Writing for All Audiences - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - page 91

10.1 Age
Don't assume you know what you're talking about or what's considered cool to de-
mographics you don't belong to. In my case, I don't even know if it's still cool to say
“cool.� Game writer Eric Hull worked on a cell-phone game targeted at teenagers.
After taking some wrong turns, they figured out that they need to fill the writing
with self-conscious humor and a casual tone, but they avoided using slang, knowing
it would seem out of date quickly. The team also found they had to avoid anything
in the vein of marketing or self-promotion, since kids these days are increasingly
conscious of being sold to. They ran a focus group to weed out the flat jokes from
the ones that hit with their audience, and they noticed a considerable thunk with
anything based on pre-90's popular culture.
When writing content for games directed at teenagers, you'll need to immerse
yourself in their popular culture—everything from movies and television to music
and clothing. This is very important for games that use humor to nail jokes, but also
for character development. Your audience should identify with the player character.
This can be said for any target age group.
For audiences over 35, character development is often left by the side because
many of the games fall under the casual genre. Web games such as the classic Be-
jeweled have created a standard for playability. The hugely successful Nintendo DS
series Brain Age focused mainly on the game mechanics and quick fun activities that
promised to increase brain activity. However, games like Diner Dash and Puzzle Pi-
rates have shown how to merge narrative elements with casual game mechanics. The
characters are easily understood, and the gameplay relates to a larger theme.
Hull also worked on a game for this audience, but the demographic was specif-
ically predominately female, and more rural than urban. Right away, the term “ca-
sual� seemed useless—many players of casual games are actually hardcore about their
play. They had no desire to know or learn technical jargon or a complicated user
interface. He took some helpful advice away with him. First and foremost, present
the gameplay in the first three minutes—no paragraphs of intro text setting up the
story and no extensive cutscene dialog to wade through. Let your player leave at
any time—give auto-saves and exits at the players' whims without a user interface to
negotiate with or penalties for leaving. Players may be there to play and win, but
they aren't necessarily there to beat each other—avoid teasing and aggression, and
instead provide cooperative mechanics and supportive, funny, self-deprecating text
and characters.
On the other side of the age spectrum, the same can mostly be said for young
children. Cooperative family gameplay is preferred, with humor both for the child
and the possible adult playing as well. Simple characters and dialog make for a
fun experience. Write characters that can work together and keep the emphasis on
straightforward progression with flexibility in the selection and re-playability of lev-
els. Although these are matters of game design more than game writing, your writing
can influence how the game is perceived. Lego Star Wars is a prime example of a fun