The Game Narrative Toolbox (Focal Press Game Design Workshops)

Learn how to create compelling game storylines.

Four experienced narrative designers from different genres of game development have banded together to create this all-inclusive guide on what it's like to work as a writer and narrative designer in the video game industry. From concept to final testing, The Game Narrative Toolbox walks readers through what role a narrative designer plays on a development team and what the requirements are at every stage of development. Drawing on real experiences, authors Tobias Heussner, Toiya Kristen Finley, PhD, Ann Lemay, and Jennifer Brandes Hepler provide invaluable advice for writing compelling player-centered stories and effective dialogue trees to help readers make the switch from writing prose or screenplay to interactive.

Thoroughly revised, the Second Edition includes updated content reflecting the industry’s latest developments. In addition to revised and updated chapters, this new edition features two additional chapters covering more advanced topics that are applicable to the lessons learned from the original chapters.

Accompanying every chapter are exercises that allow the reader to develop their own documentation, outlines, and game-dialogue samples for use in applying for industry jobs or developing independent projects.

Tobias Heussner is an experienced Game Content/Narrative Designer and Producer, who started developing games in high school. He has worked on more than 25 published titles ranging from AAA PC games to console, handheld console games and Free2Play browser games. His areas of expertise include Game Content Design, Game Narrative Design/Writing, Game System Design and Game Production.

Toiya Kristen Finley, PhD has nearly 30 years of experience as a writer and editor in several media. In games, she has worked as a game designer, narrative designer, game writer, editor, narrative consultant, and diversity consultant (or some combination of the six) on several AAA, indie, social, and mobile games for children and general audiences, including Destiny 2 and visual novels for Ubisoft and the and Chapters apps. With Tobias Heussner, she co-founded the Game Writing Tutorial at GDC Online and served as an instructor. Her books include Narrative Tactics for Mobile and Social Games: Pocket-Sized Storytelling; Freelance Video Game Writing: The Life & Business of the Digital Mercency for Hire; and Branching Story, Unlocked Dialogue: Designing and Writing Visual Novels.

Jennifer Brandes Hepler got her start in tabletop game development, working for well-known properties such as Shadowrun and Paranoia before detouring to Hollywood to work on CBS Television’s The Agency. She was a senior writer and narrative designer at BioWare, on the Dragon Age franchise and Star Wars: The Old Republic and more recently at Pixelberry Studios on Choices: Stories You Play and Storyloom. She is currently the Writing Director at Thought Pennies Entertainment.

Ann Lemay joined the videogame industry in 1997. Over the years she’s worked as a game designer, narrative designer, and writer on a wide range of AAA projects. She has worked at many companies, including Ubisoft, BioWare and Microids. Ann is currently a Narrative Director at WB Games Montréal, and leads a team of very talented writers, narrative designers and voice designers on Gotham Knights.