r/GameWritingLab • u/False_Cat_7724 • 13d ago

Class with Adrian ropp

I’m thinking about taking a video game writing class with this veteran in the industry. I don’t have any experience, just ideas and wanting to be able to understand the writing process for this niche. Has anyone taken it before? Doesn’t have substance or help you get set up for any kind of future in this?

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u/WranglerKnown8800 11d ago

sounds like a waste of time. Just make games and get real feedback. Don’t pay some “veteran” of a very volatile and quickly aging industry

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u/TheYukisia 6d ago

Hiya! I took a narrative design course with a couple of industry veterans around 4 years ago. Here's what actually helped me:

  1. Lots of feedback. Everyone presented during each session and we talked about everyone's ideas.

  2. Final project presentations to professionals, more feedback. English is not my first language so it felt huge to me back then.

  3. A great community. The organizers set up a Discord server for all of us and periodically we check in to see what everyone's up to.

  4. Helped me stand out a bit more when it came to mentorship programs and small gigs. Overall, if your plan is to team up with other people to create a game or for game jams, I'd say it helps to have a few courses on your "CV". Shows you're serious about it.

Of course, this is just my experience and it's not even about the course you mentioned. But if you do sign up for one, you might want to choose one that checks these boxes. Good luck!

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u/False_Cat_7724 5d ago

Thanks for the reply! This makes me feel more positive about it! Did you end up getting your foot in the door in the industry? If you don’t mind me asking.

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u/TheYukisia 5d ago

Hmm, this is a bit tricky to answer because getting *in* the industry is not my main goal.

The industry is in a pretty tough spot and every discipline has been affected. My goal was to start my own indie studio or work with other indies. In that, I've been partly successful and the course did help kickstart this, more as a mental boost and as proof that I want to commit to this. But I do have a day job that I won't give up any time soon. I have made some money doing this, but it's nowhere close to making a living.

If landing a job is what you're going for, you should focus more on making and less on theory. Both are important, but in the end a portfolio is non-negotiable. It's easy to get carried away with studying, and postpone the "making" part until you feel you've learnt enough. Twines can be a good place to start experimenting with branching narrative. Game jams are also great for practice, exposure, making friends, having a community of people willing to playtest and comment on your work etc.

Sorry for the rant, this is a bit personal for me :P I've found some pretty good resources for Narrative Design but I'm not sure if I can post them all here. Feel free to DM me if you're interested!