system and what/who the player gets to fight along the way. Adventure games demand a higher level of true interactivity with the player able to command a wider range of choices. Massively multi-player on-line games (MMOGs) demand a high level of choice, and because they are ongoing, they provide an additional design challenge in how to keep thousands of players hooked on the game world, story, and quests for months and years on end. MMOGs in particular are more about creating a compelling environment—the game world—and the activities in which the player can take part within that environment. MMOG story tends to be especially modular, though a “module” can consist of an extended chain of linear quests interspersed by cutscenes.

Some games are designed specifically for the hard-core gamers, in which case the design emphasis is definitely on gameplay at the expense of story. Hard-core gamers aren’t known for caring about story. Other games look to attract a wider market of players who like a more rewarding story experience or want something more out of a game than twitching their thumbs on a controller.

When writing for games, you’ll encounter many variations of this design mindset, and you’ll most often encounter the reality that story takes a backseat to gameplay. How much story or character development is woven into a game will be up to the attitudes and preferences of the designer or producer, which leaves you, the Narrative Designer/Game Writer, with the task of balancing your story input with the requirements of the game design. And remember that the producers, designers, and other managers have the schedule and budget considerations to juggle. This has a big effect on what they can accomplish with the overall game design, which further affects what you can do with story.

Most mobile games tend to be linear, mainly because the size of a mobile game is highly restricted. Both Apple and Android have size limits on how large (meaning how many megabytes or gigabytes) a game app can be. This means it’s more of a challenge to make a game that would allow for non-linear story in the gameplay. Most gameplay-driven mobile games are light on story (if having any at all), keeping the emphasis on short, quick, compelling gameplay to keep players engaged, supplemented with short-term special events. Those limitations work best with linear storytelling.

Choice

Boiling interactivity down to its essentials, it’s about choice. In linear writing, the writer is making all the choices. In games, the player makes the choices from whatever options the designer and writer make available. The options made available to the player may be restricted by how much of the game budget and schedule can be spent on creating the extra assets to go along with those options. If every choice offered to the player requires a significant amount of new animation and programming that will affect how many choices can be offered. This is where game design and story choices have to strike a balance between what you’d like to offer and what you can realistically afford to offer.

Choice empowers the player. And the choice must be a real choice, or the player will feel cheated.

Getting back to Robin Hood’s disguises, there is a different consequence for each choice in how to get the merchant’s clothes (killing, threatening, bribing). If there were no difference in the consequences, it would make no real difference which option the player chose. If killing the merchant yields the same result as bribing the merchant, there’s no reason for the player to care about the choices.

Looking at a simplified example, let’s set up a situation in which a player has to choose between taking one of two corridors. In this example, we see that whether the player chooses to go left or go right makes no difference, so having two corridors to choose from is a fake choice (Figure 10.3).

Figure 10.3
Example of a fake choice.

However, if there is something significant to be experienced or found in one corridor that affects the rest of the gameplay, those choices become real choices. Ideally, the player will be “pushed” (given some hint or guidance earlier) as to which corridor to take. For example, the player may have been told ahead of time to watch out for the corridor to his left because it’s dangerous, they’re guarding something there, while the corridor to his right is safe. But the player is looking for something that is being guarded, so this is a hint that what he’s looking for could be in that corridor. The player has been presented with genuine choices (Figure 10.4)—take the safe path and risk passing up something useful, or take the dangerous path and get a valuable object that leads to the next step of gameplay. Notice also that while the player arrives at the same end location either way, you effectively have two different paths of action to track: one with the object and one without the object.

Figure 10.4
In this example, the choices are meaningful because they affect gameplay.

As game producer Ellen Guon Beeman sagely puts it, “Players want to win.” Writers should think about that before they create a large amount of alternative content that is only seen if the player continues down a losing branch.

Choice has a profound effect on linearity and storytelling. The greater the player’s freedom of choice, the more the writer has to account for the variables created by allowing those choices. In the most linear storytelling form of games, such as many console games, the “choices” are non-choices from a storytelling point of view and are mainly gameplaying choices, such as battle strategy, type of weapon or spell to use, and how to use combat moves. In an adventure or action-oriented game with a distinct storyline, the choices should affect how the story plays out as well as what the gameplay elements will be. In a sandbox or MMO game, the player has enormous choice in a range of activities and gameplay, but there will be little to no storytelling impacted by those choices.

What If…

When a writer sits down to create a linear work, there is a constant process of asking “What if?” There are the endless questions about creating our characters. We ask what if we use this or that type of character, what if this character were female instead of male, what if they have this trait or that trait, what if they are a teenager or an older adult, have this set of beliefs, live here or live there and on and on. What if my character leaves her cell phone uncharged when she’s about to get into danger? What if my character says no instead of yes to a proposition? What if I give the character a child to protect? What if there is an ex-lover in the mix?

There are countless what-ifs in the writing process as we create the characters, plot, locations, determine the sequence of events, decide how those events will play out, and pick the one ending that feels right out of all the possible endings.

The Narrative Designer goes through the same process of asking the what-if questions with the key difference that she doesn’t necessarily have to pick only one answer. Instead of, “What if Robin Hood has to get inside Nottingham?” having only one answer, the Narrative Designer may have to cover several what-if answers: what if he tries to enter as himself? (he dies); what if he tries to enter disguised as a foolish merchant? (he gets to trick the Sheriff out of money); what if he enters disguised as a beggar? (he can enter safely and explore the town); what if he enters disguised as a monk? (he gets the corrupt Abbot drunk and steals a precious ring from him); what if he enters as a one-eyed yeoman? (he enters the archery contest and wins the golden arrow); and what if he never enters at all? (Maid Marian dies for lack of a rescue).

Now all of those things could happen in a linear story, but in order to empower the player, a game needs to make them all available as options that the player has to a) discover, b) choose to act upon (or not), c) choose how to act upon them (Robin wants the merchant’s clothes—does he kill, threaten, or bribe the merchant to get his clothes), and c) carry out the action (which could succeed or fail).

This is also expressed as if this, then this… because each of the what-if decisions requires a subsequent game response. For example, if Robin decides to bribe the merchant, then we have dialogue between the two, money leaves Robin’s purse, there’s an animation of the merchant removing his clothes an animation of the merchant leaving, and the merchant’s clothes appear in Robin’s inventory as a usable item. If Robin decides to threaten the merchant, then we have animation of Robin aiming an arrow at the merchant, there is a different set of dialogue between them, an animation of the merchant disrobing and leaving in anger, and the merchant’s clothes appear in Robin’s inventory as a usable item. And so forth.

Other what-ifs can deal with story consequences. What if Robin simply killed the merchant for his clothes? If he killed the merchant, then merchant doesn’t appear during the trial at the end of the game to testify in Robin’s behalf, reducing Robin’s chances of winning a pardon. What if he threatened the merchant? If the merchant appears at the trial, but has only bad things to say, then he has a negative effect on the ending. What if he bribes the merchant instead? Then, the merchant will appear at the trial with good things to say that will benefit Robin.

Being able to think in terms of what-if variables and the “if this, then this” consequences are key components to non-linear thinking.

Variables and Flexibility

Each of the options (the various disguises) for getting into Nottingham is a variable. Each method for dealing with the NPCs is a variable. Additional variables might include where they occur in the game sequence (for example, before or after Marian is sentenced to be burned as a witch), or other events that affect using the disguise (for example, has the Sheriff seen Robin in that disguise before). Another example is if Robin uses the merchant disguise to trick the Sheriff out of money, what if Robin tries to enter Nottingham a second time using the same disguise? What if Robin used the merchant disguise once, but didn’t interact with the Sheriff? Does he get a second chance to enter in that disguise and trick the Sheriff?

You can expect to be asked to write story components or dialogue that takes into account the numerous variables in the game. To be a Narrative Designer or Game Writer, you need the mental skills to keep masses of inter-related details in your head. You need to be well organized and detail-oriented.

Another important quality to have is flexibility. A Narrative Designer must be ready, able, and willing to make sudden, sweeping changes to the story and the writing if technical requirements or last-minute changes in game design take place. A change in one part of a game might affect variables in other parts of the game. The Narrative Designer must be able to follow the cascade of potential effects, catch any problems, and compensate for them. It requires having the overall structure of the game in your mind, from a large overview down to the small details. You might be the main person who can know whether pulling out a particular thread will unravel a large part of the game story’s tapestry. This is a critical ability for a Narrative Designer to have.

Most often when significant changes are made to a game story, it’s due to schedule or budget considerations. On one console RPG, I wrote a large, complex story full of secondary quests in several different geographical areas, with allowance for the player to return to those areas more than once with some variability in the story. For reasons of both time and budget, they had to prevent the player from returning to one particular zone at a certain point in the game. This led to cutting a large chunk out of the story to accommodate the change. While returning to that region didn’t require new art assets, it did require significant programming work, which in turn affected how long it would take the programmers to complete the game.

Fortunately, the story was modular enough that it was possible to remove that chunk and still make the overall story work, but I had to run through the entire range of variables that would be affected by the deletion and make sure they were accounted for during the rest of the game. Examples of those variables were

How did it affect the overall story quest?

How did it affect other secondary quests?

Were there significant objects the player needed to get there?

How did it affect the behaviors or use of NPCs?

How did it affect NPC dialogue, which might refer to it or be dependent on it?

The ability to think flexibly and react quickly to sudden changes is even more vital in mobile games. Mobile games run on short, fast development cycles, way faster than other types of game development. Being able to track changes, catch problems caused by changes, and be flexible with solutions at top speed are skills you need to work in mobile.

Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master

Good game design incorporates the use of gradients, in which the player is presented with easy tasks in the beginning that become increasingly more difficult and complex as the game progresses. The idea is to give the player a lot of wins at the beginning in order to encourage her and keep her playing. It allows the player to become adept at the interface on a gradual basis, rather than trying to master too much all at once. A player who is given a batch of fairly quick and easy tasks at the start will feel empowered and more motivated to master the next level. A player who is confused or feels overwhelmed is more likely to give up.

This fits into a common design mantra: make the game easy to learn, but difficult to master. This applies to anything from a match-3 mobile game to a massive MMOG.

In mobile, the “easy to learn” part is encapsulated by the FTUE (First Time User Experience) where the player is taken by the hand and introduced step-by-step to the core loop. This happens within the first minute or so of gameplay. A good FTUE is crucial to the success of a F2P game. The text written for a FTUE can go through dozens of revisions to find the most effective (and minimal) way to introduce the player to the game. The challenge is to write text (usually delivered as NPC dialogue) so that it’s short, informative, clear, and concise, and yet still conveys the flavor of the game or the personality of the NPC.

“Difficult to master” in mobile means making sure there is enough other gameplay beyond the core loop to keep elder players happy and occupied. In bigger games, such as an MMOG, there can be many other systems and types of gameplay that are complex to do, requiring a lot of time and effort. The goal is the same—hold onto players by making sure there is always another challenge as they progress.

When designing quests or dialogue, you’ll want to have an understanding of where they fall in the design gradient, so that you can have that in the back of your mind as you write. It’s not that you want to talk down to a player at the start of a game, but you do want to make sure the information you need to get across is clearly stated for someone who isn’t familiar with how the game works yet.

The Interface

Although a Narrative Designer will have no control over the design of the game’s interface, it’s vital to understand how important the interface is because the UI (User Interface) is the only means you have of delivering story or story elements.

Much of what I wrote about the evolution of games dealt with the changes in game interfaces. There’s a significant difference in writing for a game which has a minimal interface like Myst versus a console game with an interface that can contain many on-screen elements controlled by a limited set of buttons. Or a PC game interface that can allow a wide range of actions using keyboard and mouse or other devices versus a mobile game where the interface is controlled by taps and swipes of the player’s fingers.

Interface is where the rubber meets the road. Think about the interface for driving a car. What are the essential parts of that interface? You must have a wheel to steer, a pedal to utilize the means of propulsion (go faster, go slower), a pedal to make it stop, and a set of tires. That’s about it. The essence of controlling that car—speed, direction, avoiding obstacles, and reaching the goal—is dependent on those basic interface elements. Everything else, like an adjustable seat, headlights, windshield, speedometer, heater, air conditioner, radio, rear-view mirror, side mirrors, seat belts, and door locks, are nice extra features that make the experience more enjoyable or safe while not being essential to the fundamental interface.

So it is when designing a game. There are interface components that are absolute necessities and there are the extra features that further enhance the gameplay. One of the UI designer’s main responsibilities is designing a good, clean, intuitive interface and balancing the essential gameplay needs with the additional features. The needs of the game and the requirements of the gameplay will dictate the interface, and the interface will be the primary means you as a Narrative Designer have of actively conveying story or character.

Interface elements fall into two categories:

Those that are under the control of the player, such as deciding the direction in which to go, moving the camera around, selecting a battle mode, crafting, picking a weapon or spell to use, putting on or taking off gear, buying and selling items, or picking a choice in a dialogue branch.

Those that are controlled by the game, such as which NPCs or objects will be clickable, and what that clickable action will be. For example, a “talk,” “buy/sell/trade” or “quest giver” icon for an NPC, a “fight” icon for a mob that can be targeted, an “open” icon for a treasure chest, a “magnifying glass” icon for an object that can be looked at in more detail, a special effect (such as a glow or sparkle) that indicates a crop is ready to be harvested.

The game interface is important to a Narrative Designer because it controls when and how story is delivered, what amount of text can be used or what voice dialogue be delivered, and how the player is able to interact with NPCs, objects, or the game environment to access the story.

In Conquests of Camelot, the player had word riddles to solve and I could do that because the interface included the player being able to type in words that the game engine could process. In Conquest of the Longbow, I had a specific set of mouse-click icons I had to use, and no text-typing input, which eliminated doing a puzzle such as a riddle. Then, we look at the MMOG which has keyboard input for chatting with other players or using emotes, but nothing that affects the gameplay. For most PC and online games, the mouse-click is the vital hardware interface while in console games, it is mashing the buttons on the controller that is the vital hardware interface, yet both methods can have a wide range of effects depending on how they interact with the game interface on the screen.

In mobile games for smartphones and tablets, the interface consists of whatever icons or visual elements on the screen can be manipulated by fingers. There is the further restriction of the tiny screen. The game UI has to work for the smallest phone screen and then scale up to tablets. The size factor has a significant impact on how the UI is designed and how it responds to taps or swipes or other finger movements. For a writer, it greatly restricts the amount of text on a screen because the font must be large enough to read on the small screen. Larger font + small screen = less words.

When playing mobile games, you’ll notice that sound is limited to music and sound effects along with text, rather than recorded voice dialogue. That’s because recorded voice files tend to be large and the size restrictions of mobile games are too small for such large voice files. It’s a technical limitation rather than a presentation preference.

While working on Farmville 2: Tropic Escape, we determined that a full-screen UI of NPC text could only hold up to 250 characters (letters and spaces each counted as one character) in order to be readable (Figure 10.5).

Figure 10.5
A full-screen UI from FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape with a maximum text length of 250 characters. (© 2016 ZYNGA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Farmville 2: Tropic Escape images used in this book are the property of Zynga Inc. This is an independent book and is not affiliated with, associated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Zynga Inc.)

The smaller UI for the quest dialogues could only hold up to 125 characters, less than a Tweet back when Tweets were limited to 140 characters. Very short, in other words. A second reason for the text limits was the need to allow additional room for localization, as I’ll explain in the “Localization” section (Figures 10.6 and 10.7).

Figure 10.6
A quest UI from FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape with a maximum text length of 125 characters. (© 2016 ZYNGA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Farmville 2: Tropic Escape images used in this book are the property of Zynga Inc. This is an independent book and is not affiliated with, associated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Zynga Inc.)

Figure 10.7
A quest completion UI from FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape with a maximum text length of 125 characters. (© 2016 ZYNGA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Farmville 2: Tropic Escape images used in this book are the property of Zynga Inc. This is an independent book and is not affiliated with, associated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Zynga Inc.)

VR provides new challenges for designing the interface because the 360° environment doesn’t lend itself to the same type of on-screen icons and elements as other games. There is a trend toward opening and closing UI controls using virtual “hands” within the game to manipulate them, but VR is new enough that UI design has room to keep experimenting. In some ways, it’s not that far removed from the tap/swipe UI design of mobile games. There will be little to no text and a greater use of sound and voice.

Study the many types of interface that exist in a variety of games. Study the use of icons and symbols in conjunction with mouse clicks, button mashing, or taps/swipes. Study how, when, and where the interface allows the player to make a story choice or interact with an NPC in action or in dialogue. Imagine how you would try to convey story elements using the interfaces you encounter.

Game Verbs

There is an aspect of game design that is related to the UI and can affect your ability to design and tell story. If you hear Game Designers talk about a game’s “verbs,” they’re talking about the verbs that describe key game mechanics, specifically what the player is actually able to do in the game. Prime examples of game verbs are walk, run, jump, climb, fight, use, take, look, talk, and so on. A verb such as “fight” in a combat-style game could be further divided into more specific verbs related to fighting: strike, punch, slash, dodge, block, double-tap, and so on.

The UI is designed to allow the player to utilize those verbs. If “talk” isn’t amongst the game’s verbs, that obviously affects how or even if you can tell story. Without “talk” as a game mechanic or in the UI, you may end telling story through cutscenes rather than letting the player interact with NPCs. It would be a useful exercise to make a list of the game’s verbs when starting a Narrative Design project and using that as a starting point to determine what UI tools you’ll have to work with.

Narrative Tools

Speaking of narrative tools, on rare occasions you may have the opportunity to design the narrative tool that will be used to enter dialogue or other story elements in the game. You would work with a programmer to design what you need. Your needs would vary according to the type of game, but here are some of the things you’d want to think about:

Ease of use for a writer: Make sure it’s designed for your use. Programmers don’t tend to think about things the same way a writer does. I was once presented with a tool that had a box to show what text I was writing, but the box wasn’t big enough to show all the text at once. You can imagine how much fun that was to work with.

ID fields: You’ll work out a precise way to ID or name the narrative asset you’re creating with other members of the development team. It’s common for a quest or piece of dialogue to have a technical ID used only by the development team, but you will also want a field for the narrative title of the quest that will display to the player.

Text boxes: Should show all text at once without needing to scroll. Should show you how many characters or words are in the text. This becomes even more critically important for a mobile game where text length is restrictive. Will the game permit you to use extras such as italics, bold, differently colored text, or special characters? Is there any way for them to give you a spell-checker?

Special strings within dialogue: There should be a way to enter special strings (pieces of code) within the text to add such things as the name of the player’s character. You need the code because it would be impossible for you to have the information, but the game engine will know it and can fill it in. It adds a lot to the dialogue to have an NPC address the player by name, but there can be other uses such as filling in the player’s race, class, or other designation. It would look something like: “It’s nice to meet you, {player_name}. Your fame as a {player_class} is well known.”

Programming flags: There may need to be fields within the tool for variables or conditions that need to be flagged, such as whether this is a quest in a chain, and if so, what comes before it and what if anything comes after it. It may need fields to indicate it can only be given to a certain race or class, and so on. Generally, you don’t need to worry about fields for entering information about the rewards given at the end of a quest, as determining rewards will be done by a Game Designer (often a system designer who is responsible for balancing the stats in the game).

Art assets: you need options to attach art assets, whether it’s an NPC or some other object. Most of the time, it will be an NPC. In most mobile games, this tends to be a 2D still portrait that shows a particular emotion, usually called emotes. Sometimes, you may be the one determining what those emotes will be, the most typical being neutral, happy, sad, angry, and thoughtful. Again, it depends on the needs of your game and what the memory budget will allow. Some emotes might include animation. If the NPC moves onto the screen, you need options for whether it moves in from the left or right. If no motion is involved, you might still need a way to indicate where the image is located on the screen in relation to the text.

Sound assets: If it’s possible to have a sound, music, or voice file attached, there should be a field to indicate that asset.

Final output: The most vital aspect of a narrative tool is being able to see how the completed narrative asset looks and plays out before putting it into the game, so there should be a screen that will display the final output of what you’ve created. If there’s animation, it should run the animation. It should show the dialogue or text. It should show everything as it will appear in the game.

Error checking: Any well-developed tool should have error checking built in with indications of the error so that you can fix the problem before the file is checked into the game.

Localization

The Localization team is responsible for preparing the game for foreign markets. This goes beyond translating text or dubbing voiceover. It includes considerations for differences in cultural context, regional and social nuances, censorship laws, use of color and symbols, and other factors.

Localization wasn’t a concern for me as a writer on most games. As a Narrative Designer, it became a part of game development that I needed to understand, especially when I began working on mobile games. I worked closely with the Loc team on mobile games to make sure they had the information they needed. Languages such as French, Spanish, German, and Russian are gendered—nouns can be masculine or feminine. When compiling character lists, make sure Loc knows what the gender is meant to be.

Providing more info about objects and items can be vital, especially when inventing items or coming up with names that aren’t easily identifiable. I would provide the Loc team an image of an object whenever I could, if it was something unusual or invented.

In the “Interface” section, I noted that text limitations for mobile games were partially about designing a UI to allow for a readable font size, but also to allow room for localization. Here is a typical formula:

<4 = x3 meaning if an English text string has fewer than four characters, allow three times as much room.

<10 = x2 meaning if an English text string has fewer than ten characters, allow two times as much room.

>10 = x1.5 meaning if an English text string has more than ten characters, allow one and a half times as much room.

German, Portuguese, French, and other languages can take up significantly more room in a text box or on a UI element than English. Here are some examples:

ENGLISH: Gift

GERMAN: Geschenk

ENGLISH: Ask

FRENCH: Demander

ENGLISH: Play Now

FRENCH: Jouer Maintenant

ENGLISH: Claim Gift

GERMAN: Geschenk annehmen

ENGLISH: Gifts Needed

GERMAN: Geschenke werden gebraucht

ENGLISH: Ask me later

FRENCH: Me le demander plus tard

As a Narrative Designer, learn as much as you can about cultural nuances that could affect your story. For example, in the Western countries, we think of black as the color of death and mourning. In Asian countries (China, Korea, and others) white is color of death, bad luck, and mourning. In the West, we think of a four-leaf clover as bringing good luck. In China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan the number four is avoided as bad luck because the sound of the word “four” is nearly the same as the sound of the word for “death.” You can’t be expected to be an expert on every culture, but the more awareness you have, the better.

