Writers Guild 2010 Video Game Writing Awards Nominees Announced

[Calliope]

Frankly, some of these puzzle me. They are:

Uncharted 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Wet
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Okay, I can see Uncharted 2, easily. Assassin's Creed 2? Eh, okay. The writing didn't strike me as exceptional, necessarily, but sure. I can see it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? I'm honestly not sure how the writing there is particularly noteworthy, except that the plot doesn't really make much sense.

Wet? Granted, I haven't played the whole thing, so my impressions could be TOTALLY off; from what I've seen of it, though, I have a hard time seeing how it deserves one of the nominations.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Really? Really?

I'd be interested to see what criteria they use to select these games.

 

[Uber]

I bet the criteria has something to do with the amount of money that the publishers are paying them. Seriously, video game writing awards for console action games? WTF? Where the hell is Dragon Age? How can you really argue that a freaking action movie tie-in can stand up to a game with novels worth of writing? Good writing too, no matter if you liked the game or not.

 

[Quasar]

Where the hell is Dragon Age? How can you really argue that a freaking action movie tie-in can stand up to a game with novels worth of writing? Good writing too, no matter if you liked the game or not.

Well...it depends when nominations closed or whatever. Of course that doesn't explain some of the nominations. Surely there were better games to nominate than bloody Wolverine.

That said I certainly don't see any money involved. None of the audience cares about game writing to any degree.

 

[Calliope]

Well...it depends when nominations closed or whatever. Of course that doesn't explain some of the nominations. Sure there were better games to nominate that bloody Wolverine.

That said I certainly don't see any money involved. None of the audience cares about game writing to any degree.

I believe Dragon Age came out before Assassin's Creed 2. Actually, AC 2 came out in, what, mid-November?

Baffling.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Could it be something like only games written by people who are part of the Writers Guild be nominations? Perhaps the writers for other games are not.

 

[Uber]

I find it amusing that no one else seems to favor the 'big companies bought the awards' theory

 

[Quasar]

I find it amusing that no one else seems to favor the 'big companies bought the awards' theory

Now if such nominations/awards drove video game sales, I could see some point to it.

 

[Calliope]

Could it be something like only games written by people who are part of the Writers Guild be nominations? Perhaps the writers for other games are not.

This is as good an explanation as any I've come up with, though granted, I don't know much about the business of writing for games.

 

[Melle]

Now if such nominations/awards drove video game sales, I could see some point to it.

On the other hand, they would probably be really, really cheap. So they might do it just for the hell of it.

 

[Alyx]

Frankly, some of these puzzle me. They are:

Uncharted 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Wet
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I haven't played Wet, but let me take a swing.

First, writing in video games is usually not very good. Or maybe it's just as good, but not as good as often. Not sure. I just watched 2012 the other day, so I'm not really sure if film does it any better more often, but still, I tend to set the bar a little lower on account of this fact. On the off chance I get a game that has really good writing, it really stands out as a result. So, here's what I'd say, given those nominees.

Uncharted 2 is a by the book pulpy adventure that's pretty goddamn awesome at delivering a story that's told not just in the gameplay but also in the writing and characterization. So it's an obvious choice.

Assassin's Creed II was just plain awesome. It merges historical fiction with sci-fi, presents some rich, vibrant characters, and has one of the most awesome fetch quest rewards I've ever seen. The story flowed well throughout the game, and I thought they did a great job on Ezio's path from scoundrel to master of assassins.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the one game on this list that I'd really wonder about. I mean, the bits are there, great acting, great characters, a lot of authenticity, and then some of the most ridiculously non-sensical plotting I've ever seen. Maybe this nomination is for the fact that it's a quality construction that was just constructed into a steaming pile of crap of a plot.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a dark horse, but I'd say it belongs in this run. Granted, mostly because it stands out to me as a good game, but more because I can't really remember anything else from this year. It still managed to sandwich into the Wolverine movie well, being I'd say far better than the film it was based upon. And it integrated a few elements from the comics that came out well, without being too stupid. Like Sentinels. Plus, it explains how Mystique wound up giving birth to a blue demon-like teleporter. Definitely wasn't bad, not sure if it stands out as anything great though.

For my money, I'd expect Assassin's Creed II to win, if we're talking best game writing, without other considerations. The topped the storyline from the first one, which was already just plain awesome, and I think it stands head and shoulders above the rest of this list.