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Let's celebrate great gaming writers

sponger

sponger

Member
Dec 7, 2018
409
Here is my list of people. (basically means that I'll play anything with their name on it)

Josh Sawyer - He's great as I think he's one of rare persons in RPG industry who understands how to branch stories with immediate effects and later-on effects. Also, I personally admire him as he's also great with world-building connection to the character and classic RPG stats connection to characters. Most notable games include Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars Of Eternity.

John Gonzalez - John is such great personality first and foremost. Main quality as a writer is in his great capacity to understand world building from narrative standpoint - he's proven track record is one of greatest: Fallout New Vegas and Horizon Zero Dawn. He's person who developed almost all background stories for fractions in FNV, but also pivotal person in developing backstory, lore and story-arcs in Horizon.

Chris Avellone - Any game with his name on it is immediately in my top 30 by default.

Paul Crocker - I love his skill to present great new ideas to existing IP's. He's proven as great steward of Batman franchise and soon to be shown as great addition to Halo franchise.

Dan Houser - True Rockstar.

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Who are your favourite writers and why?
 
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TheBaldwin

TheBaldwin

Member
Feb 25, 2018
8,285
Was coming to say Chris Avellone. Kotor 2 and Fallout New Vegas are superb

Also Drew Karpyshyn - He wrote the original KOTOR and Mass Effect 1 and 2. Man knows how to make really lovable characters and just have lots of great world building that doesnt just feel like Lore dumps.

Also as much as I think his latest output has been utter wank, Kojima use to have a knack for telling really fun and outlandish stories with great characters with music and art styles to back it up.
 
ArchLector

ArchLector

Member
Apr 10, 2020
7,588
I love all the writers you mentioned, but you missed one of the best ones:
Neil Druckmann: He wrote the The Last of Us. Does anything more really need to be said?
 
gitrektali

gitrektali

Member
Feb 22, 2018
3,191
Erik Wolpaw - Portal, Psychonauts, HL-2: Great humor, and very well memorable characters

Robert Kurvitz - Disco Elysium: Probably the best-written game I've played, and his writing really elevates the medium as a whole

Dan Houser: RDR 2, Max Payne, and pretty much every GTA title

Edit: Max Payne 3*, and Robert Kurvitz + ZA/UM Team*
 
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Trelova

Trelova

Banned
Apr 8, 2020
814
Shu Takumi, who's responsible for writing the best Ace Attorney games and Ghost Trick, i.e some of the greatest VNs ever made.
my man is just a legend
 
The Shape

The Shape

Member
Nov 7, 2017
5,027
Brazil
I'd add Hideo Kojima (yes, I love his work, judge me, I don't care), Yoko Taro and Neil Druckmann. Also Dan Houser for RDR2.
 
DailyCalmSpirit

DailyCalmSpirit

Banned
May 17, 2018
3,454
Great choices in your list there. I'll add:

- Neil Druckmann and Amy Hennig for the Uncharted and TLOU series. The impact those games had on storytelling in the medium cannot be ignored.

- Hidetaka Miyazaki for his Souls series. It's weird to point out the writing in the Souls games, but, I've always loved the dialogue and inventive way of telling the stories those games tell. An incredibly unique voice in the fantasy genre.

- Yoko Taro for his Nier series. Hard to even summarize how interesting he is, but, y'all know what it is.

- Hideo Kojima. I know. I KNOW. He needs an editor. But, his vision is unparalleled. There is no one like him in any other medium.

- Mikael Hedburg for SOMA. The ending remains with me to this day.

Some honorable mentions because I think they're just so...SO close to the top shelf: Sam Lake. Marcin Blacha (CDPR). Ken Levine. Tameem Antoniades.
 
Kinthey

Kinthey

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
22,323
Matt Sophos - He wrote Lost Planet 3 which really had some standout character writing. The game didn't find much success but Sophos eventually found his acclaim with the new God of War. Curiously those are his only two writer credits on IMDb. Not bad.
 
