Hi DeathAtTheDoor,
Thanks very much for the link to a fantastic article at Idle Thumbs. Chris Bateman's words were the most cheering thing I've read about game design in years. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I've been grumbling away on forums for a long time about the need to give the writer(s) more prominence in the team structure that assembles games. It's wonderful to hear him saying so many good things. I hope that some of his ambitions will see the light of day soon.
Game developers badly need to understand that can't just take a bunch of different elements that succeeded in other games and just nail them together any old how. Whether you're making an action thriller no-brainer, or a deeply story driven epic, you still need to understand all the elements of dramatic development and impact that writers of films, plays and books understand.
I remember asking on the early NWN forums why there was no writer listed in the credits for the official campaign. One of the Bioware guys replied that most of the story had been done by member(s) of the general team, and there was nobody who was just the writer. Boy did it show! As one reviewer described it - "generic fantasy drivel".
Consider me a new recruit to the queue for Kult. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />
By the way, I think the person in the screen shot may not actually be dead. They may still be bearly alive.... ugh... sorry...
