Slay The Dragon Book Review: How To Write Games
As a game lover, I was attracted by the book Slay The Dragon: Writing Great Video Games at first glance. It is written by Robert Denton Bryant and Keith Giglio (a professor in Newhouse!). They not only introduced plenty of independent and playful games but also explained how to write game stories. From this book, you will learn about the importance of story ideas, the structure of video games, game design basics, and skills for creating playable characters. Just as one of the former readers said, the book is a clear, concise and interesting guide for script writer, game developer, film producer or game lover.
My favorite part about this book is the similarities and differences between video and games. Before reading, I thought all of the books and movies could be adapted as game, because they do have something in common: they have story ideas, characters, setting… But after reading, I realized that video games actually need more: goals and obstacles, rules, competition… all of those matter in creating a great video game.
Sounds kind of abstract and you don’t get how the factors of game work? Let me give you an example: I filmed a horror video with my group. The idea is about three zombies trying to get out of a restroom. Though the idea itself is rough and simple, we will see if it has the potential to be adapted as a game. First, a game needs settings. The game maker should be able to provide the dramatic context, the world, the setup. Here I have the simple background for my horror game: a restroom based on the real world. If we want to make it more complex, we can add more details – maybe it’s an abandoned restroom in a female dormitory on campus? Maybe a rusty restroom in an old medical center? Maybe a secret restroom in a scientific lab? We can use our imagination for the setting, but now let’s move on. Second, a game needs characters. For my game, who will be the main character, the one who accidentally steps in the room and wants to escape? Or even the zombie who is locked in the room? The choice of main character is very important. It can decide the goal and the obstacle of game. If the main character is the visitor, his goal should be trying to prevent the zombies getting out or even killing the zombies. However, if the main character is the zombie, the goal can be trying to get out of the restroom and kill people. Thus, obstacles are also different. For the visitor, he needs to find a lock to close the door, or find a weapon to kill zombies. For the zombie, it needs to find tools to open the door and fight with people. Finally, a game needs rules. Characters must be motivated. Clues must be planted. Conflicts must be resolved. It means that my story idea cannot be as simple as the one used in shooting the horror video – our group only aimed to scare people and didn’t think much about the story. Story ideas of games should be more developed, dramatic, and able to leave more space for players to interact and make their choice.
After this simple and kind of stupid example, you may get a better understanding about video and games. If so, you can read this book for more information. If not, you can still read the book because the book is definitely more interesting and clear than my article.