Keep in mind that jokes, slang, and idioms may not translate well into other languages, especially word puns.

Three-Act Structure in Games

There’s a tendency to over-complicate what is meant by three-act structure. All it really means is that a story has a beginning, middle, and end. That can also be applied to discrete sections of a story or game. An individual cutscene has a beginning, middle, and end within the larger structure of the game. To be most effective, the three-act structure should be applied to individual scenes or sequences, to entire levels, to entire missions, and finally to the overall game story. In other words, the game should have a large three-act structure, but should also have numerous mini-three-acts structures within it.

While some games have at least a beginning, middle, and end, a game that contains story structure should fall under the basic three-act structure of drama: Act 1: set-up (exposition), Act 2: conflict (complications), and Act 3: resolution. The three-act structure is about the development of emotional response in a story, the building of dramatic tension, and the final release of that tension in the resolution. Games that contain these elements have story structure. Games that lack any of these elements consist entirely of gameplay structure.

An example of a game consisting only of gameplay structure is a casual game such as Tetris, which is about manipulating colored blocks as they fall from the top to the bottom of the screen. It has a beginning with the starting positions of the colored blocks, a middle as the player must deal with the new blocks descending, and the end when the player either wins or loses the game. What it doesn’t have is story.

Myst was about 95% gameplay (the puzzles) and 5% story. I’d put most MMOGs at about 80% gameplay and 20% story (though not story that the player can truly affect). A game with strong story, such as The Last of Us, is still more gameplay than story. My adventure games probably fall somewhere around 60% story to 40% gameplay structure (in other words, in these games the story dictated the gameplay slightly more than the gameplay dictated the story).

ACT 1

Setting aside games that don’t depend on story (such as puzzles, cards, chess, match-3, sports, sims), every game requires some kind of Act 1 story set-up. There must be at least minimal backstory about how the current situation, world, or conflict came to be, information about the avatar or character that the player will be playing (if applicable) or about the general race or class to which the avatar belongs, and what the current situation is that faces the player at the start of the game which includes some sense of what the player is meant to achieve.

Act 1 set-up can be extensive, as in the opening to The Last of Us in which the player goes from a normal world to the creation of a post-apocalyptic world.

Mobile games approach set-up in a radically abbreviated way out of necessity. Because they are mostly F2P, they need to get players directly into the gameplay with as few barriers (taps or swipes on the screen) and as quickly as they can manage. For that reason, mobile games tend to have premises rather than a set-up. What I mean by that is they want to tell you what the background is in about two or three sentences, or in some cases, visuals only and no text whatsoever. It was a constant struggle at Zynga to trim the premise of a mobile game down to almost nothing. Here are two examples:

One game was a war strategy game with player versus player (PvP) elements. They hired writers with no game experience who turned in a long, complex backstory. There was no way to tell such a complex backstory. Bit by bit, it was set aside. The prologue to the game went from several sentences down to two partial sentences of only a few words each interspersed with a slice of gameplay. That was considered sufficient to setup the entire idea of the game. If it could have been done with no text at all, they would have been even happier.

Another example was a car racing game. They again hired a writing team that didn’t have game experience. Their first attempt to write a script for the opening of the game was long and complex. When I broke it down into individual screens that would be required to tell the backstory, it would have taken the player something like twenty-five taps to get through it. Eventually, it was stripped back to an opening action sequence with no story whatsoever. Here’s a fast car. Drive it!

This isn’t to knock any of these writers, but to give examples of what not to do should you be hired to provide story for a mobile game. Your “set-up” should ideally be something that can be expressed in a few seconds and absolutely minimal taps, if any.

Another approach Zynga used was to create an aspirational opening that gave the player a look at what they’re aspiring to have or achieve later in the game. The PvP game immediately had the player fight a quick battle before taking them to the location to start building their kingdom. The car racing game immediately put the player into a hot, fast racing car for a ten-second race before taking them to the empty garage and getting them started on their first, low-level car. For invest/express games such as FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape, our opening gave the player a glimpse of a fully built-up resort island before landing them on an empty island to start building their own resort. This isn’t the same as creating a premise or a set-up, but it can be important to getting a player interested enough to keep playing.

A version of this technique has been widely used in TV series in which the show opens with a scene that is from later in the story, usually something climactic or showing the characters in terrible trouble. Without resolving the scene, the episode cuts away to superimposed text such as “8 hours earlier” or some other time period to that effect. Having now thoroughly hooked the viewer, they go to the actual beginning, build the story back to the moment shown, and finally resolve it. This particular approach may not lend itself well to games, but it’s a similar concept to an aspirational moment.

ACT 2

Along the way, there need to be the Act 2 complications that affect either the gameplay or the story, or ideally a combination of both. A more story-driven game might even have an inciting incident. An inciting incident (or catalyst) in drama is usually the turning point between Act 1 and Act 2, and is the moment or event that starts the forces of conflict in motion.

Conflict doesn’t mean only physical conflict. Top-notch TV writer, Stephen J. Cannell (https://www.writerswrite.com/screenwriting/cannell), wrote about “social conflict, emotional conflict, spiritual conflict, cultural conflict, internal conflict, relationship conflict, psychological conflict.”

Act 2 forms the bulk of a story. Twists and turns, obstacles, set-backs, ups, and downs are expected during your second act.

ACT 3

Finally, games with story require an Act 3 resolution. The hero wins or fails, achieves the quest or not, finds the killers or dies. Those resolutions may vary (more than one or two endings for a game), but there has to be one. If the player wins, that resolution needs to be a satisfying pay-off for the effort the player has put into the game. The satisfaction level will depend on how thoroughly the player has gotten involved in the story and the characters, and how the player is rewarded for that involvement.

Resolution is a sticky problem for MMOGs. An MMOG can have the usual amount of set-up, but is more about presenting the player with an ongoing world and leveling up within that world than with creating a through-line of story complications. There can be references to the background story, but it’s extremely difficult for an MMOG player to impact a MMOG world in a significant way along with many thousands of other players doing the same things. Modular storylines within the ongoing world can lead to individual story resolutions rather than an overall game resolution. All the same, the levels need to add up to something once the player reaches the top level, which is why there is a regular output of expansions and events. There must be new material, new quests, and higher levels to achieve, or it will feel as though the game has reached a dead end.

Mobile games present another challenge to three-act structure because most of them are meant to be evergreen, meaning they’re intended to go on forever (or for as long as they remain financially viable). This works against an overarching storyline with a definitive end. This is where the story structure that works best is a general world set-up, possibly a bit of backstory and then story modules that can have a beginning, middle, and end without ending the game itself. Usually, these are expressed as quests or tasks to lead the player through the game. I like to create quest chains for each NPC that tell a story about that NPC that can come to a conclusion on its own, and possibly serve as the springboard for further quests chains involving that character.

Another form of modular story is events, such as special holiday features (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Halloween) that have a short storyline to be completed during the limited time period that the feature is available. Bear in mind that few players get all the way through a special feature quest chain before the feature ends, so don’t include significant changes to ongoing NPCs in something that is temporary.

Game Parameters

Working with the assumption that a game with story will have something akin to a three-act structure, the next big question in how to implement that story structure will be to work out the parameters of the gameplay structure.

“Parameters” is my own terminology. It’s not an official game design word, and there can be any number of ways of expressing this part of game structure. The important thing is to understand the underlying concepts of game parameters. Those parameters have a major impact on how, when, and where story can be injected into gameplay.

If game structure is the architecture, then parameters are the walls, floors, ceiling, doors, windows, and pertinent fittings. If the room is a kitchen, it may or may not have a window, but it will have enclosing walls, floor, ceiling, and a door as the basic structure parameters, and it’ll have a sink, running water, cabinets, counters, stove, oven, and/or refrigerator as the basic interactivity parameters.

Parameters for a game structure will control where a player can go, when she can go there, and what she can do there. A sandbox game has fairly wide-open parameters, allowing the player to go nearly anywhere at any time and engage in a variety of activities. A more linear console first-person shooter (FPSs) game might have more restrictive parameters that determine where the player can go and when and what they can do there. Sometimes, two or more parameters work together to control or guide the player. Some parameters will apply mostly to gameplay, some will apply more to story, and many will apply to both.

Examples of typical parameters are

Zone (location, region, terrain)

Time or phase

Player level

Player race, faction, or class

Acquisition of game objects

Acquisition of a quest

Predetermined events.

Zone

Note that “zone” is only one word that might be used for the concept of a restrained area, and each game company could use a word of its own, such as region or level. The concept is the same. A zone could potentially be a single room, an instanced dungeon, or an entire geographical region. Using a zone to strictly control a player’s movements means that the player is restricted to that zone until the right conditions are met to move on to the next zone. In Conquests of Camelot, Arthur’s castle was one zone. It consisted of various rooms, corridors, garden, and the main gate with portcullis. There were several tasks (subquests) Arthur had to complete before he could safely leave through the main gate. Once outside Camelot, there were other geographical zones available that could be visited in any order and required various local subquests to be completed (Figure 10.8).

Figure 10.8
The various zones for the England portion of Conquests of Camelot.

Once the subquests for all the zones in England were completed, it opened up the ability for Arthur to get on a ship and travel to the Middle East where the next zone was the town of Gaza, then a desert to be crossed, and finally the zone of Jerusalem. Because we didn’t have the ability to make the game terrain endless, we had to build in restricting parameters. There was a safe path through the desert, but players who wandered off in other directions died of thirst.

If a zone is inside a building, the parameters will consist of doors that are either locked or can be only opened under the right circumstances, or other ways to get in and out. If the exterior geography or terrain is wide open, the player must eventually be blocked by something, whether it’s an ocean, a sheer cliff, impassable mountains, a locked tunnel, monsters that can’t be defeated, or severe conditions that block the player from going in that direction.

Zones don’t have to be entirely restrictive. In MMOGs, the player has the freedom to travel extensively through various zones, but those zones will have mobs and other conditions of varying difficulty. In beginner zones, the mobs are low level and easy to defeat by any player, so those zones are fairly safe to wander around in. Other zones increase in difficulty. If a beginning player wanders into a zone populated with higher-level mobs, the player tends to get killed in short order. Players are quick to figure this out, and the zone boundaries become as effective as impassible mountain ranges. This is where two parameters (zone, player’s level) work together to guide where the player should go or not go.

Zones are defined by appearance, theme, surface textures, color palettes, sounds, music, and other elements that help set the visual and audio boundaries for that locale. Those elements can potentially relate to story parameters: for example, a dark forbidding atmosphere, unsettling sounds, and creepy music set the stage for certain types of quests or story elements. A haunted, misty forest will create a different mood for a quest than a bright, sun-filled valley of flowers. As a Narrative Designer, you want to mesh what you’re creating with the look and feel of the zone in which it will take place, as well as understanding the parameters of the zone.

Time or Phase

In some games, the parameter might be time-based or defined as a “phase” or similar term. In Conquest of the Longbow, I divided the gameplay and story elements into “days.” The player was free to wander around Sherwood Forest and various other locations, so the zones were only a partial restriction. There were a set number of quests and events set to occur in each day in varying zones. They could be done in any order, but the day didn’t end until they had been done (Figure 10.9). Then, there was a night-time cutscene that wrapped up the events of the day, depending on how they went. The game progressed this way through day after day, night after night, until reaching the resolution.

Figure 10.9
Story structure divided into day and night components.

For a space-combat game, we divided a large, sweeping overall story into five phases that were defined by evolving story elements, plus the player’s level in which the player advanced from the pilot of a single fighter spacecraft to squadron leader and up the ranks to Admiral of the Fleet. As the player advanced in rank, the story elements for each phase increased in scope and complexity to keep pace with the player’s greater ability to have an effect on the gameplay. This meant that missions written for Phase 1 had to work for someone who could only operate a single fighter as part of the space battles, while missions written for Phase 4 had to work for someone who had advanced to commander of a group of battleships. However, missions also had to be written for every rank below commander, since there was always the chance that the player had failed or chosen not to advance in rank.

Some games also introduce a timer that requires the player to complete a quest, task, or set of actions within a specific amount of time, such as having to kill some number of mobs within 15 minutes. Usually, such timers will be limited in use, applied to a single quest or small section of the game. Some players like the extra pressure of having the clock ticking down as they try to do something; other players prefer to do things at their own pace. Some sports games use timers to match the playing times of the real games, as in football and basketball.

World of Warcraft introduced a type of “phasing” tied to quests and player level that allowed the player to create a limited effect on the world. It was a variation on creating an instance that affected only the one player. The player would be hailed and recognized by the NPCs, and various aspects of the world would change: location appearance, buildings, or other constructions might be destroyed or built up, or significant NPCs be present when they weren’t there before.

Player Level

As touched upon above, many games advance the player by levels which govern the player’s stats and abilities, what sort of weapons they can use, what sort of gear they can wear, what zone they can access, what in-game items they can purchase, and so on. Some aspects of story and gameplay might be unavailable to a player depending upon the player’s level. That level might be numerical, or it might be expressed in some games as a rank (squad leader, captain, admiral). The player-level parameter often works in conjunction with a zone parameter, as already mentioned.

Player Race, Faction, or Class

There can be any number of terms for this and it applies to games in which the player selects a particular race, faction, class, or type of avatar such as Elf, Orc, Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Terran, Martian, Jedi, and Sith. Within that larger race, there are usually subcategories for what type of class the avatar will be, such as Warrior, Priest, Merchant, Rogue, Thief, Paladin, Explorer, and Trader. Faction is tied to race, class, or other groups within the game world. A player could be in good standing, neutral, or hostile to that group.

Any of these parameters can be used to determine who gets to access a location, acquire faction-related game items, or do a certain quest. There might be quests written that are offered to a Human or Elf, but not offered to an Orc or Troll; offered to a Warrior, but not a Rogue; and offered to players that have reputation with a particular group regardless of race or class. If some players aren’t able to do certain quests, it can obviously affect whether the player sees the story elements tied to those quests.

Zones can also be restricted to certain class or faction types. In the Earth & Beyond MMOG, there were three factions and each faction had certain planets that only their members could visit in order to access special trainers for that faction. The effect this had on writing dialogue is that for those faction-only sites, dialogue only had to cover the one faction. In other sites in the game, dialogue had to take into account which of the three factions the player belonged to and alternate dialogues provided.

Acquisition of Game Objects

A smaller parameter that could affect story or gameplay structure would be requiring the player to acquire certain game objects before the next step of the game can unfold. An example would be requiring the player to steal a cloak of invisibility before being able to sneak into a prison and free a prisoner. Freeing the prisoner could set up both the next stage of gameplay and reveal key story elements. Or a quest could give the player a special object that was vital to carrying out that quest, such as a potion to reveal invisible enemies.

Acquisition of a Quest

This parameter requires the player to be on a specific quest before other game elements become available. For example, a player takes a quest to enter a fortified area. Taking the quest triggers the appearance of an NPC who provides the means for the player to get in. Or it might trigger the appearance of a Boss mob that has to be fought.

An example of a combination of the two types of acquisition parameters working together would be a key that the player can only find and acquire after she has taken a mission to get through a certain door. Once she has that key, she can unlock the door to access a new zone of the game.

Predetermined Events

A game could be structured around predetermined events that will always happen as the player progresses through the game. These are usually going to be cinematics or cutscenes that drive the story forward, rather than being gameplay elements. In the opening sequence of The Last of Us, the tragic event that leads to the end of the opening sequence is predetermined. No matter what the player does and no matter how well they fight or try to avoid the situation, the death of a certain key NPC will take place. It has to, because it’s the inciting incident that sets up the entire rest of the game, which then transitions to years in the future.

In Conquests of the Longbow, I had key scenes or moments that happened on various days in which Robin would have to encounter Maid Marian. The first one was a rescue to bring the two together, while other scenes included both story and gameplay elements with the purpose of making the player feel connected to Marian so that in one of the major predetermined events—Marian is sentenced to burn as a witch—the player would feel compelled to save her, which in turn had additional major story and gameplay effects. It was a secondary thread running in parallel to the primary body of the gameplay and game story (which was to raise enough ransom to free King Richard from captivity). A writer would think of it as a subplot, but those predetermined events shaped both story and game elements.

A predetermined event parameter indicates a more linear or story-driven game structure (Figure 10.10) and can be combined with other parameters.

Figure 10.10
Example of a structure organized by predetermined events.

Quests

As a Narrative Designer, you’ll need to have detailed knowledge and understanding of a game’s story, design, mechanics, features, tools, and UI in order to create quests that fit that game. What sort of quests you can do, how they’re delivered to the player, and so on will be determined by the type of game, its platform, and the needs of the game design.

There are games where quests are delivered by NPCs or objects, open-world games where players can happen upon waypoints with optional quests, linear story games where the player is given goals and directives via cutscenes that punctuate the gameplay, and other variations.

Here’s a list of common types of quests:

COLLECTING/GATHERING: Asks the player to bring back an object or x number of objects such as “Bring me a bottle of cologne.” or “Bring me 5 enemy satellites.” or “Bring me 15 black tulips.” This could be a quest which simply involves finding and getting the object, or it might involve having to kill mobs or NPCs in order to get the object(s) as drops, such as “Bring me 10 pirate eyepatches.” or “Bring me 5 chimera snouts.”

COURIER: Asks the player to deliver an object or message to an NPC (sometimes referred to as “FedEx quests”), such as “Take this letter to X.” or “Deliver this crate of weapons to Z.”

TALK TO: Asks the player to find a certain NPC and talk to him/her/it. Usually, that NPC will have a quest for the player. It can also be used to “push” the player to discover a new location or zone.

FIGHTING MOBS: In most cases, tells the player to kill x number of a mob, such as “Kill 10 raging chimeras.” or “Kill 20 Putrid Bandits.” It can be combined with a collecting quest, such as “Kill 20 Putrid Pirates and bring me their eyepatches as proof.”

FIGHTING ELITE MOB: Asks the player to kill a specific Boss mob or NPC, which is more powerful and dangerous than the usual kind, such as “Slay Big Badd, the pack leader of the raging chimeras.” or “Destroy the planet-eating Doomship.”

SCOUTING: Asks the player to scout a dangerous location, as in “Scout the inside of this mine and report what sort of monsters inhabit it.” or “Travel to the Sagittarius Sector and determine whether there are enemy ships in the sector.”

ESCORT/PROTECT: Asks the player to escort an NPC from point A to point B. This will usually involve being ambushed or encountering danger of some kind while protecting the NPC.

RESCUING/SETTING FREE: Asks the player to rescue an NPC from a dire situation. This can be similar to an escort quest if it involves helping the NPC get out of the location, or it might involve bringing something to the NPC instead (such as a potion to cure a mortal wound). A variation on this is doing something or bringing a quest object that will free an NPC from some form of imprisonment.

FINDING PERSON OR OBJECT: Asks the player to locate an NPC or game item, which may or may not involve doing anything with them or bringing them back, such as “My husband left for Nasty Valley days ago and hasn’t returned. Please find out what happened to him.” The player could end up talking to the husband to resolve the quest, or might find the husband’s bones and have to return with this info (or a token found on the body) to the original quest giver.

CAPTURE PERSON OR OBJECT: Asks the player to capture an NPC, mob, or object, rather than kill or destroy it, as in “Take this rune and use it to enchant a raging chimera, then lead it back here to me.” or “Capture the supply depot.”

UNRAVELING CLUES: Gives the player clues to unravel some sort of mystery. This is often used with a linked quest (see below).

CHAINED, LINKED: Many quests are chained together so that the first quest leads to a second related quest which leads to a third related quest, and so on. Any of the above quest types (or others not listed here) can be combined in a chain of quests. Sometimes, the tasks become more difficult as the chain progresses.

DAILIES, WEEKLIES: Could be any of the above type of quests, but instead of being offered only once, the quest is offered every day or every week. This guarantees a player will always have a quest to do. Dailies and weeklies are often linked to some other goal, such as gaining reputation with a faction.

In mobile, quests tend toward being simplified tasks, due to the limited screen space for text that leaves little room to tell a complicated story.

There’s an additional complication in designing quests for some mobile games: the wide funnel. Wide funnel refers to making a feature or special event available to as many players as possible. This has an effect on quests associated with that feature or special event because they are usually tied to a player’s level, which also regulates what parts of the game and the game systems a player can access. When releasing a special event or other short-term feature, the balancing act is to create quests that new, low-level players can access and complete, while also appealing to long-term, higher-level players. In special events, it’s rare for players to get through an entire chain of quests, meaning many of them won’t see the resolution. It’s an unfortunate reality of how such mobile events tend to be designed.

In a worst-case scenario, I’ve seen my chain of quests, which told a story, chopped up into segments. Lower-level players were allowed to access each segment without having to complete the earlier segments. It meant they were seeing the steps of the story out of order and possibly missing out on interim steps completely, all for the sake of achieving a wide funnel.

Quest Givers

A Quest Giver is usually an NPC, but any kind of object can also have that function. Back in 2000, Matt Householder was working on Diablo II and they were trying to come up with a good way to indicate when an NPC had a quest to give to a player. He came up with the idea of an exclamation point over the NPCs head and having the NPC turn to face the player. It proved so effective that it became a standard way to indicate a quest giver.

A later development was to change the yellow exclamation point to a yellow question mark once the player had taken the quest and the quest was in progress. Further developments involved changing the color of the exclamation point from yellow to blue with blue indicating a daily or weekly quest. Variations of these markers have been used in many games.

Other games prefer to avoid obvious markers and require the players to discover quest givers by other means, such as overhearing conversations or encountering the NPC in a situation where they need help, or the NPC might call out for attention when the player gets within range. Other games simply present players with quests via a quest log.

Quest Logs

Most games that make use of quests will include a quest log. As a Narrative Designer, you would hopefully have some input on the design of the quest log and likely create the text for it. It should be easily accessible, usually via an icon on the screen.

Key features for a quest log to keep in mind:

An intuitive UI that allows the player to quickly be reminded of what quests they have.

Shows what stage the quest is in.

Allows the player to reread the original text or information.

