I’m not a developer nor do I know the slightest thing about being one BUT your video was in my suggested and I watched thru the whole thing thoroughly entertained
This was such a great video, really informative and has definitely set the writer cogs in my brain turning for my next character! I had a couple of questions pop up that I’d appreciate any insight on if you have the time :) 1. Would you suggest putting this document as a sample in a narrative portfolio? I know hiring managers typically don’t have long to look at each applicants portfolio so I’m cautious about putting a large document in there - but at the same time I feel like showing the ability to go into this level of detail with character development shows real skill. 2. Would you do the same level of detail or whittle it down for a character that’s designed to be an NPC? With being a DND character Vala’s document obviously suits a character biography built for a protagonist, but is there anything you would change if she was instead just going to be a put into a game as a side-quest giver or an ally? (p.s. have you tried yorkshire tea’s biscuit brew? it’s been my new favourite writing companion lately)
Heya! So if you're starting to build a portfolio, this would certainly be a relevant piece to have in there until you get your foot in the door or work on more projects :) As for smaller NPC's, I would make them much smaller bios - some background NPC's are literally just 'Bob the burly weapon trader who is a human with a gruff persona and voice' and that's it!
thank you so much for this video and the template! currently I'm looking for junior positions as a narrative designer and this is so helpful in building portfolio!
This does make me wonder how the developers behind Mass Effect and The Witcher handled this kind of information, since those games had wildly divergent plot branches not just within individual titles but between installments. I'm appreciating just how much work those teams put into keeping the wheels from falling off of their narratives.
When you make tweaks to the plot, do you, in turn, make tweaks to the character's arc? That sounds like it gets messy the more you do it. And this is coming from a junior-level game writer.
@@HD_Simplicityy in short, yes. And yes it can get messy :) The best way to mitigate this is to have a clear plan early on of what kind of story is feasible to make within your scope and have key stakeholders sign off on story concepts. Iteration is inevitable though - sometimes it's small but sometimes other elements of the game need to change which can impact story and characters.
I’m not a developer nor do I know the slightest thing about being one BUT your video was in my suggested and I watched thru the whole thing thoroughly entertained
Thank you!
This was such a great video, really informative and has definitely set the writer cogs in my brain turning for my next character! I had a couple of questions pop up that I’d appreciate any insight on if you have the time :)
1. Would you suggest putting this document as a sample in a narrative portfolio? I know hiring managers typically don’t have long to look at each applicants portfolio so I’m cautious about putting a large document in there - but at the same time I feel like showing the ability to go into this level of detail with character development shows real skill.
2. Would you do the same level of detail or whittle it down for a character that’s designed to be an NPC? With being a DND character Vala’s document obviously suits a character biography built for a protagonist, but is there anything you would change if she was instead just going to be a put into a game as a side-quest giver or an ally?
(p.s. have you tried yorkshire tea’s biscuit brew? it’s been my new favourite writing companion lately)
Heya! So if you're starting to build a portfolio, this would certainly be a relevant piece to have in there until you get your foot in the door or work on more projects :) As for smaller NPC's, I would make them much smaller bios - some background NPC's are literally just 'Bob the burly weapon trader who is a human with a gruff persona and voice' and that's it!
thank you so much for this video and the template! currently I'm looking for junior positions as a narrative designer and this is so helpful in building portfolio!
The algorithm lead me to this video. Great presentation and looking forward to more content in writing in games.
@@DoukuDango Thank you! :)
This was great! Love to see game dev writing videos, I'll be using those templates for sure
Awesome! Thank you for watching :)
This does make me wonder how the developers behind Mass Effect and The Witcher handled this kind of information, since those games had wildly divergent plot branches not just within individual titles but between installments. I'm appreciating just how much work those teams put into keeping the wheels from falling off of their narratives.
When you make tweaks to the plot, do you, in turn, make tweaks to the character's arc? That sounds like it gets messy the more you do it. And this is coming from a junior-level game writer.
@@HD_Simplicityy in short, yes. And yes it can get messy :) The best way to mitigate this is to have a clear plan early on of what kind of story is feasible to make within your scope and have key stakeholders sign off on story concepts. Iteration is inevitable though - sometimes it's small but sometimes other elements of the game need to change which can impact story and characters.
@@RhianneMurphy That makes sense. Changes within scope of ideas