Interview with Eric Nylund: Gears of War

Gearheads of War recently interviewed Eric Nylund who has put in valuable work on the story of Gears of War. Eric Nylund is no stranger to sci-fi shooter games; he also wrote two (soon to be three) Halo books.

In the interview, Eric Nylund shared some glimpses into the writing process (just in case some of you want to consider a career in game writing):
Writing for a video game is much different than writing for a book. It’s got to mesh with level design, gameplay, and art.  Words you put down on paper can impact 60 other guys on the team. Every new scene and character is a new art asset to be generated and fit into a level. You’re plying with a much more limited tool set in game writing.

The interview was long but didn’t reveal much about the game. They talked about the writing process (which Microsoft or Epic person worked on what) without spoiling or revealing anything about the story or game. One part did catch our attention: two questions about Sera (the planet in Gears of War).

Gearheads:  Was Sera already a concept in place or was that a concept that evolved when you came on board?
Nylund:  Sera was there before I came along.
Gearheads:  Why do you think that a fictional Sera was chosen when it could’ve clearly been placed on Earth given the similarities we’ve glimpsed of the two planets?
Nylund:  Sorry – can’t answer this one.  Label it TOP SECRET and move on…nothing to see here.

Of course this got our creative juices flowing. What if… Sera was Earth? Nah. The Locusts already destroyed Earth? Hmm. Enough speculation; we’ll just wait for the game!

Via Gearheads of War

Gearheads of War recently interviewed Eric Nylund who has put in valuable work on the story of Gears of War. Eric Nylund is no stranger to sci-fi shooter games; he also wrote two (soon to be three) Halo books.

In the interview, Eric Nylund shared some glimpses into the writing process (just in case some of you want to consider a career in game writing):
Writing for a video game is much different than writing for a book. It’s got to mesh with level design, gameplay, and art.  Words you put down on paper can impact 60 other guys on the team. Every new scene and character is a new art asset to be generated and fit into a level. You’re plying with a much more limited tool set in game writing.

The interview was long but didn’t reveal much about the game. They talked about the writing process (which Microsoft or Epic person worked on what) without spoiling or revealing anything about the story or game. One part did catch our attention: two questions about Sera (the planet in Gears of War).

Gearheads:  Was Sera already a concept in place or was that a concept that evolved when you came on board?
Nylund:  Sera was there before I came along.
Gearheads:  Why do you think that a fictional Sera was chosen when it could’ve clearly been placed on Earth given the similarities we’ve glimpsed of the two planets?
Nylund:  Sorry – can’t answer this one.  Label it TOP SECRET and move on…nothing to see here.

Of course this got our creative juices flowing. What if… Sera was Earth? Nah. The Locusts already destroyed Earth? Hmm. Enough speculation; we’ll just wait for the game!

Via Gearheads of War