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Recently, I have been looking up different freelance job opportunities and have stumbled upon a few that involve writing for a video game, but my main goal has always been trying to write a novel, not a game.

I've been wondering, what is the crucial difference between writing a proposal for a video game as opposed to writing a novel?

For example, novels often have the advantage of time and the ability to develop the characters through the character's internal monologue, but a video game does not have that. They also have to focus a lot on the abilities of the characters, entertaining gameplay, and a host of other rules. The game I am thinking about is a puzzle game in particular, so it will require coming up with interesting and creative scenarios for the character to escape from on top of the basic script and other concepts. So I want to know how making a game script differs from writing a novel or a movie.

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  • But first we have to say the difference between writing a novel and a movie –– shouldn't take long.
    – wetcircuit
    Sep 18, 2022 at 22:06

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Both are completely different.

  1. The story of a book has a fixed beginning and end. A game does not. In a video game, players will be making many decisions throughout the game. So, the game is going to have to develop every possible option that allows the gamer to feel like they are really controlling a character.

  2. In a book, the writer has complete control over everything that he writes. In a game, a writer is secondary. A video game's main writer is the project director. He is with an idea and works with the writer, software engineers, UI/UX designers. Unlike a book, in a video game, the story is secondary.

  3. In a book the writer makes and tells his/her story (what he comes out with), in a video game it's more about the story of the players and what decisions they take while playing the game.

In the a book the writer is the master and the story and how it is told makes or breaks the book, in a video game the writer plays just one of the roles as the players love to play a game with terrific interactive gameplay - and their the designers would be having a bigger role than a writer.

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  • Absolutely agree in terms of organizational hierarchy. In addition, newer games have had a bigger influence on players while, after, and when they replay them. For example, have a look at INSIDE. Even with its excellent visuals and animation style, the tale took center stage.
    – Osm
    Sep 26, 2022 at 1:38

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