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Eukara Vox -> Thoughts on Quest Writing (1/26/2011 22:00:01)
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What is quest writing? Is it some lesser form of playwriting, or is it, by its very nature, and entity unto itself? You can't always dictate where exactly the character in a game will move or walk, as that is determined by the artists and the limitations of the game itself. It is hard to determine emotion and action that you can easily write into a narrative when writing a script for a quest.
So, knowing that you cannot portray as much feeling and action in a quest script, how do you go about creating one? Surely, the lack of such detail hinders the creation of a game quest. Yet, it doesn't. There are ways you can make up for this. One must keep in mind, though, that quest writing is a monster unto itself and must be treated thusly.
One of the things that I have learned in quest writing is that often, the only way you can convey emotion is through the words you choose for each character to say. Know that every word in the dialogue has to be as meaningful as possible. You only have so long to convey everything happening.
I tend to write my dialogue as if I was actually talking to the person. I will read my lines out loud, or if I can persuade one of my sons, have them read it with me. That way, I can tell if it is more natural. Mechanical/monotone dialogue will kill a quest no matter how good the story may be.
Opening up a quest is much like setting the tone of a narrative. You have to spark an interest in the reader, or in our case, a player. What will make the player look at the screen with more than a "here we go again"? Sometimes it is a pan across a scene with a detail that catches the eye. Or perhaps a narrative that scrolls up the screen with an interesting background. Either way, you have to catch the eye of the player. And this is something you need to write in. How else is the artist supposed to know how you want your opening to look.
One of the things I do is try to plunge into the scene right away. You have to remember that your audience has a need for speed. Speed as in "OMG, I need to slay something" speed. You must find a way to balance storytelling with comedy with speed. Even the most serious quests still have a couple of places with a few chuckles. So the beginning needs to start with something that draws attention and makes our trigger happy players pay attention. Sometimes a joke, sometimes a mysterious tidbit will do it. But don't make it too heavy. That could be a turn off.
Your dialogue should flow like a normal conversation. Make it realistic. Realism is funny stuff, whether you realise it or not. You can have realistic conversation in the midst of high fantasy writing. The conversation should flow well. And don't be afraid to have the scene change while there is talking. We don't stay still when talking, why should your characters? The exchanges should be fast, but meaningful. Remember the point about conveying much in all your word choices? Definitely need to pay attention to that. Make your words count.
Find places in your dialogue where a naturally occuring pause happens (aka fight!). This way, you can have a good story, good action and no one gets bored or tired of all the talking. I do understand both sides of this argument. Too much talking makes it feel like you will never get to fight, too little dialogue leaves the player unfulfilled. We do not want unfulfilled players. Switching between a good amount of time talking with good fights keeps the quest lively and hopefully, keeps the players happy with the balance.
Players, above all, want to be entertained. My philosophy is, if I giggle or smile, then I am having fun. If I am having fun, then so should the players. It's my motto when I write stories, write quests or teach in a classroom.
OK, now that I have rambled and not even sure if this is helpful ( XD ) here is the format I generally use:
Conceptual notes: What do I envision with this quest? What is my aim?
Quest 1 - <title>
Scene opening:
Opening scene dialogue
Scene change: Movement to new background/place, possibly a monster confrontation.
Second scene dialogue. May have random battles inserted to mix things up.
Scene change: Movement to new background/place, possibly a monster confrontation.
Third scene dialogue. May have random battles inserted to mix things up.
If you have more scenes, you continue the pattern until done.
This is the actual format of one of my already released quests.
End quest
Rewards: Detail, detail, detail! This is where you describe your rewards, give their descriptions, element, abilities, etc.
Artwork Requirements: Anything new needs to be created, here is where you put it in DETAIL!
Notes: This section is for you to think out things, ponder your quest, etc
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