Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Scriptwriting makes my heart happy

We had a Scriptwriting for Games class today, and it was awesome. The teacher is actually an accomplished writer, we actually got to talk about theory and concepts and such, it basically made me happy inside to have a class like that.

It also makes me want to work more on my game idea.

We have that class basically so that we can write good stories for games, which is of course what I love and what I think makes for the most memorable and dearly treasured games. If I'm going into the game industry, and I am ever in charge of making a game, I can tell you now that I will not be happy unless it is something beautiful, and involved, and deep and that creates in you a sense of affection and empathy for the characters.

I have a game idea started, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a story for it. But of course, knowing me, I have to be the one to come up with the story. Anyone else doing so would feel like something false slapped on - it has to be me. I have a vague direction, but it sorely needs to be defined and closed in, made specific so that I can focus on the lovely peripherals of interaction that bring the plot to life.

Sometimes, I really marvel at all the levels of things that go into a story which make it great. I really don't know how people do all of it - I look at a wonderful story, and when I start to pick apart why it's good, I see thousands and thousands of details and nuances, and while they leave me appreciating it more and having the sense of wonder you only get when you love a story, I also can't make the mental leap to creating something like that myself.

And yet people do it.

I think that for most people who are naturally talented at writing, a lot of the nuances that make something good come out intuitively and instinctually. And perhaps they do for me too. But I also try to do everything, every aspect that makes it beautiful consciously, and while something in me says that that's a strength and it will help me attain that better level of creativity, part of me also really wishes I could just give up and fake it, and just enjoy what comes out like most people seem to do.

Perhaps I spend so much time trying to use all the techniques and find a way to fit them all together that I stifle any ideas I might have... I think I need to get back to soul-searching for a story I want to tell without trying to make it fit anything. Then maybe I can finally narrow it down enough to get to the next steps in the creation of my game idea.

Jesus, I - I want to create something beautiful. And though I know this is something of a first venture, I don't want it to be something amateurish, and while I want it to be heart-wrenching and deep, I don't want it to be preachy, cheesy or fake. I want it to be fun, I want it to be amazingly beautiful/interesting/intriguing, and full of atmosphere. I want it to be unique and creative. And I want it to point to you somehow, in a way that can be seen but is not religious-sounding. And I want it to be real someday. I want it to make a difference to real people.