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125:. Burns aimed to explain to video gaming fans how chaotic and difficult a creative project can be, as he felt critics and fans would often wonder "why didn't the devs just do this" when he felt there were barriers that prevented that which would be explained through this behind-the-curtain look.
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noted that while there are practical guides, blogs and talks available to teach aspiring writers how to write video games, this is a rare interactive experience that demonstrates what it is actually 'like' to write a video game, likening it to "Empathy
Machines" as defined by Liz England.
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Gameplay sees the player click on the text to view the next text screen. There is limited interactivity with options at various points for what the player should say – ranging from placing blame on others or taking the blame themselves. It has been described as a choose-your-own-adventure.
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deemed it a "gripping, well-constructed work" and outlined what it saw as the game's thesis statement: "No one sets out to make a bad game, but bad games still get made all the time." Meanwhile,
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From its release to August 2015, the game was played 38,000 times. Players questioned whether developers would be so rude to each other, while developers deemed the game a documentary.
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suggested that to video game players, this is a clever way for them to break their rose-tinted glasses of how their favorite games get made.
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date. The game exudes an air of "weary pain", and aims to explore the "debilitating pressure of high-budget videogame writing".
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It tells the story of a video game writer sitting through a meeting about a AAA game – the third in the fictional
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The game was originally written in 2015 by
Matthew S. Burns and Tom Bissell. Bissell had previously worked on
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The game received an honorable mention in the "Excellence in
Narrative" category at the 2016
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franchise – which is having issues after receiving negative feedback and with a looming
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felt it was a "mix of sharp social observation and collective embarrassment".
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285:"How tough can game making be? One AAA dev offers a playable answer"
251:"Experience the Horror and Absurdity of Writing for Video Games"
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deemed the game a "painfully accurate satire of the role
428:"New Twine game simulates life as a AAA game writer"
315:"Honest tales from the trenches of AAA game writing"
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455:"IGF 2016 finalists include Her Story, Undertale"
374:"Have You Played… The Writer Will Do Something?"
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401:"Games You Might Have Missed in 2015"
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181:compared the game's keen sense of
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372:Caldwell, Brendan (2016-10-04).
345:Calixto, Joshua (2015-12-18).
313:Francis, Bryant (2015-08-10).
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535:Video games about video games
453:Frank, Allegra (2016-01-06).
163:often takes in video games."
485:The Writer Will Do Something
86:The Writer Will Do Something
22:The Writer Will Do Something
399:Muncy, Julie (2015-12-22).
283:Orland, Kyle (2015-04-02).
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426:Wawro, Alex (2015-03-30).
249:Dias, Bruno (2017-09-11).
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510:2010s interactive fiction
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33:Screenshot of gameplay
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194:The Beginner's Guide
172:Rock, Paper, Shotgun
540:Works about writing
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352:Kill Screen
178:Kill Screen
138:ShatterGate
105:Development
95:Tom Bissell
52:Platform(s)
499:Categories
466:2018-06-17
439:2018-06-17
412:2018-06-16
385:2018-06-16
358:2018-06-16
326:2018-06-17
296:2018-06-16
264:2018-06-16
259:Vice Media
227:References
433:Gamasutra
320:Gamasutra
212:Gamasutra
255:Waypoint
223:awards.
157:Waypoint
72:Genre(s)
490:itch.io
460:Polygon
161:writing
63:Release
57:Browser
197:, and
188:Cibele
183:auteur
89:is an
40:Engine
406:Wired
206:Wired
99:Twine
45:Twine
119:and
66:2015
488:on
221:IGF
111:AAA
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