Human Character: Perceived Overconfidence in Competencies in Writing by Nonwriters

From LI-Game Writing Group:
Voicing concerns: the problem with video game acting
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/mar/16/games-controversy

Why are modern video games still having problems with voice acting? And what can be done to solve them? Gamesblog investigates...

"Although the videogame industry loves to compare itself with the movie business, and clearly has ambitions to become the story-telling medium of the 21st century, poor vocal performances are common, even among Triple A titles. In the last few months Aliens vs Predator, Army of Two: 40th Day and even Final Fantasy XIII have drawn criticism in the areas of scripting and performance. So what's going on?..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/mar/16/games-controversy
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Programmers think they can write a great narrative or at least a good one, but it's much harder than they can do. Much like me, or most writers, learning the mind-numbing, confusing bits of code (months and years' worth) that go into background scripting.

Hiring out at Elance and Guru, I've done the Heartwild Solitaire and Margrave Manor story, character, and dialog parts. There is a skill to it, to visualize the many layers past a few smart-assed things to say. To put a kernel seed of intrigue that juices a gamer to hurry to the next story development.

And sometimes the character's most important narrative is to say nothing.

Programmers don't know that, or can't do it skillfully, many beginning writers or even older writers can't--I've seen their films, games, and novels.

Comics are pretty but can't tell the involved subtlety within stories Spidey, Superman, and the rest tell, without Stan Lee and all those who write and design the narrative.

A professional journalist hired me recently to develop and polish a fiction synopsis of some life events because writing important facts we need to know in an information article isn't the same as writing intriguing, depth-filled fiction.

Those who don't do what we've trained for years and do everyday, and are still learning to perfect better and better believe wrong, and believe the narrative is simple, and can be--if written well. And well-edited by the writer.

Most who aren't writers can't write well nor can stand to edit until it's layered, and deeper, and clearer. We do.

You need an artist to make great art, so why does everyone who's ever read one stanza of Shakespeare, five thousand comic books, and watched a lifetime of TV and film actually think and believe they can crank out the next stunning story? Even producers, directors, and actors can't. They do what they, let us do what we do, sooner and better, instead of making us come late to the party and do patch up?

It's amazing, stultifying, and bad for business. TV's Lost proves that people can handle a great deal of subtle info and character detail. The last WGA writer's strike proved we generate mega money and can kill it, if we aren't in the game.

We're in the game, let us write it.

--Neale Sourna