Game Writing Basics: To Research or Not To Research?

So you want to write a video game, but are unsure where to begin your research. That’s okay! Taking on any large writing project can seem daunting at first, especially if you’re not sure what game writing research to start with. But don’t worry, I’ll give you a quick walkthrough to get you started on this journey. In this article, we will explore when research is necessary in game writing and what you need to know to get started with your craft.

To Research

To put it plainly, almost every game writing project will require at least some research. The question is, what kind and how much? Deciding what research you need to perform when writing games depends on several factors. Things like the scope of the project, the genre, the level of writing complexity, the background, and so much more. 

How do I know what I need to research? 

To get started, organize the project to better identify your overall goals. Identify the scope, genre, and writing components. From there, you can start narrowing down what elements require factual evidence, contextual support, or observation.

Scope

The scope generally refers to the size of a project. Are you going to be writing a simple strategy mobile game, or are you creating a massive open world with original lore? Basically, how much writing is the project actually going to involve?

You will also want to identify the amount of writing you will personally be handling. In many cases, you will be working as a team to follow specific project guidelines. Which team you are on will also impact the amount of research you will need to perform. 

Common writing teams include:

• World Building: The background of everything in the game and how the world works.

• Script Writing: The actual dialogue and narration in the game (i.e., anything that could be voiced by an actor).

• Optional Content Creation: Additional content or context for side quests.

• Flavor Writing: All the extras in the game, such as item descriptions, lore, and instructions.

By identifying the scope of the entire project AND the scope of your responsibilities within the larger project. You can begin to identify the “how much” part of the research behind the project. 

Genre

In addition to the size of the project, you will need to know the type of game you are writing. Not only will this help you identify your target market and, therefore, the depth of research your audience expects, but it will also help you determine where to start your research. 

Common game genres include:

• Adventure Games

• Action Games

• Sports Games

• Simulation Games

• Platformers

• Role-playing games (RPGs)

• First-Person Shooters

• Action-Adventure Games

• Fighting Games

• Real-Time Strategy (RTS) Games

• Racing Games

• Shooter Games

• Puzzle Games

• Casual Games

• Strategy Games

• Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs (MMORPGs)

• Stealth Games

• Party Games

• Action RPGs

• Tactical RPGs

• Survival Games

• Battle Royale Games

The subgenre will also play a role in what research you will need to perform. For example, Call of Duty is a First-Person Shooter game, but it is also a historical fiction game. From the weapons to the events, games like Call of Duty: Cold War are based on real-life historical context. That means that the audience will expect accuracy in dates, operation names and events, weapon names and functionality, and so much more. The same could be said for games based on mythology, like God of War or Assassin's Creed. 

Games with original concepts, like MMORPG fantasy games, still require research to make the content digestible for the audience. Games like World of Warcraft, Pathfinder, and Warhammer feature recognizable races and classes that have been established in the fantasy world. The audience will expect some sort of familiarity in lore with games that feature recognizable themes like dragons, elves, dwarves, orcs, mages, etc. On the other hand, games with completely original content, like Horizon Zero Dawn, will still likely feature recognizable aspects such as polytheist religions, hierarchical social systems, cultural customs, etc. In these cases, it is the responsibility of the writer to perform the proper research to not only relate well with the target audience but also avoid unnecessary conflict from unintentional bias. 

Games that have recognizable themes like racing games, survival games, action games, etc., may require less research based on real-life events. However, they will still require research to identify recognizable characteristics that your audience will be familiar with, such as items, geography, or culture.

Even games like strategy, puzzle, and casual games could include research. It might be competitive research to see what the audience likes and doesn’t like about similar games. Or, it might be research about game mechanics, item characteristics, or overall themes.

Writing components

Once you know how much you are writing and what you are writing about, you can narrow your research goals even further by identifying the writing components for the project. 

Common writing components include:

• World Building

  • Social Caste Systems: Kingdoms and governments, factions, guilds, etc.

  • Mythology: Pantheons, legends, paranormal/supernatural cryptids, rituals, sacred places, holidays, etc.

  • History: real-life events, nations, locations, people, etc.

  • Maps: real-life geographical locations, logical geographical structures, and distances, etc. 

  • Language: real-life or fictional language structures, dialects, linguistic customs, etc.

• Script Writing

  • Conversational: content spoken between characters

  • Explanatory: spoken content that describes a part of the game or world

  • Narrational: content giving context to or addressing the player, i.e., not spoken by a character

• Optional Content Creation

  • Social Interaction: side quests that involve the character helping an NPC, which may or may not impact the social aspect of the game

  • Character Building: side quests that relate to character development, such as traits, feats, equipment, skills, etc.

  • Historical: side quests that are related to actual historical context, for example, stacking stones in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

  • Mythological: side quests related to mythology 

• Flavor Writing

  • Legends: the lore in additional documents for the game, such as the bestiary or codex

  • Weapons & Equipment: the names and descriptions of weapons, equipment, or other items in the game

  • Tutorial: how-to guides or tool tips

  • Artifacts: descriptions or backstory for items found in the game

Where do I find sources? 

