Developing Video Game Narratives

Writing for games requires an understanding of structure that goes beyond linear storytelling. From the early days of tabletop gaming to more recent hits like Mass Effect and Fallout, writers are expected to hold many possible worlds--with multiple branching story points--in their heads. And to ultimately translate those concepts into actionable materials. In this course, you explore the nature of interactive story by working in multiple different formats (choose your own adventure, virtual novels, the Telltale style, etc.) and writing games that exemplify the fundamental concepts of branching narrative. The course goal is to develop a vocabulary for interactive fiction and to write a game in the format of your choosing that can be used as a calling card for future work.