CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 1/13/06

Enter a Contest, Win a Career:
Get Your Game on in BioWare's
Open Competition
for Video Game-Writing Jobs

By michael lent

As video games have become more complex and engrossing, they've become the bane of many a writer on deadline. However, they're not just for procrastination anymore -- the booming gaming industry can be yet another potential market for writers looking to think outside the box. If that sounds like you, software company BioWare has an offer you can't refuse.

A young sailor aboard the billowing Midnight Rose, a pirate ship on the high seas, is hurled overboard. He eludes his watery grave and beaches up on a strange deserted island where the sailor is not as alone as it initially appears. Am I referring to a fantasy episode of Lost or the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean? Actually, neither. This is Pirates of the Sword Coast, the most recent module of the Neverwinter Nights Medieval Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing video game saga. The next armchair adventure module may be written by you.

While movies, video games, and graphic novels represent individual art forms with very distinct formats and aesthetics, in Hollywood the synergy between the three is indisputable. Many savvy screenwriters are succeeding at solving this Rubik's Cube where graphic novels become movies, then games…which spawn movies…and vice versa. For those writers who have their game on, Edmonton, Canada-headquartered BioWare is putting out the welcome mat by announcing a competition to become a professional staff writer for the company. In a brave new world that mingles Lucas Entertainment with Microsoft, BioWare has developed such highly regarded, award-winning game titles as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Neverwinter Nights. Ranking high on the list of Canada's Top 100 companies, the video game developer is now offering writers a quantum leap into what PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts to be an $11 billion video game industry for 2006. [Editor's note: Michael talks to O'Connor, writer of Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, as well as many other video game writers, in his article, "Writers Wanted -- Now: Report From the Austin Game Writers Conference" in the new issue of Creative Screenwriting, on sale now.]

For the purposes of the contest, entrants are asked to create a Neverwinter Nights module or side quest in approximately 3,500 words, and limited to four characters. Writers must tell their story using the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset (a 3-D game engine developed by the company and included with each game, allowing users to create their own content). The top eight submissions will be reviewed by BioWare senior staff members, including the company's Director of Design James Ohlen and Assistant Director of Design Kevin Barrett, with the intent on finding and hiring talented writers. Others may receive a host of BioWare-related consolation prizes.

There is no cost to enter. BioWare is simply looking to hire both from its fan community and from writers who can demonstrate a good use of its toolset (a combination of a visual tile-based terrain editor, a script editor, a conversation editor, and an object editor). Entries must be submitted by January 30, 2006. Winners will be announced the last week of February.

The Neverwinter Nights competition represents a truly unique opportunity. In the fast-growing game universe, where the plotlines of many products are still put together by sunlight-starved computer programmers and engineers, there is a great demand for real writers who understand both interactive storytelling and classic paradigms and their archetypes. BioWare is one of the companies most eager to hire such writers. The company has often recruited from its fan community, listing a number of hires that have occurred through modding (modifying hardware or software to perform a function not designed by the product creator) of its games. Note that a lack of formal qualifications is not a specific impediment to winning. In fact, according to Jay Watamaniuk, BioWare's Community Manager, the company will be specifically looking at "the characters, the dialogue, the plot, the non-linear structure, and the flow and pace of the story." Beyond a passion for both writing and for game playing, Watamaniuk suggests that entrants should be familiar with the style and mechanics of BioWare's games, particularly the Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate series.

What makes a good module? Watamaniuk says that "I want to be immersed in a great story with interesting characters that I care about. The fundamentals in writing for a game are not that different from writing a novel, screenplay, or any medium in which you tell a story." For the module, Watamaniuk says that nimble, brief dialogue and a believable world are crucial. Of course, a big difference in screenwriting for films and fashioning stories for games is a non-linear plot and planning for multiple endings. "Successful modules allow the player's decisions to significantly impact their game experience," according to Watamaniuk.

No worries if you are unfamiliar with how to use the Neverwinter Nights toolset. You can click here for a specific list of guidelines, with tips as well as handy tutorial references, that are posted on the main Bioware contest website. And writers who would like to forgo the Neverwinter Nights contest and apply directly to BioWare can do so on their jobs page.

BioWare has announced two more games in production. Mass Effect, in development for the Xbox 360, is a futuristic sci-fi/action RPG (role-playing game) set in the 23rd century. Effect is the first in a trilogy of games with an overarching story that will allow players to shape the destiny not of not only humanity, but also the fate of the entire galaxy. Dragon Age is BioWare's second new intellectual property (after Jade Empire) and is in development for the PC. This is a fantasy RPG will feature the company's trademark stunning visuals and a cinematic game play experience where players will explore vast landscapes and engage in massive battles.

Good luck, and let us know when you win!

Michael Lent has sold, optioned, or been assigned to 11 feature film projects. Since 1997, he's been a columnist and current contributing editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine. You can purchase his latest book, Christmas in Hell, here.

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