Ready for a blast from the past? The following interview of Jon Samsel was conducted by American Writers Review and published in the July 1997 edition, Volume Two, Number Four.
Screenwriters are always interested in finding new mediums to work in, and the history of screenwriting illustrates this fact. First, it was plays. After plays, writers turned to radio. They moved from radio to movies, and from movies to television. At that point, it seemed as though the screenwriter could paraphrase those famous last words of Alexander the Great: “There are no media left to conquer.” Thank goodness the personal computer boom of the mid 80’s proved that sentiment to be untrue.
Today, interactive writing–”writing for the small computer screens,”–is a bustling market, and one that welcomes creative writers who understand the requirements of this highly specialized medium. AWR enlisted the aid of Jon Samsel, editor of the highly-acclaimed Multimedia Directory and co-author of the Interactive Writer’s Handbook (written with Darryl Wimberley), frequent conference speaker, in helping you understand what it takes to become an interactive writer.
A former agent and casting director, Samsel broke into multimedia in 1993. “Another agent friend of mine and I quit our jobs at the same time and formed a company,” he says. “All we knew was that we wanted to be involved with multimedia, but neither of us was a programmer or a graphic designer. We were writers and entrepreneuers. ” However, he and his business partner soon saw a need, and capitalized on it. We realized that the industry needed some sort of how-to or business publication that would help people like us make the transition into the multimedia industry. We came up with the Multimedia Directory as a means of answering the basic questions every newcomer had: Where are the multimedia companies located? What types of projects are they working on? How does multimedia get created?
In the beginning, writers weren’t often involved with creating interactive games. Instead, the people who coded the programs were also writing the stories. “These technical folk had been relegated to creating everything themselves,” Samsel explains. “Look at the first generation multimedia CD-ROM games. Visually, they are stunning, but from a structural standpoint, the character and plot development left a lot to be desired. So Darryl Wimberley and I wrote the Interactive Writer’s Handbook as a bridge between the technical culture and the creative culture.” In addition, “We tried to give some guidance not only to writers interested in this medium, but also to technical/business people–programmers and producers–who weren’t used to working with writers from the outside.”
Begin the Begine
Of course, like any other writing endeavor, the key to success in interactive writing lies in getting started. But how? Samsel says “That the most-often asked question at the seminars and conference where I speak. And the question I pose to them most often is, ‘Why does your story need t be told interactively?’ Just because the technology exists to tell your tale interactively, that doesn’t mean it should be told that way. It’s not a comment meant to discourage people, it’s meant to make them examine the foundations of interactive structure in order to discover why and how their story becomes a more compelling experience if told interactively.”
Before going any further, it’s important to define what Samsel means by the term interactive story. “It’s simple,” he says. “What I mean by the term is a story that requires feedback, interpretation and vision from its audience. Too many readers make the mistake of attempting to tell an interactive story that doesn’t need to be told interactively.”
As a guideline as to what works interactively and what doesn’t, Samsel draws a comparison between the interactive story and the bedtime story. “What happens in most modern storytelling media is that the writer is separated from his audience. He creates an experience, be it a book or screenplay, and the audience passively reacts to it. Readers visualize the beginning, middle and end based on what the writer presents to them. They interpret the characters, plot and resolution in a way that’s been predetermined by the writer. This is the normal way readers experience a traditional linear story.”
But take the classic bedtime story experience, where the adult reader sits with a child who listens as the adult begins to read a traditional, linear story. What happens? The child almost always interupts the narrative to ask questions: Who is that? Why did they do that? Let’s try this. What happens if that happens? These questions stimulate an interaction between story and teller– and between reader and listener. The storyteller is compeled to accommodate the child’s spin-offs of the linear narrative, as well as drill downs in the material. What happens is that, through their interaction, the story-teller and the child create a new story. That’s the difference in interactivity: the audience becomes a co-creator of an experience, he explains.
While that may sound exciting, it’s not easy. “The hard part for the writer is in deciding how the story will accommodate user choice,” he says. “That’s the sticky part. The audience can’t select a choice the writer hasn’t already created and embedded into the program. The reality of interactive writing is that the writer must build a predefined amount of choice into the ‘world’ of his story. Success lies in understanding what works well interactively– and applying your skills to that form.”
One, Two, Three
As any regular reader of AWR can tell you, the modern standard format for screenplays is the basic three-act structure: beginning, middle and end. But does it work well in Interactive writing? “There is a reason why three-act is still in use today,” says Samsel. “It’s because it works. How it’s used in interactive writing depends on the type of interactive piece you’re putting together. It won’t work too well for a shoot em up game or other non-narrative programs. But in a narrative entertainment game like Sony ImageSoft’s Johnny Mnemonic, three-act structure is purposely built into the game, even though elements were modified to accommodate variations to the classic three-act model. In an interactive narrative, three-act structure is crucial.”
