4 videogames to make you a better writer

"I'm playing it for research"

You’re reading Soft Hobbies, a weekly newsletter for imperfect artists with perfectionist tendencies. I’m Auzin, a Seattle-based writer in the fiction, poetry, and tech writing spheres. To see more of my work, go here. And if you hit the heart button on this post, it will help others discover my writing and also make me super happy <3

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Screenshot from Spiritfarer.

Hi softies,

My relationship with videogames as an adult is…fraught. If I really love a game, I can get so laser-focused¹ and obsessive about it that I tend to be lax in other areas of my life. This was less of a problem when I was a kid, because I had fewer responsibilities and because playing videogames was a more communal activity that I enjoyed with my dad, brother, or friends. Nowadays, it’s a solo hobby that I indulge in when I need some escapism, relaxation, or a connection with the more carefree side of myself.

Videogames are created to be addictive; that’s been true from the beginning. Because of this, I don’t pick up new games very frequently, and I take long breaks between finishing a title and starting a new one. I can literally feel the way they alter my brain chemistry, so I try to be mindful of that, especially as I’m on this whole health journey since the beginning of 2024.²

Videogames are also an incredibly versatile and unique form of storytelling. If you pay attention to the world-building, narrative design, dialogue trees, and plot development in the games I’m about to discuss, it’s clear there are excellent writers on the development teams. So if anyone tells you to get back to work, you can just tell them you’re doing research for your story :)

Note: I obviously haven’t played every game in the world, so I’m sorry if your favorite well-written game isn’t on this very short list. Drop a comment and tell me what I’m missing!

4 videogames to make you a better writer:

1. Baldur’s Gate 3: I had to start with the one, the only, my favorite videogame of all time since I started playing it a year ago. BG3 is a looooong role-playing adventure set in the huge world of Dungeons & Dragons, full of masterfully-written characters and an almost infinite number of choices for you to make. The amount of text in this game might actually be a turn-off for some players, because you really can spend hours just walking around and talking to people, or reading all the little tooltips and fragments of books. Plus, the world-building and development of all the interwoven plot threads is staggering.

   Writers can learn: how to write dialogue that fits each character, how to make someone want to spend more time in your world, and how to build plot through character actions.

2. Spiritfarer: This is an incredibly emotional task-management sim where you control the ship of the dead, ferrying recently deceased spirits around and taking care of them before you release them into the afterlife. I don’t think it’s possible to finish this game without crying. Despite the heavy nature of the subject matter, the game is full of humor and whimsy through its dialogue, art style, and audio choices.

   Writers can learn: how to balance difficult themes with lightness, how to write characters the reader wants to spend more time with, and how to evoke emotion through dialogue.

3. Triangle Strategy: A mature J-RPG — not mature as in “inappropriate for children” but mature as in “children would probably be bored by this.” It may look like a Final Fantasy game, but it’s grounded in political intrigue of the feudal variety, focusing on a fight for natural resources between the three great powers of a battle-scarred continent. Your decisions build up your convictions, which influence who joins you and who turns against you.

   Writers can learn: how to write a war story with meaning, how to explore well-established tropes in an interesting way, and how to create real consequences for your characters.

4. Unpacking: I’ve never played a game like this. Unpacking is the most beginner-friendly game on this list, since you’re pretty much just dragging-and-dropping items in each level. All you do is unpack the main character’s belongings as she moves to different homes throughout her life. That’s really it. But somehow, with minimal text and no dialogue or visible characters, this game builds an emotional connection between the player and the main character. It’s seriously magical and a true feat of worldbuilding.

   Writers can learn: showing instead of telling, the power of first-person stories, and how to illuminate the details.

Like I said, this is a tiny list and I don’t play more than 3 new videogames each year. Some that are on my “to-play list” and I’ve heard great things about: Night in the Woods, To The Moon, Storyteller, Disco Elysium, and Outer Wilds. These games are all well-regarded for their writing, so I plan to try them all eventually!

Thanks for your time. Tune in next week for a deep dive into some of my earliest art pieces — I’m talking, from before I could walk properly. Lol.

Softly yours,

Auzin

1. I believe the kids call this “locking in.”

2. To be explored in a future post. MAYBE.