<cite>Haze</cite>, <cite>Crysis</cite> Writers Discuss How to Craft a First Person Shooter

Back in the good ol' days, the story of a first person shooter was nothing more than a loose narrative giving you an excuse to blow the holy bejeezus out of countless bad guys, but these days gamers demand a bit more plot in between reloads.

Bit-Tech spoke with Free Radical's Rob Yescombe (Haze) and Crytek's Martin Lancaster (Crysis) about just what being a "game writer" actually means, as well as the intricacies of shaping a story around gameplay elements. For example, should the main character speak? Says Lancaster:

If the player is in a silent role, then there’s a danger that the character will feel more like a supporting role than a star. Conversely, playing with the constant companion of a disembodied voice can be disconcerting for players, especially when that voice is putting thoughts and emotions into the player's head that the player just doesn't have. We decided on an approach that was somewhere in between the two: where the player's character speaks, but avoids expressing himself in ways that might cause players to disconnect.

That very subject came up as a result of my post about Mass Effect. I find that having a completely silent character makes an in-game conversation feel terribly false, pulling me out of the moment, while others feel exactly the same way when their character speaks in a voice that isn't theirs. What's your take on it?

How to write an FPS [Bit-Tech]