IF Seal: How does ChoiceScript writing differ from other types of game writing?
hello IF seal! <3 (🐟 <-- fish 4 you)
i am working on a choicescript game, and it feels very sisyphean at times. since there are many choices/branches/diverging paths, sometimes its jarring to spend what FEELS like a long time writing, then see that it only fills a page or two of the game!
its not a bad thing, and im sure will get easier with time, but it is a big change coming from "regular" narrative work (i.e. not choice-based game writing) to ChoiceScript writing.
so, with all that said, i wanted to ask if you've worked in non-game writing spheres before, and if so how does the writing process differ from IF? also, regardless of what sort of work you may have done in addition to IF projects, how does it feel completing one of these sorts of games?
hopefully this is sort of a fun question, i just thought it would be fun to hear your experience with completing/working on different writing projects (and how it feels to call something Finished!). thank you so much!!
O hello Generous Friend, thank you for the fish!
I do very much relate to this, especially once the initial energy of the new project has dissipated and one has to deal with all the consequences of the narrative hooks one has put in:
So, yes, you are not alone! Sometimes in this kind of project it's a case of just trudging through, enjoying the smaller moments as much as you can, and not thinking too much about how far you are through a chapter.
...now, to break kayfabe for a bit...
For non-interactive writing I've written academic essays and have a bunch of unfinished novels hanging around. For both I often had trouble reaching a required wordcount (in the case of essays) and rushing through passages and not giving enough breathing room to ideas or scenes (in the case of both). In contrast I've developed better pacing for game writing, a sense of when I want to linger on especially important moments, and how choices affect pace.
I've also worked on non-choice/text-based games, choice-based-but-not-prose-based games, and done game narrative work that doesn't involve writing at all. All are very different: there was often writing lines into spreadsheets, discussions with other narrative folk and people from other departments, flowcharts, large-scale planning, and a variety of other activities. I realise that sounds a bit vague which, uh, it is because a lot of it remains under NDA or is from cancelled projects and such (the nature of working in the games field, unfortunately).
King of the Castle is one game that is easily accessible that I worked on in a writing and design capacity. Although some of the day-to-day writing work was similar to IF - I was writing mostly dialogue and some prose in ink - it was a very different experience due to being multiplayer and the shape of each story being very branchy.
You can also play some of my work for free on the Love Island the Game app: I worked on the Bombshell season, though my earlier work on that IP is no longer playable.
All that said, completing a CoG game does feel different because it's a long process - at least 18 months, usually more - of mostly working alone but responding to player feedback. By the time the release comes, it can feel quite distant and I'm usually looking ahead to the next thing, but for players it's new. It's also a weird experience having been writing pretty intensely for a while and then it's...over. (But it isn't really over because there are fixes to make and sometimes updates to add if I want to, and questions and comments to answer and much more!)
So it's a weird combination of pride, tiredness, satisfaction, and nerves. Mostly nerves, I'll be honest. I never really get less nervous, but my strategies of dealing with it have got better over time.
Thank you for the question, friend! I hope it was interesting!