Writing for Video Games

$ 1 395.00

Writing for Video Games Course

Harness your passion for
gaming and storytelling

Learn how to build immersive and interactive gaming worlds

The Writing for Video Games Course will equip you with all the tools you need to produce a professional script pitch. If you’re passionate about gaming and have your own immersive stories to tell – this is the course for you!

Explore short-form and small screen storytelling with industry expert, New Zealand-based Paul Dunn. With his personalised feedback, you can transform your big idea into a marketable, ready-to-pitch digital media offering.

The Writing for Video Games
Course Gives You...

No Automated Marking

We use traditional methods of assessing work, as editors at publishing houses would. No generic feedback!

A Flexible Schedule

Work wherever and whenever you want. You can easily fit our courses around work and other commitments.

Relevant, Usable Content

Easy-to-digest course notes that capture a lifetime of writing experience, ready for you to apply to your own writing.

Ongoing Assessment

Your writing is assessed continuously as your course progresses.

Expert, Individual Feedback

Get prompt, honest, detailed feedback on every assignment from an award-winning writer. We focus on your unique writing strengths.

No Peer Reviews!

You will only be assessed by your tutor, a leader in their field. No more guessing and wondering how to write; you'll be guided line by line.

Become a fiction engineer on our Writing for Video Games Course

Master game mechanics and create narrative assets

The gaming and interactive media industries generate more than $15 billion annually in the US alone.

Quality storytelling is key to the industry’s success. The Writing for Video Games Course will turn you into a fiction engineer who can build a compelling story step by step, create believable video game characters, introduce and maintain tension, and develop an immersive gaming world that keeps players hooked.

Find out how to use game mechanics as the backbone of your story. Create clear turning points, transform exposition into ammunition, build in hooks, cliffhangers and emotional roller coasters.

This ten-module course teaches you how to write dialogue, concept documents, in-game text and the host of other narrative assets you’ll find in video games.

Working at your own pace, you’ll complete and polish one project brief in six to 12 months, ready to pitch to a producer of your choice.

Become a fiction engineer on our Writing for Video Games Course

Master game mechanics and create narrative assets

The gaming and interactive media industries generate more than $15 billion annually in the US alone.

Find out how to use game mechanics as the backbone of your story. Create clear turning points, transform exposition into ammunition, build in hooks, cliffhangers and emotional roller coasters.

This ten-module course teaches you how to write dialogue, concept documents, in-game text and the host of other narrative assets you’ll find in video games.

Working at your own pace, you’ll complete and polish one project brief in six to 12 months, ready to pitch to a producer of your choice.

'Great experience! Great pacing, clear instructions, fantastic feedback. Definitely recommended.'

Roxane Dalinger, Writing for Video Games Course

Course Overview

COURSE FEE

$ 1 395

Price includes GST

NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS

10 The assignments vary in length.

NUMBER OF MODULES

10 These modules include around 200 pages of course notes.

COURSE DURATION

12 Work at your own pace – up to a maximum of 12 months.

START DATE: ANYTIME

Working with an individual tutor means you can start the course at any time.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Basic writing skills are essential.
Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required.
No previous tertiary qualification required.

Our Graduate Students' Successes

We are proud of our graduates who have achieved success. Here are a few among dozens of our creative writing success stories.

Martin Steyn

Martin Steyn completed the Write a Novel Course. He had his first novel, 'Donkerspoor' ('Dark Traces'), published by Lapa in 2014. The book was an instant success and bestseller, and had to be re-printed. His second book, 'Skuldig' ('Guilty'), received even greater acclaim. Since then, he has written two more novels.

Gareth Ward

Gareth Ward's novel that he worked on during the course went on to win multiple awards. 'The Traitor and the Thief', a rip-roaring young adult steampunk adventure, won the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award, the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Youth Novel, a 2018 Storylines Notable Book Award, and was a finalist in two categories at The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Gareth has this to say about studying with The Writers College: 'Hand on heart, there is no way I would have been published without Alex’s guidance.'

Trish Nicholson

Trish Nicholson, a former Short Story Course graduate, keeps notching up successes on the writing front. Trish won first prize in the Flash500 competition, with four stories shortlisted during that year. She won first prize in the 'shorter story' at the Winchester Writers' Conference in the UK, as well as runner-up in the ‘short story’ category. Two of her stories were commended in the South Island Writers' Association competition. A finalist in both the H.E. Bates Short Story Competition and the Neil Gunn Writing Competition, Trish is one of our most successful creative writing graduates yet.

