VIDEO GAME WRITING COURSE

Let’s get introduced - meet your instructor Lorne Nudel.

• Course Structure & Assignments
• Q&A

Explore what story really means in the context of games. Learn how narrative shapes player experience, gives context to mechanics, and fuels engagement. Understand the unique role of the writer on a game team, and how writing decisions connect to design, art, and player choice.

• The function of story and what it brings to the game experience
• The role of story in games
• The role of writers in games

Assignment #1: Character Creation
Imagine any character in any world. No plot. No story. Just who they are.

Learn how to anchor your story in a strong thematic core and use that foundation to shape a compelling premise. Explore the concept of “player fantasy” and how it guides every creative choice. We’ll also look at research as a tool for authenticity, and how to avoid falling back on tired clichés.

• Theme and why it matters in games
• How to shape a premise around player fantasy
• Using research to build depth and avoid clichés
• Workshop: Choose a single-word theme and take a position on what makes it relevant today.

Understand how narrative fits into the larger game development process. We’ll break down the structure of a typical dev team, explore what writers do at each stage in the dev cycle, and discuss how writers collaborate with designers, artists, and other disciplines.

• How development teams are structured and where writers fit in
• What writers contribute during each stage of production
• Collaboration and dependency management with other disciplines

Assignment #2: Story Premise
Create a premise for a story.

Understand the building blocks of narrative by breaking down two core pillars: story structure and worldbuilding. We’ll define what each really means, and how they work to create the context in which your game’s story unfolds. You’ll see how structure gives shape to a narrative, and how worldbuilding establishes the rules, cultures, and environments that make that structure feel alive and believable.

• What story structure is, and how it functions in games
• What worldbuilding is, and the key elements that bring it to life
• How structure and world context work together to define the player’s narrative
• experience
• Workshop: Speed Worldbuilding: create a fictional location in a 20-minute timed challenge that reveals its history, culture, and conflicts through environmental detail.

Assignment #3: Game Story Arc
Sketch the basic shape of a game story arc.

Genres shape player expectations before they ever press start. In this lesson, we’ll break down how game genres influence storytelling. We’ll revisit premise and player fantasy through the lens of genre, testing how different genre frames change the story you want to tell.

• How genre conventions shape player expectations
• Story Genre, Game Genre, and player fantasy
• We’ll look at how some games set up player expectation with genre
• Workshop: Game / Story Genre Subversion: take a familiar genre setup and twist it to create something unexpected.

Not every story beat needs dialogue. Games often tell their richest stories through the environments players explore and the objects they discover. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to make a location feel alive with history, culture, and conflict and how even the smallest prop can hint at larger narratives. You’ll practice thinking how to convey meaning through spaces, details, and artifacts.

• How environments can tell stories without words
• Designing objects that reveal history, culture, or character
• Using environmental storytelling to deepen immersion
• Workshop: Found Object: Show how a simple object found can hint at a larger story and help flesh out the game world.

Assignment #4: The Location’s Tale
Create a location that tells its own story through environmental details.

Focus on the development of character at every level of game story. Look at the foundational concepts that inform their creation and the various roles they serve in driving the story forward. 

• Why memorable characters are central to game storytelling
• Defining clear, playable goals for characters
• Crafting character arcs that evolve with player decisions
• Workshop: Work on character arc

Deep dive into the nuts and bolts of developing characters from the ground up. Learn how to create memorable characters that come to life and draw players into caring about their story.

• How to craft meaningful character backstories
• Using flaws and lies to create depth and tension
• Designing character arcs that connect to conflict and choice

Assignment #5: Portfolio Piece 1: Character Biography
Write a short backstory and define the central flaw and lie that will shape your character’s arc.

Player choice is one of the defining features of game storytelling. In this lesson, look deeply into branching narratives work and how writers balance freedom with structure. We’ll examine how branching applies in quests, how to keep choices meaningful, and introduce Twine as a tool for experimenting with and creating interactive narrative designs.

• The fundamentals of branching
• How branching applies to quests and gameplay
• Techniques for keeping choices meaningful and manageable
• An interactive demo using Twine for branching

Now the rubber meets the road. In this lesson, you’ll work with your classmates to put what you’ve learned into practice.

• Full Class Workshop: Branching Dialogue — practice writing a short branching conversation.
• Final Course Project Introduction

Assignment #6: Portfolio Piece 2: Final Course Project
Create a branching dialogue scene in Twine.

Once the script is written, it will go to real performers. In this lesson, we’ll cover the practical side of game writing: how to format scripts so they’re easy for actors, directors, and designers to use; how casting decisions shape character; and how to prepare sides and samples for auditions. We’ll also be joined by guest speaker, who will share insights from a story-focused Executive Producer’s side of game development.

• Standard practices for formatting game scripts
• How casting choices influence character portrayal
• Preparing sides and samples for auditions
• Insights from guest speaker 

In our final session, we’ll connect the dots between everything you’ve learned. We’ll talk about practical next steps for your career, from building a portfolio to approaching studios, and finish with an open Q&A to address your specific questions.

• Look back at how the different elements of game storytelling fit together
• Practical strategies for starting your job search as a game writer
• Final discussion and Q&A