His Majesty

His Majesty

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,171
Belgium
In general I find it hard to credit single individuals as so many games are a massive team effort. Still, I'd like to give credit to Joshua Alan Doetsch (The Secret World) and Robert Kurvitz (Disco Elysium) for having a huge influence on some of my favourite writing in video games.
 
purseowner

purseowner

From the mirror universe
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,444
UK
Kotaro Uchikoshi (999, Virtue's Last Reward, AI: The Somnium Files)
Ken Levine (Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite)
Aquaplus (Utawarerumono)
Toby Fox (Undertale)
Hanada Keika (The House in Fata Morgana)
Fernando Damas (VA-11 HALL-A)
 
Trelova

Trelova

Banned
Apr 8, 2020
814
oh, and Toby Fox. can't believe i forgot my boy. Undertale and Deltarune are such fantastically written games.

the charming item descriptions, all the memorable NPCs, the super fun battle dialogue, all the lovely characters, the heartwrenching story, all the crazy meta elements. he balances so much with such finesse it's really quite amazing

purseowner said:
Kotaro Uchikoshi (999, Virtue's Last Reward, AI: The Somnium Files)
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yessss i didn't know his name but the Zero Escape series is so tightly written and gripping as hell. the twists are some real wild stuff
 
Damn Silly

Damn Silly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,194
The why for all of these is simple enough in that they've all written multiple games that I've really enjoyed for their story/narrative/dialogue (each person wasn't necessarily involved in all parts, but ya know)

Kotaro Uchikoshi - 999, VLR, ZTD (this one has the most bumps for sure, but I still enjoy a lot of it), AI: The Somnium Files
Yoko Taro - NieR and NieR Automata
Pre-MGS4 Kojima - I mean, ignore what's come after but MGS1-3 are all bona fide classics
Sam Lake (do the face, Sam) - Max Payne, Alan Wake and Control

There are certainly plenty more (probably including people that I have no idea wrote X, Y or Z) but those are the folks that immediately jumped to mind.
 
Joris-truly

Joris-truly

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
845
Netherlands
Jens Matties - old Starbreeze games: Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay, The Darkness 1(in collaboration). Machine Games: The New Order, The New Colossus.
His boldness in mashing the absudism with fully fleshed genuine characters with wants and needs. Giving cartoon caricature BJ Blazkowicz a introspective take is just a briljant idea! Like if a GI Joe story was directed by Terrence Malick.

Neil Druckman - The Last of Us, Uncharted 4.
Didn't care for the gameplay, but the writing stood out. It's still refreshing to see big budget AAA games that aren't plot heavy.

Ken Levine - Thief, System Shock 2, Bioshock 1 (and forget infinite, can't win them all)
Levine's tendencies to mix unexplored ideologies in games has always fascinated me.

Marc Laidlaw - Half-Life series
His restraint way of world building is sorely missed in this industry.
 
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Valcrist

Valcrist

Tic-Tac-Toe Champion
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,705
Tomoyoshi Miyazaki - Terranigma
Reiko Takebayashi - Also Terranigma. All writers involved in this masterpiece get all my love.
Yoko Taro - He writes things that make me think for days, months, years. Making me feel for androids or contemplating the value of artificial life is something I thought impossible. But here we are.
Yasumi Matsuno - The man writes some of the most riveting Shakesperian works in gaming. I miss him, please come back and direct/write a new project that isn't FFXIV. Though I love his work there, too.
Ken Levine - Bioshock Infinite is a narrative masterpiece, but I know I'm on the minority there.
Amy Hennig - Her work in the Uncharted series cannot be understated and I'm sad she isn't with Naughty Dog anymore.
Yuji Horii - Possibly the most underrated person on this list (in the west). His work is really good, Dragon Quest stories are good, y'all! I loved DQXI especially. So many feels.
Shigesato Itoi - Just a master of comedy and heart. I love his work, just everything he does is pure quality.
 
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Enduin

Enduin

You look 40
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,486
New York
David Gaiter - developed the Dragon Age series, one of my favorite original settings in gaming with a truly staggering amount of lore and world building behind it. While it uses and treads a lot of well worn fantasy elements and tropes, it's put together in a really intriguing and entertaining way and has developed into a very large and expansive setting through the games, books and comics.

Patrick Weekes - Major contributions to both the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. Tuchanka storyline in ME3 and Trespasser DLC for DAI are just a taste of his work. His development of characters like Mordin and Solas are just great.

Jane Jensen - Gabriel Knight is just one of the greatest PnC series ever. Sins of the Father to this day remains a high water mark for the genre in so many ways.

Eric Fenstermaker - Lead Narrative designer for Pillars of Eternity. Sawyer was mentioned in the OP, but Eric was hugely responsible as well for the Pillars series and its development. Wrote the best farm boy ever, Eder.

Carrie Patel - Narrative Lead for PoE2: Deadfire. Taking over for the sequel after Eric's departure, alongside Sawyer, she helped to expand the series in a new setting with the Deadfire and all the great factions and history within it.

Lukas Kristjanson - Dude has been involved with just about every game from BioWare from Lead Writer for Baldur's Gate to design on Neverwinter Nights and writing in Kotor, Jade Empire, Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Responsible for the amazing Aveline in DA2 and Jaheira before her in BG.
 
