Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox

The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox 2nd Edition is an updated version of The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox, continuing where The Game Narrative Toolbox left off. While the Game Narrative Toolbox covered the basics of writing and narrative design for games, The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox will cover techniques and approaches for the intermediate and professional writer. The book will cover topics such as how to adapt a novel to a game, how to construct transmedia worlds, and how to bring your content into the game. The second edition adds a chapter on the Unreal Engine, how to work with material for children, and how to overcome and work with communication biases. Each chapter is written by a professional with exceptional experience in the field of the chapter and ends with an exercise encouraging you to try out what you learned.

Key Features:

• Learn from industry experts how to tackle today’s challenges in storytelling for games
• A learn by example and exercise approach, which was praised in the Game Narrative Toolbox and the 1st edition
• An in-depth view of advanced storytelling techniques and topics, and how to bring them into a game
• Expand your knowledge in game writing as you learn and try for yourself to design quests, write romances, build worlds, and implement them as you would as a writer or narrative designer in a game studio
• Improve your own stories by learning and trying techniques used by professionals of game writing

Tobias Heussner is a principal game content/narrative designer, producer, and writer. He has been working for over 25 years in the game industry and with his teams; he has successfully developed and published more than 20 titles including the award-winning AAA RPG Drakensang, the Action-RPG Drakensang Online, and NBA Playgrounds. He has worked in various design roles and led teams as a designer as well as a producer. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity of working with a wide variety of professionals, gaining knowledge and acquiring experience in various project management philosophies and approaches. He has spoken at game developer conferences various times and likes to share his expertise with fellow developers and learn from their experience and feedback. In 2015, he published The Game Narrative Toolbox with CRC Press, co-authored by Ann Lemay, Toiya Kristen Finley, and Jennifer Hepler. A second edition of The Game Narrative Toolbox was released in 2024. His personal website and resume can be found at http://www.theussner.com.

Contributors: Alexander Bevier, Brian Kindregan, Cash Decuir, Chris Skaggs, Craig Sherman, Danny Salfield Wadeson, Heidi McDonald, Matt Forbeck, Tanya DePass, Toiya Kirsten Finley, and Tobias Heussner