Writing games is a different sort of quest than writing stories. Game writers combine their fiction writing skills with coding to create something truly unique. They bring forth their innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and story-telling skills to bring a story to life. They invoke a sense of wonder, drama, adventure, and so much more in the player. Video game writing is not an ordinary skill. It requires a specific skill set, not to mention a craze for this niche. If you wish to become a game writer, follow the steps given below to help develop your career;
1. Get a high school diploma
This requirement is not strictly necessary, but it will allow you to avail many opportunities available to high schoolers. At the least, such a degree or diploma will help you develop elementary writing skills, get basic knowledge of the language and its nuances. Additionally, a high school will help you create certain acquaintances and friendships with the largest demographic that plays games and understand their thought process better, i.e., teenagers.
You can take elective creative writing courses in addition to the traditional English language classes and even participate in some competitions or workshops to help develop writing skills. You can also take coding lessons to understand the game construction process better.
2. Play a lot of video games
Before you start writing about video games, you should know how they function. And what better way to learn than by playing games yourself. Become familiar with different genres, study them, and learn from them to help develop your own style later.
3. Learn and practice coding
Being a game writer doesn’t necessarily mean you have to become a top-class programmer, but knowing coding would certainly help. Having some experience and coding skills will definitely be a boon to your budding career.
4. Earn a degree specific to your niche
Some employers prefer that their video game writers have college degrees in their respective niches, like a Bachelor’s or higher in English language, creative writing, etc. However, some other employers hire you after becoming satisfied with your self-taught skills despite having no degrees. Despite that, it would definitely help to have a formal degree. You would benefit from formal learning that is absent in self-taught endeavors.
5. Publish your work
Start formally writing and publishing your work before diving into your niche to get some experience. When you have a published novel, essay, short story, or article, you will show any prospective employer that you have the skill and the talent to get published in respective circles. You can get started in school and publish small articles in school magazines or newspapers and go from there.
6. Establish your credibility as a professional writer
If you wish to work as a freelancer, you must first establish your credibility as a game writer. You can do this by collaborating with a coding expert or a programmer to create your own video games that can be displayed as a testament to your skill.
7. Apply for a job
Working as a full-time game writer in an established company requires you to apply for a job, write a sample, prepare for interviews and dazzle your future bosses. If you have completed the steps above, you should have no fear of being rejected for a good-paying job.