Quickly shows the objectives, and if possible, how much of the objectives have been accomplished.

May show the quest rewards to be received when the quest is turned in.

Gives guidance about where to turn in the quest. In some games, this could be linked to a map.

The UI could indicate other information about the quest, such as whether it’s a permanent quest or a daily or a timed quest, whether it’s a solo quest or one that requires a group, whether it’s a regular quest or one that requires doing a dungeon or raid, and so on.

A quest log becomes unwieldy at some point, so it should limit the number of quests it can hold. The number will depend on the type of game. Mobile games obviously have less room for long lists of quests than an MMOG.

Quest Stages

The quest giver state, quest text, and UI should reflect which stage the quest is in. The basic stages are

quest start: The player is presented with a quest that can be accepted or declined.

quest incomplete: The player has accepted the quest and is in the process of completing it.

quest completion: The player has completed the requirements for the quest and has turned it in, which is the point where rewards are given.

Quests that are presented through a quest log could potentially skip one of these stages. The start text and incomplete text could be the same if the player is given the quest instead of having to accept it. Once the quest is complete, it could give the player the rewards without an additional piece of text. These variations are fairly common in mobile games where quests are more like a series of tasks than real quests (Figures 10.11–10.13).

Figure 10.11
A World of Warcraft NPC with an exclamation point meaning she has a quest to offer. (World of Warcraft® provided courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.)

Figure 10.12
A close-up of the quest box and text for offering a quest in World of Warcraft. (World of Warcraft® provided courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.)

Figure 10.13
A World of Warcraft NPC that shows a question mark for a quest that is ready to be turned in and the turn-in quest text. (World of Warcraft® provided courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.)

Repetition

I’ve seen advice offered to Narrative Designers to avoid repetition in quests. If they’re talking about the gameplay part of quests, I agree. When it comes to quest text, I recommend healthy doses of repetition in the text for the quest stages. By repetition, I don’t mean using the exact same words. I mean repeating enough of the same information for players to remember what the quest is about while it’s incomplete or enough to remember what the quest was about when turning in. I especially recommend repeating the names of other NPCs or locations in a way that reminds the player who or what they are. If the quest start text refers to “Do this job for Larry,” and the quest completion only says “You did a good job for him,” there’s a high chance the player has forgotten who “him” was.

When I wrote quests for mobile games, we put the quest text into an Excel spreadsheet. The three stages (start, incomplete, and completion) were lined up in a column. Reading down the spreadsheet column made repetitive text stand out. But that isn’t the player’s experience.

Remember that players can go days or even weeks between the start of a quest and the completion of it. They get to read the quest start text, but once they accept the quest, that text goes away and is replaced by the quest incomplete text. Without some degree of repetition, a player who has been away from the game for hours or days can easily have forgotten that first piece of text. A vague or uninformative quest incomplete text can leave them confused or lost about the story behind the quest, or even about what they’re trying to do. The same is true for the quest complete text.

Never go by how quest text reads on a spreadsheet or in an internal game design document. Always go by what the player’s experience will be and take into account unknown gaps of time between the pieces of text.

Visual Storytelling

Narrative Design encompasses more than writing text or dialogue. As with animation and comics, videogames are forms of visual storytelling. As a good visual storyteller, you want to be thinking about the various ways to tell story or tell more about the story by what is seen or heard rather than told.

As a Narrative Designer, you might have input on the look and feel of the environment. If so, the environment should enhance the story you’re telling. The moody, dark-hued gritty environment and audio recordings of Bioshock enhanced a dark, grim story of decay, death, and manipulation. Contrast that with the bright, cheerful, friendly environments of Animal Crossing.

Environmental storytelling can be a significant part of storytelling. It can be passive or interactive. Passive environmental storytelling could be signs, posters, graffiti, or other visual elements that the player can choose to notice while exploring; audio broadcasts, music, or significant sounds that are heard in the background triggered by the player’s presence in the area.

Objects or creatures can be used to convey other game-related information to the player. In Assassin’s Creed, the presence of birds atop high towers indicates a location where the player can safely make a Leap of Faith and fall without being killed.

Interactive environmental storytelling would be objects that convey story only when the player activates them, for example, a book, letters, journal, or diary that can be read when clicked/tapped on; a recording device that plays a sound or dialogue clip when clicked/tapped on; any object that conveys story information when activated; NPCs that have no other function except to convey lore or story info when spoken to. In the game, Gone Home, the player is left to unravel the mystery of an empty family house entirely by interacting with objects in the environment.

At the end of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s Ending, there is an epilogue that introduces Cassie, the daughter of Nate and Elena. The player, as Cassie, is free to wander around her parents’ house and office, look at letters, photos, charts, flyers, artifacts from previous adventures, and other objects that tell the story of what happened to the characters in the past years, as well as what sort of person Cassie is and aspires to be.

An excellent example of visual storytelling—using an object to add layers of nuance to a story—is Joel’s watch in The Last of Us. The game opens in a normal world and introduces us to Joel and his young daughter, Sarah. Sarah presents Joel with a birthday present—a watch. Suddenly, we’re thrust into an apocalypse caused by a plague of parasitic fungal infection that causes people to go insane as they’re taken over by the spores. In the opening sequence, Joel does everything in his power to save Sarah, but she dies in his arms.

The game jumps forward twenty years. It’s a post-apocalyptic world, and Joel survives by working as a smuggler. He is tasked to smuggle a teenage girl, Ellie, to a medical facility because she is immune to the virus. She’s the key to saving the human race. Joel wants nothing to do with Ellie or the mission, but in the course of seeing her safely to the destination, he becomes a changed man.

Before Ellie is introduced, we see that Joel still wears the watch, but it has been shattered by a hard blow, possibly a bullet. The simple device of a broken watch tells us several things about the character:

The broken watch reminds us of how Joel’s personal life was shattered when his daughter was killed.

It represents the past in which the entire world was shattered and broken by the plague, a world in which a watch no longer has meaning.

The fact that he wears the broken watch twenty years later tells us that he wears it as an act of penance, that inside he’s never truly moved on from his daughter’s death, a reminder that he failed and can never forget the moment in which he failed.

Later, when Ellie comments to him, “Your watch is broken,” the subtext is that Joel is broken.

You may not have the opportunity to do a piece of visual storytelling like this, but look for clever ways to enhance your story with visual details and environmental storytelling whenever possible (Figure 10.14).

Figure 10.14
Joel’s broken watch is prominently on display in a scene where Ellie has nearly drowned and he is working desperately to revive her. (The Last of Us™ © 2013, 2014 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. The Last of Us is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Created & developed by Naughty Dog LLC.)

Immersion

Good designers and writers strive to create a game world, story, and game play that are so well meshed that the player can easily feel immersed in that other world. Achieving immersion for the player means finding a way to disguise the obvious game mechanics and make them organic parts of the game world. This can be tricky when the player needs to learn to “press red button” to achieve a particular move. Anything that reminds a player that he is only playing a game is something that destroys the player’s immersion in that game world reality. Some players dislike traditional cutscenes because during a cutscene, control of the game is taken away from the player, an obvious reminder that this is a game rather than an alternate reality.

Most of the issues of creating immersion are the designer’s responsibility, but as a Narrative Designer, you should look for the ways you can contribute to creating immersion. Is there some way to convey a particular piece of training to make it sound more “real” and less game-like? Can training be seamlessly integrated into a series of easy initial quests rather than being a stark tutorial? Is there a way to convey a particular piece of story element without putting it into a cutscene? Can the cutscene be interactive instead of non-interactive?

Immersion is also about word choices, tone of language, avoiding anachronisms, and setting a consistent story mood or theme that meshes with the overall game world.

Virtual Reality Storytelling

The words immersion and presence are the buzzwords most used in connection with VR. With VR, the player is put completely inside the other reality. Theoretically, the player can look around 360 degrees, up, and down, and is able to go anywhere within this new world. On practical level, that’s rarely true.

Remember my reference to creating content to fit a pizza box? VR is simply another kind of pizza box, a more three-dimensional one with its own set of rules and parameters. Here are some that you should know as a Narrative Designer.

The first games that came out for VR rarely took advantage of the immersive quality of VR. Partially, that was due to technical restrictions and the amount of memory and assets available for the early headsets. Partially, it was because designers were falling back on old patterns of game design and familiar solutions to game design issues.

There was also a learning curve in the way VR impacted how players reacted physically to a virtual world that wasn’t in tune with what their inner balance was telling them. Games that opened with too much quick motion caused players to experience nausea or dizziness. This is due to canals in our inner ears that are filled with fluid and tiny hair-like sensors that detect such things as acceleration and rotation. It’s how we know whether we’re going up or down in an elevator. It’s why we get dizzy from riding a roller coaster and why some people get carsick or seasick.

With VR, the issue is that our other sensory input, such as vision, doesn’t match what the inner ear is telling us. I saw early developers want to open VR with spectacular camera movement that raced around or made wild moves. The eyes were perceiving high speed, while the ears were saying, “But we’re standing still, we’re not accelerating.” The end result of that internal sensory conflict is nausea.

This has a significant impact on the genre and type of games that work well in VR. A FPS, racing game, or games that would have a camera moving quickly without matching movement from the player can make them sick. Moves such as a barrel-roll in a plane is a sure way to make a player sick.

Technical advice includes using a high frame-rate, keeping the horizon level, and being careful how the camera moves from one location to another. Movement within VR is one of the major design hurdles. Unless the player has a huge space specifically designed to move around in VR, they will be unable to walk around a virtual space the way we normally would. The player will most likely be either standing in one place or sitting.

This creates another disconnect between what the player perceives and what they physically feel. One game addressed this by letting the player pick a spot they want to go to, then jumping them to that location, and bypassing having to travel across the distance in an unnatural way. In Wolves in the Wall, objects fade in and fade out of existence, and during such transitions, the player’s location in space can change without movement required. Other games keep the player confined to one location rather than dealing with how to move around. Each VR game tackles the problem of movement in its own way, but how they decide to solve this issue will affect what you can do with the storytelling.

There are actions that will break immersion or destroy a sense of presence within the virtual world that you should avoid. As with any game, one of the primary design decisions is using first person vs. giving the player an avatar. Many VR games have moved in the direction of first person with floating hands as an interface. Players enjoy being able to interact with objects in the environment. At the same time, you want to avoid having players move through objects, or objects being thrust into them, or other unnatural interactions that remind the player they’re wearing a headset rather than being in the virtual environment.

Another primary design and story decision is whether the player will interact with an environment and objects only, or with other characters. Issues have arisen with the way players interact with NPCs and even more significantly in interacting with other players’ avatars. In the real world, we have a sense of our personal space. We differ in how closely we want to allow another person get inside our personal space (and this differs from culture to culture as well). If the story encourages the player to interact with an NPC or avatar, you will want to set boundaries or rules for getting too close or trying to do something inappropriate to the NPC or avatar. The same applies for allowing another player’s avatar get inappropriately close or try to do obnoxious things to the player. Players will tend to test those boundaries and see what sort of response they will get. A clever story will give the player immersive responses to their interactions with the NPCs. Trying to pat an NPC on the butt, for example, could result in an offended comment or reaction, and the NPC might not want to talk to the player again. Players have more agency to try that sort of thing in VR. One game that had problems with interactions between players created a “bubble” around each player and when another player’s avatar entered the bubble, their avatar became invisible and unable to affect the player. The bubble provided a feeling of safety and protection.

While going to a close-up for dramatic effect might be fine in film or TV, putting something horrific right in the player’s face can be more traumatic in VR than it would be from seeing it on a flat screen at a distance. Normal flat-screen cinematic storytelling doesn’t always work for VR, so be careful about falling back on it. It takes mental work to break those old patterns and find what works in a virtual world.

Other types of crowd performance to study for a sense of 3D storytelling would be theater-in-the-round, immersive LARP-like experiences such as Then She Fell, and theme parks. Although theme park rides are linear, they have to think of storytelling in three dimensions and use various visual and audio tricks to direct the attention of those experiencing the ride to each scene.

You will want to think about how to direct the player’s attention to follow the story you’re laying out. In the VR game Bonfire, the action takes place in the surface of a dark alien world with only a bonfire for light. Everything happens around the bonfire within the radius of light that the viewer can clearly see.

Using light, color, and other visual elements to direct how and where you want a player to go is a critical part of immersive storytelling in VR. Avoid distracting or confusing the player with too many points of attention coming from different directions, just because you can. Players are having to cope with the headset and controls at the same time, and it can easily become overwhelming.

Sound in VR is vital to Narrative Design. When designing or writing for any other type of game, I didn’t have to concern myself with sound. Someone else adds sound to the game, but unless it was significant to the narrative (such as an audio diary, a recorded voice message, a significant piece of music), it would be left to the sound designer. Many people don’t bother with sound when playing a mobile game, so sound is even less important in mobile.

In VR, sound becomes critically important in directing where you want the player’s attention to go and in creating immersion in the environment, far more than it is in non-VR games.

The amount of time spent in VR is different from the time a player might spend in front of a screen or on a mobile. A player can only wear a headset for so long before it becomes uncomfortable. This may change as the technology for headsets continues to advance; all the same, it’s a good idea to break your narrative into smaller chunks that can be done in shorter sessions.

The Player’s Mindset

To be an effective Narrative Designer/Game Writer, it’s important to play enough games to have a sense of the mindset of a person who plays the type of game you want to work on. If you want to write console games, you need to understand what a console player expects. If you want to write MMOGs, you need to play MMOGs to understand that mindset. Any company looking to hire for Narrative Design or writing will expect that person to be familiar with their games, which also means understanding what the players expect from their games.

For those who have played a lot of games already, this may be a no-brainer, but when I began, I knew nothing about games because few games existed. The first thing I did upon being hired by Sierra On-Line was to sit down and play all the games that Sierra had produced to become familiar with how their games worked, but also to tap into the mindset of a typical Sierra player. I needed to meet and hopefully exceed that typical player’s expectations. Playing a lot of games also helped me decide which design flaws I wanted to avoid. If something annoyed me as a player, I assumed it would annoy other players.

Being a person of logical mind, I tended to write dialogue and text responses in the order I figured a player would try. My mentors quickly pointed out that I was being too linear. I thought I understood their guidance and I reworked my scripts trying to take that into account.

But I didn’t have the One True Revelation until we had The Conquests of Camelot about halfway done (the entire England chunk of the game) and took it to a convention to let random people bang away at it. I spent the afternoon watching how players interacted with the game, how they tackled the puzzles, how they approached dealing with the NPCs, and by the end of the day, I had the One True Revelation. I finally got it.

The One True Revelation is this: players are the Forces of Chaos. They will do anything in any order, whether it makes sense or not. They use trial and error rather than figure out your clever clues. They throw logic out the window.

Therefore, I share this with you, the potential Narrative Designer/Game Writer—expect anything and write accordingly, and always remember, players are the Forces of Chaos.

11

Story-Driven Games and Branching Dialogue

A new category of “games” has developed that are driven by story rather than gameplay. They’re an outgrowth of IF, Interactive Fiction, and early text-based games such as Colossal Cave Adventure. IF is text-based and consists of branching choices, with no gameplay mechanics. The best known of this type were the Choose Your Own Adventure books that began in 1979 and were published as ink and paper books.

IF took that idea into the digital realm, allowing for more interactivity, and it continues to be a popular form of interactive storytelling. IF writing software makes it easy and accessible to anyone wanting to tell a non-linear story in text. You find information on IF writing software in the “Game Resources” chapter.

The next evolutionary step was to port IF to platforms that could handle the addition of art and animation. The popular name for these is Visual Novels (though Visual Short Stories would be more accurate). Visual Novels have limited art, ranging from a static, unmoving character to characters with simple, limited animation, placed over a static background. The emphasis is on the character interactions using branching dialogue, without game mechanics. As with IF, Visual Novels have accessible software that makes it possible for one person to be a VN creator, rather than needing a team.

Beyond Visual Novels, there are the story-driven games. Sometimes, they truly are game-like in that they have more game mechanics that are included in the storyline, such as those made by Telltale Games. These are premium games, purchased up front, requiring larger development teams and usually providing a higher quality of story, art, animation, and sound/music.

Then, there are the F2P apps made for phones and tablets. One of the biggest successes in a story-driven game was the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood mobile app released in 2014. It featured basic F2P game mechanics, such as premium currency and using energy to complete tasks (simplified versions of quests). It offered character-driven choices (such as choosing a boyfriend or girlfriend, earning reputation), and branching dialogues. The branching dialogues gave an illusion of making choices, though none of the branches had a genuine impact on the storyline.

Story-driven games further exploded in popularity with the appearance of apps such as Episode and Choices. Once again, they include simple, basic mechanics (most commonly a premium currency and a time-based currency) and branching dialogues. As F2P apps, they have the usual challenge of finding ways to get the players to spend money. The primary ways they monetize are

Selling special clothing or other vanity looks, or possibly something like weapons and allies for a combat-oriented story.

Selling additional premium currency in order to see a special scene at one of the branching points of the story.

Selling additional time-based currency in order to continue to the next section of the story without waiting for the currency to regenerate over time.

Another reason for the huge success of the story-driven apps is that they offer both professionally written games and UGC (User Generated Content). The UGC engine that they make accessible to the public makes it possible for fans to create their own story-driven games, and even potentially profit from them.

Writing a F2P story-driven game calls for Narrative Design skills. You’re dealing with interactive and potentially non-linear choices in the branching dialogue, but you’re also faced with the monetization challenges. Those challenges include:

Will the story be entirely linear and lead to the same ending no matter what choices the player makes?

If the story is linear with a single ending, how do you keep the player from feeling that none of the choices are genuinely meaningful?

If you want the choices to have more meaning, how complicated can your plot become? How many variant endings can it lead to? Do you have the budget and schedule to create variant endings?

How many free branching dialogue choices do you let the player have before presenting them with a choice that requires using premium currency?

How frequently do you present the player with branching choices, based on the playing time of an average session?

How much story can you pack into an average play session?

How much text will fit into the User Interface (UI)?

Once a choice is made, how many text responses are enough? How many are too many? What is a reasonable number of taps to get through the text?

How many premium choices do you include and how often? How many per an average play session?

How do you create premium scene choices that the player will feel were worth the cost while not dramatically altering the overall storyline for non-paying players?

Will players who don’t choose to pay for the premium scenes feel that they’re being given a lesser story? How do you keep them happy? How will the conclusion of the story work for them? (Figures 11.1 and 11.2).

Figure 11.1
This screenshot from the Love Life story-game shows a free choice that will affect how the NPC responds, but doesn’t change the overall storyline. (© Episode Interactive, LLC, 2018.)

Figure 11.2
This screenshot from the Love Life story-game shows choices that cost premium currency and will give the player a special scene that will expand upon their relationship with that NPC, but may or may not affect the overall storyline. (© Episode Interactive, LLC, 2018.)

Branching Dialogue

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of branching dialogue is vital for story-driven games. Many gameplay-driven games, such as The Witcher and Mass Effect, also use branching dialogue, so this guidance on branching dialogues applies to both story-driven and gameplay-driven games.

Branching dialogues break down into three general applications:

True choice: One or more choices have a genuine impact on how the story plays out, what non-player characters (NPCs) will do or not do, how NPCs will interact with the player, and what consequences the player will experience.

Character color: These choices and responses reveal more about the player’s character or an NPC, but may not have much effect on the overall storyline. They mostly provide flavor and the illusion of interactivity.

Informational: The choices provide information about characters or locations without having an impact on the storyline. They are usually dead-end dialogues that don’t lead to further branches.

Branching dialogue consists of presenting the player with a certain amount of story, then reaching a point where an NPC presents the player with a question or statement that requires a response.

The most common number of response choices is three. Two is an absolute minimum, of course. Two to three are workable for the small screen space of a mobile app. Games with more screen space, such as console games, might routinely have four choices. I worked on one game that sometimes had up to six choices, but these were purely informational. Anything beyond six feels like too much.

When writing the question or statement that initiates the choices, you’re doing so in the voice of the NPC. Depending on the design of the game, the responses may also be made by the NPC, so the voice should remain consistent.

When the choices or responses represent the voice of the player, this is one of the trickiest parts of branching dialogue. How well have you established the nature of the player’s character? How much agency do you want to give to the player to completely determine what character they are versus having to role-play a certain type of character? If they’re not role-playing a specific character, you have more freedom in the range of choices.

In story-driven games, you will want to give the player total agency to decide what sort of character they are. For those games, it makes sense for the choices to cover a range of attitudes or emotions. How you craft those choices will depend upon the nature of the game and how each choice affects the story going forward.

Even in a role-playing type of game, the player will want to feel they have a satisfying range of choices to express themselves. The trick in that case is to provide a range that doesn’t radically violate the nature of the character. That’s a good way to break immersion.

In a gameplay-driven game, the choices might gravitate toward one that is the best choice, a neutral choice, and a not-so-good choice. Sometimes it’s obvious which choice is which from the text alone. In some games, the location of the choices in the UI can indicate which is which, such as the best choice always being in the same position in the UI, the neutral choice always in the same position, and so on. This where you’d collaborate with the Game Designer and UI designer to determine the “rules” of how the choices will work.

Another general rule of branching dialogue is the choices have to be kept short in order to fit into the screen space, especially with mobile apps. Once the player selects a choice, it’s common for the following dialogue to be a fleshed-out version of the shorter choice, putting more meat on the bones, as it were.

There are games that offer what appear to be branching dialogues that are not about dialogue, but about what action to take: kiss or reject, pay or steal, kill or show mercy, distract or sneak away, and so on. They may or may not include NPC or character dialogue, but should be treated the same way as a branching dialogue because they function the same and have an impact on the storyline.

Pruning Branches

The trick with branching forms of dialogue (Figure 11.3) is to keep it from branching out of control. At some point, each branch has to come to an end or become a dead end, or the branches could become infinite. Notice from this simple example how quickly branches can proliferate.

Figure 11.3
Example of branching dialogue.

Long Alternative Text

In the above example, one branch dead ends pretty quickly. One branch will lead to useful data about a particular direction, but only if the player pays for it. But the remaining branches allow the player to deduce the right direction without paying (assuming the player has the same dialogue options to choose from each time he talks to the NPC).

