The Game Writing Guide

by Anna Megill

This comprehensive guide walks readers through the entire process of getting and keeping a writing job in the games industry. It outlines exactly what a beginner needs to know about education requirements, finding opportunities, applying for roles, and acing studio interviews. Professional writers will learn how to navigate studio hierarchies, transfer roles and companies, work overseas, and keep developing their careers. Written by an experienced games writer with nearly two decades of industry knowledge, this book contains a wealth of interviews and perspectives with industry leaders, hiring managers, and developers from marginalized communities, all offering their tips and insights. Included are examples of materials such as job posts, writing samples, and portfolios, as well as chapter-end challenges for readers to directly apply the skills they have learnt. This book will be of great interest to all beginner and aspiring games writers and narrative designers, as well as more experienced writers looking to hone their skills.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

268 pages, Paperback

Published May 22, 2023

Reviews

[Nicholas Solari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily the most up-to-date game writing guide on the market. It’s built on 20+ years of games experience from Anna Megill and makes great use of insights from her industry colleagues to compile a diverse wealth of knowledge.

It’s aimed at giving both working and professional writers a resource to look back on as they journey through the world of games, and I highly recommend it to my peers!

[Andrea Blythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Game Writing Guide: Get Your Dream Job and Keep It by Anna Megill is a wonderfully practical guide to understanding how to build and maintain a career as a writer in the games industry. Her advice — which is based off interviews with dozens of writer mentors, as well as her own experience writing for games such as Fable, Control, and Dishonored, among others — runs the full gamut, from job hunting, writing resumes and cover letters, building a portfolio, and interviews to moving up within the company once you have the job and leadership roles.

All of this advice is delivered in simple, well-organized, and straightforward manner — with little dashes of humor sprinkled in — making the book easy to ready and follow. Where Megill is less confident in her commentary, she admits so upfront and presents insights of other mentors or other avenues for seeking this information.

With so many folks vying for writing jobs at the moment, I thought I’d highlight a few of the takeaways I found particularly helpful thus far. Check them out here: https://andreablythe-games.com/2023/0...

[Elly Call · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Megill is impressive for many reasons and this book taught me that her ability to wrangle so many people into one work to share the expertise is one of them. I have technically finished this book, there are no more pages—but I’ve referred back to it again and again and I suspect I’ll keep doing so throughout my game writing career. If you’re serious about writing for games, READ IT!!