Utilizing Video Games in our Writing
By Diana Giovinazzo | August 25, 2021 |
I have a confession to make: I am a gamer. I’ve been one since the age of seven when I first picked up a Nintendo controller after one of my cousins told me I was too young to play. It felt so powerful being able to press all the buttons, making Mario jump up for the shiny coins. The ability to advance through all the obstacles was thrilling! My love of gaming has advanced with technology and though I no longer smash Goomba, I still feel the thrill of accomplishing quests and killing “the bad guy.”
It’s easy to think that video games are the antithesis of creativity, that by playing them we are taking away from valuable writing time. But in truth, video games can benefit our writing.
Video games, much like a good movie, can engross you in both the story and the cinematography. It should be no surprise that the historical fiction writer can be a fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, a game that pulls you back in time to participate in conflicts from history. Within the video game world, you the player can only take in a limited amount of space. One of the things that I love about the game is that they have these grandiose panoramas where you can see the expansive digital world before you, but it can also be extremely detailed as you are rummaging through a small building. For a writer, it’s an exercise in setting. Just like moving your controller, your readers should see exactly what you want them to, in the order that you intend things to be seen.
There is nothing better than to be pulled into a story, where the world surrounds you and reality can fall away. This is perhaps the ultimate goal for writers and it’s the same when we are immersed in a really good game.
The elements of a story within a game are quite like the elements for a story. You have the sounds, the boot stomps when you traverse the alien battleship. The way the virtual breeze blows through blades of grass on an open meadow versus a dark wind rushing through a dense wood gives us a sense of how to frame the world we’ve built for our readers. Modern video games are excellent for reminding us what we need in order to pull readers into our story.
During the pandemic, I found myself taking frequent writing breaks and picking up my switch to play Animal Crossing. Just the sound of the opening music relaxed me. Stepping back and taking a break from our writing is something that is necessary, but how we want to take our breaks is something that we want to consider. Is it better to take our break in order to scroll through social media or do something that might further your art while letting your brain take a much-needed breather? The sense of instant gratification mixed with escapism creates that magical cocktail that helps us relieve stress.
Recent research shows that video gameplay has a physiological effect on us, too. According to a study in the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, researchers found that in fighting games, though the heart rate may rise, the blood pressure doesn’t (which is good for the heart). Likewise, another study reported that video games can actually increase people’s brain activity and attention span after one hour of play. We all know the stress that goes along with writing and sometimes we need to let out a little steam.
Regardless of how much we play or how often we play, video games when used in moderation can be a helpful tool to expand our craft and open our creative minds.
Are you a gamer? If so, how have games helped your writing? If you aren’t a gamer, did any of the information shared today intrigue you? What’s your favorite writing-adjacent way to spend your time when you need to take a break or manage your stress?
Diana Giovinazzo is the co-creator of Wine, Women and Words, a weekly literary podcast featuring interviews with authors over a glass of wine. Her debut novel, THE WOMAN IN RED, released in 2020, and her second novel, ANTOINETTE’S SISTER, released in 2022. You can find her in the Los Angeles area with her menagerie and husband.
Thanks for writing this. I’m a gamer too, and I’ve always loved how a good role-playing game offers a way to see story logic from a different angle.
What better than actually having a choice of quests and tactics, to refine that sense of how to capture how one hero takes on the world one way and another does it differently? Gaming builds that sense of how a story’s Road Not Taken is an actual road to the back of the castle or the far end of the world — and how a story can peep down that path or explain why it isn’t taken, to make the official choice more natural.
Or sometimes it’s the small things during a game. I still remember the time on *Dragon Age Origins* (still the best novel-like experience in games) that I decided a young mage would be a bit nervous and shy, and her main reaction to Darkspawn would be to fling weakness spells at them to keep them *away*. Or playing *Attack On Titan* and feeling that moment that because I’m playing Mikasa, only some rescue requests are going to draw “me” away from the mission goal. (But if I’m playing Eren, of course it’s Kill! Them! All!)
Hi Diana. Intriguing stuff on games and creativity, and how they can stimulate the sense and craft of world-building in stories. I was a user-manual writer at Maxis for many years in the 90s: they produced educational, open-ended games like SimCity, SimEarth, SimAnt, The Sims and many more.
A fair amount of my job was playing the games over and over and trying to keep up with writing about new changes and tweaks the developers put in. Maybe all that repetition is why I’m not a gamer today, though I look at The Sims now and then for amusement.
It is remarkable how popular the MMOG games like World of Warcraft and Fortnite are—I wonder how many of those enthusiasts are gamers.
Duh, I meant to write “…enthusiasts are writers” not “gamers.” And to think I call myself an editor (when my glasses are on).
Played Myst with the kids, and Catamari Damasu (sic?) – but I no longer have the speed to try, nor can I take the frantic pace.
Miss that!
I, too, am a gamer though I came late to the party. Myst is a great example of a simple game whose sounds and visuals totally immersed me in the world. I can still remember the sound of the wind. Likewise 7Days2Die with its bleak and broken cities and Skyrim with its music, stunning terrain, and all the wonderful lively inns. All those senses that games arouse make for a richer experience, just as the right words make for a richer experience for readers.