Informational dialogues are usually closed loops where the NPC provides a menu of choices. The player selects a choice, is given a piece of information, and is then returned to the menu of choices. One of the choices should be a “good-bye” option to escape from the menu, but otherwise the player is free to keep selecting choices and cycling through the menu.

A major pitfall to avoid is creating branches that don’t serve a real purpose and only create an illusion of choice. You should avoid doing this (Figure 11.4).

Figure 11.4
Example of branching dialogue with false branches.

That’s a waste of the player’s time and frustrating to boot. Every branch and each dialogue option should have a purpose, or it shouldn’t be there. At the same time, each branch has to end somewhere, with the player feeling that taking the branch was worth it, either in getting useful info, receiving something (reward), opening up an option to do something (such as buy, sell, trade), getting background story flavor or, at the very least, being given something amusing (a joke or insult).

In story-driven games, players will quickly catch onto choices that may give a slight alteration in response without having a genuine effect on the story. Too many choices like that will eventually make them feel that the choices are pointless.

As science fiction author James Blish once wrote, “A difference that makes no difference is no difference.”

Weighted Dialogues

Branching dialogues can be used to create numerous paths through a storyline, but the more paths you create, the more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive it becomes to build those parallel paths. Once a player goes down one of the parallel paths, are they stuck there, or do you provide choices that allow them to jump to a different parallel path? Large, complex, expensive games such as The Witcher offer significant moral choices that the player has to live with and that dramatically affect the outcome of the games. But it doesn’t require a massive or expensive game to offer moral choices.

One approach to creating choices that can affect a story-driven game without creating excessive parallel paths is to have a single path through most of the game, but have the path lead to different outcomes depending on the choices made. I think of this method as using weighted dialogues, my own term rather than an industry term.

The idea would be to assign a specific value (the weight) to the choices that accumulate throughout the game and are finally calculated by the game engine to determine the ending.

A simple example would be a game in which the player has three men to choose from. Frequently throughout the game, the player would be presented with branching dialogues that require picking one of the men as the person of interest for that part of the storyline. There would need to be numerous chances for the player to change her mind and pick another man for the next part of the storyline, but for each choice the man chosen would gain a numerical value. This is hidden from the player, something that happens within the game engine and never seen. If she consistently chooses the same man, it would lead to an ending with that man as her lover/boyfriend/husband or whatever. The balancing act is to make sure that at least one of the men ends up with a larger numerical value than the other two, so that a specific ending is chosen. Or you might even throw in an ending for someone who couldn’t make up her mind and kept jumping from man to man, and consequently ends up being dumped by all the men at the end.

Another example would be a game in which the player is given good, neutral, and bad ways to interact with the NPCs (as I did in my Robin Hood game). Each choice has a numerical value that determines the ending. It would be a matter of how she treats the NPCs, rather than simply showing interest, that leads to the final consequences.

Another way to look at it would be a faction system in which the way the player treats the NPCs determines who the player will be aligned with at the end.

These are simplistic methods for less complex games, but games featuring true and significant choices take a massive amount of work to achieve that quality. Telltale Games had collaborative teams that were pairs of designers and writers. One person focused on the design work behind the narrative choices and the other person focused on the writing. Dave Grossman, who worked at Telltale for nine years, described their painstaking process: “The basic philosophy was that characters would respond to you according to things you had done or said which had touched or affected them personally, and, like real people, in the moment they wouldn’t add up the sum total of their experience with you in their heads, they would react instinctively according to a small subset of events that were either particularly significant to them or had happened recently. So it was like, it hasn’t been long since what happened in the car, they’ll still be thinking about it, but also they will never be able to truly forgive you for that thing last episode, or will always have your back because of the other, until you betray them and ruin it all. Characters didn’t have vague feelings that could be compared numerically on a scale, they had specific feelings and specific memories. They felt angry or humiliated or grateful or loyal or rejected or cold, and often several of those things at the same time. No numbers or systems were used to bring this to life, instead, at every turn, one or more designers and writers made specific choices about what a particular character would be thinking about and feeling, and what combination of factors would affect their response. In short, we wrote. A lot. Hand-crafting every moment like that is not a particularly economical way to make a game, but I think it is a big part of the reason the Telltale stories resonate the way that they do.”

Faction Systems

Faction is a group of NPCs and players that are aligned to a common purpose. It is commonly used in massively multiplayer on-line games (MMOGs) and gameplay-driven games. World of Warcraft has two major factions, the Alliance and the Horde, that divide the game into two entirely different ways of playing with access to different locations, quests, and other perks. But within the larger game, there are secondary factions that the player can join by doing quests and earning reputation until they’re accepted into the faction. They gain special locations, gear, and so on. In some cases, these secondary factions were open to both Alliance and Horde players. Sometimes the players can abandon the secondary faction they’ve joined (and lose everything that was gained) and earn their way into the competing secondary faction, but they can’t change their primary faction. Once they create a Horde character, it is always a Horde character.

Other games can have three or more factions. In addition to a primary faction, a player can have a race or class faction that provides yet more variables for the type of dialogues they might get. There could be dialogues given only to Elves with different dialogues given only to Dwarves; or dialogues given only to a Soldier and different dialogues given to a Medic or Technician, and so on.

In gameplay-driven games, faction is usually chosen up front and the use of branching dialogues can be far more complex. On one MMOG with three factions, we wrote branching dialogues for each faction with numerous variables (checking for player level, phase of the game, what step in a quest the player had reached, whether a reward was due, and so on) with some of the branches linking to other files of branching dialogue with more variables and conditions. In more complex cases, we had up to six interconnected files of complex dialogue trees that linked via special branches from a main file.

Another variable that could come up in some games is the race or class bias that could be attached to both the NPC and the player. Being friendly, neutral or hostile toward a particular race or class could require different dialogues to account for the bias.

I’ll get into more detail about how variables affect dialogues in Chapter 12. The same rules apply to both branching and non-branching dialogues.

Timed Dialogues

Some games have experimented with timed dialogues. Telltale Games, The Witcher, the Episode mobile app, and others have incorporated them.

A timer bar of some kind gives the player a limited amount of time to make a choice in a branching dialogue. This is most effective in a tense or dangerous situation to heighten the drama of the moment by forcing the player into action. You also have to decide what the default choice will be if the player hasn’t made a choice when the timer expires. Some games choose the worst outcome for players who default by doing nothing, as doing nothing is itself a choice, and not a very good one.

Timers will usually be some number of seconds. The amount of time it takes the player to read and give some thought to the choices needs to be taken into account, so it’s best to avoid too much text or overly complicated choices.

12

Game Writing

There are jobs that can be done as a writer rather than a Narrative Designer. Before going over these possibilities, bear in mind that it can be a fuzzy line between writing and design. My take is that if the work you’re asked to do doesn’t require making design decisions and is purely about writing, it isn’t Narrative Design. For example, if quests are already designed, but require finished text, that’s writing. But if you’re asked to create the quests or determine in any way how quests will work as well as writing them, that tips over into Narrative Design and you should be paid accordingly.

Game Writing as Haiku

I was mentoring a team of writers on a mobile game who were new to writing for games. They were struggling with the limitations of mobile storytelling as they found their story being continually whittled down and simplified until virtually nothing remained. One piece of advice that finally clicked for them was to treat game writing as haiku.

True haiku has specific rules: It consists of only three lines with no more than seventeen syllables; the first line is five syllables; the second line is seven syllables; the third line is five syllables; traditional haiku uses imagery from nature; and a good haiku should evoke a feeling, an emotion, or some sense of awareness of a moment.

Game writing has its own strict rules. It requires tight, pithy, limited, concise text that has to convey something. That “something” might be pragmatic gameplay information, but it should also convey the voice of the NPC/narrator and the tonal feel of the game. Just as every line of haiku carefully crafts the imagery, feel, and moment of the poem, every line of game text should have a purpose and meaning. You don’t have room for anything else.

While I’m referring here to game text, it remains true for dialogue writing that is meant to be spoken. Spoken dialogue needs to be minimal; each piece of dialogue should be as short as possible and serve a purpose to convey character, situation, or vital information.

The Script Format

The first thing to know about writing for games is that there are no standardized formats for game scripts. There is no such thing as “a game script.” This is especially true when dealing with dialogue writing where every company may have its own unique method or some proprietary software that is used to create and incorporate dialogue. If you’re an in-house writer (full-time employee), there may be specialized game engine tools you’ll use to create your material, or you may simply end up using Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. If there is any one piece of software I’d advise you to know for Narrative Design or game writing, it’s Excel.

Excel is popular for a couple of reasons: (1) nearly everybody has it; (2) programmers can plug information directly from Excel into other game engines or programs. Excel spreadsheets aren’t designed for writing and are less than ideal for that purpose, but they are used extensively in games.

For the independent contract writer, the producer or whoever hires you may have a clear idea of what format she wants you to use. If not, it may be up to you to work out what format to use.

Game Writing Jobs

There are a variety of writing jobs you could be hired to either in-house or as an independent contractor. They are:

Full motion video (FMV) or game intro

Game bible

Theme, tone words

Game world creation

Character biographies

Game backstory

Game story

Quests or missions

Cutscenes/cinematics

Dialogue

In-game text

Naming NPCs and game objects

Story or script editing

Technical or user manual text

Website and promotional materials.

FMV/Game Intro

FMV is of broadcast quality and is usually of higher quality than the animation that can be generated by the game engine. With technology constantly advancing, FMV may become obsolete, but what won’t change is the desire for a really hot, enticing game intro, something that gets the players’ juices flowing and gives a taste of the game. It’s like writing a trailer for a movie or TV show, except that you’ll have to distill the intro from whatever game materials the company provides.

You may be called upon to write an actual introductory scene of some kind, or more likely, it will be a montage of images to capture the mood and feel of the game, as well as show off the significant game elements (race types, locations, special effects, enemies/monsters). If they are scenes, you’ll be writing dialogue for live actors to record. If it’s a montage, there may be some narration to be recorded, or it might have no voice and be done with music only.

This will be non-interactive and will be storyboarded and then created by animators, and consequently, you can feel safe using a standard scriptwriting format. My recommendation would be to use an animation script format, since you will almost always be dealing with animation, rather than live-action.

If you aren’t familiar with the animation script format, go to the first section of this book to read up on animation writing. All the basic rules of animation writing apply here, including the need to keep recorded dialogue (if any) minimal, strong, and pithy.

FTUEs (First Time User Experience) for mobile games are a whole different animal. Mobile game intro FTUEs are about getting the player involved and invested in the game within seconds, with no luxury for detailed storytelling, with rare exceptions such as the animated intro to The Simpsons: Tapped Out. Due to the importance of the FTUE, it will be worked out by some combination of designers, producers, production managers, and other stakeholders. If the mobile game company happens to hire Narrative Designers, a ND might end up writing the text and helping to guide the FTUE.

Game Bible

Not many companies create game bibles, or they may include the same info in other design documents. I made a point of writing a game bible whenever I was significantly involved with a game, and I made sure that everyone on the team had access to it. What you’ll be hired to write can vary according to the type and nature of the game, and whatever it is the company wants. Generally speaking, the format of an animation bible works every bit as well for games, so I recommend going to the animation section of this book and reading up on animation bibles.

How much you do on the bible may depend on what stage the game is in when you’re hired. You could be hired at the very beginning of the game development to create the game bible from scratch (with input from the producer and designers). You might be hired when the game is already well into development and they only want you polish up a bible that is in rough form, or perhaps to flesh out only certain portions of it, such as expanding the character bios or adding more depth to the history of the locations.

You could also be asked to describe weapons, vehicles, or other related elements, to come up with a chronology of quests, or any number of other tasks. Consequently, you want to be sure that the company is very specific about what elements you’d be covering if hired to write a game bible. You will want to know how much material already exists and how much you will be expected to create on your own.

A game bible will be whatever the person who hires you wants it to be, but these are what I consider to be the main ingredients of a good game bible:

Theme/thematic words

Game world creation

Game backstory

Game story

Character biographies (both avatar and NPCs)

Mobs/monsters/bosses.

Theme/thematic Words

This was something I began adding to game bibles when I worked in mobile. On the first page I had a one-paragraph description of the game to give the tone and feel of it much as it might be pitched to a player. Below that, I added a list of thematic words. For example, the thematic word list for Farmville: Tropic Escape was:

Mysterious

Intriguing

Adventurous

Romantic

Enticing

Colorful

Light-hearted.

I did this for two reasons: (1) to clarify for myself what the tone and theme of the game was; and (2) to make sure that everyone else, especially the person in charge, was in agreement with this tone and theme. It’s a quick way to find out where your own thoughts may be out of sync with the manager or the rest of the team. Once approved, it’s a quick and easy reminder to everyone what the agreed-upon tone and theme is.

Game World Creation

Game world creation is writing the description and explanation of the entire setting of the game, which covers description of geography/terrain, key locations, history of regions or places, description of the various races or NPC types, histories of races, and other related information to create a coherent whole for the world of the game.

To be a good game world creator, you should have at least some knowledge of a wide range of subjects, such as geography, sociology, politics, economic structures, mythology, personal combat, weaponry, war, military strategy and tactics, religions, foreign cultures, linguistics, physics, art, architecture, technology, weather, biology, plants and animals, trade systems, various professions and skills from primitive to technological, the development of civilization, government power structures, and all forms of human interaction. There’s your reading assignment for the afternoon.

Depending on when you’re brought into the project, you may be asked to create a world from scratch, or you may be given existing assets that have to be stitched together, or you may be working from a pre-existing property (such as a comic book or movie) that will dictate what you can do.

A good example was the work I did on a PS2 RPG called The Legend of Alon D’ar. I was brought in to create the game bible, including the game story. What existed was the art and level designs for the world and its zones, art for the main characters and races, and some mobs. The world was a chunk of land torn from a planet and floating in space, which presented an interesting challenge right there as by the usual law of physics, nothing could live there. Because it was a fantasy-themed game, there had to be a mystical or magic-based explanation for how this world could exist. It was great fun to work out a history to explain its existence, histories, and descriptions for the zones, and for the characters and races, and come up with names for everything and everyone, inspired solely by the wonderful artwork. Plus, it all had to work together and, most importantly, have an inner consistency that allowed it to make sense within the rules I established.

Imagine how the cataclysmic event that created this floating world must have affected each of the races, the impact it would have not only on their histories and mythologies, but on their native psyches. Imagine the unique pattern of “day” and “night” such a world would have. What about weather patterns? Imagine how the people inhabiting this terrain deal with having a clearly defined edge to their world beyond which there is only an infinite void. Why are some of the races human, while others are reptilian or amphibious? How does that affect their natures, how they live, what social structures they have, what they believe in, what goals or desires they have? World creation begins with such questions and expands from there.

The same cataclysmic event that created the floating world provided the hook for the deep backstory of the world, which in turn provided the jumping off point for the game story and overall meta-quest that drove the player through the game.

You’ll find the game bible and story for The Legend of Alon D’ar available to read at www.christymarx.info.

The largest amount of game world creation is done for fantasy and science fiction games, understandably. In the game bible I wrote for Tao Feng, I gave the game an alternate history twist, so that rather than building an entirely new world, it was a matter of detailing how a turning point in real-life history had created a recognizable, but altered version of the real world in which the Chinese immigrants to what would have been California in the 1840s established the independent nation of New China, spanning most of the western states.

Game Backstory

The backstory is often woven into the game world creation. The backstory is everything that is pertinent to the game story up to the point the game begins. With The Matrix On-Line, the first three movies, comics, and animated stories made up the full backstory leading up to the point where the massively multiplayer on-line game (MMOG) began. Some popular characters, such as Superman, Spider-Man, James Bond, King Arthur, or Robin Hood are well enough known that there wouldn’t be much need for a detailed backstory. The backstory can be full and deep, or short and concise, depending upon the need of the game. Shadow of the Colossus had only the sketchiest, most minimal kind of backstory that set up the goal of the game, without feeling the need to explain how the hero’s situation or these monstrous colossi came to exist.

How much of the backstory is conveyed in the game is another issue. It may be relegated to the game website, it may be given in the trailer to the game, and it may be woven into the game itself (for example, the player goes into a library, and there is a book containing details of the backstory that can be read if the player so chooses). In World of Warcraft, there are NPC loremasters who stand around ready to tell the player stories about people, places, and events in the world of Azeroth.

Game Story

This would be the story that drives the game by providing the overall quest/mission/goal that drives the game, plus subquests and secondary tasks that provide the twists and turns. It should cover the locations and the NPCs that are critical to the story. It should specify and describe significant puzzles, obstacles, and other vital gameplay elements, along with what, when, and where quest objects are required, obtained, and used. It may need to specify what, when, and where cutscenes or cinematics will occur to convey pieces of the story.

Gameplay-driven mobile games have little room for story and often use a premise rather than a fully developed story. Because most mobile games are evergreen games, they’re designed to go on indefinitely (or as long as they bring in enough income to justify continuing). A full story with a beginning, middle, and end doesn’t work well for an evergreen game, which is why an overall premise complemented by mini-stories that can be completed is more practical. For example, Tapped Out has the simple premise of rebuild Springfield. Mini-stories built around the characters, special events, and short-term features provide a sense of story.

The game story is intertwined with the interactive elements of the game as the story is not simply about what the goal is or achieving the goal, but how the player can achieve the goal. Some of these stories can be quite linear (often the case with console games) or may need to be highly non-linear, allowing the player a multitude of possible paths for completing the game with story components that can be accessed in a non-sequential order. The more linear the story is, the more likely the company would be to use an outside writer. The more non-linear, the more likely that the story will be written by a Game Designer or Narrative Designer.

It’s not unusual to be hired when a game is quite far along and the company has suddenly realized it needs a story or other background material. My friend Katherine Lawrence used to call this “reverse engineering” because the writer has to come into an existing game world and work backwards to come up with a story that fits into it.

Character Biographies

The two categories of character biographies are the player’s main character (the avatar) and the NPCs. An avatar can be a specific character or left deliberately vague. How much detail is needed for the avatar’s biography will depend on a couple of factors: a) how much detail the company wants and b) whether the avatar has dialogue in the game. An avatar who will have meaningful (not generic) dialogue in the game needs to be fleshed out well enough to establish that avatar’s “voice,” meaning how the personality and character traits will come out in dialogue. Will the avatar speak in a formal or casual manner (contemporary approach or based on some historic time period)? Will they use slang? If so, what kind of slang? Are they sly, droll, sarcastic, ribald, poetic, philosophical, timid, loving, hard-edged? Young or old? Shaped by what sort of life experiences?

An example of avatars with bios attached would be Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), Senua (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice), and Joel and Ellie (The Last of Us). In Shadow of the Colossus, the player’s avatar wasn’t even given a specific name (he is referred to only as “Wander”), and all the details surrounding the avatar’s background and relationship with other characters are left undefined and open to the player’s interpretation. For most RPGs and MMOGs, it’s up to the player to create the avatar from a set of character options, so they are creating their own avatar’s biography, if any.

Consequently, the bulk of the work lies in creating bios for NPCs. These might be nothing more than a few lines of description, depending on how significant the NPC is. For example, a minor NPC might have a bio that is nothing more than “Mortar Pestwhistle is a Leprechaun engineer with a sly sense of humor and an overbearing pride in his creations.” In The Legend of Alon D’ar, the player had three NPC companions that he could control as a group along with his own avatar, so I gave those three characters detailed bios, including their own subquests, needs, and goals which were featured in cutscenes along with the avatar.

In the game bible I did for Tao Feng, besides writing the character bios, I included a paragraph on how each character would interact with or behave toward each of the other major characters. There were twelve major characters. That meant an additional eleven paragraphs for each character to cover these relationships. This is typical for an animation bible, but somewhat unusual for games.

Mobs/Monsters/Bosses

Most mobs or monsters are generally described by their general race characteristics in the game bible, but if a mob is important enough (a Boss or a major villain), it might rate its own special description and possibly a biography.

Quests

This is another area that dovetails with design, because a quest or mission is a primary interactive element. If a game is big enough, especially something like an MMOG, there can be a lot of work involved in coming up with and writing quests/missions.

As I stated earlier, if you’re expected to create quests, that’s Narrative Design work. That aspect of quests was covered in Chapter 10.

It’s less likely to be hired solely to write text for existing quests, but it’s not impossible, so I included it under possible writing jobs.

Cutscenes and Cinematics

These are more commonly used in the linear types of games and can serve more than one purpose. Most cutscenes/cinematics are used to reveal key pieces of the story and to advance the story for the player. They can have an emotional pay-off, or they can be bald chunks of data. They can also be used to validate the player for accomplishing something special (a pat-on-the-back “way to go!” moment).

You will want to have a discussion up front with the producer or designer about what the game engine can or can’t do in creating the cutscenes/cinematics. A lot of times, there will be “easy” and “hard” ways to do the scene in the engine. For example, changing the camera angle in the middle of the scene could be either easy or incredibly hard, depending on the engine design. Another example—on one PS2 game, I was initially told that the characters wouldn’t be able to move their lips; let along do lip-synching. With that in mind, I carefully wrote the scenes using animation writing techniques to minimize the amount of time the camera lingered on a character’s face, such as using over-the-shoulder shots for the speaking character rather than looking at the speaking character from the front.

Most frequently, cutscenes/cinematics are non-interactive. Control of the game is taken away from the player who is expected to stand and watch the scene unfold. A wise designer will allow the player to click past the cutscene/cinematic if he doesn’t feel like following the story thread.

In Half-Life 2, a clever approach was taken in which the cutscenes/cinematics would play out inside an enclosed environment so that the player couldn’t conveniently leave right away, but the player was allowed to continue interacting with the environment. This gave the player the option to do something else in the location, and either ignore the scene or pay attention to it if she wished. There are occasionally mini-cinematics in World of Warcraft where a short scene plays out between a couple of NPCs with the player free to watch or move on to another part of the game (in this case, however, the cinematics don’t affect an overall game story).

Some games have used techniques to create interactive cutscenes, so that the player feels more involved in the scene. Even so, you have to craft the scene in a way that somehow constrains the player and keeps them tied to the scene. The scene serves no purpose if the player can easily wander away from it or somehow disrupt it.