Suzanne Maine

Suzanne Main completed the Basics of Creative Writing Course. Her children's novel, 'How I Alienated my Grandma', won the 2014 Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award.

Andy Evans

Andy Evans completed the Basics of Creative Writing Course and the Literary Short and Flash Fiction Course. He had his first short story, 'The Wooden Hills', published in 'Takahē' magazine. He placed third in the NZ Writers College Short Story Competition with his story 'Gravity'.

Taemumu Richardson

Taemumu Richardson was shortlisted in the Writers' Forum Short Story Competition. This is a big achievement as this competition draws a huge number of entries globally. She was also shortlisted for the Flash500 flash fiction competition, longlisted in the NZ Writers College Short Story Competition and received an honourable mention in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. Tae had a story published in the literary magazine 'Takahē'.

Megan Frith

Megan Frith completed our Short Story Course and our Novel Writing Course. Her short story ‘Scars‘ came first in the 2014 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition. She went on to place third in the 2015 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition for her short story titled ‘Till Death‘. Recently, two of her stories were published in 'Horizons 2', an anthology compiled by the Top of the South branch of the NZ Society of Authors.

Paul Dunn

Paul Dunn has a BA in Media Studies from Massey University and is a freelance narrative designer in Auckland, New Zealand. He tutors the Writing for Video Games Course.

Paul is passionate about video games and their narrative potential. He’s been hooked on exploring vast, fantastic gaming worlds since the very first time he watched his Commodore 64 load Elite from a cassette tape. While the hardware has changed, his love of these immersive and interactive stories hasn’t waned.

Paul’s writing background is both diverse and extensive. He has over a decade of experience working in the communications industry. At one point or another, he has had a hand in creating dynamic video and digital media for non-profits, crafting online articles and blogs, copy-editing novels, and producing captivating marketing content for software companies.

He maintains a deep appreciation for how our digital culture creates and shapes narratives, and sees the interactive nature of games as an exciting evolution in storytelling.

Course Curriculum

Module 1

Jigsaw Storytelling

Discover the tools that create narratives in video games
Explore how those tools are used to tell stories
Unpack how the tools work together to create compelling narratives

Module 2

Boiling It Down

Consider the nature and limitations of storytelling in games
Understand how to develop an idea into a workable framework for a video game
Create concise, compelling summaries for your ideas

Module 3

Lore Part 1: Locations

Discover how the world of a game shapes the narrative
Examine the way place names, contexts and chronologies shape the lore
Build a setting rich in story lore

Module 4

Cutscenes

Understand how animated sequences contribute to game narratives
Explore writing dialogue and what makes a scene work
Write your own brief cutscene script

Module 5

Lore Part 2: Story Glyphs

Understand the purpose and use of different narrative assets in a game story
Unpack how tomes, flavour text, and environmental glyphs can build a story piece by piece
Craft unique narrative assets of your own

Module 6

NPCs Are Real People Part 1: Conversations

Dive into the different types of dialogue present in games
Unpack how dialogue systems are created
Create your own dialogue for a game

Module 7

NPCs Are Real People Part 2: Quests

Examine the core quest types and their purposes
Consider what goes into making a quest compelling
Practice creating engaging quest dialogues

Module 8

Decisions and Dilemmas

Understand what goes into making a meaningful dilemma
Explore different approaches to challenging player decisions
Craft the scenarios, choices and outcomes for critical player decisions

Module 9

Narrative Mechanics

Unpack the importance of game mechanics for storytelling
Examine the use of narrative mechanics and their effectiveness
Reflect on the impact of narrative mechanics, then develop your own

Module 10

Putting It All Together

Take the knowledge and experience you’ve gained and put it into practice
Compile a project brief that will impress producers with your game idea

What Our Students Say

I was very fortunate and happy to be able to complete this course. I’ve learnt so much about the industry and, most of all, I’ve learnt how to improve my future writing projects. Paul Dunn was an excellent tutor and a great help for all the questions I had regarding the course content, no matter how simple and irrelevant I deemed my questions to be. He always promptly responded to my questions and gave me advice and pointers on how to improve my future work. A wonderful college to improve and shape your writing skills.

The course was very informative – fascinating even – and I felt as though a lot of uncertainties in my writing finally made sense. My appreciation for games and even other mediums of storytelling has increased as well, making them far more enjoyable. I can, with confidence, say that this course was excellent and I recommend it to anyone interested in the industry! Paul was superb throughout! His feedback and guidance on the assignments and the various game elements and narratives was incredibly helpful. In fact, while the materials on the course were great, I can honestly say that thanks to Paul I came away with so much more. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he is one of the best tutors I’ve had! I’m truly grateful to have had his guidance on this course and if we ever end up on the same writing team for a game someday I’d be overjoyed! A fantastic and informative experience! I learnt so much and enjoyed every bit of it so much so that I was sad when my course came to an end. It was the kind of experience I’d be happy to reload and relive!

