Writing for Video Games - My Time at Lumb Bank.

For the past week I've been in blissful isolation (though with perfect mobile reception) in the deep and frosty dales of West Yorkshire at the writers retreat of Lumb Bank. I was participating in a course that focused on Writing for Video Games. I spent my time in the compay of twelve people with a wealth of experience in either gaming or writing, and we used it as the perfect opportunity to develop our perspective crafts. Our tutors were the very knowledgeable, highly talented and superbly creative Naomi Alderman and David Varela, who used their extensive knowledge of all things interactive to provide an intriguing and thought provoking course.

At first you would think that this would entail plenty of discussion about games along the ilk of Assassin's Creed, Heavy Rain, LA Noire and other big hitting triple A games. And you would be correct, because a lot of discussion of these titles went on. Whether we were debating how effectively Portal 2 uses the environment to reveal the secrets of the laboratory you are trapped in, or whether John Marsden from Red Dead Redemption is a one dimensional avatar incapable of changing his personality to fit his actions, there was plenty of disecting of all the large blockbusters to be had.

Yet there was plenty of exploration to be had regarding the world of interactive fiction, particularly those to be found online. We were encouraged to seriously consider the ever changing landscape of the internet and apps to work and publicise our craft. It certainly gave me some ideas with regards to how I can achieve a wider audience with my work. The advice provided was fresh and came from a perspective I had not heard from before. Guest speaker Rhianna Pratchett provided a fascinating insight into the processes and environments game writers must work in, and I'm additionally glad I did not poison her when I baked my first ever apple crumble.

In addition to all the writing and game discussion, I found Lumb Bank a fantastically productive place for my writing, and highly recommend it to all my writing peeps if you want to hone your craft while writing in peace. The scenery is fantastic, with plenty of amazing walks oer hill and dale to get the creative juices flowing. And I will never forget my online scheming as an ambassador for Ghana, ripping apart helpless villagers as a werewolf, and meeting the enlightening and highly profound character that was Malcolm (I suggest you don't ask).

I will be posting the fruits of my labour shortly, a story I've had knocking about in the back of my head for months, years even. I always thought it would be well suited to a video game setting, so I thought a course based around video gaming writing would be the best opportunity to explore this new character and her world. Been a long time since I wrote so much in the space of four days. Though if this snow carries on I could have plenty more time alone to write.