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UBCx: Video Game Writing Essentials

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Learn the essentials of writing for video games, from how games are developed and what game writers do, to the ways game stories differ from other kinds of stories.

Video Game Writing Essentials
5 weeks
4–6 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

8,013 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 19
Ends Dec 31

About this course

Skip About this course

Writing for video games is truly a new frontier, a place where writers and game designers are still learning, innovating and pioneering bold approaches to telling stories.

This course is your introduction to this frontier. We'll explore interactive storytelling as well as touch on the history of video games and the kinds of games that have been developed since the medium was born.

We'll discuss the complex, collaborative process of game development and hear from working game writers about their jobs in the game industry. Then we'll dig into the way game narratives are built, where they come from, and how they are changing.

Verified learners will access additional game industry interviews, assignments and discussion topics, connecting with a community of other writers and game enthusiasts.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated programs:
  • Associated skills:Video Game Development, Writing

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn
  • Understand how interactivity makes games distinct from other art forms.
  • Explore the history of story in video games
  • Identify the essential parts of a video game and how these are used to deliver narrative
  • Consider story-driven gameplay from the writer’s point of view

Module 1: Introduction to Game Writing

  • Interactive storytelling
  • Understanding the medium
  • Parts of a game
  • Different kinds of games

Module 2: Game Development

  • Inception
  • Role of the writer
  • Development

Module 3: Building a Game Story

  • Laying a foundation
  • Building a structure
  • Shaping the experience
  • Embracing interactivity

Module 4: Original vs Established I.P.

  • Licensed games
  • Adapting an I.P.
  • Original I.P.

Module 5: Game Design Documents

  • The game design document
  • The narrative design document

This course is part of Writing for Video Games Professional Certificate Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
6 skill-building courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
8 months
4 - 6 hours per week

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