Assuming the writer has a storyline that will work well in an interactive context, the first consideration, after user choice, is audience. Samsel explains, “You have to ask yourself, ‘What is my purpose? Who is my audience?’ For example, the aims and interactions of a children’s interactive storybook would be very different from those of a teen-to-adult focused interactive mystery game,” he says. “In one, the aim is to teach the child life lessons while allowing her to experience language, colors, sounds and textures. In the other, you are allowing an adult or teenager to encounter and engage in provacative scenarios whereby he or she can explore alternative storylines, influence the pace and settings, assume to role of various characters, and the like.
Swim in the Deep End
It always helps the writer to come to a clear understanding of a medium’s potential before he dives into writing for that medium. “My next step,” says Samsel, “would be to sit down and experience various interactive programs– games, e-storybooks, a kiosk at a museum, etc. Make sure you try some genres and categories similar to the interactive project you hope to create. Take time to try and examine how the writers and designers structured the those interactive experiences, analyzing what works and what doesn’t. Brainstorm ways to improve on that structural model. Or consider alternatives. If you fancy yourself writing interactive games, but you have not taken the time to play dozens of them, you’ll find yourself at a serious disadvanatge because there are writings out there who have played hundreds of games– and one day you may be competing with them for a writing assignment.”
Doesn’t he worry that this approach might limit a writer’s creativity, or allow a writer to mimic what someone else has done? “Not really,” he says. “The hard truth about writing, even in an arena as new as interactive writing, is that every story is an iteration of something that’s already been done before. It’s a silly argument. You’re better off focusing your energies on making your project as engaging and exciting for the player as possible. Compelling content that sucks in the player as a participant is what interactivity is all about. And in order to do that, writer’s must put themselves in the player’s position. If that perspective can be integrated into the project design, you’re more likely to have a successful interactive experience.”
Playing the games, exploring the kiosks and clicking your way through a children’s e-storybook also introduces the writer to the technical aspects of the project. Programming accomplishments and special effect wizardry is as important to the interactive experience and the small screen as it is to Hollywood features on the big screen. But there is a big difference, Samsel says: The interactive market presents writers with the chance to exert more control over the creative input than traditional screenwriting. “In Hollywood, once a script is sold, the writer is generally out of the loop and it’s the director who takes on the task of interpreting the story for the screen. The only option for a writer frustrated by the lack of creative control over his property is to become a writer-director,” he says. “In the interactive multimedia industry, writer’s don’t typically turn in a script when it’s complete and walk away from the project. There’s an entire next stage of the project where the writer can define the parameters of the worlds, push the level of interactivity, fully flush out your characters, define player choice and action, impact the narrative flow–which all require the writer’s involvement. It’s a much deeper role, and it serves to increase the writer’s value to the success of the overall project.”
Samsel says that the A-list writers in interactive media are a much sought-after commodity– since there are so few writers today with much experience in this new realm. “Interactive production companies and game studios are looking for writers who can deliver a fresh perspective, claims Samsel. “It helps if the writer understands enough about the current technologies and standards to suggest design improvements or narrative strategies that take advantage of those capabilities. When the head of a gaming company receives a proposal for a new interactive project, and she’s convinced the writer can churn out a comprehensive interactive script and design document, but also has a solid grasp of the underlying technology platforms and creative applications, she’s immediately impressed. She knows she’s found a writer who gets it.”
Purposeful Planning
A good motto for interactive writers is this: Failing to plan is planning to fail. “That’s the biggest trap for the beginning interactive writer,” says Samsel. “When they commence a project without being sure of the goal, they are asking for trouble. Interactive writing can be seductive, and writers must control the urge to build more and more elements into the mix simply because they can. Giving in to that urge may result in a project that goes everywhere and nowhere– from a player point of view. many writers try to make their goal a top of mind item and let it guide their writing. This can help writers focus on developing interactive elements essential to accomplishing their goal.”
Part of the problem with planning can be attributed to the nature of the beast. “In the early days of interactive writing, the goal was to pack CD-ROM’s with as many hours of gameplay as possible. Thirty hours of total user gameplay was not uncommon. No one stopped to ask whether this was a good thing from the player point of view. Sure, maybe two percent of hardcore gamers loved that an interactive title was packed with 30 hours of mindboggling clicks and visuals, but to the average player, this was wasted cresativity because they would never play the game long enough to experience most of the content. Can you imagine the hours of writing and programming that went into a game experience that most users would never see? What a waste. But if the goal of the project was to wow the critic and the game geeks, the title stood a chance at succeeding. In the future, don’t be surprised if gameplay is shortened into smaller increments or episodes that are easier for players to consume and enjoy.”
One aspect of writing for the interactive market that makes it different from many other kinds of writing is the writers dual role as writer and user. “There’s no way to be successful in this field without stepping into both roles,” claims Samsel. “Both are demanding, and the interactive writer should be sure both perspectives get equal time on a multimedia project. Yes, the writing itself (and everything that entails such as story, plot, character development, etc.) is critical. But so is the player experience. Release that childlike sense of wonder within and explore as many interactive worlds as possible. Then watch your writing grow.”
Take Jon Samsel’s advice. Play on– and write on!
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Although sequential structure is built into the design scheme of practically every new media application ever produced, it is often not talked about. That’s because, for most interactive projects, linear structure is not the primary design structure used in the application; it’s simply an underlying design system that keeps things moving along (see image).
