A professional game writer discusses which tools to use to write and test a game script.
Game studios use different development methods. And, as a rule, each department has its own pool of working tools. Screenwriters and narrative designers have them too.
Writing a script may seem like a simple task from the outside, but in reality, the process turns into a big puzzle. After all, games are highly interactive and variable. For example, to write a non-linear dialogue system, you need parameters that define important plot points. They must be placed correctly, because later on, they will form the basis for some of the main character’s or NPC’s responses.
Usually, scriptwriters work on the plot while game designers are writing design documents and technical specifications, but sometimes they work on it during content development. In any case, at the time of writing the plot, narrators usually do not have either the final visuals or the gameplay prototype at their disposal. But the logic of the plot needs to be checked somehow. This is where script prototypes come in handy — rough models of the story that can be played. Below, I will describe three tools for creating them.
Twine
The Twine engine is perhaps the most popular tool for scenario prototyping, including in foreign studios. It was originally created by web developer Chris Climacus, but is now maintained by a group of people in several repositories on GitHub. The open-source engine is available in a web version and as a PC application.
Twine’s functionality consists of building diagrams and simple scripting in the form of hyperlinks between nodes. Standard programming elements help to expand the possibilities a little: assign variables and write conditions. In other words, the scriptwriter creates scene cards in a huge space and connects them with nodes. The cards describe actions, dialogues, gameplay, levels, answer options, and story branches.
Twine uses its own formats: Harlowe, Snowman, and SugarCube. These are like mini-engines within the engine. They all have common basic functionality, but each uses its own programming language and different features. For example, in SugarCube you can create a checklist, and in Harlowe you can set the time. There are also many different JavaScript macros created by Twine users that are publicly available.
Once the plot system is set up, you can play it by clicking the Play button. This feature is what makes Twine unique for screenwriters. With this tool, you can see almost in action whether the story works or not. In addition, the engine allows you to view the number of characters, words, and scene cards, which is very useful for game writers.
The finished story file is downloaded in HTML format. It can be launched in any browser, added to a website, or even converted to JSON and ported to Unity/Unreal Engine.
yEd Live
The online diagram and flowchart editor yEd Live is not exactly a prototyping tool, but rather a convenient way to build story logic and any other structures. To start working with yEd, simply launch the launcher in your browser. The German developer yWorks also offers the yEd Graph Editor application. But the yEd launcher is convenient because it is accessible from any PC.
In the editor, you can create diagrams, flowcharts, quest and dialogue systems, application and interface structures, family trees, and semantic networks. In short, lots of good stuff. In terms of functionality, yEd is more convenient than Draw.io or Visio.
Working with the program is as simple as possible: drag and drop an element from the list of templates, add a description, and build a diagram. All cells are divided into groups depending on their visual appearance. You can find tables, icons, and individual elements for UML, BPMN, and ER systems. But if there is no suitable image in the list, you can upload your own image in SVG format.
When creating separate skill systems, you can, for example, link them to the character tree and tie them to locations. yEd helps you visualize how the relationships between game mechanics and the plot work.
On the program’s official website, you can find examples of diagrams that were created by real developers. For example, there is a state model for the online game Ingress. All examples can be opened directly in the launcher, which is very convenient for studying.
The editor also offers automatic alignment of elements, adding annotations to each object, isometric display, and other visual tricks. The finished diagram can be saved in PNG, SVG, PDF, or exported in yEd’s own format and sent to the cloud to work on the project on another device.
Articy Draft
Articy Draft is a powerful tool for storyboarding, including for AAA games. It’s no surprise that CD Project Red, BioWare, and Ubisoft have used it in their work. This tool was used in the creation of games such as Disco Elysium, Tropico 6, Gardenscapes, and SpellForce 3.
The program allows you to design the plot, some gameplay elements, create a full-fledged script prototype, and play it. Unfortunately, there is no free version of the program, except for a 14-day trial version. There is a subscription starting at $6 per month or a purchase on Steam for $100. For large projects, these costs are justified because this tool has a very wide range of functions.