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kaelstrom's review against another edition
4.0
A little unapproachable in the textbook format. It becomes very dense info dump later on. The margin notes are also a bit ridiculous. Some go on for 3 pages and might as well have been it’s own section in the chapter.
A lot of info from a very basic level.
A lot of info from a very basic level.
adularia25's review against another edition
3.0
As someone who works in the game industry this book did not give me the specific information I was looking for. It might be useful to someone who is just starting out, who doesn't have a portfolio of different styles and types of documents. But as another reviewer says, it lacks depth.
The Game Narrative Toolbox doesn't go into how any of the digital tools of the trade are used (the title is a bit misleading in that aspect). The tools mentioned in this book refer not to computer programs, but the methods of creating characters or worldbuilding or dialogue from scratch. Which are valuable tools, if you don't already know them.
When the book does mention a program used in narrative design, it doesn't really explain how to use it. And while it is true most companies have in-house programs, knowing how someone else organizes their thoughts and documents through Excel or Twine or even on napkin sketches would have been useful.
It would have been nice if the authors, from their different backgrounds, showed more of how they would set something up. If they had explained their choices and walked the reader through how they would take their written documents and implement them into a game, rather than just tossing out a few portfolio building assignments at the end of each chapter. The assignments are worth doing, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel like I learned anything new as I just used the skills I already had to get them done.
Honestly, for me, the best part about the book were the many links to outside sources.
The Game Narrative Toolbox doesn't go into how any of the digital tools of the trade are used (the title is a bit misleading in that aspect). The tools mentioned in this book refer not to computer programs, but the methods of creating characters or worldbuilding or dialogue from scratch. Which are valuable tools, if you don't already know them.
When the book does mention a program used in narrative design, it doesn't really explain how to use it. And while it is true most companies have in-house programs, knowing how someone else organizes their thoughts and documents through Excel or Twine or even on napkin sketches would have been useful.
It would have been nice if the authors, from their different backgrounds, showed more of how they would set something up. If they had explained their choices and walked the reader through how they would take their written documents and implement them into a game, rather than just tossing out a few portfolio building assignments at the end of each chapter. The assignments are worth doing, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel like I learned anything new as I just used the skills I already had to get them done.
Honestly, for me, the best part about the book were the many links to outside sources.
leviathans's review against another edition
2.0
I'm really confused about who this book is marketed for. I was expecting something much more in-depth, but most of it's content and conclusions seems remarkably obvious to anyone who is more than superficially interested in games - and even for people who aren't, at one point the word 'motivation' is defined? It's an odd juxtaposition considering it's advertised as a book for people who want to pursue game writing. That being said, there are some hidden gems, the 'implementation' chapter in particular as well as the conclusion (less of a conclusion and more a chapter on resume-writing and networking) that are worth reading. Generally, this book suffers from a lot of bloviating about the basic tenants of games, with it's real content being when it focuses on implementing them in meaningful ways.
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