What were the biggest challenges while writing Agents of Artifice?
While there’s substantial overlap in terms of the required skills, they’re actually two very different beasts. The prose in a game book should (in a perfect world, anyway) be just as evocative and flavorful as that of a novel, but with a very different purpose. The novel is meant to tell a story, to immerse the reader in the surroundings and actions of the characters; the game book has to be equally immersive, but instead inspire others to tell their own stories. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of including too much of one’s own story in game writing; but by the same token, an insufficient amount of flavor means that the book isn’t going to inspire the imagination. And of course, there are the mechanical aspects to consider, something that never even enters the equation when writing a novel. As to which is more challenging? I’m not sure there’s a real answer to that. I think that game writing probably involves more of a fine balancing act between the two extremes mentioned above.
