I just wanted to check in with all of my fan [sic] before the year's end. I've switched gears a bit and drafted the script for the prologue. I wanted to get a feel for how the opening of the game might be both from the player's perspective (presentation of the prologue) and from the story's perspective (dialogue). I've come to the following obvious conclusions:
Writing Is Hard
Most of my work day, when I'm not coding, I'm talking with colleagues. Collaborating either on a call or in chat. I feel like I have the whole conversing thing pretty well-figured out at this point in my life. So, I sat down, opened up Pages, and started typing. In an effort to anchor my approach to the script, I started with a short paragraph describing the two main characters. It helped, but it also cemented the idea that...
I Am Not A Writer
Though I was quite certain of this fact before this exercise, I still thought that I could produce something passable for human interaction. Without exaggeration, I can say that it took me close to two hours to write two pages of dialogue. For me, the most difficult aspect of writing dialogue is toeing the line of conveying information to the player and expository vomit. Part of achieving that balance is realizing that you don't have to say everything all at once. If I do my job right, the player will uncover more as they experience the narrative while playing.
Enjoy this early look at a writing sample completely free of charge.
