Resources for Aspiring Game Writers

Resources

GDC Youtube page – https://www.youtube.com/@Gdconf

  • Uploads videos from past GDC events for you to watch at your own time

GDC Vault – https://www.gdcvault.com/

  • There is a free content page to peruse!

Narrascope Youtube page – https://www.youtube.com/@interactivefictiontechnolo311/videos

  • Amazing videos from past Narrascope events

IGEA Youtube page – https://www.youtube.com/@igeavideo

  • Videos from educational events

IGDA Melbourne – https://igdamelbourne.au/

  • Keep up with events happening in Melbourne

GameDevMap – https://www.gamedevmap.com/

  • A convenient website tracking companies that exist across the globe!

Twitter thread of famous Game Design documents by Riad Djemili – https://twitter.com/riadd/status/1633790564121419777?t=tG8EMcFteg4qYd3T3y8dRQ&s=19

Game Recommendations

Recent Titles:

  • Prey (2017, PC, PS4, Xbox One)
  • Bioshock (2007, PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • God of War (2018, PC, PS4)
  • Disco Elysium (2019, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch)
  • Uncharted 4 (2016, PC, PS4, PS5)
  • Dishonored (2012, PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One)
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009, PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360)
  • The Wolf Among Us (2013, PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Hades (2018, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S)

Older Titles:

  • Deus Ex (2000, PC, PS2)
  • Fallout: New Vegas (2010, PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
  • Half-Life 2 (2004, PC, PS3)
  • Alien: Isolation (2014, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)
  • System Shock (1994, PC)
  • Persona 4 Golden (2012, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch)

Indies:

  • Spiritfarer (2020, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Android, Xbox One, PC)
  • Citizen Sleeper (2022, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
  • Transistor (2014, PC and PS4)
  • Ori and the Blind Forest (2015, PC and Xbox One)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017, PC and PS4)
  • Firewatch (2016, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)

Tools

Twine – https://twinery.org/

  • An amazing tool I used frequently in university.

Articy: Draft 3 – https://www.articy.com/en/

  • Used in the industry to create branching and linear stories while tracking variables to work with Unity

RPGMaker – https://www.rpgmakerweb.com/

  • Make games come to life in RPGMaker!

Two visual novel tools where you can quickly mock up stories with easy programming behind the scenes

Yarn Spinner – https://yarnspinner.dev/

  • A tool made by Tasmanian developers to work with Unity and create ‘Night in the Woods’.

Engines

Discord Groups

Work With Indies – https://discord.gg/workwithindies

What makes this place stand out:

  1. Resume, cover, and portfolio reviews by peers
  2. Jobs posted by the job board and fellow developers
  3. Weekly co-writing sessions to set writing goals and work alongside others
  4. Talks and articles with industry workers

IGDA SIG (Special Interest Group) Game Writing – https://discord.gg/PNrwAgHepc

Mailing List: https://igda.org/sigs/game-writing/

What makes this place stand out:

  1. Keep track of events upcoming in your region or elsewhere
  2. Jobs posted by fellow developers
  3. You can post pieces you’re working on for workshopping purposes
  4. Get amazing resources from the kind community
  5. They also have a mailing list!

Job Boards

Work With Indies – https://www.workwithindies.com/

Hitmarker – https://hitmarker.net/

Grackle – https://gracklehq.com/jobs

Games Jobs Direct – https://www.gamesjobsdirect.com/

Remote Game Jobs – https://remotegamejobs.com/

Gamesindustry.biz – https://jobs.gamesindustry.biz/

XP Game Jobs – https://xpgamejobs.com/

Gamejobs.co – https://gamejobs.co/

Game Jam Websites

Itch.io – https://itch.io/jams

Global Game Jam – https://globalgamejam.org/

Events

FINS (May 12th – May 14th 2023) – https://www.eventsforgamers.com/event/festival-of-interactive-narrative-storytelling-fins-2023/

Narrascope (check their youtube page for uploads when the event is running!) – https://narrascope.org/

LudoNarraCon – https://www.ludonarracon.com/

Melbourne International Games Week – https://gamesweek.melbourne/

Melbourne Writer’s Festival – https://mwf.com.au/