The Writers College was exactly what I'd been looking for. It has helped better my understanding of the genre of writing I had an interest in and has helped solidify my thoughts on working towards a career in creative writing. Paul has been an excellent tutor during the course and has been both punctual in his replies and helpful with his advice. He was also a great help in suggesting how to branch into the gaming community after the course was completed.

The Writers’ College provides an informative and quality course. Karen is an excellent tutor who is swift with her responses and provides objective, constructive criticism that helps steer you in the right direction. Karen offers a great course. Her notes are comprehensive and contain information about additional reading that allows one to explore the field in more depth. She has a professionally trained eye that points out where your script fails and succeeds. She is great tutor who is willing to be honest and answer any questions you have along the way. The Writers’ College is a professional college that leads the field in writing courses. I would recommend writers from any field to invest in what they have to offer, in particular the practical application of what you learn.

This course was definitely worth the time; it showed me the big picture of becoming a story writer. Edwin was very professional tutor and pushed me to try my best. I’m really glad I decided to choose The Writers College to enrich my inner creativity. My overall experience was remarkable and gratifying.

I received thorough and practical experience for writing for Video Games. My tutor was very positive and always happy to help; the feedback and critique was really useful. Enjoyable, guided creativity with subject experts rarely found in NZ available for meaningful instruction.

Lifetime Course Access

Benefit from free lifetime access to future course updates and access to our writing resources.

Work at Your Own Pace

Our courses work around you. You can pace your course around your busy life.

500+ Bonus Articles on Our Blog

A superb, constantly updated resource with articles on writing and interviews with writers.

Work Opportunities

Top students are invited to join our writers and editors for hire service.

Be the First to Know About Writing Competitions

We'll help you keep up to date with the latest competition announcements

Join a Community of Writers

You will have access to our friendly Facebook community, daily writing tips and writing inspiration.

Risk-Free 100% Money-Back Guarantee

We are so confident that you will love your course that if you’re not 100% satisfied with the quality of our training, simply ask for a refund within 30 days.

Questions?
We've Got Answers

How does the course work?

You will receive ten modules with writing assignments. At the end of each module, you will be required to complete one or two writing exercises. In total, the course includes 10 assignments of varying length and complexity, all of which count towards your final result.

Once a writing assignment has been completed and emailed to your tutor, you will receive an assessment and feedback, and the module will be considered complete.

Is it interactive? Can I ask my tutor questions?

Absolutely. You have direct communication with your tutor for the duration of the course. The more questions you ask, the more you will get out of the course.

For how long will I get access to the course?

You will get lifetime access to the course. You will also benefit from future updates and improvements to the course.

Will anyone else see my work?

For the majority of our courses, only your tutor will see your work. It will remain completely private unless you get it published. The journalism courses might see your work published in the public domain, but you do have the final say as to whether or not this happens.

What are the conditions of certification?

Students will receive a Writers College Certificate upon successful completion of the course, provided they meet the following conditions:

Students must complete all 10 writing assignments
The course must be completed within 12 months of registration
Students are expected to attain a minimum average of 50% for the course

What are the admission requirements?

Basic writing skills are essential.
Basic computer skills, as well as email and Internet access are required.
No previous tertiary qualification is required.

When can I start a course?

Because you will work with an individual tutor, you can start your course as soon as your application has been approved. There are no specific start dates as would be the case with a traditional college.

An application is usually approved within one working day. Once we receive proof of payment, your can start your course.

You could be starting your course today!

What is the minimum estimated time commitment?

The speed at which you work is entirely up to you.

Reading through the module should take 30 to 60 minutes. Each task should take up to 2 hours to complete. Polishing a draft of a script could take between 2 and 8 hours.

You have 12 months to complete the course (and an extra 21 days if your course runs over the Christmas and New Year break).

You are welcome to finish the course sooner if you want.

When will I get access to the course?

Once your application has been approved, you will receive notification of approval and an invoice via email. As soon as we receive proof of payment, the first module as well as your tutor’s email address and your login details will be sent to you. Your tutor will also be in touch to welcome you.

Who owns the rights to the work I produce?

Any work created on our courses is owned by you. We will never make a claim to anything you produce. We follow the rule that copyright subsists with the creator (you).