Crafty Game Writing

Secrets of Great Videogame Narrative

Alex Epstein

$103

Paperback

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English

CRC Press
30 April 2025

Digital animation; Games development & programming

Every writer dreams of creating their own game world and telling their own stories. But creating a new game from scratch is different from working on an established franchise. If you’re writing for Star Wars or Assassin’s Creed or the Marvel Universe, the groundwork has already been laid for you. But what if you are the person who has to lay that groundwork? Where do you start? How do you decide which, among the endless story options, is the right one? How do you create a story that plays nice with the gameplay and pulls the player in?

Alex Epstein, an experienced narrative director who has worked on half a dozen new IPs, takes you step by step through the process of creating compelling new worlds and characters that feel real.

Of course, many challenges are the same, whether you’re creating your own game or working within a franchise. How do you make players think they have maximum freedom when they absolutely do not? What makes players inhabit a game story, not just skip past it? How can ""dirty narrative"" (a term Epstein coined) increase player engagement?

Packed with practical tips, Crafty Game Writing: Secrets of Great Videogame Narrative will help you understand the invisible infrastructure of player‑pulled storytelling for video games – whether you aspire to make your own indie game or create the Next Big Thing for a AAA studio.

Features:

This book is packed with tools to help the writer not only know what to write, but also how to write it well.

The author has created the narrative for half a dozen entirely new games (not based on prior IP) and discusses how to build characters and worlds out of nothing. (Note: most video game writers, including game writing book writers, have worked in franchises.)

This book includes the semi‑heretical ""dirty narrative"" writing technique, using mysteries, absences, and translucent liars to pull the player into engagement with the game world and story.

By: Alex Epstein
Imprint: CRC Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 370g
ISBN: 9781032963150
ISBN 10: 1032963158
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 30 April 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alex Epstein has created new video game worlds and characters for both AAA studios and indies. As a narrative director and lead writer for more than a decade, he has been crystallizing tips and tricks for the writers he has coached. That's this book. His other books include wrote Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made and Crafty TV Writing: Thinking Inside the Box.

Reviews for Crafty Game Writing: Secrets of Great Videogame Narrative

""Alex has managed a delicate feat: sharing his experience with those who already understand the craft of writing, but want details on the unique challenges and opportunities of moving that skill set into the interactive space."" --Mike Laidlaw, Creative Director, Dragon Age franchise at BioWare from 2009-2017 and founder of Yellow Brick Games ""A superbly comprehensive guide to all the things you need to know but that nobody knows to tell you about game writing, this book is an invaluable resource for the up and comer and the experienced writer alike!"" --Richard Dansky, Central Clancy Writer at Ubisoft 2001-2023 and Narrative Director at Romero Games. ""There’s no one way to write a game, and in Crafty Game Writing, Alex admits that right away! But this book does take us through the many moving parts that go into modern narrative games, all told in his friendly conversational style that gets straight-to-the-point. Definitely recommended reading if you want to get crafty with your game writing.” --Richard Rouse III, Studio Creative Director at FarBridge, Narrative Director for Rainbow 6: Patriots, and Creative Director for The Suffering: Ties That Bind.