The important thing to remember about cutscenes/cinematics is that they should be short, preferably one to three pages in a standard live-action script format, slightly more if written in an animation script format. Again, apply the general rules of animation writing. Keep the dialogue minimal, strong, and pithy.

If you’re writing the story that includes indications for the cutscenes/cinematics, there are two things to bear in mind as you create the story:

There is probably a budget and time limit to how many cutscenes the developers can put into the game, so determine ahead of time what the limit is. Craft the story so that you could lose two to three (or more ! ) cutscenes should there be a cut in the schedule or budget.

Be careful not to craft a story that requires big chunks of exposition or too much explanation of events in the cutscenes. Try to limit each cutscene to revealing one key piece of story or emotional moment, maybe two, but not three or four. Cutscenes need to be engaging nuggets of story, not big chunks of exposition.

Dialogue

Setting aside cutscenes/cinematics, most of the dialogue you might be hired to write will be for NPCs. The short bits of dialogue such as greetings, threats, and battle cries are called barks. It’s typical to be hired to write twenty different ways for a NPC to hurl a threat or give encouragement or toss off battle commentary, and so on.

Common types of dialogue include

Giving quests/missions

Giving information, training, directions (to a location)

Giving hints: “Did you go to Sagittarius Sector yet?”

Generic greetings: “Hi, how ya doing?”

Generic threats: “Die, mangy cur!”

Generic default replies: “I don’t know what to do with that.”

Generic vendors (selling and buying game items): “Buy from me. I’ll give you such a deal.”

Adding flavor: For example, a storyteller who relates tales that may not be significant to the story, but add general flavor to the background material.

You’ll want to know up front whether the dialogue will be done as text or as voice. Some games will combine the two and play audio while also showing the dialogue as text. Both ways present you with limitations in terms of length, so once again apply the rules of animation writing—keep it short and pithy. If it’s text, you could potentially have a more specific limitation, such as a certain number of characters (letters) and spaces per speech so that it doesn’t occupy too large a balloon or dialogue box when on the screen.

Because voice is expensive and time-consuming and creates large sound files, it tends to be used sparingly. You should read audio dialogue out loud to yourself to make sure it’s easy to say and sounds right when spoken. Better yet, record yourself speaking the lines and play it back to yourself. A line that looks fine in text can sometimes be a clunker when spoken out loud. Saying the lines out loud will call your attention to speeches or sentences that are too long.

You may be required to learn a special piece of software, if the developer has devised specific methods of integrating dialogue into the game. This method can be different for each company, so you need to be good at adapting to new software. And because of this, there is nothing like a standard format.

Some companies will put game dialogue into a TV/film script format when it’s being given to actors for recording. Others might simply leave it in a spreadsheet format. If you’re involved in preparing the dialogue for actors, do your best to provide them with context for what they’re saying. Let them know where they are in the story. Include mood, tone, emotion, or other instructions that will help them deliver the line.

Variables

The variables that affect dialogue depend upon the programming “flags” that need to be checked before the correct piece of dialogue is fed to the player. These flags are conditions that the game code looks for. This gets back to the “If this, then this…” formula. “If this condition exists, then this dialogue is given.” There can be an infinite number of such conditions, but some of the most common ones are

What level is the player?

Is the player on a certain quest?

Is the player incomplete on the quest?

Has the player completed the quest?

Does the player have a certain game item or quest object?

If buying something, does the player have enough money?

Has the player spoken to the NPC before?

Has the player spoken to some other NPC yet?

Does the player belong to a certain race or class?

Does the player have a race or class bias in relation to the NPC (friendly, neutral, hostile)?

Has the player been to a certain location yet?

Has the player done a specific action yet?

There might be only one variable/condition tied to a piece of dialogue, or there could be two or several in combination—or there could be none, of course. Some games don’t have these complexities of dialogue. But for those that do, it will be vital to you as the writer to have a full and detailed understanding of what variables/conditions will affect the dialogue, so that you can tailor the dialogue accordingly.

You’ll need to be good at juggling these variables in your head and making sure one piece of dialogue doesn’t contradict another, especially if they can be accessed in a non-sequential manner.

For example, an NPC could have dialogue that pertains to a particular quest that can only be given once the player is level 10 and only if the player is of the warrior class, but any player is free to talk to the NPC at any time. It might look something like the following:

;This NPC is just there to give the player hints about the Sagittarius quest if the player is a warrior, or to push the player to another zone if not a warrior.

//if player is a NOT a WARRIOR:

NPC

I hear there’s a guy in the Betelgeuse sector that’s

looking for somebody like you.

//if player is a WARRIOR and is LESSER THAN level 10, and has NOT spoken to the NPC before:

NPC

You’ve got the look of someone who’s hunting for

trouble. Get some more experience under your belt,

and I might help you with that.

//if player is a WARRIOR and is LESSER THAN level 10 and has spoken to the NPC once or more before:

NPC

You’re too green to bother with. Get yourself more

experience before you bother me again.

//if player is a WARRIOR and IS level 10 or more and does NOT have the Sagittarius quest:

NPC

You look like someone in need of a job. Talk to

Larry the Leech over there, if you’re up to risking

your neck.

//if player is a WARRIOR and IS level 10 or more and does NOT have the Sagittarius quest and has spoken to the NPC once or more before:

NPC

Do I look like I have nothing better to do than give

advice?

//if player has the Sagittarius quest and has NOT spoken to the NPC before:

NPC

So you’re the Leech’s new sucker… ah, I mean

recruit. Good luck to ya.

//if player has the Sagittarius quest and has spoken to the NPC once before:

NPC

Why are you hanging around here? Aren’t you

supposed to be in the Sagittarius sector?

//if player has the Sagittarius quest and has spoken to the NPC twice or more before:

NPC

What do you want, a medal? Get a move on.

//if player has COMPLETED the Sagittarius quest and spoke to the NPC BEFORE taking the quest:

NPC

So you worked for the Leech and got out in one

piece. I’m impressed. I’ll spread the word that you

can be trusted.

//if player has COMPLETED the Sagittarius quest and has NOT spoken to the NPC before, use any one of the following dialogues chosen at random:

NPC

Nice day, if we don’t get sucked into a black hole.

NPC

Something you want?

NPC

What do you want, an autograph? Move along.

What you have hopefully noticed about that example is that the more variables the game design allows in the NPC dialogue, the more specific the dialogue can become (making the game feel “smarter”), but it also increases the amount of both coding and dialogue writing that has to be done. There are a dozen or more conditions that a programmer has to code in that short example (including flags that must be created by talking to that NPC), which is one reason for a push to keep game dialogue limited. In game design, there is a constant tension between wanting to make a game feel smart and more aware of exactly what the player is doing versus the need to keep writing and programming from getting out of control.

One more thing about the example above—it’s one sided and non-branching. Only the NPC has lines, assumedly initiated by the player clicking on the NPC, and there is no input of player dialogue. It’s minimally interactive because the player can’t affect it and can’t do anything other than read or hear it. Once you go the extra step of adding player dialogue, you move into the arena of player choice and branching dialogue, as covered in Chapter 11.

In-Game Text

This is written material the player might come across in the game. One example mentioned previously is finding books that can be opened and read. Other examples would be letters, journals, dispatches, notes, briefings, decrypted code, and so on that are given to the player as part of a quest. It might be text that appears on a monitor, PDA, or other communication device that the player uses in the game.

Naming NPCs and Game Objects

Larger games, especially MMOGs, can have scores of NPCs and hundreds of game objects. Someone has to come up with names for them. It would usually fall to various designers, but it’s at least possible they would bring in a writer to do it.

Story or Script Editing

A less common job is being hired to provide an editing pass or to add writing polish to existing written material. Companies generally want established Narrative Designers or Game Writers for an editing job.

Technical or Game Manual

In addition to the game itself, there is writing that needs to be done to explain to the player how the game works and other technical writing needs. When I was making adventure games for Sierra On-Line, I wrote the game book that came with the game which gave backstory and other general information about the game and interface, plus I wrote the “hint book,” a separate book that the players could consult for hints when they felt stuck or unable to progress.

You could be asked to write other game-related materials that fall outside the game, such as compiling a list of quest objects and where they’re found, a chronology of quests, or a walkthrough.

Website and Promotional Materials

Most games have a website to help promote the game and create a sense of community for it. You could be hired to write material for the website of either a technical nature or purely promotional, or you could be hired to write marketing material for other media.

For example, for The Matrix On-Line, I was hired to take the brief descriptions of the many skills and abilities the player could learn in the game and “Matrix-ize” them, meaning rewrite them in a way that would fit with how data is downloaded into someone’s brain in the Matrix movies. Those descriptions were intended as additional material for the game’s website. On another game, I was asked to recraft the game bible into a shorter version that could be used by the marketing people in PR releases.

Beyond the Basics (Advice, Tips, and Tricks)

Some writers who have expressed an interest in writing for games have worried about what level of technical skill they need to have, in terms of knowing programming or special software. Because each company can have its own approach, there isn’t any particular software to learn ahead of time, but—and this is a big but—you should be technically inclined and able to quickly learn new pieces of software. I’ve already mentioned the widespread use of Excel. At Zynga, I also became familiar with how text was incorporated into the games via the Unity engine.

You don’t need to know programming or be able to write code. However, you could potentially be asked to incorporate bits of code, so it doesn’t hurt to pick up whatever basics you can along the way. If a company wants you to incorporate bits of code, they’ll provide you with the necessary training or instructions. They shouldn’t expect you to come in the door knowing it.

Version Control

You need to have good organizational skills and the means to track the many versions and variations of the work you do. It will be vital to have good communication with the manager/producer, product manager, or senior/lead designer (whoever the point person is) on how to name your narrative or dialogue game files. If you’re only writing a game bible, this may not be as crucial. But if you’re writing numerous files, such as dialogue for lots of NPCs or a large batch of missions, it is absolutely crucial.

Either they or you need to establish precisely what identifiers will quickly and easily tell anyone working on the game what that file is about, what it attaches to, what NPC or zone it belongs to, and so on. Additionally, there must be an identifier (such as a date) that will immediately indicate which is the most current, latest, and/or approved version of the file.

Working in-house, you may have to enter your work into version-control software such as Perforce or GIT. These are fairly technical programs, so be prepared to tackle them with care and precision. Simple mistakes in using them can sometimes have major consequences for the entire team.

Without careful version control, you end up in the hell of version confusion with no one quite sure which is the latest or approved version, or what goes where in the game. Some companies have “data wranglers” whose job it is to oversee such assets and make sure there’s a workable system of asset identification and version control.

Once you plunge into a game writing project, make sure to find out who to deal with and what system they want to use for version control.

Recording Dialogue

Should you write dialogue for a game that will be recorded by voice actors, there is a chance that you’ll be asked to attend the recording sessions. If you should get the chance to attend, you should go for it. As the writer, your input to the voice director and actors could be invaluable, because you will know better than anyone what the context is and what the emotional tone of the dialogue should be. Plus, it’s a good experience for you to learn what works or doesn’t work in spoken dialogue.

Make sure that the voice actors receive a biography of their character(s) and their lines at least a couple of days ahead of time, so they can absorb the material and consider how to deliver their lines. Do your best to provide the voice actor with context for the dialogue—a sense of time, place, relationship to other characters, or whatever else would be helpful. Providing art of the character would be a nice bonus.

Most of the time voice actors will record their lines alone, not in the presence of other actors. A super-big budget game using big-name movie actors might go the extra step (and considerable expense) of getting their big names together at the same time in a recording studio so they deliver their lines to one another in a more natural way. That would be the exception.

Instead, what you usually have are actors with sheets of paper that show only their lines. If they’re really lucky, they might be given a full script so they can see what other characters are saying, but that doesn’t always happen. A voice director will feed other lines to the actors (if it’s back-and-forth dialogue), so that the actors at least have something to respond to.

Because voice actors often have to deliver their lines alone, the voice director will have to listen carefully to make sure that the actors’ performances work together in intensity, pacing, and energy. It’s jarring to have an actor record lines with high energy cut together with a second actor who delivers lines in a low-key manner. There can be some difference allowed for the nature of the characters, but you still want dialogue that sounds right when mixed together.

It’s common to have voice actors give three or so versions of a line, playing with how they deliver it. It’s good to give the actors latitude to experiment, as they may come up with a delivery better than what you might have in your head.

Some lines may benefit from more specific guidance.

Consider this line:

NPC

You don’t want to go there.

Imagine how many different ways a line like that could be delivered, if the actor had no indication of what to do with it. If using a screenplay format for the dialogue, you can include a parenthetical.

Here are some examples:

NPC

(friendly concern)

You don’t want to go there.

NPC

(condescending)

You don’t want to go there.

NPC

(afraid)

You don’t want to go there.

NPC

(impatient)

You don’t want to go there.

NPC

(angry, stern)

You don’t want to go there.

NPC

(cool, indifferent)

You don’t want to go there.

This is not to say that you should overdo the use of parentheticals. Limit them to the pieces of dialogue that could be interpreted in more than one way.

The dialogue might be presented to the voice actors in a standard screenplay format (as above), or it might be in a spreadsheet or similar document. If the lines are presented in a spreadsheet instead of a script format, have an extra cell where you add this type of guidance or other notes for context.

Voice actors should know ahead of time if they will be expected to do screams, battle cries, or similar harsh sounds. They should be compensated for doing this because of the strain on their voices, and their voices are their instruments. If they damage their voices, they’ll lose work. Whatever regular dialogue they need to record should be done first. Don’t ask for more takes of screaming or battle cries than is absolutely necessary.

Although it may not be under your control, it’s vital to have a good professional audio engineer for the recording. Not someone who thinks they know what they’re doing, but a genuine pro. It will save endless headaches later.

Game Bible, Game Story, and Cinematic Samples

You will find the game bible, game story, and examples of cinematics that I wrote for a PS2 action RPG entitled The Legend of Alon D’ar to read and study at www.christymarx.info. The developer was Stormfront Studios and the publisher was Ubisoft.

13

Breaking and Entering

This was the most challenging chapter of the book to write. While it’s difficult to break into any creative field, and difficult enough to break into animation or comics, it was far more challenging to come up with cogent, useful advice for breaking into game writing. The advice in this chapter is culled from a large pool of game producers, designers, developers, and writers to supplement my personal experience. Given the rapid pace at which videogames and the videogame market evolves, it’s subject to change at any time.

There’s one especially pesky question that is asked all the time, so let’s get it out of the way and move on.

The Million Dollar Question

The question usually comes framed something like this, “I have a great idea for a game! How do I sell it to a game company?”

The short answer is you don’t. Game companies do not buy game ideas from outside people. They don’t need to. That’s why they have designers working for them, or why designers establish their own companies (for example, Sid Meier, co-founder of Firaxis Games, creator of the Civilization game series, and Will Wright, co-founder of Maxis Software, creator of SimCity, The Sims).

This leaves you with three choices:

Work your way up from within a company as an employee and try to get the company to do your idea, understanding that you will have to give the company ownership of the idea.

Make it yourself. This would require creating a prototype or demo (demonstration) of your proposed game which you could then show to game companies or investors in the hope that they’ll fund you to a full game. You would need to have the necessary programmers and artists to carry this out, or be so incredibly talented that you can do it yourself. There is some do-it-yourself game creation software out there if you have the inclination to master it. If you have the courage and energy to go this route, you’ll need to find some books or courses on how to make games, which is way beyond the bounds of this book. Episode, the story-driven game company, has script editing software that allows anyone to make story-driven games for their site for free. There is also Ren’Py, free software for creating Visual Novels. See the “Games Resources” section after Chapter 13 for more information on story-creation tools.

Develop an intellectual property in some other format (book, comic book, web comic, movie, brand name, whatever you can think of) that you own so that you can sell the rights to a game company. If you can be the creator and owner of an IP, you will be in a position of power far better than being a designer. An unusual example was Marc Ecko, a young hip hop artist who created a multi-million-dollar line of clothes, shoes, watches, and accessories, and then turned his brand name power into a videogame.

If you come from a teaching or educational background with a good educational resume, you might have some luck breaking into educational children’s games (sometimes referred to as edutainment) as a consultant. Such games are more linear and focused on the teaching elements. It’s a rather specialized area of game development, and many of the educational game companies have teaching experts on staff or as consultants to ensure the games follow the proper educational guidelines, especially if they want to sell them to schools. You should contact the game companies that make educational games and put yourself forward as a consultant. From that position, you can learn more about creating a game and perhaps eventually move into designing them.

Publishers and Developers

When sorting out how to break in, it’s important to have a grasp on the business structure of game development. Making a game is one thing; having the know-how or resources to handle production, sales, promotion, and distribution is another. In the 1980s, some game companies did everything: created the game; had an art department that created covers, game booklets, ads, posters, fan magazine, and so on; had a production line where the disks were copied, packed into boxes, and shipped; and had sales reps who sold the games to stores. Rarely would a game developer now do all these things, especially the production end. They simply can’t afford to.

The business structure has sorted itself out in tiers of publishers and developers. Generally speaking, the development studios create the actual game, the publisher handles everything else—production, marketing/promotion, sales, distribution, and inventory. This may vary according to the type of deal that is worked out between publisher and developer, and it can apply to many kinds of game—PC, console, or MMOG, less so to mobile apps.

The tiers look like this:

Publishers/Platform Owners: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are in a class by themselves because they are not only enormous publishers, but also the companies that invent and sell the hardware platforms on which console games are played, such as PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch. They license the right to develop games for their platforms to developer studios. They can control development by funding games to be made solely for their respective platforms. The tech can change so rapidly, that today’s hot platform can be tomorrow’s forgotten platform, so you need to pay some attention to what’s happening with platform development. The same is true of VR headsets.

Publishers: The big-name publishers are companies such as Sony Interactive Entertainment, EA (Electronic Arts), Microsoft, plus the games publishing arms of major entertainment studios such as Activision Blizzard, Warner Bros, and Disney. Currently, the biggest game publisher and game maker in the world is China’s Tencent Games. Publishers also rise and fall with terrifying rapidity.

Internal or in-house developers: These are usually independent or external development studios that were acquired by a publisher and become subsidiaries run by the publisher, such as Lucasarts being acquired by Disney (though Disney then shut it down). Zynga acquired a number of other game companies in order to add their games and game development to its roster. It’s easier to acquire an existing development studio than to build one from scratch. This allows a publisher more control over the development process than going to an external developer.

External or third-party developers: Either these studios make their own games and make deals with publishers to distribute them or they’re hired to make a game based on some project or property controlled by the publisher.

Mobile games are different in one key respect: As apps sold in app stores, so they don’t have the same distribution issues. Most of the time, the company/studio that makes the app handles marketing/promotion, customer service, and other functions that might otherwise have been handled by a publisher. Apple and Android provide a platform and perform part of the function of a publisher.

A mobile games app could be made by a large independent like Zynga or by a publisher like EA or Disney with a mobile games division, or by a small indie company (for example, the eight-person team that made Monument Valley). This is a fluid field that changes rapidly.

This publisher/developer structure affects writers in three ways: (1) it will affect where and how you look for work; (2) it will affect how much you are paid; and (3) it can affect whether the project makes it to completion.

One of the unhappy realities of game development is that many games don’t make it all the way through the development process to be released. Games can be cancelled for any number of reasons, most commonly because the entity funding the game loses confidence in the project and decides not to keep throwing money at it.

Ellen Guon Beeman, a highly experienced game producer, summed up the status of game project development as a food chain. At the bottom of the food chain are those mostly likely to lose out in the event of a budget reduction or game cancellation, moving up the food chain to those least likely to be cut.

The food chain is also cyclical. Historically, the game publishers have tended to shift every few years between funding in-house projects and projects with third-party (external) developers. In-house projects are generally more expensive, but the publisher can maintain more creative control. Third-party developers often (but not always) are less expensive, and the publisher can more easily cancel their projects in the event of a budget cutback.

Nothing in games is set in stone, but the hierarchy would look roughly like this:

The top of the food chain are internally developed projects at a publisher. These are the least likely to be cut off if the publisher decides it’s necessary to trim budgets ...unless the publisher is a publicly traded company that wants to cut personnel to bump up their stock price. (It’s always advisable to track your publisher’s stock price fluctuations.)

Next down are internal producers who manage external projects, meaning a salaried producer at the publisher who shepherds an external project to completion. If the publisher needs to cut budgets, guess who is usually going to get hit first?

Next down are the external developers themselves. See the point above.

At the bottom are the subcontractors (say, for example, contract writers) who work for the external developers.

Does this mean you should only work for publishers or internal studios rather than independents? Not at all. It does mean that you should be aware of how well established a studio is when accepting work. Have they been around for a while? Produced a number of successful games or apps? Do the people in charge have experience and good credentials in the business? Who is their publisher? For what platform will the game or app be made? For console games in particular, putting out versions of the game for more than one platform is an indication this game is a big deal and less likely to be cancelled. If it’s made for only one platform, is that because the studio has an exclusive deal with that platform publisher? Don’t be afraid to research the studio or company before committing. If anything about the studio seems dubious, you will need to weigh how badly you want the work versus how sure you are they will be able to pay you for it.

Looking for Work: Freelance or Employee

The first major decision you need to make is whether you want to have a career as a full-time employee at a game company, or as an independent contract writer (freelance) working for a variety of companies.

The Employee Track

As an employee, you will have a steady paycheck while you learn and hone your ability as a Narrative Designer/Game Writer, but it means dedicating yourself to that one type of writing full-time. Once you’ve built up a track record as a Narrative Designer/Game Writer and a network of contacts in the business, you’ll be in a better position to try going freelance, if that appeals to you.

There aren’t many companies that hire a full-time writer to be on staff, but there are many more Narrative Designer positions now than ever before. Publishers are less likely to make that kind of hire, since they primarily oversee the work done by developers. Consequently, your focus will be on developer studios, and even more precisely, on studios that create the types of games which might call for a Narrative Designer or full-time writer on staff.

MMOGs require the largest amount of ongoing content creation, so studios that create MMOGs are the best places to start the search. After that, you would need to research studios that create RPGs, FPSs, adventure, action, or other games that feature a significant amount of story.

