{"id":294,"date":"2008-06-07T18:12:24","date_gmt":"2008-06-07T08:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/storylabs.us\/lamp\/2008\/01\/27\/pod-and-vodcast-the-game-of-writing-games-with-matt-costello\/"},"modified":"2009-11-13T15:21:03","modified_gmt":"2009-11-13T05:21:03","slug":"pod-and-vodcast-the-game-of-writing-games-with-matt-costello","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storylabs.us\/lamp\/pod-and-vodcast-the-game-of-writing-games-with-matt-costello\/","title":{"rendered":"Pod and Vodcast – The Game of Writing Games with Matt Costello"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Banks and Peter Giles interview Matt Costello in two parts at the LAMP: Story of the Future Residential held at Couran Cove, Queensland, Australia in December 2007.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

The Game of Writing Games with Matt Costello<\/a> from AFTRSTalks<\/a> on Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matt talks about story worlds and how the game play is very dependent on the underlying story and how more importantly they really need to be developed in parallel. He uses Bioshock and the first Halo as examples of how story is really starting to permeate games in a more integrated way. Matt also refers to two games he recently wrote, Rage and Pirates of Caribbean as how the iterative and creative process work from first hand experience, but points out that each game development and production is often different from the last.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a heightened awareness that the story is important. Not that the narrative has to be linear or has to drive the gameplay, its just that the way the next generation machines look, the graphics and the new engines that are being developed, it has to be treated as a very serious thing\u2026do I find that a lot of people create that bubble of time to sort of play with those ideas? Sometimes yes and sometimes no but often it can show in a project. But if there is one suggestion I would make to the industry in general is make that time, do the retreat, go for a week in the mountains, and come back and have in paper form the world and the story and the gameplay you want to have.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MattThe discussion moves to adaptations of games using existing properties like Aladdin, the aesthetics of games and in part two the cross-over form between film and game and the skills required by future creatives. Matt thinks that screenwriters are not being given the opportunities at film schools to immerse themselves in interactive media and visa-versa interactive students do not learn the deep storytelling skills. This doesn\u2019t create the opportunity to create a new kind of person \u2013 a talented script writer who understands non-linear and interactive. Matt uses the examples of early animation when writing stories for cartoons seemed quite odd at the time of early Disney and then about games leading the film writing and Matt\u2019s work informing the story for the next Pirates of the Caribbean film. The interview finishes with a discussion about the lack of courses looking specifically at growing story worlds and writing for games.<\/p>\n

MP3 recording time 24:38 (10MB) Click to listen<\/a>
\nMP4 recording time 24:38 (126.5MB) Click to download<\/a><\/p>\n

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

All LAMP podcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon below if you have iTunes to subscribe now!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This podcast presentation produced and presented by LAMP @ AFTRS.<\/p>\n

Filmed by Fadia Abboud, Sound by Peter Giles and Fadia Abboud
\n<\/em>Podcast description, editing, processing and publishing by Gary Hayes<\/em><\/p>\n

MATT COSTELLO – Writer and Games Designer, Polar Productions<\/strong>
\n\"MattMatt Costello is based in New York, London and LA and has written ground-breaking and award-winning novels, games, and television. Matt has scripted dozens of best-selling games and of one Time Magazine said, \u201cThe story is delivered with unusual art.\u201d He wrote the groundbreaking Pirates of the Caribbean 3 game across all platforms and has been commissioned to do the fourth in the series.<\/p>\n

Since writing the critically acclaimed classic game The 7th Guest, he has scripted dozens of best-selling games such as Shellshock-Nam \u201867 (Guerrilla Games and Eidos), Bad Boys 2 (Empire) and 2005\u2019s Doom 3 winner of an unprecedented five awards at E3 including the Game Critics Award: Best of E3. Just Cause, co-written for Eidos, debuted as the #1 game for Xbox 360 in the UK. Named \u2018Best Adventure Game\u2019 at the 2006 E3, it premiered on the US best-seller lists as the #2 Xbox 360 game.<\/p>\n

He has written a major new game for Eidos and Rage a new game for ID Software and other notable games include:<\/p>\n