Course 1: Video Game Writing Essentials 

About the Course

Embark on a journey into the exciting world of video game writing—an innovative frontier where storytellers and developers are constantly pushing boundaries and redefining narrative possibilities.

This course is your gateway to this dynamic landscape. You’ll explore the fundamentals of interactive storytelling, dive into the history of video games, and discover the evolution of gaming from its origins to the diverse experiences available today. We’ll also take you behind the scenes of the game development process, with insights from professional game writers about their jobs. Finally, we’ll explore how game stories are created, where inspiration comes from, and how they continue to evolve in this ever-changing medium.

Join us and be part of the future of storytelling in games!

Format

100% online, self-paced, and not for credit. You'll have the chance to discuss the assignments with your fellow students and will have the opportunity to attend drop-in virtual office hours to ask questions to the instructor. 

 Estimated Length:  5 weeks (self-paced)

 Instructors:  Ray Clark

 Genre: Fiction 

Audience: Open to anyone in the world - no university registration required, no experience required.  

 Prerequisite:  None

Syllabus

CWVG-1 Video Game Writing Essentials - Course Syllabus (PDF)

About the Instructors

Ray Clark is an independent game developer and a graduate of Creative Writing BFA and MFA programs at the University of British Columbia. They work primarily in story-driven video games, as well as in board game development, and their work is published on Steam and itch.io.

Questions?

You can contact us at: crwr.noncredit@ubc.ca

Some frequent questions:

Do you offer any discounts?  

Yes! We offer 30% off if you sign up for all courses as a bundle. That’s $819 in savings! (regular price $2,730). All prices in Canadian dollars.

No, This Certificate is accessible to anyone, no experience is required.  

I don’t know if I want to commit to the Certificate. Can I just take the first course and go from there? 

Absolutely! You can take the courses one by one, or just one course. Keep in mind though that to obtain the certificate, you need to take all six courses. Courses 1-5 are a pre-requisite to take Course 6. This last course includes a portfolio that needs to be submitted for grading and the certificate will be issued after successfully completing this assignment. Simply completing the coursework does not meet all the requirements for certification. 

How long will I have access to the course materials? 

You will have access to each course for 365 days from the time you start. We also provide downloadable transcripts of all videos and you're free to save these for future reference. 

What is your refund policy?

We do not offer refunds due to the nature of this course (self-paced and asynchronous).