Writing for New IP - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - page 140

14
Writing for New IP
Rhianna Pratchett
14.1 The Game Writer and New IP Creation
New intellectual properties (IPs) in the game industry have become very much of a
double-edged sword. They are eminently desirable from a player's perspective and to
an industry press that often rails against sequel-itis. But in this still relatively risk-
averse publishing climate, new IPs often struggle to be born. Even if they manage
that and wobble, Bambi-legged, out onto the market, they're all too often crushed by
the same press and consumers that demanded them in the first place.
According to Steve Allison, Midway's Chief Marketing Officer (not to mention
their Senior Vice President), “93 percent of new IP fails in the marketplace.� Allison,
in an interview with N'ai Croal for Level Up , went on to claim that, “While the
90-plus review scores and armfuls of awards create the perception that titles like
Psychonauts , Shadow of the Colossus , Okami and other great pieces of work were big
successes...they were big financial disappointments and money losers. The truth is
that there is no correlation between review scores and commercial success.�
So it appears that even if you are greeted with open arms, the chances of an IP
making it to financial success, and more importantly (as far as publishers are con-
cerned) making it from IP to franchise, are incredibly slim. But even with Electronic
Arts starting to support new IPs (of which Mirror's Edge is one of the first), they still
clearly need all the help they can get. This chapter is aimed to help professional game
writers reduce the failure rate cited by Allison, or at the very least, make sure their
titles fall into that eminently desirable 7%.
The need for coherent worlds and, just as importantly in an industry that loves its
icons, magazine covers, and front-page stories, the need for strong characters (that are
actually characters with character rather than just pretty avatars) are more important
than ever. Bioshock , although it certainly borrowed a lot from System Shock ,was
a new IP with a strong emphasis on storytelling (as much through its world as its
dialog) that was very successful both in scores and sales. Likewise, an emphasis on