Readler

Readler

Member
Oct 6, 2018
1,972
DailyCalmSpirit said:
My eye actually twitched after reading this.
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Don't you know? Film noir can only mean dark gloomy city by night.

I'd also say Dan Houser is up there, just his work for RDR1 and 2, and Max Payne 3 is good enough. Not too fond of GTAV, but that's just my personal opinion. Still better than most other stuff, though Vice City was imo the best GTA in terms of writing imo.

'the last of us'

Marcin Blacha and Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz for their work on The Witcher, though that was an entire team. So sorry if I forgot notable ones.

Sam Lake is just an absolute legend.
 
Dragoon

Dragoon

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
11,231
Diane said:
I'd add Hideo Kojima (yes, I love his work, judge me, I don't care), Yoko Taro and Neil Druckmann. Also Dan Houser for RDR2.
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Kojima is definitely one of the best writers, doesn't matter if a loud minority likes to shit on him. His highs in games are the at the top vs any writer in the video game history.

You don't need to feel like you have to defend your decision for picking him.
 
JazzmanZ

JazzmanZ

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,384
Tetsuya Normura

The legendary visionary of the Kingdom hearts series *chefs kiss*
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,194
Mikael Hedberg, writer of SOMA. Might be the best gaming narrative I've ever experienced, particularly the way it incorporates the player's perspective (FPS) into the actual fabric of the story.
 
Chivalry

Chivalry

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Nov 22, 2018
3,894
Kinthey said:
Matt Sophos - He wrote Lost Planet 3 which really had some standout character writing. The game didn't find much success but Sophos eventually found his acclaim with the new God of War. Curiously those are his only two writer credits on IMDb. Not bad.
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This. He saved the game from mediocrity. LP3 is so underrated.
 
DaleCooper

DaleCooper

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,852
Out of curiosity, why no mentions of the writer(s) for the Persona games? I thought these games were heavy on story, but maybe it's not the strong suit of the series.
 
gitrektali

gitrektali

Member
Feb 22, 2018
3,191
Yossarian said:
He wasn't the only writer, but he is absolutely fantastic.

Alexis Kennedy is a damn fine writer, but apparently (and unfortunately) a bit of a predator.
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Oh for sure, he and the entire writing team were great. I only mentioned him specifically because he was the lead writer.
 
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purseowner

purseowner

From the mirror universe
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,444
UK
DaleCooper said:
Out of curiosity, why no mentions of the writer(s) for the Persona games? I thought these games were heavy on story, but maybe it's not the strong suit of the series.
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The writing is the one aspect of the series that I wish would improve.

Persona 5's approach to its promising 'rise up against corrupt adult society' premise is irritatingly juvenile at times, and late plot beats are unearned melodrama.

But character moments and overall heart save it.
 
Neoleo2143

Neoleo2143

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,462
DaleCooper said:
Out of curiosity, why no mentions of the writer(s) for the Persona games? I thought these games were heavy on story, but maybe it's not the strong suit of the series.
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Well Satoshi Tadashi definitely deserves a mention here being the writer of SMT: Digital Devil Saga and Persona 1 and 2 and the Caligula Effect (though the overdose content is what really makes the game what it is.

The writing behind the modern persona games can feel a little too unfocused for me? I get less of a defined quirk from individual scenes or rhythms (and those that I do can feel a bit too skeezy or hurtful).
 
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sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,505
These people make me laugh. Gilbert also manages to have have a cool dark vibe in the games while remaining comedy:
Ron GIlbert (Monkey Island 1/2, Maniac Mansion, Thimbleweed Park)
Tim Schafer (Monkey Island 1/2, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Broken Age)
David Grossman (Monkey Island 1/2, Day of the Tentacle)
Dan Marshall (Ben and Dan series)

These people have written fun, sweeping adventure journeys:
Hal Barwood/Noah Falstein (Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis)
Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest series)
Makoto Ikehara (Breath of Fire series)

Plenty more but I'll stop at 8
 

Deleted member 37928

Banned
Jan 10, 2018
6,927
I recently played Eliza which was really well written by Matt Burns. He worked at Treyarch and 343 initially but was burned out by crunch culture. I was happy to see that he found his element in the indie realm so quickly.
 
Tuco Benedicto Pacifico

Tuco Benedicto Pacifico

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
8,466
Another vote for Erik Wolpaw. Basically anything the man wrote, from Double Fine games to Portal, passing through TF2 shorts and comics, is both brilliant and absolutely hilarious.

Like this monologue in the intro of Psychonauts:

 
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