Gameplay-driven mobile games rarely have strong need for Narrative Designers, but the market for story-driven games has expanded, so those companies are a good place to start if you like those apps.

You will want to search for jobs listed under Narrative Designer as well as searching sites using keywords such as “narrative designer” and “game writer.” UK Game Writer Greg Buchanan advises searching Twitter using search strings such as Game Writer, Game Writers, narrative designer, narrative designers, looking for a writer + game, looking for writers + game, hire a writer + game, hire writers + game, and looking for + story game.

At least one developer required applicants to create a game writing sample using their proprietary module creation system; others might also do this. You must be technically prepared to learn, understand, and use their software which is, of course, based on their game. Unfortunately, learning one piece of proprietary software doesn’t mean you can use that precise knowledge anywhere else, since each company’s software will be different, but it shows you are capable of learning such software.

While there are more game design courses being offered in colleges, there are an increasing number that deal specifically with Narrative Design or Game Writing. A sampling of schools is listed in the “Games Resources” section after Chapter 13.

However, good writing is good writing, so you should have education or training that shows you can write engaging stories with compelling characters. Game writers have debated whether a Liberal Arts degree is sufficient, whether journalism is valid, and what other forms of writing best prepare a writer to get work in games. There is no consensus. Any path that gets you in the door is a valid path.

My recommendation is to study film and TV scriptwriting. These forms of visual storytelling are most closely associated with what you might do for a game company. Get any kind of writing you can under your belt. Write for paper-based RPGs. Write reviews and articles for game magazines or online game sites. Write a good script of any kind that can serve as a sample of your work. It’s hard to write a single useful game writing sample because each game and each studio can have such different needs or expectations, so a strong portfolio should have several examples of different genres and types. It’s especially good to create an interactive story as a sample using Twine or similar story-branching software. Any type of published/produced work, whether a book, short story, script, or interactive fiction, will give you credibility.

One caveat: keep these samples short. You want to send samples of that work, not a thick stack of reading. You will most likely be evaluated by someone who is insanely busy and doesn’t have time to read long pieces of work.

With more and more games being based on existing properties, such as movies, TV series, and comics, you may also need to be familiar with those properties. One developer that was looking for writers asked the applicants to create a short sample to demonstrate that they could match the tone of the well-known TV property on which the game was based as well as the manner in which the main characters spoke. The developer was appalled at how many applicants turned in utterly generic samples that completely lacked any flavor of the property, as though all game characters came from some bland cookie-cutter mold. Other applicants were openly scornful of the notion that games needed story or character development!

These are really great ways not to get hired as a Game Writer.

Your resume should emphasize your education, training, and other writing experience, especially anything you’ve done that relates to games or transmedia work. Be sure to mention any awards or honors you’ve gotten for your work.

For the most part when applying for a full-time job, you’ll be dealing with someone in the Human Resources (HR) department. However, you should do the same kind of networking a freelancer would do. Applying cold with no connections is the hardest way to go. Making the right connection inside a company could be the break you need to get in the door. Read more about networking in the following section.

The Freelance Track

The most effective way to establish yourself as a Narrative Designer/Game Writer independent contractor is to have experience and credits in another area of writing. In other words, you should already be a professional writer. Because contract game writing work is scarce and hard to get, you are best advised to consider it as one of several arenas in which you can work rather than the only one. It is extremely difficult to work full-time or even most of the time solely as a contract Game Writer.

Developers that produce MMOGs, RPGs, FPSs, action, adventure, and other story-driven games are the most likely to want the services of a writer. Those that don’t want to keep a full-time writer on staff will instead look for contract writers to work for limited amounts of time.

Looking for contract work requires having professional credits and solid writing samples. Set up your game writing resume to emphasize your writing strengths, especially anything that relates to games. If you have game writing credits along with other types of writing, be sure to place the game writing credits first on the resume to call attention to them.

Note that if you are someone with Narrative Design experience, you will want to bill yourself as a Narrative Designer and emphasize those skills in addition to your writing skills.

However, you will rarely get contract work on the basis of a resume alone. Most producers don’t know where to go to find the kind of writer they need, and consequently, they’ll go for a known name, whether it’s known because of previous work the writer has done (on other games or in other media), known via a personal recommendation from a colleague (very important), or known because the producer is acquainted with the writer already in one way or another. Bob Bates, legendary Game Designer and writer, put it this way, “Producers are people with problems, and you want to be the solution to their problem.” The hard part is making a producer aware that you are an existing solution.

Constant, consistent networking is vital to finding contract work. This requires a variety of approaches, including but not limited to:

Join the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) community (and become active in their Game Writers Special Interest Group).

Join the Game Writers Facebook page. Members talk about projects they’re working on, share job postings, and discuss all aspects of Narrative Design and game writing. See the “Games Resources” section after Chapter 13 for the URL.

Become a speaker for a lecture, workshop, or seminar for the GDC (Game Developers Conference).

Take part in email lists with other developers and writers (another benefit of belonging to the IGDA).

Write articles about writing and game writing for whatever outlet you can (newspapers, magazines, websites, e-zines, blogs, and so on).

Maintain a useful, informative personal website or blog that gives your credits, and have samples of your work available on the site. Include search tags such as Game Writer, narrative designer, content designer, and story designer for the search engines.

Attend every conference and trade show that you can and schmooze like crazy (more info on these further on).

Speak at other conferences and trade shows (though GDC is always the best).

Follow other Narrative Designers/Game Writers and developers on social media.

There are certain methods that are across-the-board not recommended, and it’s good to know about those as well. At all costs, do not:

Send out generic email to any and all developers you can track down. They will treat you as spam with everything that implies. Don’t email someone at a developer studio or publisher unless you have already made contact with them so that they will know who you are and be receptive to your email.

Call producers, designers, or other people at the studio or publisher. They are extremely busy most of the time, and the last thing they want is a phone call from an unknown (and therefore unwanted) person looking for work. Call only if you have previously made contact and they have positively indicated that you can or should call.

Send out flashy brochures that cost a lot to produce and mail, but can end up tossed into a forgotten file in some Human Resource office. I speak from personal experience here, having once tried this approach. I sent out hundreds of such brochures which led to exactly no response except for two postcards with a generic “Thank you for your interest in our company.”

Sarah W. Stocker, producer extraordinaire, has worked as a Game Writer, Game Designer, and producer at a major independent developer for fourteen years, as an executive producer of mobile games, and as a Senior Producer at Sony. She shared some useful tips about searching for game writing.

Sarah pointed out that the need for writers, plus where and how writers are hired, also depends upon the budget and platform of the project. Here is a summary of her advice on that topic:

Next-Generation Console Games: Games made for next-generation consoles (the newest models that are about to replace the previous model) are the equivalent of the blockbuster tentpole summer movie, the one that got the mega-million budget and the big, big-name stars. The budgets for these games likewise reach into the tens of millions. Consequently, these are “star” games, and the company is going to be very selective about the writer to whom they entrust a mega-million-dollar project. The superior graphics and processing power of next-gen games raises the bar for quality storytelling to match. What producers on these games are looking for is credibility, and they will go for the writer that has the kind of credits that provides them with that credibility.

The qualities these producers are looking for go beyond raw talent and creativity. They are looking for experience, professionalism, a proven ability to produce, and someone who knows how to work in a collaborative medium. This is where the writer with a name in movies or TV is most likely to be hired, especially if that writer happened to work on the original property on which such a game might be based. These producers will be open to a writer with a track record of working on best-selling or critically acclaimed games. A name novelist with credits in the same genre as the game might also be hired to develop the story, though probably not for the more interactive elements of the writing.

Last-Generation Console Games: There are still plenty of games being made for the existing models of consoles (the ones being replaced by the next generation) but at lower budgets and with less stress on having to get a top name. While they’re equally concerned with having excellent content, the budget risk is lower, allowing them to take more risks with talent. These games provide a better chance for a writer to break in.

MMOGs: As stated elsewhere, they have enormous writing demands and some of them can have large teams of writers working on them. Producers hiring for an MMOG would likely look for a writer with RPG or game writing background, and would be thrilled if the writer had TV writing on top of it. They might also consider a novelist to do the story.

PC: There are still huge numbers of PC games being made, so the opportunities for writing are out there. Given the many different genres and types of PC games, you should focus on the types that interest you the most.

Mobile games: This is a huge market that sometimes hires Narrative Designers/Game Writers to create story, quests, or take the text that is written in-house by the company and rewrite it.

Sarah recommends a professional looking, excellent presentation package that consists of:

A short, well-written cover letter (email) personalized to the producer (not a generic letter), meaning you should mention or compliment the producer on his or her latest game, or at least on the company’s games. The letter should emphasize your strengths and what type of writing you could best contribute.

Your resume.

Short samples of your writing. Note the emphasis on short samples. While producers will appreciate the credibility of a published novel, they won’t necessarily have time to read it. That’s why sending a script is a better choice. The script could be a spec rather than something that has been produced, but if you have a produced script, so much the better. The producer will be looking for storytelling that shows the writer has a sense of visual direction, character development, and good dialogue. Include samples of game writing work in an easy-to-read format. A Twine interactive sample is also very good to have. A short story might be acceptable, provided it demonstrates a cinematic sense of storytelling and good dialogue.

Where to Network

There are various conferences and trade shows dealing with games and electronic entertainment. For writers, it comes down to one that is absolutely vital, the Game Developers Conference (https://www.gdconf.com) which is held in spring or summer in San Francisco, CA. GDC describes itself as the official trade event “by game developers for developers” of computer, console, mobile, arcade, online games, and location-based entertainment.

GDC consists of an expo hall, job fair, plus workshops, lectures, and seminars covering all aspects of making games. It is the single most important event to attend in order to network and look for work. Unfortunately, it’s highly expensive to do the entire conference. As an alternative, go for an expo pass so that you can access the job fair and expo. Most companies have booths with HR people at the job fair. This is most useful if you’re looking for an employee situation, not as useful for contract work.

For a contract writer, it’s best to send in your resume and samples ahead of time, and then attempt to arrange follow-up meetings with someone at GDC. This gives the producer time to check out your credits and determine whether a meeting would be a good idea. Most people are solidly booked by the time they get to GDC, so spur of the moment meetings aren’t going to happen.

Your strongest position for attending GDC is as a speaker. Each year, GDC invites people in the game business to submit proposals for workshops, lectures, and seminars. If your proposal is accepted, you will attend GDC free in exchange for being a speaker with the extra benefit of a lot of free publicity. They list their requirements for speaker submissions on their website sometime in the summer for the conference the following year.

Another route to get in for free for those on a tight budget is to volunteer as a Conference Associate (CA). As a CA, you get free entry in exchange for doing such work as guarding doors, monitoring conference sessions, checking badges at meals and special events, and stuffing conference bags and data entry.

GDC also has a Low-Income Pass Lottery. Check their website for details.

Finally, if you can’t travel or attend in person, or if the event has gone entirely digital, it’s worth getting a membership that will give you access to their Digital Vault. The lectures, talks, and workshops are recorded, and these can provide you with invaluable insights and teachings about the business.

The other big show is E3, which stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo (https://e3expo.com) usually held in Los Angeles. It’s a monster trade show mostly dedicated to showing off the latest and greatest in games. It has a sound level that will make your eardrums bleed along with total visual overload. It’s not the best place to go job-hunting necessarily, but it can be a good place for networking and generally getting a feel for what’s happening in the business. Sometimes, it’s a handy place to connect if you set up a meeting with someone beforehand.

There are numerous other physical and virtual venues that deal with Narrative Design/Game Writing, but these can come and go so rapidly that anything I list here could easily be out of date by the time this is published. I’ve listed some of them in the “Games Resources” section after Chapter 13, but it’s up to you to do research to find the current ones. For additional trade show links and information, look at the GDC website, regularly visit gamasutra.com, and network through the IGDA and the Facebook Game Writers page (as mentioned earlier).

Social media can be critical in networking. Many people in the games business are on Twitter, and some are on Facebook or Instagram, whatever is the flavor of the day. This isn’t a way to become someone’s friend necessarily, but it can be a way to connect, learn tidbits about the business, and maybe hear about something you wouldn’t have heard about otherwise. Decide who interests you and follow them. If they’re open to answering questions, start a conversation, but don’t bother them with DMs or stalk them. That’s a quick way to get blocked.

Timing

To understand when to send out your writing sample package, you should be aware of another reality of game production—some companies aim to have a new game available no later than Thanksgiving in order to cash in on the all-important Christmas gift-buying season, making that time of the year a poor time to get noticed. This schedule doesn’t apply to every game, of course, and not at all to mobile apps. As games move more and more toward streaming and subscription services rather than sales of a physical product, this seasonal timing will become less important.

However, it still affects the people with whom you want to connect. Avoid bothering developers around these major holidays when they’re taking vacations or enjoying company parties. Some game companies basically shut down around mid-December and don’t seriously ramp up again until after the New Year.

Another time to avoid is just prior to, during, and right after GDC or E3 when the people you need to contact are distracted with preparations, booked up by those conferences, or recovering from the conference.

MMOGs could need writers at any time. Development for something as large and complex as a MMOG could cover three to four years before it’s ready to launch and continues to need writers once it goes live (meaning in full operation online with paid subscribers).

How to Find the Who

Figuring out who to go to when you’re looking for game work is one of the most difficult parts of this process. It breaks out quite differently between the employee track and the contract writer track.

The Employee Track

You have two options—try to find a job on your own or go through a recruiter. Doing it on your own will take a lot of time and research, and writing jobs are rarely posted. Your search will have to be constant and thorough. You will need to do all the networking previously discussed, plus:

Check a company’s job listings on their website on the slim chance of a writing job being posted.

Contact each company’s HR to inquire about writing jobs and then send your resume and samples (if requested).

Use Linkedin.com or a similar site to set up automatic notifications of Narrative Design and writing jobs.

Gamasutra.com is an important site for job listings, as well as learning about the art and business of making games.

Search Twitter using terms suggested earlier in this chapter.

Other possible places to look are listed in the “Games Resources” section, after Chapter 13, but again, bear in mind that these can come and go. The videogames business changes rapidly and so does anything else associated with it.

The other option is to go through a recruiter. The difficulty here is that most recruiters don’t place writers because it’s a rare job. Recruiters know how to place a producer, designer, programmer, or artist. They don’t usually know what to do with a person who is looking for writing work, though they may now be more familiar with Narrative Design.

Also, be aware that recruiters cannot represent you to a company that you submitted your resume to in the last twelve months. If you decide to try using a recruiter, you need to take this route first before sending resumes to companies on your own.

When you interview, how well you work with others may be the determining factor, even more than your ability as a Narrative Designer. Games are a highly collaborative medium. The team will be looking for someone who fits into both the game team and the company culture. Each game company or studio has its own culture, so you’d be smart to have your own list of questions prepared to make sure that you will feel comfortable in that culture.

The Freelance Track

There is no quick or easy way to get your resume or writing samples to the right person. This is why networking is so vital, since frequently writing jobs are never posted and someone is hired long before you might ever hear that a producer was even looking.

The next question is whether to go after producers at the publisher level or the developer level. A producer at a publisher can consider you for more games than a developer who might work on only one game at a time, but more often, it will be the developer that does the hiring. Publishers may be more involved in hiring a contract writer for a high-profile game based on a major entertainment property, but less involved with lower profile games. The best bet is to go after producers at either tier.

True, you could approach the lead or senior designers, since in most cases, they are the ones who have the creative vision for the game, but designers report to producers. Producers make decisions about hiring and budget, and that is why you will do better to focus on producers.

More specifically, first go after a Senior Producer on a project. If there is no Senior Producer title, go for Producer. Avoid contacting Executive Producers. Executive Producers are at such a high level, they tend to be more removed from the day-to-day running of a project and may have multiple projects to handle at once. They’re less likely to read your sample. A Senior Producer is more likely to be focused on a particular project and more aware of when a writer might be needed.

I wish I could tell you there was a simple, easy formula for finding producers, or a nice handy list somewhere. There isn’t. This step takes time and research. You will have to look at the credits on games and search out credit listings on the net, in magazines, and anywhere else you can think of to track down the names of producers. The Internet Movie Database (https://www.imdb.com) has some game credit listings, as does the game-oriented site mobygames (https://www.mobygames.com).

There could be a number of introductory steps to being hired. You might be asked to do a writing test based on their specifications. Be careful to follow directions precisely. You might be asked to come to the company and meet the development team, perhaps do some brainstorming, so they can get a feel for how well you work on a collaborative basis.

When you do finally get that meeting, producers will want to hear you talk about story and character. Producers in general have become more savvy about story arcs and character arcs. They’ll want to hear what sort of writing or stories grab your enthusiasm. Feel free to gush about your favorite movie or TV series. What they don’t want to hear a writer talk about is game design unless they’re hiring you as a Narrative Designer. Then, they might want to be sure that you understand the necessities of game design in that capacity, but don’t try to overstep and be the Game Designer.

It’s common in such interviews for them to ask what questions you would like to ask of them. Have those questions prepared ahead of time. Whatever concerns you may have about the company, the project, or how you’ll fit into this team, that is the time to find out.

Quality of Life

There is a major issue that has become a hot topic of discussion in the game business. That issue is referred to as Quality of Life (QoL) and basically it refers to what sort of working conditions a company provides for its employees.

The reason QoL has become such a significant issue has to do with the nature of the games business itself. It attracts a great many young and hungry workers who are so enthusiastic about working in games; they accept any kind of working conditions. Unfortunately, too many game companies have happily gone along with this, creating a workplace culture in which employees are expected to put in ten to twelve-hour days, six to seven days a week. Theoretically, this should be restricted to extremely short time periods (meaning a few days to maybe a week) during crunch time. Crunch time is the all-out last-minute push to get a game completed so it can ship by a certain date. However, some companies abuse this concept. They’ll have extended crunch times, failing to understand that extended crunch times are the result of poor management, poor planning, and a poor grasp of what makes for effective productivity. Productivity actually declines after eight hours of intensive work.

A management that has disdain for QoL issues makes for a miserable place to work. It leads to exhaustion, burn-out, and people who are unable to have any kind of life outside the workplace. You are strongly advised to ask questions about the company’s attitude toward QoL issues, what sort of working hours are routinely expected, and how frequent or long are their crunch times. If you get the sense they expect endless hours of work just because working on their games is so very special, run away as fast as you can.

Getting Paid

The Employee Track

I’m not going to give salary figures because there’s too much variance and because the figures I give would quickly become obsolete. A good place to get a sense of the salary range for a Narrative Designer is on glassdoor.com, indeed.com, or ziprecruiter.com. Ziprecruiter.com also breaks the average figure down by monthly, weekly, and hourly amounts.

Bear in mind that a salary will depend on your level of experience and how badly they want or need you. It will also depend on the size of the company and where you’ll be located while working. Will you be working in an expensive city or working remotely from home in an inexpensive town? Living in San Francisco requires a higher salary due to the cost of housing and other higher expenses. The cost of benefits has to be figured into the base salary as they represent another big chunk of money to the company beyond what you make. There should be a good balance between the salary and the benefits.

A note of caution when signing an employee contract: if you write or intend to write in another field (such as writing a novel or writing for comics), watch for any clause that would give the employer ownership of any work you do, whether it’s done for the company or on your own time. Be sure to protect your right to do that personal work on your own time as long as it doesn’t interfere with your paid work. That would naturally preclude doing outside game writing for anyone else. The company would rightfully expect you to be exclusive to them for Narrative Design and game writing.

The Freelance Track

Game scheduling is often built around milestones. Consequently, you will be asked to turn in a certain amount of work (the deliverable) by a certain milestone (a date). As mentioned earlier, most games have a long development cycle from one and a half years to many years. A contract writer is likely to be involved for only a number of weeks or a few months. Mobile games are again the exception. Although there have been mobile games in development for over a year, the normal development cycle is usually shorter than that.

There are a number of different methods of payment that can be proposed:

Flat fee

Weekly rate

Hourly rate

Per word rate.

Flat Fee

This means that you agree to an overall amount for the entire project that will be broken out into milestone payments. There are no established guidelines for what to charge for a game bible, cinematics, or other writing work. The best you can do is try to estimate how much time the project will take you to complete and what you feel is adequate compensation for your time. You need to have a good idea what you’re doing to work out a flat rate, meaning you know from experience how long it takes you to write certain things and how well you cope with milestones. It’s vital to get a detailed list of exactly how much work is involved. Don’t accept vague generalities.

The amount of a flat fee also depends on various other factors: size of the company, status and budget of the project, type of writing that is needed, and your experience and credits. A big-name writer who is brought in on a high-profile (big budget) game to create the entire story, lore, and game world from scratch is a higher level of work that could easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars as a fee. The pay would be less if a writer is brought in to polish an existing game bible or simply write a script based on existing game play.

Avoid letting them push you into naming the amount of a flat fee. Ask what they have in mind to spend or what their budget allows, how tight their schedule is, and other questions that will impact you. Do everything you can to get them to name a price and negotiate from there.

At the low end, for mobile games, they might pay around $300 to $1000 to come up with a story for a very short game and a limited script of around 30 to 60 lines.

Weekly/Hourly rates

Some companies will want you to quote a weekly or hourly rate, especially for straightforward writing work such as dialogue, but there are no established rates and no easy sense of what to charge. Depending on the size of the company, the type of writing, and your level of experience, that hourly rate can vary widely, anywhere from $35 an hour to $150 an hour; weekly rates between $1,400 and $3,000 a week. Because these figures are fluid, you may want to look up the range of salaries for Narrative Designers on the sites recommended earlier and use those to come up with possible weekly or hourly rates. Know your value!

Whether talking about a flat fee or hourly/weekly rate, some additional factors to take into account when figuring out what to charge are:

Amount of work: If it’s a game bible or creating an entire game story, get them to specify how many pages they are expecting, how detailed they want it to be, and precisely what it will cover. For cutscenes/cinematics, find out how many they plan to have in the game. Dialogue is more difficult to estimate, but get them to be as specific as possible about how many characters or NPCs are involved, and how many lines for each (be sure to have them define what they mean by “lines” as game companies can view this differently from a TV or film company). Then, you have to do your best guesstimation on how much time you feel you need to create that work. Take into account ramping up time to absorb their game design, get a handle on the interface and gameplay, and possibly time to play previous games (if this is a sequel). Those are valid work hours and should be taken into account.

