Video Games as Writing Prompts

The best writers are always finding ways to practice. This might mean working their way through large projects on a day-to-day basis, trying flash fiction, or writing endless catalogues of short stories. Personal projects aside though, a lot of writers also find that it’s handy to practice through prompts.

I don’t necessarily mean that writers are flocking to pick up those little notebooks with thought-provoking essay and short paragraph prompts in them. Rather, I mean that some writers find it helpful to use existing material and external inspiration to work on their writing. It might mean writing a new chapter into a favorite novel for instance, or doing a “fan-fic” spinoff of sorts. These aren’t the kinds of projects you can sell or profit from, but they’re helpful in that they set you up easily with a character, setting, or idea. If you write about what Harry Potter did on a random Sunday at Hogwarts, for instance, much of the material is already there, and you can really just work on your prose, or practice writing dialogue, etc.

These types of prompts and inspiration can come from just about anywhere. One idea I think more writers should consider though — again, strictly for practice — is to use video games as prompts. To explain, I’ll go over a few categories of gaming, and a specific example that might be useful from each one.

Console Gaming

This is one category of gaming in which you actually do see some pretty robust narratives. GamesRadar did a nice job of listing some of the best video game stories we’ve seen, highlighting games like BioShock, The Last Of Us, Red Dead Redemption, and more — all of which could easily be adapted as exciting novels or films. While these games are out there in the console category though, even some games with a general sense of narrative leave a lot to be explored.

The example I’ll go to in this case is Far Cry 5 (relevant because Far Cry 6 is slated for a release in the near future). This is a game in which you play the part of a rookie law enforcement agent up against a ruthless cult that has essentially taken over a corner of Montana. There are plenty of little stories weaved into the game. Ultimately though, most of it is unexplained! A writer looking for practice could play through this game for just a few hours’ time and find countless stories that need telling. How did the cult take over? What if there’s a hidden hero working to undermine them? How did given side characters wind up where they are? Really, the bigger the game the more potential there is for side stories like these, which is why I do like console adventures quite a lot for this kind of project.

Casino Gaming

The casino category might not readily come to mind, but I find it ideal for the prompt concept because most of the best games are essentially snapshots of stories. To be clear, I’m talking specifically about casino slots, which are electronic versions of in-person slot machines, and which have exploded with characters, themes, and settings in recent years. Just about every slot game you find at a casino site now presents you with a specific concept. There are seldom real narratives attached however.

To use a relevant and up-to-date example, I’ll turn to Red Wizard. This is one of the new games on Gala Bingo, which is a platform that reliably sources some of the latest and most impressive slots in the category. And it basically presents you with… a red wizard! It’s a beautiful, mysterious slot reel taking place in vaguely haunted settings and suggesting sinister magic at every turn. But it’s not based on specific material, and we don’t know who the red wizard is or what he’s up to. For our purposes here, that’s a prompt! A sinister red wizard is meddling with spells in a spooky house in the forest. Whatever you make of that can be a ready-made story exercise.

Mobile Gaming

The mobile gaming category works almost like a cross between the first two. Like console games, there are plenty of mobile titles that are fairly extensive and have the seeds of narrative built in. Yet there are also a lot of games more similar to casino slots, showcasing settings or characters without much story around them. The tricky thing about this category is that there are almost too many games to sift through in search of suitable “prompts.” But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of examples to be found!

The one I’ll highlight is one of the most popular mobile games of all time: Monument Valley. This is essentially a puzzle game that became famous for its captivating, dream-like atmosphere. An LA Times review once characterized the game as having “spun a story” about a quiet princess named Ida navigating her “geometric habitat,” and it’s an understandable description. But the reality is there isn’t much story. There’s just Ida and her puzzle-like cloud palaces, with very little explanation of who she is or what she’s trying to accomplish. Writing the story (or stories) behind Monument Valley would make for an excellent exercise.

Different tricks work for different writers. But if you just want to be off and writing with some interesting ingredients ready and waiting for you, gaming can make for excellent practice. Give it a try and you might just have some fun with it!