What can come from writing?

[Calchera]

I have been thinking lately, along with reading about it, and I've been wondering what it could be like to write for a game company. I am good at writing, and I enjoy it as a past time, so I'm asking anyone experienced in such to perhaps describe their experiences for me.
More given information on the subject would be helpful too.
Thank you

[zx52hg]

A lot of rejection slips is the first thing that comes to mind. I have a number scattered about my room. I don't know specifically about writing for games, though. My memory tells me that they often want professional experience amongst other things, so you can't really just jump in because you enjoy writing and have written some stuff in your spare time. I've been writing non-professionally for like eight years, and it's slow, laborious and has utterly no pay off whatsoever beyond your personal enjoyment of said activity.

For every professional writer that becoomes well known, there are thousands upon thousands who never get anywhere beyond slumping at their keyboards pumping out manuscript after manuscript, screenplay after screenplay, amongst other things. I know I've diverged from your topic subject a bit here, but the point I'm trying to make is, if you're intending to do anything with writing, then be aware you're going to be in it for the long haul.

[TinyBird]

I am good at writing, and I enjoy it as a past time

Well I'm no writer, but one easy way to suck all enjoyment out of a pastime hobby is to try to do it as a job. Do you have any experience on writing for someone else as a job, and how passionate are you about doing writing as a job?

[JeffX99]

I have experience in game design writing and it isn't quite like zx52hg describes, it isn't the same kind of thing as the traditional write/submit/publish (or not) model. I'm a decent writer and came at it from inside the industry as an artist and later an AD and designer. I'm crap with dialog though so I have friends put that together for me if necessary. In addition I have many friends who are professional game design writers and we all essentially came together and made contacts through science fiction fandom/conventions.

I would say that the best approach to a career as a writer in games is to start networking and making contacts by hanging out with writers at conventions. Try to develop your skills along the lines of what goes into video games...some cinematic visual storytelling, knowing script writing formats, camera direction, etc. Know how to put together a brief, high concepts, presentations, pitches, etc. It's a lot more about appropriate formats, presentation, professional business communication, etc. than it is about traditional writing. Oh, and it's defintiely about contacts and who you know and whether they like you and your ideas. Good luck!

[w176]

The computer game fiction writers I know is people who often started out writing for traditional tabletop RPGS or other types of traditional games (first as hobbyists, athen as paid freelancers), got into writing for some franchise or company that also does computer games, and was recruited that way into the franchise computer game side. As well as being aspiration and/or published fiction writers. (As well as done a lot of networking, submitting a lot of materials, getting rejected etc)

Writing for interactive medias and games is different from writing fiction, and having a understanding of game mechanics, game theory (not the mathematical kind), different player types, different creative agendas in games and how game fiction and game rules interact is important. Hence people who been writing for traditional rpgs often makes a way into computer game writing.

[dpaint]

Just because you do something as a pastime doesn't mean you have what it takes to make it a profession. Has anyone ever paid to publish your writing? If the answer is no, why would someone hire you just because you think your good at it. People that are good at things win awards and scholarships and fellowships and get paid to create. This is all before becoming professional.

Professionals turn out quality work under deadlines and to someone elses standard, like an editor or project manager. If you can't get published writing at your own pace why would you think you could get hired by a company to write.

[zx52hg]

I kind of shot my mouth off prematurely there. Sorry.

[Noah Bradley]

I know jack about the writing industry... but I do have this little snippet of N.C Wyeth talking about Pyle:

He used to urge us to write as well as paint. 'If you can picture life,' he would say, 'you can describe it.'"

Writing can be an advantageous addition to an artist's life.

[OmenSpirits]

Just because you do something as a pastime doesn't mean you have what it takes to make it a profession. Has anyone ever paid to publish your writing? If the answer is no, why would someone hire you just because you think your good at it. People that are good at things win awards and scholarships and fellowships and get paid to create. This is all before becoming professional.

Professionals turn out quality work under deadlines and to someone elses standard, like an editor or project manager. If you can't get published writing at your own pace, why would you think you could get hired by a company to write?

fixed.