Why “Becoming A Better Writer” Isn’t Enough
Are you watching Andor? It's SO GOOD! I'm obsessed! I'm rewatching episodes, looking for the smallest details.
Last night, making dinner, I found myself second-guessing my memory about a scene from Season One: Wait, did the doctor kill the old prisoner? Or was he already dead? I went back to rewatch that scene (because #nerd) and it turns out that it was a mercy killing, because the prisoner had had a massive stroke. "In a week you'll be begging for what he's getting." Damn! That writing is ice cold (in the best way).
As game writers, we'd LOVE to deliver that level of excellence to players.
Practically every game writer dreams of having more creative control.
Don't you?
To shape more than just the words—but the experience.
To see your story ideas make it into the final game the way you imagine them, not watered down or cut for “design reasons.”
That's the dream!
So you commit to developing your writing skills.
You learn how to write great dialogue.
You practice the art of branching narratives.
And yet, more often than not, you still find yourself on the sidelines when key decisions get made - which keeps you from reaching your full potential as a game writer.
Argh!
It turns out the studio isn't going to let you take the creative reins just because you are a kickass writer.
If you want to be a stronger voice at your studio, you need something else—design literacy.
The Real Reason The Team Isn't Listening To You
When game writers struggle to get the rest of the team to buy into their ideas, it's a word problem - but not in the way you might think.
The problem isn't the words you write - it's the words you use to share your ideas. It's a translation issue.
Your story pitch might set other writers' hair on fire with excitement—but unless your ideas connect with design or align with player goals, they don’t carry weight in development meetings.
If designers don't get excited about your story ideas, don't assume that means your story ideas are bad. They're not even thinking about story quality. I'll say it again:
Designers aren’t judging your writing.
They’re evaluating how well your ideas fit into their design.
And if you can’t show them that your narrative pitch supports gameplay, they’ll move forward without it - no matter how good it is.
How Design Literacy Changes (Your) Game
Design literacy gives you the tools to bridge the gap between writing and design.
You Speak the Designers’ Language
Have you ever been in a team meeting and caught yourself zoning out when the designer started talking?
Was it because the stuff s/he was talking about just didn't seem relevant to your work?
Spoiler alert: it WAS. And is.
Designers don't use the same words writers do - but they are talking about the same things you think about - the player experience.
When you can pitch your ideas using words like mechanics, pacing, player psychology, and systemic design - well, now you're talking (to designers).
You stop pitching "story ideas" and you start pitching PLAYABLE story ideas - aka gameplay solutions.
You (Really) Understand Narrative Constraints
Game designers have to "find the fun." To do that, they come up with ideas, build prototypes, run playtests - and make changes.
Those design changes have a way of breaking the story. That's a feature, not a bug.
When you can think (more) like a designer, those changes don't catch you by surprise any more.
You know they're going to happen - and you know how to take advantage of them.
Because when the design changes, it's usually an improvement.
So when the story changes, shouldn't that be an improvement, too?
Especially when you make those changes so that story and gameplay work together better than before.
You Solve Problems, Instead Of Creating Them
Imagine a designer saying "We have a design problem...maybe the writer can help us solve it."
!!!!
They're not going to say that until you've proven that Yes, you CAN solve design problems through story.
Design-literate writers are not "just writers" (which, sadly, is how some designers view the narrative department at their studio.)
Trained game writers know how to use story to solve design challenges.
And THAT'S how you earn the trust and respect of the designers, producers, and leads on your team.
Real-World Impact: How Writers Gain More Say
When you develop design literacy, here's what happens:
🧠 You anticipate objections before they’re raised
You have a better understanding of how your designer thinks, and you think through your story ideas through a design lens. When you're in the meeting, you can bring up obejctions to your ideas - and show them you've thought of a solve. And THAT means...
🎮 Your narrative suggestions get approved faster
Guess what? If the team knows you've thought about THEIR creative problems as well as your own, they're way more likely to say Yes to your ideas. They'll know that your ideas support the overall player experience—not just the plot.
🚀 You’re brought into design conversations earlier
Imagine: instead of waiting for a script brief, you help create the brief.
🔥 You gain more control over how your stories are told
Not by demanding it, but by earning it by being the colleague who helps the team.
What About the Writers Who Seem to Have Influence Already?
You might be thinking:
"But some game writers don’t have design degrees, and they still have a big say on their projects."
True. But look closer.
The game writers who have a decent degree of creative control—whether they hold senior titles or just have a lot of influence on a team—have something in common:
👉 They’ve developed design literacy, even if they don’t call it that.
They’ve worked across disciplines.
They’ve learned what makes systems tick.
They’ve spent time thinking like designers, even if they never formally studied design.
Most of them them had to learn it the hard way, through years of trial and error.
But why learn it the hard way?
Want to Build Your Design Literacy?
How To Work With Game Designers: A Writer's Guide opens for registration May 19.
Lead designer Will Shen (Fallout, Skyrim) built this class for writers, and he teaches every lesson. If you've ever wanted a game designer to give you a roadmap for how to be effective and successful, this course is for you.
In this masterclass, you’ll learn:
✅ How to think like a designer—without becoming one.
✅ How to pitch narrative ideas that support gameplay and systems.
✅ How to become the writer that designers understand, respect, and trust.
✅ How to avoid the common pitfalls that get writers removed from design conversations.
👉 Join the waitlist now to get notified as soon as registration opens.
🎁 Bonus: When you sign up, you'll get a free copy of The Writer-To-Designer Conversation Starter Pack: 10 Questions That Build Trust, Spark Ideas, and Prevent Idea Shutdowns.
If you missed them, catch up on these essential reads:
Final Thought
Your creativity isn’t the problem.
Your writing skills aren’t the problem.
The missing piece is an inability to understand game designers.
Fix that - and watch your career take off.
PS Why did they make Kleya look and sound so much like Leia???? What are they setting up there?!?! I need to know!
Susan’s first job as a game writer was for “a slumber party game - for girls!” She’s gone on to work on over 25 projects, including award-winning titles in the BioShock, Far Cry and Tomb Raider franchises. Titles in her portfolio have sold over 30 million copies and generated over $500 million in sales. She founded the Game Narrative Summit at GDC. Now, she partners with studios, publishers, and writers to help teams ship great games with great stories. She is dedicated to supporting creatives in the games industry so that they can do their best work.