Curious of Game Developers AND Authors Fused Together?

I think writing a game script is too consuming, and interactive, for a writer to do regular book writing at the same time.

In games, you write many versions, many endings for different scenes, and you need to be able to change any of those if the game script somehow changes.

This is just my personal opinion but... I don't see what would be so bad about fans of your writing or games seeing that you have a passion for both. I mean, gaming is no longer a "geek" thing (that is, it's no longer being persecuted as lame, etc. as far as I can tell), so I'm assuming there are a hell of a lot of readers out there who also play games.

There are certainly plenty of writers on this site who are into gaming, for instance. So I don't see why it would turn off readers/players to see that you're interested in both. It might even enhance your relationship with certain groups.

I imagine it's similar to balancing writing and music. Would that help you in your search? Because there are bound to be more writer/musician combos out there than writer/game designer, yet I think in principle they're similar, at least as far as what you're trying to find out.

Miss Strawberrii said:

Does anyone know of any published authors who are also into, or apart of, game development? I kind of want to avoid the Dungeons & Dragons/Forgotten Realms writers, because I think most of those were "commissioned" or whatever, or exclusive to THOSE worlds.

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Chuck Wendig worked with White Wolf and is credited in Hunter: The Vigil (and possibly other things), though his influence can be seen in other parts of their World of Darkness setting. There's quite a few people who came up through White Wolf/CCP/Onyx Path who have tried the same thing, but Chuck is probably the biggest success in that group. I'd suggest doing the same thing I did way back when (which is how I found out about Wendig): look through the credits of some of your favorite developers and find out what they're doing now.

The cool thing about developers-turned-authors is that they're used to a very high level of fan engagement and are easy to approach. So, if you do find one, don't be timid about reaching out to them. Just don't geek out too hard. Respectful, not flattering.

For what it's worth, I have a buddy who once made a TSR Elminster fanfic and was curious about publishing with them, and the deal was basically that TSR paid for all rights in perpetuity. It was the sort of contract would allow them to take the ideas of any story they bought and then rewrite them under whatever ghost name they wanted. It's the sort of thing which we'd find absolutely abhorrent now, derivative work or no.

Hi,

I'm a Lead Game Designer and am also hard at work trying to get a novel published. So while I don't deal with deadlines on the writing side yet, I do have to manage my creativity and my presence in both worlds. I broke my blogging up into two different sites for the two subjects, but my social media is one and the same.

Game Design is my day job, and I'm determined to leave it at the office. I don't work from home. Period. That helps me create a physical disconnect between game design (office) and writing (home/coffee shop). For me, this is an essential element in helping my brain switch from one form of creativity to the other.

I also try to wedge a non-creative activity between my day job and my writing (hitting the gym does wonders for that).

Every now and then, game design or writing stuff that I'm trying to solve will intrude in the other disciplines' territory. When that happens, I take out a pen and paper, note down whatever thought I have, and put it aside to free up my brain and concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing.

My brain has gotten used to this and, oftentimes, the game design is running in the back of my head while I'm writing without intruding. When I get back to work the next day, there are solutions ready to unpack. And vice versa: while I concentrate on game design, solutions to writing issues simmer.

There are days when game design strips me of my ability to write when I get home. Today is one of those days: I've been reverse engineering quest design documents by pulling information from a bunch of XML files, Excel documents and the game's built. Texts, quests objectives, etc. Comparing docs to make sure everything tracks from one doc to the next.

And now I'm supposed to be analyzing critiques to edit my novel and make sure I make all the right choices so everything tracks? Yeah... not gonna happen. *laughs*

But that's okay. I plan my schedule so that I can afford to take a day off from writing. I'll cook myself a nice meal, relax with a "low brain involvement" TV show and go to bed earlier. Tomorrow, I'll be ready to get back to it.

Does that answer your question?

It wouldn't be possible for me to turn a novel into a game at the moment unless I re-route my game design career or publish a best-seller. My studio is part of the Electronic Arts family; you can't really bring a personal project and turn it into a multi-million dollars AAA just 'cause you feel like it.

That being said, I'm not sure I would do it even if I could.

My way into projects (stories or games) is the character and, most of the time, they come with their specific voice and medium. That's why some of my stories are shorts, novels, games, poems, songs or TV scripts. I can see how they could move from one format to the other, but I don't feel in compelled to do it.

Moreover, I have a lot more control over my writing projects, whereas a game is teamwork. The novel wouldn't --couldn't!-- be mine anymore without seriously hurting the team's cohesion and the end product.

Besides, for as long as I work full-time on games AND full-time on writing, I'd get sick if I didn't switch subjects.

Yeah, I understand the difficulty of focusing on one project. My writing and game design do clash sometimes but, thanks to the habits I explained before, it only really stifles me when I'm under too much pressure. Then again, when that amount of stress kicks in, I don't think the writing projects are the real problem.

New projects have a way to be oh-so-appealing, don't they? Choosing priorities and sticking to them is just a question of willpower, and I'm sure you can do it.

Cool thread! I think there are a lot of gamer/writers out there because writing and reading and gaming are all forms of intertainment and storytelling. I'm not sure about writers/game developers, but there are a lot of writer/programmers out there, and I know when I hear a writer talk about gaming I get really excited. They seem complementary to me, even and especially in your online presence, as they are both forms of creativity and world-building/storytelling.

The only conflict I could really see is what Aheila pointed out. Time and resources to do both at once.

R A Salvatore worked with 38 Studios. He also worked with Cryptic Games on Neverwinter Nights.

When I was younger I wrote him and thanked him for writing the Drizzt books. He replied, himself and not with a standard form. Very nice guy, I am sure he would reply to your questions as well.