Manuals, In-Game Text, and Credits - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - page 47

next-gen monster AAA title, it still needs to play on Ma and Pa's RCA that they got
back in '78.
This goes for PC games to some extent, as well. The artist has to make the fonts
readable at the lowest resolution the developers want to support. This can make
things a little cramped for your text, as well.
So, because of these size limitations, it is in your best interest to keep your in-
game help text as short as possible. Maybe 15 words or less. Usually, the limitation
is in characters and not words, so make sure you understand these limitations before
writing all of this.
What to Write
Writing in-game help text requires an intimate knowledge of the game itself, not just
how everything works but the order in which the player learns new things, where he
is when he needs to learn them, and who is giving him these instructions.
If you haven't actually been designing and implementing the game, this can be
a daunting task. So, the best thing to do is work right alongside the designers who
have been doing the work and get them to show you exactly what they want and
where they want it. Either they or a programmer will have to place the appropriate
trigger to launch the text anyway, so working closely with them is paramount.
Next, find out if the developers want the in-game text to have character or not.
Basically, find out if there is some sort of fictional mentor that is intruding on the
character's play to give him hints on how to use his new battle armor or magic wand
or obstacle course.
If the help text is suddenly turning into a full-blown tutorial, your job just got
quite a bit bigger, as you have gone from dry teaching to actually writing narrative.
Your script will probably have to be recorded by a voice actor playing the mentor,
and you'll be taking over some of the duties of the writer for the game.
The good thing about this is that your word limit has suddenly gotten quite a bit
larger. The bad thing is that your narrative will receive a lot more scrutiny, and you'll
find yourself in more meetings with writers and designers all wanting to wordsmith
how Igglzack the Old tells young Thorax the Mighty how to push the A and B button
simultaneously to get the backswing combo to launch.
In-Game Tutorials
In-game tutorials are quite a bit different from manuals or in-game text. They gen-
erally take the form of a lesson being taught by a teacher. The teacher can take any
form, from a mentor-type character to a generic block of words on the screen that
pauses the game when it appears to give the player the next nugget of wisdom that
will help him on his way to mastering the game.
Mentors are generally preferred, as designers feel that they are more immersive
than the disembodied floaty text box of dullness. Here are some tips for writing this
kind of tutorial.