Scheduling: The company may be on a tight schedule with demanding milestones, though most of the time they will work out the milestones with you. You need to do a hard, honest assessment of whether you can meet their milestones, and whether there is any flexibility in the schedule.

Approvals: Be sure to find out how many people can have notes, input, or right of approval on the work. Ideally, you will work with only one person at the company who is the gatekeeper for all such input. Work out how many days they will require to evaluate your work and give you notes. Put that turn-around time into the schedule. If there are other entities (such as a movie studio) that require approval over scripts, be sure to add extra days in the schedule for that. You don’t want to have fixed milestones that suddenly become a scheduling nightmare because you had to wait a week to get notes, nor do you want to be kept waiting indefinitely to get approval and get paid. There should be a set time for approvals, and then, payment should be made whether they have approval or not.

Rewrites: Specify how many rewrites you will do and how those rewrites will be covered in payment, and make sure there’s time allocated for them in the schedule. This is extremely important if you’ve worked out a flat fee. Otherwise, you could find yourself doing a lot of free rewrites.

Additional work: Specify additional writing or work they may want you to do, such as promotional or website material, or attending voice recording sessions. There should be separate fees for that work, and they should cover expenses for attending voice recording sessions.

Exclusivity: Do they expect you to be exclusive to their project? That would cost extra. It’s normal for this type of contract to require you to give first priority to their job, but it shouldn’t require you to be exclusive without making it well worth your while.

Travel Expenses: A game company may ask you to spend some time at their studio or office, particularly at the beginning of the project. They may have software to teach you, aspects of the game to share with you, and people you need to meet and work with over the course of the project. If the company is outside your immediate area, all travel expenses should be covered: airfare/train fare/gas, hotel, rides to and from airport/train station, and food. With enough clout, you might also be able to negotiate a per diem (a small, set amount per day to cover incidental expenses).

Per Word Rate

While I’ve seen this method of payment come up, I strongly advise not to set a payment per word. It’s a method that is common when writing magazine articles or short stories, but doesn’t make much sense in the games business. If a per word is proposed, counter-propose with hourly or weekly.

When you do come up with your rate, whether flat, weekly, or hourly, remember that as an independent contractor, you need to tack on 20% or more to that number to cover the fact that you pay your own payroll taxes (both Federal and state), your own health insurance, and other costs that would normally be covered as benefits if you were a salaried employee. Those are significant expenses that you need to take into account.

If you happen to be represented by an agent, the agent can handle most of the price negotiation and will handle invoicing and payments.

If no agent is involved, be sure to clarify who should receive the invoice and what the payment period will be (immediately upon receipt of invoice? In 14 days? 20 days? 30 days?), and keep careful track of your payment schedule. Make sure you specify precisely what deliverables are covered by each invoice.

Location, Location, Location

An independent contractor can work from anywhere, so location isn’t significant as long as you have good internet connection to receive and send large game files, or to play a game you’re working on.

When looking for full-time employee work, be prepared to move for the job, if required. There is more and more remote work being done, which means it’s possible you might not be required to move. Games is one of the businesses that can operate well with remote workers. Normally, a game company or studio prefers to have a team working together in person because it’s easier to share creativity, do brainstorming, and communicate more effectively and more quickly.

There are some definite hot spots of videogame work in the United States: Seattle (Washington), San Francisco/Bay area (California), Los Angeles/Burbank (California), Eugene and Portland (Oregon), and Austin (Texas). There are hundreds of studios across the country.

You can find a useful list by location at https://www.gamedevmap.com.

If you have a definite preference for where you want to live, concentrate on companies in that area. If you’re willing to be flexible, you might find you have a better chance breaking into companies located outside the major game production cities.

Gamedevmap.com also shows game companies across the world. In Canada, the centers of game development are Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto.

The map shows a heavy cluster of game studios across the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Scandinavian countries, but there are many in India, and a respectable number in Australia and New Zealand. There are game companies now on every continent except Antarctica. The expansion of mobile game apps has led to many smaller, independent studios that build apps in addition to the larger developers.

Agents

Having an agent to handle game writing work is relevant only to the independent contractor writer. You obviously won’t be dealing with an agent if you’re seeking full-time employment.

As far as I know, no one has made significant inroads solely in representing Game Writers. The big Hollywood agencies have been adding agents to their rosters who deal with game writing, but that is primarily as a service to their existing base of Hollywood scriptwriters. So far, there hasn’t been enough demand to justify taking on clients who do nothing but write games. I suspect that mostly what that type of agent does is field inquiries that happen to come in from a game producer who is interested in a known Hollywood name.

Note that Hollywood agents are licensed and regulated. They can’t take more than 10% of a writer’s income. Other people or firms that set out to represent Game Writers may not be licensed because this type of work is so new. If you should happen to find someone who claims to be a game writing agent, check carefully into their background and experience, find out whether they’re licensed in the same way as other writing agents, and determine what percentage of your money they want or how they intend to make money off you. Finally, have a serious discussion up front about how they can realistically find work for you or make contacts that you can’t make yourself.

Is having an agent necessary? That depends. For the next-gen console producer who likes to find big-name writers in TV/film, they should expect to deal with an agent. Some producers and companies are resistant to dealing with agents. This is another one of those gray areas with no easy answer. If you’re an established scriptwriter or novelist, you’ll have an agent. You can decide whether or not your agent or someone at their agency is qualified to handle repping you for game work.

Otherwise, worry first about getting in the door and getting game work, before being concerned with the need for an agent. Chances are you won’t have a need for one.

Unions and Organizations

The WGA (Writers Guild of America) has embraced representing the interests of Game Writers. I strongly recommend that you read the information in the “Animation” section about the protections and benefits the WGA can provide to you as a writer.

The Videogames Writers Caucus is the part of the WGA focused on game and interactive writing. The WGA offers a simple contract for interactive writing, available to download from their website. You’ll find the link in “Games Resources” section after Chapter 13.

Contract writers should seriously consider negotiating to have your work covered by the WGA in order to gain the pension and health benefits, as well as having a strong organization at your back in case of problems, such as ensuring that you receive a fair credit on the game. Realistically, many companies are uncomfortable dealing with the WGA. Dealing with a union is unknown territory for them. Ask for WGA terms, but decide ahead of time how important that is to you. If a company balks at the notion of paying the additional pension and health benefits, you may be able to restructure the payment so that pension and health comes out of the overall fee. It means less in your hands up front, but the benefits can be worth it. That’s a personal decision.

However, you will never lose a job by asking for WGA coverage. Furthermore, the WGA will bend over backwards to help you achieve it in a way that works equally well for both the company and you. One more thing to consider—if a company doesn’t think you should be entitled to have health insurance or a pension (via the WGA), then perhaps they don’t value you much as a writer either.

The other equally important group to join is the IGDA (International Game Developers Association at https://igda.org). The IGDA mission statement states “The IGDA is committed to advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.”

They’re an excellent source of information about the games business, conferences, and related activities. There are numerous chapters, and there may be one close enough to where you live to join.

The IGDA has several SIGs (Special Interest Groups), but the one you want to become involved in is the Game Writers SIG, a great place to network and learn about the business.

If you’re a woman, join Women in Games (http://www.womeningames.org). It is a “not for profit organization that seeks a games industry, culture and community free of gender discrimination, where full equality of opportunity, treatment and conditions empowers all women to achieve their full potential.”

It’s not specifically about game writing, but covers all aspects of women working in games, and that’s useful for networking.

Games Resources

Books

Character Development and Storytelling for Games by Lee Sheldon.

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.

Digital Storytelling: A Creator’s Guide to Interactive Entertainment, 3rd edition, by Carolyn Handler Miller.

Dramatic Storytelling & Narrative Design: A Writer’s Guide to Video Games & Transmedia by Ross Berger.

Fundamentals of Game Design, 3rd edition, by Ernest Adams.

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames edited by Chris Bateman.

Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet Horowitz Murray.

The Narrative Toolbox by Tobias Heussner, Toiya Kristen Finley, Jennifer Brandes Hepler, Ann Lemay.

The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox by Tobias Heussner.

Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games: Pocket-sized Storytelling by Toiya Kristen Finley.

Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing edited by Wendy Despain.

Serious Games: Foundations, Concepts and Practice by Ralf Dörner, Stefan Göbel, Wolfgang Effelsberg, Josef Wiemeyer.

Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster.

Video Game Storytelling: What Every Developer needs to Know about Narrative Techniques by Evan Skolnick.

Writing Interactive Fiction by DM Potter.

Writing Interactive Fiction with Twine by Melissa Ford.

Trade Shows and Conferences

ADVENTUREX

From their website: “AdventureX is the UK’s only convention dedicated to narrative-driven gaming. Since 2011, AdventureX has been bringing together developers & gamers with a passion for interactive storytelling.”

http://adventurexpo.org

GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE

https://www.gdconf.com

Also, go to youtube.com, search on “GDC Narrative Talks” for a playlist of videos about narrative in games.

E3 (ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO)

https://e3expo.com

HAND EYE SOCIETY WORDPLAY (Toronto, Canada):

WordPlay is a free one-day festival celebrating the most interesting uses of writing and words in contemporary games.

https://www.handeyesociety.com/initiatives

L.A. GAMES CONFERENCE

https://lagamesconference.com/about

LUDONARRACON: A Digital Festival Celebrating Narrative Games.

https://www.ludonarracon.com

PIXELLES (Montreal, Canada)

Pixelles is a non-profit initiative committed to helping more women make and change games. They also have a game writing workshop that can be done in Montreal or remotely (called their Follow-Along program).

http://pixelles.ca/writers-group

SERIOUS GAMES SUMMIT

http://www.theseriousgamessummit.com

SERIOUS PLAY CONFERENCE

https://seriousplayconf.com

Networking

FB GAME WRITERS

https://www.facebook.com/groups/119570501396639

IGDA (INTERNATIONAL GAME DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION)

https://igda.org

https://igda.org/sigs/game-writing

http://gamewriting.org

WIGI (WOMEN IN GAMES INTERNATIONAL)

https://www.getwigi.com

GAMES INDUSTRY GATHERING (#TheGIG)

“…created to virtually replicate the experience of connecting with industry friends and strangers like we used to at the various social gatherings during large scale gaming conventions, while in a much safer and inclusive environment.” Note this is open to game professionals only.

http://games.industrygathering.com/home.html

Websites about Games

1UP

http://www.1up.com/

ADVENTURE GAMERS

https://adventuregamers.com

EDGE

https://www.gamesradar.com/edge

GAMASUTRA (note: There has been discussion about gamasutra.com changing its name. If, in the future, this name seems defunct, be sure to search for it under its new name.)

https://www.gamasutra.com

GAMEDEVMAP

https://www.gamedevmap.com

GAMING INDUSTRY NEWS

https://www.gameindustry.com

GAMES INDUSTRY

https://www.gamesindustry.biz

GAMESPOT

https://www.gamespot.com

IMDB (INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE)

Though primarily about TV and film, it also shows some game writing credits.

https://www.imdb.com

MOBYGAMES.COM

https://www.mobygames.com

PC GAMER

https://www.pcgamer.com

Game Writers

GREG BUCHANAN: UK Game Writer has excellent advice on breaking into games there, but much of it applies in general.

https://www.gregbuchanan.co.uk/breaking-in/games

EMILY SHORT: Emily Short has 20 years of experience in game writing and narrative design, across a wide range of interaction styles, and writes an informative blog.

https://emshort.blog

EVAN SKOLNICK: General good advice on breaking in.

https://www.evanskolnick.com/single-post/2019/08/28/How-does-one-become-a-game-writer

Unions and Organizations

WGA, west: For more information, call WGAW Videogames at (323) 782-4511 or email: WGAW Videogames.

Videogames Writer Caucus: https://www.wga.org/the-guild/going-guild/caucuses/videogame-writers-caucus

Interactive writing contract: https://www.wga.org/contracts/contracts/other-contracts/interactive-program-contract

WGA GREAT BRITAIN: Writing for Videogames

“A guide for games writers and those who work with them.” This is a highly useful document for UK writers and includes suggested pricing for writing services.

https://writersguild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/WGGB-A4-Videogames-2.pdf

IGDA (International Game Developers Association)

https://igda.org

Game Writing SIG: https://igda.org/sigs/game-writing

GAMEHEADS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

“Gameheads is a youth program housed at United Roots’ Youth Impact Hub. We use video games design, development and DevOps to engage, prepare and train low-income youth and youth of color ages 11 to 24 in the Bay Area—and advance tech inclusion.”

https://gameheadsoakland.org/mentors.html

Tools

INKLE

“Ink is a scripting language for interactive fiction that’s designed to be used by humans. Using a simple but powerful mark-up-based approach, it’s easy to create a branching flow that responds and shifts based on everything the player chooses.”

https://www.inklestudios.com

ITCH.IO: A site for storing indie games.

https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq

REN’PY

“Ren’Py is a visual novel engine—used by thousands of creators from around the world – that helps you use words, images, and sounds to tell interactive stories that run on computers and mobile devices. These can be both visual novels and life simulation games. The easy to learn script language allows anyone to efficiently write large visual novels, while its Python scripting is enough for complex simulation games. Ren’Py is open source and free for commercial use.”

https://www.renpy.org

TALESWRITER

“FableLabs has built Tales, a platform that allows writers to rapidly pilot visual, interactive, episodic stories and iterate off feedback/metrics to improve performance. Couple all this with freemium, subscription, and ad monetization and we’ve got stories that can be produced for the cost of an ebook but with the distribution potential of freemium mobile games.”

https://taleswriter.com/publish

TWINE

Twine is an open-source tool for telling interactive, non-linear stories.

https://twinery.org

https://twitter.com/twinethreads

UNITY GAME ENGINE TUTORIAL

How to create a dialogue-based Episode-like story game in Unity.

https://www.education-ecosystem.com/ramondev/Rrr4W-how-to-create-a-dialogue-based-game-like-episode-in-unity

Looking for Jobs

ANIMATION WORLD NETWORK

(Note: this is the Animation World Network, but has been covering games as well as animation. Writing jobs occasionally show up here, but approach them with caution. They often seem to of dubious quality or are looking for people that will work for free.)

https://jobs.awn.com

CHOICE OF GAMES

“At Choice of Games LLC, we’re looking for authors to write interactive novels, that is, multiple-choice games, in the style of Choice of the Dragon and Choice of Broadsides. Our games are like ‘choose a path’ gamebooks, but longer, deeper, and richer. They are written according to a distinctive set of game design principles. Our games are written in a simple programming language called ChoiceScript which is used for designing multiple-choice games. Writing games in ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for writers with no programming experience.”

https://www.choiceofgames.com/looking-for-writers/

CREATIVE HEADS

http://www.creativeheads.net

DATASCOPE will send job listings after you fill out the form on their website. They cover the UK, France, Sweden, Czechia, Germany, Finland, Singapore, Eastern Europe, Netherlands, and more.

https://datascope.co.uk/jobs-by-email

GAMASUTRA

https://jobs.gamasutra.com

GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ

https://jobs.gamesindustry.biz

GLASSDOOR.COM: Search on Narrative Design, Narrative Designer, or Game Writer. Leave the location box blank, unless you’re looking to work in a specific city.

https://www.glassdoor.com/member/home/index.htm

GRACKLEHQ.COM

https://gracklehq.com/jobs

INDEED.COM: Search on Narrative Design, Narrative Designer, or Game Writer. Leave the location box blank, unless you’re looking to work in a specific city.

https://www.indeed.com

REMOTEGAMEJOBS.COM

https://remotegamejobs.com

ZIPRECRUITER.COM

Search on Narrative Design, Narrative Designer, or Game Writer. Leave the location box blank, unless you’re looking to work in a specific city.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com

If you wanted to try getting in the door via technical writing, you could try through these temp services (companies that provide temporary workers):

AQUENT

https://aquent.com/our-expertise/roles-we-fill

VOLT

https://jobs.volt.com/en-US/search

Schools

AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE (Austin, TX)

Note: Search for “game writing”

https://www.austincc.edu

CARNEGIE MELLON (Pittsburg, PA)

https://www.cmu.edu

CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE (Burlington, VT)

https://www.champlain.edu/academics/undergraduate-academics/majors-and-programs/game-design

FULLSAIL (Orlando, FL)

https://www.fullsail.edu

THE GUILDHALL (Dallas, TX)

https://www.smu.edu/guildhall

MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY (Arlington, VA)

https://www.marymount.edu/Academics/School-of-Design-Arts-and-Humanities/Undergraduate-Programs/Digital-Writing-Narrative-Design

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (Cambridge, MA)

Note: Search under both Narrative Design and Game Writing

https://www.mit.edu

NYU (NEW YORK UNIVERSITY) TECH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (Brooklyn, NY)

https://gamecenter.nyu.edu/courses/intro-narrative-design

UNIVERSITY OF SILICON VALLEY (San Jose, CA)

https://cogswell.edu/programs/game-design-development/game-design-art/game- writing-degree

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (Los Angeles, CA)

https://cinema.usc.edu

WRITERS GAME

Connecting creatives to film, games, books, comics, and VR with events and online courses

https://www.writersgame.com

https://twitter.com/writersgame

Index

Note: Italic page numbers refer to figures.

A/B testing 191

act break 33

action 19

action/adventure games 171

adventure games 170–171

Adams, Ernest 273

additional dialogue recording (ADR) 16

agents

animation

functions 79–80

legitimacy 78

online database setup 79

personal connection 79

professional partnership 80

comic books 151–152

videogames 270–271

aggro, aggro radius (aggro= aggression) 185–186

Aldrich, Matthew 59

Allor, Paul 155

alternate reality games (ARG) 171–172

Amethyst 129, 130, 133, 134

anachronisms, use of 7

angle on, angle- 19

animated feature film 57–59

animatics 20

animation

CGI, 2D and stop-motion 14

genres and categories

for adults 16–17

alternative forms 18

anime 17–18

children’s animation 15–16

features 14–15

television series and shows 15

history 13

live-action scripts 46

schedules 5

scriptwriters 14

specialization 13

3D 14

animation bible 74–75

animation feature, breaking in 73

Animationmagazine 72–73

animation resources

books 85

contests and competitive writing programs 86–87

copyright and legal information 90

entry level industry jobs 90

film festivals for writers 88–89

informational sites 89–90

obtaining scripts 91

organizations 85–86

schools 89

script networking sites 87–88

trades and magazines 85

writers on writing 90

animation terms

act break 33

backgrounds 33

backstory 33–34

beats 34

bible 34

bumpers 34

cel 34

character arc 34–35

high concept 35

limited animation 35

models (“on model”) 35

“shot on threes”/“shot on twos” 35–36

sides 36

spec script 36

stop motion animation 36

story arc 36

storyboards 36

tag 37

teaser 37

2D, 3D (CG) 33

Animation World Network 59, 73

Animation Writers Caucus (AWC) 82–83

animation writing/writer jobs 72

anime 17–18

AR see augmented reality (AR)

arcade games 171

ARG see alternate reality games (ARG)

artificial intelligence (AI) 186

artist partner 145–146

assets 185

Association International du Film d’Animation (ASIFA) 71

Astro City 136, 137

“attributes in games” 186

augmented reality (AR) 172

avatar 186

AWC see Animation Writers Caucus (AWC)

backgrounds 20, 33

backstory 33–34

balloons 108, 108

types

jaggy 110

speech 108

thought 109

whisper 109

Barbera, Joe 13

Barr, Donna 142

Bateman, Chris 273

battle royale 172

BBS see Bulletin Board System (BBS)

beat, a beat 20

beats 34

Bechdel, Alison 99

Beeman, Ellen Guon 199, 257

Bendis, Brian Michael 153

Berger, Ross 273

beta testing 186

bible 34

animation 74–75

game 241–245, 254

mini-bible 74

pitch 74, 76

show 74

Blish, James 235

boost 186

boss 186

branching dialogues

apps 233

challenges 230, 231, 232

faction systems 237

making choices 230

pruning branches 234, 234–235, 235

rules 233

story-driven and gameplay-driven games 232, 233

timed dialogues 237

weighted dialogues 235–236

breadcrumbing 196

breaking into

comics 135–141

feature animation 73

television animation 67–73

videogames 255–262

Breaking in Without Rules 136

Brody, Larry 85

buff 186

bug 186

Bulletin Board System (BBS) 65

bumpers 34

Busiek, Kurt 136, 137

call to action (CTA) 191

Cannell, Stephen J. 90, 210

CAPS see Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS)

caption 110–111, 110–111

casual games 173

CCA see Comics Code Authority (CCA)

cel 34

CGI see computer-generated images (CGI)

Chadwick, Paul 98

character arc 34–35

character biographies 244

character-driven choices 229

children’s animation 15–16

choice 198, 198–199, 199

Choices app 230

churn 191

cinematic approach 118, 119, 185

cinematic samples 254

close-up, close on 20–21

clubs/associations, comics 140

cohort 191

Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) 152

comic books

archetype 97

conventions 138–139

defined 95

evolution 96–97

genres and categories 100–101

location 151

memorable characters 97

page and panels 120–123, 121–122

panels and gutters 124–125, 124

panels and text 125–129, 126–129

payment 150–151

production process 107

publishing options 99–101

rating system with tiers 98

standard formats 103–105

terminology

balloons 108, 108

caption 110–111, 110–111

gutters 111–112

negative space 112

panel 112

sound effects 112

speed lines, action lines 112

splash page 112

visual depictions 95

Young Adult background 135

comic book script

format 114–115

letterer and colorist instructions 117–118

plot style (plot-art-script) 113

sample 129–132

script length 119–120

script style (plot-script-art) 113

styles 113

visual elements 118

comic creating software 146

comic creation 142–144

comics

exterior/interior storytelling 2

novelization 2

Comics Code Authority (CCA) 97, 98

comics resources

books 153

conventions 158

copyright and trademark 159

digital publishing 157

legal help 154

literary agents, graphic novels 159

on-line courses 155

organizations 157

talent searches and submission guidelines 154

websites 155–157

Comixology 99

computer-generated images (CGI) 14, 33, 54

Conference Associate (CA) 263

Content Designer 180–181

convergence of media 2–3

coproduction financing 84

copyright 147–150

core loop 191

corporate acquisitions 2

cost per install 191

Creative Commons 148

creative thinking 55

crowdsourcing 143

Crumb, R. 98

crunch 186

CTA see call to action (CTA)

cut to 21

cutscene 185

cutscenes and cinematics 245–246

Cynopsis 73

dailies 186

daily active users (DAU) 191–192

damage per second 186

David, Peter 142, 153

deliverables 185

DeMatteis, J. M. 155

DePatie, David 67

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises 67

design document 185

Despain, Wendy 273

development hell 77

dialogue 21–22, 246–250

The Diamond of Doom 67

digital storytelling 167

Dinehart, Stephen 182

dissolve to 22

Ditko, Steve 97

DLC see downloadable content (DLC)

