Never "And Then": Basic Writing Tip

[@Konspiracie]

Fantastic video and probably the most concise explanation of this topic I've ever seen. I like that you directly addressed how this could feel restrictive if not explained properly. It feels almost like the writer's version of pseudocode.

[@CraigPerko]

That's a good way to think about it if you're an indie dev with more experience programming than writing.

[@SinclairLocke]

Reminds me of the geniality of the "Dark Knight" opening. You're never shown the same thing happening twice. It's not needed.

[@Nipah.Auauau]

Kinda reminds me of the writers of South Park method of supplanting "and then" with "but" or "therefore".

[@AaronMartinProfessional]

Phenomenal, looove the tricks on storytelling! Helps so much! I wonder if you could share / or have already shared about necessary and elegant redundancy in writing. Like when explaining the plot, or game mechanics without just telling the player straight up. I think Titanfall 2 did this amazingly in its story with putting the gauntlet tutorial upfront. Embedding the speed of the pilot in the story and showing ghost avatars who slide-hop and chain runs together, rather than saying 'here is how you slide hop'. Or how to tease in the right amount. Being more 'show' than 'tell' without loosing the player. For example letting the player know that he really should cut off that tail of the lionheaded scorpion, without just making the stinger blink red. If you've already spoken about these points, could you point me in the right direction?

[@CraigPerko]

I think that really depends on how you want your game to feel. I don't think there's a right answer, just a lot of differences in how you implement your answers to get them to work well.

[@AaronMartinProfessional]

@@CraigPerko thank you so much for your response. I love your channel, masterfully crafted lessons of game design

[@_Tsholofelo]

Thank you so much for your content

[@RWaarden]

AYOOOO 69th like!!! Great video, Craig. *long pause* "Nobody has to explain you that the goblins are coming. Ever... Again." - shit cracked me up

[@dreamingacacia]

I used "And Then" a lot when I starting to write my novel which put on indefinitely hiatus xDD. It's the statement in which you use a lot on pseudo code in case you plan stuffs by writing, many solo gamedev are that kind of people. It's funny when you talked about goblins. I know it's the most generic monster you'd ever seen in RPG games, but I'm actually put goblins in my current game.

[@CraigPerko]

There are no generic monsters, only generic scenes.

[@_purplewinter_]

love this type of videos with basic tips Craig I need to learn more about writing for games but all the information when you just google is so overwhelming. Do you have any recommendations, books, etc that you trust/learned from to give?

[@CraigPerko]

There's a bunch of writing for games books, but I don't know if any of them will gel with you. I think the best approach is to run tabletop games and LARPs, those take a lot of the same writing skills as video games. More than learning movie or book writing, anyway.

[@_purplewinter_]

@@CraigPerko oh that’s interesting. Thank you!

[@lordrotarec]

Could you comment on the absolute bare minimums one needs to write a story for a game? Classical stories require characters that somehow act or change during them, but many games, like puzzle platformers, may simply consist of a player character who may not even be a character in their own right, and the levels. Some try to strech stories into any chain of events, but that conflicts with most writing advice. So would I need at minimum a PC (half-character) and one characters (ex. GLADOS) to have an absolutely minimal story?

[@CraigPerko]

To me, a story is a structure to deliver impressions. If the story makes sense and flows well, the impressions will land and take root, so my main interest is making sure the story delivers impressions in a way that feels natural and powerful. There's no dividing line between "story" and "no story" - just how you manage your flow. For example, you might have a 'story' that consists entirely of reading ancient runes off the walls. As long as it provides a structure to enhance the impressions you're trying to deliver.