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“I think it’s great that you’re providing girls with a window into the whole game-development world. It looks so mysterious on the outside – and it’s so crazy on the inside. :)” <i> Susan O’Connor
Scriptwriter</i>
<b> Geek Woman: </b> What title do you have at the Game Writers Conference ?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> I’m the chairman of the board, baby. 
<b> Geek Woman: </b> Is the staff mostly women?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> I invited four people to join the advisory board. Two are men, two are women. It’s a great balance. They all bring something different to the table. Gender’s part of it, of course, but I also picked board members with different backgrounds. So, for example, one advisor is an independent writer, like me…one advisor is a creative director who works full-time for one company…one advisor works in MMOs, which are so different from single-player games…and one advisor HIRES writers. They’re all smart, dedicated, fun people, and they’re all writers. That was important. I wanted advisors who really understood writers. I feel lucky to be working with them.
And of course the event organizer, Cynthia Freese, is a woman! She’s an incredibly hard-working woman. She works closely with Chris Sherman, who runs the Austin Game Conference.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> How do you make this all happen?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> Lots of talking, asking, finagling, and jive-talking. Someone originally floated the idea on the IGDA Game Writers’ mailing list – sort of a casual “Hey what about Austin” comment. I’ve wanted to attend a game-writing conference for years – YEARS, people – and I live in Austin, so I jumped on it. I volunteered to take the idea and run with it, and the game writers said “Sure.” I asked all of my local friends to introduce me to the AGC organizers. One friend had a contact, he organized a meeting, I pitched the idea, they said Sure, and we were off. It started small, but it’s snowballed pretty quickly. We’ve had a great response – from advisors, from speakers, and from attendees.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> It <i> is </i> a great idea. How long have you been running this event?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> This is the inaugural event, so it’s my first year. So far, so good – it’s been the highlight of my year, really. I think I have a knack for this stuff.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> How many people do you think will attend?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> Who knows? It’s the first year, so anything’s possible. We can’t go wrong, because if we have an intimate gathering, people will have the opportunity to enjoy some in-depth conversations with industry superstars…and if it’s a mobscene, then we’ll have lots of fun at the bars. (Writers unite!!) I suspect we’ll have between 150 and 200 attendees, although for some reason the number 450 keeps coming to mind.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> What is game script writing?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> A game writer works with the development team to create the story, create the characters, and write the script. It’s as simple (and as complicated) as that. The job requires a lot of love for story, but of course you’ve got to understand game design and how a story plays out in a (virtual) three-dimensional space, where the “reader” (player) wants to be in charge of the action. It’s a fun job, one that we’re all inventing as we go along. It’s a lot like being a screenwriter in the 1920’s. When I get frustrated, I think of those playwrights from New York sitting in those Hollywood bungalows, clutching their pens, asking themselves “what the heck are these movie things anyway?” They figured it out eventually; so will we.
Game writers aren’t always involved in the project from beginning to end. So sometimes I help the team develop the overall story. Sometimes I take the designer’s concept and use it to write the script. And sometimes I just polish dialog. It’s all fun. As long as I’m writing, I’m happy.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> What careers are there available for young women who are interested in
writing for games?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> There aren’t many entry-level writing jobs (duh!). And the game world is small, a lot of people find work through personal connections. So if I were starting out, and I KNEW I wanted to write, I would look for a job in design or art or even production – just something to get in the door. I would make clear every step of the way “I’m a writer, you know.” And I would be ready to back that claim up with all my writing samples. Which means, of course, I would have to WRITE some writing samples. Scary, I know. But people hire writers based on their writing ability. You’ve got to show your work. Your samples don’t have to be game-writing samples, necessarily. Script samples are always good – things from film, TV, or even plays; you could even submit nonfiction, newspaper articles…anything that required you to string a few sentences together in a compelling way. If you’re a big Buffy fan, write a Buffy script.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> What type of courses or degrees would girls need to enter this field?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> I majored in Art History, which actually prepared me very well for my current career – I learned how to really LOOK at things, and I developed my ability to visualize and articulate. (Art History majors write a LOT of papers). And in my job, I have to be able to write a script that matches gameplay – which means I have to use my imagination. English, of course, is a no-brainer option. I started out as an English major, and I’m still a voracious reader. Personally, I would recommend a liberal-arts degree, but that’s because I’m a nerd, I like to learn, and lib arts majors see a nice cross-section of the world. You could study screenwriting, too. Architecture’s a great degree – when I first started working in this industry, all the designers I knew had architecture degrees! Makes sense – they’re moving people through 3-D spaces. I know that lots of schools now offer specialized game-dev degrees. That’s OK if you want to be a particle programmer, but writers need a rich imagination and a flexible mind, and for my money, lib arts is the way to go.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> What is the difference between a game writer and a game developer?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> One is a subset of the other. So, all game writers are game developers, but not all game developers are game writers.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> Do game writers have to know computer languages and code?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> If they do, I’m in big trouble!!
<b> Geek Woman: </b> Are you a gamer yourself? (If so do you belong to any clans or Guilds?
Do you play mostly with women or men?)
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> Honestly, I didn’t play many games until recently. The games I played in the late ‘90’s were pretty story-free, if you know what I mean. There were plenty of things to shoot, but no REASON to shoot (unless you count “he’s trying to kill me” as a reason). I love story, so these games bored me to tears. Happily, things have improved – dramatically. So many people are working hard to create magical, emotionally-engaging games…and I’m buying their titles as fast as I can.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> What are your favorite games?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> God of War, Psychnonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Grim Fandango. I’m an automatic fan of pretty much anything Tim Schafer does. I’m a fan of the spit he spits on the sidewalk. If you’re reading this, go check out his games! He fights an uphill battle in this industry, and the dude is a visionary, he deserves all the support he can get.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> Do you consider yourself a ‘writer who writes for games’ or a ‘gamer
who writes scripts’, above all?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> A writer who writes for games. If I weren’t doing this, I’d be writing plays or novels or stuff for cereal boxes.
<b> Geek Woman: </b> Other stuff?
<b> Susan O’Connor </b> We have several women speaking at our conference. I never realized this before, but there a lot of female game writers! Nice, I say.
Geek Woman: Yes it sure is. We women love to read. It seems natural that women are game writers. Maybe I’ll be next!
The conference site: http://www.gamewritersconference.c om/
The IGDA writers website: http://www.igda.org/writing/
My portfolio site: http://www.susanmary.com/
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