Thread: Gaming inspires writing.

At least, it does for me. A lot of people say my time could be spent better than playing video games, but I disagree. A lot of my inspiration for writing has come from playing video games, and they also help me build a more complex vocabulary (I play a lot of RPGs, so the word 'dexterity' has become second nature to me.) Anything helps, from mario to Dark Souls (which I am currently enjoying, despite all the times I've died.) Games can create brilliant moods which are easier to transfer into words than they are in a film, because you feel a part of the action, and that's what a reader wants to feel.

I was wondering if anyone else thinks similarly? Or differently - I don't mind.

I don't play console games, but I do see what you mean.

Playing an RPG is, essentially, the mental same process as following (or, in this case, being) a character in a storyworld. Of course, there are differences, but I'm sure the motivation is the same.

It's fun to escape, the explore, to go on a thrilling adventure in something completely surreal and new.

On a related note, I've heard some people consider the background music to fantasy/adventure games to be good writing music, due to the same "moodiness" you mention.

I definitely argree; the music of a game is all about filling the player with emotions and strengthening the pictures they see, which is essentially what a writer wants to get across; images, and feeling.

I think it's only lately that games have become good enough to inspire anything. They've really blossomed into an artform that rivals even film sometimes (thinking of Skyrim, Red Dead, GTA). I anticipate that will continue in the future. Though, as a grumpy old man, I do remember when video games meant cartridges and 16-bit side-scrollers.

I love video games old and new. The newer, more graphically powerful games are brilliant and really bring to life the world they throw you into. But older games can get across emotions just as well; somtimes they can do it better. The classic RPG Chrono Trigger, which contains very low-level graphics, made me cry. Twice.

My most recent inspiration has come from Dark Souls, where everything looks amazing (and scary). A few images have really stuck in my head, helping me transform them into something original for my work. Google 'Taurus Demon' and you'll know what I mean.

Originally Posted by johnM

I think it's only lately that games have become good enough to inspire anything. They've really blossomed into an artform that rivals even film sometimes (thinking of Skyrim, Red Dead, GTA). I anticipate that will continue in the future. Though, as a grumpy old man, I do remember when video games meant cartridges and 16-bit side-scrollers.

I still don't think games are good storytellers in the main. I've played the three you mention and, whilst they're fun and immersive experiences, as stories they didn't deliver anything for me much beyond skin-deep tropes (though I thought Niko Bellic's character was by far the best and most developed of the GTA canon; someone to actually inspire a level of pathos). As such, for me, they're rarely inspirational.

Skyrim has been lauded for its open-worldness and grandiosity - and it really is quite an achievement - but it is fairly repetitious, remaining consistent to long-standing RPG exigencies, and evokes little in the way of emotional connection in the way a good book can. In fact, it could be argued that for a game to tell a pertinent story then it needs to be more structured and restrictive. Something more along the lines of Metal Gear Solid (the latter incarnations of which I haven't played but I'm assured they are very cinematic).

For games, story is usually perfunctory; a tool to further the game during cut scenes. When the player takes centre stage then the priorities of the game - excitement, puzzle-solving, dexterity - are focused away from story.

Not that this is a complaint of games: I'm quite happy to have largely separate reasons to play games and to read books. But I don't think I could go so far as to justify the (quite horrendous amount of) hours I spend playing games by saying they've inspired my writing. If only I could!

And what's the opportunity cost of gaming? Ten hours spent playing Skyrim and you may pick up a few new words. Ten hours reading something out of your usual comfort zone and you're likely to pick up many more.

As somebody who'd probably be diagnosed as a yet to be cured gaming addict if a psychologist ever got hold of me (even though I'm not playing much these days), I have to disagree with this assessment. You might gain small insights if you're involved in heated interest gaming forums, but you learn so much more from other areas.
And this goes without talking about the fact your efficiency capabilities smashes through the basement, even discounting the waste of life you inflict upon yourself whilst actually playing these games.

So I'd have to disagree, for I see gaming as generating a net loss in personal, communicative & intellectual development.

I see gaming as generating a net loss in personal, communicative & intellectual development.

I agree that it really isn't the beneficial; it's for entertainment. But I keep seeing things come from my mind and realising that games contributed to that.

For a perfect example of a story driven game, I would choose Final Fantasy 13, which I finished after 60 hours of fun. Rarely do I see a story so strong that it becomes the centre of the gaem, when I never want to skip cutscenes becasue they are so beautiful and exciting. Some would argue that I was watching a movie rather than playing a game, and I would agree. That element of cinema helped me understand what makes a good connection between a reader and a character.

I could have spent 60 hours reading, too. But I found FF13 much more fun (and I only played it an hour a day).

This thread attracted my attention because I wanted to see what the possible connection between gambling and writing could be. Having spent the first 20 years of my life in the U.S. I have a hard time separating 'gaming' and 'gambling', as they are so often used interchangeably in the Far Frozen North. I continue to follow the activities of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, one of a half dozen agencies in the U.S. that I consider to be newsworthy. See Mississippi Gaming Commission.

As for playing video games, I must admit to an occasional hand of Freecell but I never have noticed that it inspires any ideas for writing. That's about the limit of my 'gaming'.

What ever happened to reading as an inspiration for writing?

I like video games as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to pretend that they influence anything other than my own procrastination.

Originally Posted by MFAer

What ever happened to reading as an inspiration for writing?

I like video games as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to pretend that they influence anything other than my own procrastination.

that's my feeling. i don't play video games, but all these distractions i have on the internet with online forums
and whatever else? although i may have been inspired once or twice with a decent idea from it all? it's really
more of a creative drain than it is helpful. if i was to shut all this down, from internet to movies and all the
other distractions and just go back and forth from reading books to writing? i guarantee i could get 100% more
writing done, and it would be at a much higher quality level.

Anything can be an inspiration for anything.

Video games surely won't teach you how to do it well, but there is plenty of creativity involved most of the time. Specially in role-playing games, you get a chance to experiment with different character archetypes and putting yourself into different situations. That in my opinion is enough to spark the imagination of some people.

I have a playlist called "TimeToWrite" that is about 30gigs of videogame music, the only other thing that comes close to the inspiration of gaming music for writing for me is classical or liquid electronic.

Originally Posted by elite

Anything can be an inspiration for anything.

Video games surely won't teach you how to do it well, but there is plenty of creativity involved most of the time. Specially in role-playing games, you get a chance to experiment with different character archetypes and putting yourself into different situations. That in my opinion is enough to spark the imagination of some people.

I suppose if you want to write video games, which is a different beast entirely, then it seems reasonable that you would study the market. But, if you want to write fiction, there are better things that you can do with your time.

I sound like a nagging parent.

I started writing because of a video game.