Donenfeld, Harry 96

doobers 192

Doom 166–167

Doran, Colleen 106, 142

Dörner, Ralf 273

downloadable content (DLC) 192

Dravis, Jason 15, 39

dungeons 186–187

during 22–23

easy to learn, difficult to master 202

educational games 173

educational programming 16

edutainment 256

Effelsberg, Wolfgang 273

Eisner, Michael 57

Eisner, Will 112, 153

elder players 192

Electronic Entertainment Expo 263

elegant 187

Elfquest 142, 143

elite 187

Elliott, Ted 58, 90

Ellis, Warren 106

email contact 140

emotes 187, 207

employee track in games 258–260, 264–265, 267

enters frame, exits frame 23

entertainment attorneys 77

entertainment lawyer 80

environmental storytelling 223

Episode app 230

establishing shot 23–24

events 192

evergreen games 192

experience points 191

exploit 187

exposition-conflict-resolution 53

EXT. (EXTERIOR) 24

exterior writing techniques 2

extreme close up 23

faction systems 187, 237

fade in, fade out 24

Famous Funnies 96

The Fantastic Four 67, 97

fantasy dialogue

contractions 7

sentence structure 8

tense and grammatical usage 8

word arrangement 7

word choice 8

favoring 24–25

feature 187

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 16

Finger, Bill 96, 97

Finley, Toiya Kristen 273

first-person puzzlers 173

first-person shooter (FPS) 166, 173, 212

first time user experience (FTUE) 192, 202, 241

The Flintstones 13

Ford, Melissa 273

foreground 25

fountain (fountain.io) 57

F2P see free-to-play (F2P)

F2P terminology

A/B testing 191

churn 191

cohort 191

core loop 191

cost per install 191

CTA 191

DAU 191–192

DLC 192

doobers 192

elder players 192

events 192

evergreen 192

freemium games 192

FTUE 192

gating, gated 192–193

invest/express 193

leaderboards 193

LTV 194

MAU 193

metrics 193

monetization 193

organic installs 194

premium currency 193

premium game 193

retention 193

ROI 193

UGC 194

whales 194

wide funnel 194

FPS see first-person shooter (FPS)

freelance track in games 260–262, 265–269

freemium games 192

free-to-play (F2P) 167, 168, 229–230

Friedrich, Mike 98

FTUE see first time user experience (FTUE)

full motion video (FMV)/game intro 185, 240–241

Fumetti 146

Gaiman, Neil 103

Gaines, Maxwell 96

game bible 241–245, 254

game categories

action/adventure 171

adventure 170–171

AR 172

arcade games 171

ARG 171–172

battle royale 172

casual 173

educational 173

first-person puzzlers 173

FPS 173

hypercasual 173

MMOG 174

MOBA 174

RPG 174

RTS 174

sandbox 175

serious games 175

simulators 175

sports/esports 175–176

strategy 176

third-person shooters 176

virtual worlds 176

Game Designers 179–181, 183

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 263

game development/game playing terms

aggro, aggro radius (aggro= aggression) 185–186

AI 186

attributes 186

avatar 186

beta testing 186

boost 186

boss 186

buff 186

bug 186

crunch 186

dailies 186

damage per second 186

dungeons 186–187

elegant 187

elite 187

emotes 187

experience points 191

exploit 187

faction 187

feature 187

griefers 187

hit points 187

instance, instancing 187–188

interface 188

intuitive 188

levels, leveling up 188

localization 188

loot box, loot crate 188

mechanics 188–189

mobile/mobile object 189

nerf 189

NPC 189

patch 189

polygons 189

power-up 189

PvE 189

PvP 189

QA 189

replayability 189

reputation 189

sidescrollers 190

sink 190

spawn camping 190

spawning 190

statistics (stats) 190

toon 190

trigger, flag, hook 190

tuning 190

twinking 190

UI 190

waypoints 190

game parameters 211–216

acquisition of game objects 215

acquisition of quest 215

player level 214

player race, faction/class 214–215

predetermined events 215–216, 216

time/phase 213–214, 214

zone 212–213, 212

game resources

books 273

game writers 276

looking for jobs 277–279

networking 274–275

schools 279

tools 277

trade shows and conferences 274

unions and organizations 276

websites 275–276

game scheduling 267

game story 244, 254

game tester 181

game verbs 206

game world creation 242

game writer 182–183

game writing

haiku 239

jobs

cutscenes and cinematics 245–246

dialogue 246–250

FMV/game intro 240–241

game bible 241–245

in-game text 250

in-house/independent contractor 240

naming NPCs and game objects 250

quests 245

story/script editing 250

technical/game manual 250–251

website and promotional materials 251

script format 240

gating, gated 192–193

GDC see Game Developers Conference (GDC)

Gerber, Steve 4, 65

Gertie the Dinosaur 13

Gertler, Nat 153

Gibbons, Dave 120

Göbel, Stefan 273

god games 166

Goodman, Martin 96

graphic novels 98–99, 135

griefers 187

Grossman, Dave 236

gutters 111–112

Hanna, William 13

Hart, Tom 155

Hearst, William Randolph 95

Heitman, Robert 183

Hepler, Jennifer Brandes 273

Hernandez, Gilbert 98

Hernandez, Jaime 98

Heussner, Tobias 273

high concept 35

hit points 187

Hollywood 184

Hollywood Reporter 73

Howard, Robert E. 63

hypercasual games 173

IATSE see International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)

IF see interactive fiction (IF)

immersion 225

inciting incident 210

Independent Comic Book Publishing 154

informational dialogues 233, 234

in-game text 250

in-house/independent contractor game writing jobs 240

instance, instancing 187–188

intellectual property (IP) 76–77, 147

interactive entertainment

audio-only 163

boundaries 163–164

interactive fiction (IF) 229

intercutting method 29

intercut to, intercutting to 25–26

interface 188, 202–205, 204, 205

INT. (INTERIOR) 25

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) 84

International Animated Film Association 71

International Game Developers Association (IGDA) 271

intuitive 188

invest/express 193

IP see intellectual property (IP)

Janosik, George 96

Jefferson, Thomas 1

Judy magazine 95

Kane, Bob 96, 97

Kardon, Andrew 153

Kirby, Jack 97

Koster, Raph 273

Kupperberg, Paul 153

LARP see live-action role-playing (LARP)

Lead Designer 180

leaderboards 193

Lee, Stan 97, 98, 106, 153

The Legend of Alon D’ar 243

Leigh, Rob 134

Lemay, Ann 273

Level Designer 180

levels, leveling up 188

Lewis, John 99

Liebowitz, J. S. 96

limited animation 35

linear storyline vs. non-linear storyline 195–198, 196, 197

lip-synching 50–51, 65

Littlejohn, Randy 42, 43

live-action film 1

live-action role-playing (LARP) 164

live-action vs. television animation scripts

calling out the shots 47–50

dialogue and lip synch factor 50–51

script length 51–52

localization 188, 207–208

long-term value (LTV) 194

loot box, loot crate 188

Lopresti, Aaron 133, 134

LTV see long-term value (LTV)

Lucas, George 149

MacFarlane, Todd 100

machinima 18

magazine/book format 96

manga format 104, 104–105

Manson, Charles 9

Maple Story 167

Marx, Christy 43, 116, 130, 133, 134

Marx Fantasy Dialogue Scale 7–8

massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) 167, 174, 179, 197, 211, 227, 237, 243, 259

master scenes 47

match dissolve to 26

McCay, Winsor 13

McCloud, Scott 105, 124, 145, 153

McHugh, Maureen 171

mechanics 188–189

media giants 2

mergers 2

metrics 193

microtransactions 167

milestones 185

Miller, Craig 76

Miller, Carolyn Handler 273

mini-bible 74

MMOGs see massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)

MOBA see multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)

mobile games 164

mobile/mobile object 189

mobile platform comics 106

mobs/monsters/bosses 245

models (“on model”) 35

Molina, Adrian 59

monetization 193

monthly active users (MAU) 193

Moore, Alan 120, 153

Moore, Terry 98, 142

Morgan, Barbara 85

move in 26

Movshovitz, Dean 85

multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) 174

Murray, Janet Horowitz 273

naming NPCs and game objects 250

Narrative Designer 168–169, 179, 182

choice 198, 198–199, 199

easy to learn, difficult to master 202

game parameters 211–216

game verbs 206

immersion 225

interface 202–205, 204, 205

linear vs. non-linear 195–198, 196, 197

localization 207–208

pizza box metaphor 195

player’s mindset 227–228

quests 216–222

three-act structure 208–211

tools 206–207

variables and flexibility 200–201

virtual reality storytelling 225–227

visual storytelling 223–224, 224

what-if 199–200

NDA see Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

negative space 112

nerf 189

networking

animation 70–71, 84

comics 139

games 263–264

newspaper comic strips 106–107

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) 78

non-linear storyline 197

non-player character (NPC) 165, 189, 196

Nordling, Lee 106

Norman, Don 273

off-camera 26

off-stage 26

Olsen, Charlie 159

O’Neil, Dennis 153

organic installs 194

Outcault, Richard Felton 95

over the shoulder 27

ownership 147–150

vs. deal making 148–150

page and panels 120–123, 121–122

panel 112

panels and gutters 124–125, 124

panels and text 125–129, 126–129

PAN, horizontal camera movement 27

parentheticals 27–28

Park, Nick 14

parser-based games 165

Pasteur, Louis 68

patch 189

Perez, Maya 85

personal appointment 140–141

Pestwhistle, Mortar 245

Petrucha, Stefan 155

photo comics 101

Pini, Richard 98, 143

Pini, Wendy 98, 142, 143

pitch bible (animation) 74, 76

pitching comics stories 141–142

Pixar feature process 58

pizza box metaphor 195

player’s mindset 227–228

player vs. environment (PvE) 189

player vs. player (PvP) 189, 209

plot-art-script vs. a plot-script-art approach 113

point of view 28

polygons 189

Potter, D. M. 273

power-up 189

premises(animation)

internal development 42

outside pitches 42

premium currency 193

premium game 193

presentation package 262

proprietary module creation system 259

pruning branches 234, 234–235, 235

pull back, pull back to reveal 29

PvE see player vs. environment (PvE)

PvP see player vs. player (PvP)

quality assurance (QA) 189

quality of life (QoL) 266–267

quests 216, 245

givers 218

logs 218–219

repetition 222–223

stages 219, 220–222

types 216–217

quick cut 29

real-time strategy (RTS) 174

recording dialogue 252–253

replayability 189

reputation 189

restrictions breed creativity 55–56

retention 193

return on investment (ROI) 193

reverse engineering 244

ROI see return on investment (ROI)

role-playing games (RPGs) 174, 186

Root, Tom 153

Ross, Alex 137

Rossio, Terry 58, 73, 90

RPGs see role-playing games (RPGs)

RTS see real-time strategy (RTS)

Sakai, Stan 103, 126, 142, 144

Salisbury, Mark 153

sandbox games 175

Satrapi, Marjane 99

scene heading 30

Schmidt, Andy 153, 155, 157

Scott, Jeffrey 85, 90

script assignment(animation)

cast list 56

logline/synopsis 56

props list 56

set list 56

script-driven vs. board-driven approaches 39–41

script format

animation 45

comics 112–115

games 240

script process (animation)

basic layout 46

format 45

outline 44–45

premise 42–44

springboard 42

stages 41

title page 46–47

script terms(animation)

action 19

angle on, angle- 19

animatics 20

background (B.G.) 20

beat, a beat 20

close-up, close on 20–21

cut to 21

dialogue 21–22

dissolve to 22

during 22–23

enters frame, exits frame 23

establishing 23–24

exterior 24

extreme close up 23

fade in, fade out 24

favoring 24–25

foreground 25

intercut to, intercutting to 25–26

interior 25

match dissolve to 26

move in 26

off-camera 26

off-stage 26

over the shoulder 27

PAN, horizontal camera movement 27

parentheticals 27–28

point of view 28

pull back, pull back to reveal 29

quick cut 29

scene heading 30

slugline 30

sotto voce 30

sound effects 30

track with 31

transitions 31

two-shot, 2shot, 2S 31

voice over 31–32

walla 32

widen, widen to include 32–33

wide shot 32

wipe to 33

scriptwriting software 57

Seduction of the Innocent 97

Segura, Alex 136, 155

selling an animation series concept

animation bible 74–75

artwork in pitch bible 76

getting in the door 77–78

intellectual property 76–77

serious games 175

Sheldon, Lee 195, 273

Shooter, Jim 125

shorthand writing 1

“shot on threes”/“shot on twos” 35–36

show bible 74

show working tips

be good net citizen 65–66

be kind to storyboard artist 60–61

capitalizing character names 65

dialect 64

everybody gets out alive 62

imitatable behavior 62–63

keep story editor happy 59–60

lip-synch problem 65

present tense and “-ing” words 61

slang usage 63

subtle emotion 63

translation problem 64

verboten words 61–62

Shuster, Joe 96, 97

sides 36

sidescrollers 190

Siegel, Jerry 96, 97

SimCity 166

Sim, Dave 126, 142

similarity of craft 1–2

simulation-based games 166

simulators 175

sink 190

Skolnick, Evan 273

slugline 30

Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics 95

Snow White 13

Snyder, Scott 135

social media 84, 139, 264

sotto voce 30

sound effects (SFX) 30, 112

spawn camping 190

spawning 190

Special Interest Groups (SIGs) 271

spec script 36

speculative scripts 68–69

speed lines, action lines 112

Spiegelman, Art 98

Spielberg, Steven 172

splash page 112

sports/esports 175–176

Spykecam premise 43

outline and script 66

Star Reach 98

statistics (stats) 190

Steamboat Willie 13

Stocker, Sarah W. 261

stop motion animation 36

story arc 36

storyboards 36

story consultants 57

story-driven games 230

story-driven vs. gameplay-driven 169

story reels 58

story/script editing 250

Straczynski, J. Michael 4, 85, 99

strategy games 176

streaming services 15, 39

subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) 15

Sullivan, Vin 96

SVOD see subscription video-on-demand (SVOD)

syndication 15

Systems Designer 180

tag 37

TAG see The Animation Guild (TAG)

teaser 37

technical/game manual 250–251

television animation, breakinginto

business learning 72–73

internet searches 72

networking 70–71

script database services 72

spec scripts 68–69

writing contests and outlets 71–72

television animation process 39–41

Telltale Games 236

text-based games 165

The Animation Guild (TAG) 84

theatrical animation 57

theme/thematic words 242

Thibault, Jason 154

third-person shooters 176

Thomas, Roy 4, 67

three-act structure games 208–211

act 1, set-up (exposition) 209–210

act 2, conflict (complications) 210

act 3, resolution 210–211

3D vs. 2D script 54–55

timed dialogues 237

tools, narrative 206–207

toon 190

track with 31

trademark 148

transitions 31

transmedia advice

attitude 4–5

business 4

collaboration 5–6

creative 7

deadlines 5

fantasy language 7

gender and age 6–7

get a life 8–9

junk words 8

Marx Fantasy Dialogue Scale 7–8

personal rewards and responsibility 9

transmedia writing 3–4

trigger, flag, hook 190

tuning 190

TV animation scripts 69

TV scriptwriting 1

twinking 190

2D, 3D (CG) 33

two-shot, 2shot, 2S 31

Understanding Comics 124

unions/organizations

animation

abuses 81–82

labor organizations 81

storyboard artists 81

WGAw and AWC 82–83

comic books 152

videogames 271–272

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 148

Usagi Yojimbo 142, 144

user generated content (UGC) 194, 230

user interface (UI) 180, 190, 202, 204, 205

UX/Experience Designer 180

variables and flexibility 200–201

Variety 73

version control 251–252

videogames

categories 170–176

evolution 164–169

freelance or employee 258–262

genres 169–170

Hollywood terminology 184

interactive entertainment 163–164

location 270

million-dollar question 255–256

Need for Story Summary 177

networking 263–264

publishers and developers 256–258

terminology

F2P 191–194

game development and game playing terms 185–191

writers 185

virtual reality (VR) 164

storytelling 225–227

virtual worlds 176

visualization 118

visual media 1, 3

visual novels 229

visual storytelling 223–224, 224

voice over 31–32

Vosburg, Mike 123, 123, 127

Wagner, Matt 125

walkthrough 185

walla 32

Wattpad.com 146

waypoints 190

web comics 105–106, 145

website and promotional materials 251

weighted dialogues 235–236

Wein, Len 4

Wertham, Fredric 97

whales 194

what-if 199–200

Whedon, Joss 4, 99

wide funnel 194, 218

widen, widen to include 32–33

wide shot 32

Wiemeyer, Josef 273

Wildenberg, Harry 96

wipe to 33

Wolfman, Marv 4, 76

working out act breaks 52–54

workshops/seminars (comics) 139

world-building/world-builder 184

The Writers Festival 88

Writers Guild of America (WGA) 81, 82, 271

Writers Guild of America, east (WGAe) 82–83

Writers Guild of America, west (WGAw) 82–83

writers’ terminology(games)

assets 185

cinematic 185

cutscene 185

deliverables 185

design document 185

FMV 185

milestones 185

walkthrough 185

writing to length (animation) 52

X-men Spykecam outline and script 66

The Yellow Kid 95, 96

Long Descriptions

A mysterious woman in a robe is seated in a chair. A dark-robed figure stands in the shadows behind her. Her first speech balloon reads: “I came because you asked me to see this girl, Lanna. You seem to think highly of her ability.” Her second speech balloon reads: “Your judgment has proven good in the past, so I'll give her another chance.”

Long Descriptions

A woman’s thoughtful face fills most of the foreground. Two other women stand in the background. The woman in the foreground has a thought balloon. The text in the thought balloon reads: “So close! So close! But I mustn’t be like the anxious runner who stumbles at the end of the race. Now, more than ever, I must cautious, yet bold.”

Long Descriptions

Two young warrior women spar with swords and shield, while an older warrior woman watches. One of the young women has a whisper balloon that reads: “Come on, Kelki! Put some effort into it. The Priestess is here.”

Long Descriptions

Two long horizontal panels from a comic book page. Rectangular boxes laid across the panels contain descriptive text. The top panel shows a fortified town in the distance. The first caption reads: “Prosper is a town that has never lived up to its name.” The second caption reads: “Nor does it look like it will ever get the chance. An army of barbarians is on the march and will reach Prosper in a matter of days.”

The bottom panel shows a man and woman, with the woman pointing to something off to the right. The first caption reads: “Refugees from Karkor have fled the pillaging of their town and poured into Prosper, vainly seeking safety.” The second caption reads: “Among the refugees are Kelki and Vosse. And also….” A speech balloon from the woman reads: “Him! The ex-slave from the ship. He’s followed us.”

Long Descriptions

A warrior woman draws a bow, about to loose an arrow. Rectangular boxes with rounded corners contain text that represents her thoughts. The first narrative caption reads: “I love the power of the bow. The snap of release, the singing thrum of the shaft in flight.” The second narrative caption reads: “It’s warrior’s music.”

Long Descriptions

A comics panel with no border and text printed on white space. Shows a tough old warrior woman kicking a male pirate in the chin. Text on the left side of the panel reads: “Warned by decades of fighting instinct, Glespa ignores the obvious….” Text on the right side of the panel reads: “…and goes straight for the chin.”

Long Descriptions

A single long vertical comic panel. A young woman does make-up in a mirror while talking with her young woman behind her. A string of connected speech balloons run vertically from top to bottom with a sentence of dialogue in each balloon, representing back-and-forth banter between the two women. The speech balloons read: “So what’s this place like?”, “Dunno. One of the older girls said it was good.”, “Who said so?”, “Ferinda.”, “She’s only a year older and slut besides.”, “So? Want some rouge?”, “It makes you look like a bargirl.”, “So?”, “Are you taking a knife?”.

Long Descriptions

Two long, narrow vertical panels. In the left panel, a flower flutters left and right downwards. Five small captions are spaced down the panel, following the back-and-forth path taken by the flower. The captions read: “By what…,” “…small…,” “…errant…,” “…chances…,” “…might a life….”

In the right panel, the flower falls in front of a woman who is kneeling to tend to plants at the base of a tower. The final caption at the bottom of the two panels reads: “…be saved?” Put together, the broken text reads: “By what small errant chances might a life be saved?”

Long Descriptions

Diagram of boxes with arrows connected from left to right. The leftmost box reads “NPC: Are you lost?” This box leads to three boxes of player responses. The top box reads “player: Yes, can you give directions?”. This leads to three more boxes of NPC responses that read “NPC: to the South?”, “NPC: To the east?”, and “NPC: To the west?” Each of these boxes leads to a player option to pick south, east, or west. The south option leads to a box that reads “NPC: Sheer cliffs that no one can climb.” The east option leads to a box that reads “NPC: A vast empty desert.” The west option leads to a box that reads “The boundless ocean.”

The middle box is a player response that reads “I never get lost.” This leads to a box that reads “NPC: You must like traveling in circles then.”

The bottom box is a player response that reads “Do you know where the monster dwells?”. This leads to a box that reads “NPC: Sure, if you have a gold coin in your pocket.” This leads to two boxes that are player options. The top option reads “player: Here’s your gold.” This leads to a final box that reads “NPC: You’ll find the monster you seek to the north.” The bottom option leads to a dead-end box that reads “player: Forget it.”