A best practice for any in-depth research project is to start by tracking down primary sources. These are the sources that are directly related to the research subject. For example, if you are researching a war, you want to find battle reports, letters, photos, etc., from that war rather than news articles about the battle. 

That being said, you don’t need to stick to traditional sources when working on a creative project like a video game. Depending on what type of research you are performing, you could use primary or secondary sources. Or, you could use something totally out of the box. For example, if you are writing content for a shooter game, maybe you go to a shooting range and practice with the weapon you are writing about. This gives you first-hand knowledge to base your writing on. 

The ultimate goal should always be to present the best possible experience for your audience. Meaning, you should strive to provide accurate, inoffensive details in every part of the game.

Here are some suggestions for finding different types of sources: 

• Historical: 

  • Local Records

  • Published Historical Documents

  • Event Reports

  • Letters

  • Transcripts

  • Legal Filings

  • News Reports

  • Non-fiction Books

  • First-Hand Accounts

• Literary:

  • Publications

  • Books

  • Poems

  • Epics

  • Plays

  • Religious Texts

• Scholarly: 

  • Journal Articles

  • Research Studies

  • University Lectures

• Interviews:

  • Experts

  • Witnesses

• Catalogs:

  • Item Descriptions

• Archeological

  • Journal Articles

  • Research Studies

  • Expedition Notes

  • Museum Exhibits

• Practical/Functional:

  • Real-life examples (usually for items/artifacts)

• Competitive:

  • Similar games

  • Player Reviews

  • Media Reviews

• Cartography

  • Maps

  • Experts

  • Research Studies

• Local Geography

  • Maps

• Historical Geography

  • Maps

• Established Game Lore

  • Game Notes

  • Previous Games

How do I know if a source is credible and appropriate for my project? 

Deciding if a source is credible is somewhat subjective, but there are ways to make sure you are tracking down quality sources at every turn. First and foremost, blogs and forums are usually not credible sources. 

However, you can still use a blog as a starting point and follow the source material to find the original, credible source the author took the information from. In addition, forums may prove useful for competitive research or to identify pain points for your target audience. 

A good practice is to find at least two sources to verify any one claim.

Generally Credible Sources

• Primary Sources: Most of the time, primary sources are considered credible, but you will want to make sure you verify the validity of the source. A letter from a soldier during a particular war is a credible primary source, but a first-hand account of an alien sighting from someone who is high, not so much. 

• Literary Sources: Books, poems, epics, plays, and religious texts could all be valid, credible sources depending on the context of the research. These can be used to reference style, mythology, or language in the appropriate context. 

• Academic Sources: Peer-reviewed journal articles, verified research findings, proven statistics, recovered artifacts, or any other academic source are generally considered credible. 

• Experts: Consulting experts is a common practice in creative writing projects. The key to determining if they are credible is to fully understand their qualifications. For example, a military official with decades of experience would have more credibility than a military fiction writer. 

Project-Specific Credible Sources

• Practical/Functional Sources: Viewing or handling the actual item or artifact that you are writing about can be a great way to get a better sense of what to say about it. This is particularly true with things like weapons, clothing, or even jewelry. Try to find an item that is most closely related to the item you are writing about. If you are describing a Greek spear, find a museum that has Greek spears rather than a Roman javelin.

• Catalogs: If you choose to use a catalog or similar publication to reference items, choose one that is considered legitimate in the public domain. Avoid using titles that publish controversial content or have been involved in ethical scandals. 

• Established Game Lore: When writing content for a game that already has established game lore, reference direct source material from the game and official content from the studio. Avoid content from forums, gamer magazines, or wiki-style sites.

How do I incorporate sources into my writing? 

In general, you will not need to cite your sources in your video game. The only time you will need to incorporate sources into the final work is when you consult individuals, either through interviews or as an expert who contributes to the research process. You could include these individuals in the video game credits as part of the research team or something similar. 

It is, however, a good practice to keep track of all the sources you collect during the project. This will help you support your findings if it is ever questioned (like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has been). It will also help you create a personal archive for you to reference as the project grows or for future projects.

Not To Research

The short answer here is that there is never a situation where you should not perform research when writing a video game. It doesn’t matter if you are writing a historical fiction game or a unique, custom world. There is always something to research.

Where can I find more information? 

There are countless blogs, courses, and guides out there that provide helpful information for new game writers. That being said, it can be overwhelming to try to find legitimate information that comes from a knowledgeable source. The best course of action to find more information about writing video games is to look for direct sources. Content from game studios, experienced game writers, or game writing training materials is a great place to start. 

John Ryan publishes content about developing game writing skills on gamedesignskills.com. He is an experienced game writer who has been working in the industry since 2007. He has worked on top-of-the-line titles including Fable 2, Guild Wars, Destiny, Marvel's Iron Man, Forza, Horizon, and Lily's Garden.

It is also helpful to familiarize yourself with the different types of game writers. Educational blogs from Universities with Game Design programs can help you build a foundation for refining your goals and crafting a compelling portfolio.