Laser precision

There is a proverb of unknown origin, sometimes attributed to Plato, that goes something like “An hour of play reveals more than a year of conversation.” AnonymousPlato428 was not, of course, talking about video games, but it sounds very fitting to the medium (are you listening, Kojima?). There is much more telling of one's character in what they do rather what they say. Speech is filtered, so some changes are at play between thinking and expressing in words, whatever their form. You could say that this dimension of wordless expression adds much depth to a fictional character. It's been an underlying thread in this newsletter, this idea of letting your story flourish beyond imposing words that say "this is what happens". But make no mistake, words matter.I feel we - writers, game creators, name it - take words for granted. It's so easy to use them, so cheap to put some text on it. And it often becomes a crutch that evolves to a full-on handicap, when all you trust are the words to deliver a message. So what is everything else doing there anyway?Words are precious, much more than we give them credit for. And we as game developers - I am calling myself out here too - are failing to recognize it. There is a mix of uses for words in games. In one hand comes the practical, informative stuff about rules and where-to click-for-what. Then you have the umbrella term that is flavor text, encasing story, dialogues, barks, descriptions. You might have run out of hands but there is also the weird hybrid that is communication, the text that is not in the game but it is about it; store descriptions, player support messages, social media posts.More often than not, the weight of each of those is overlooked. How the right verb can explain a rule without the need for mental gymnastics, how much shorter a dialogue can be to express the same feelings or how a blunt support answer can make your players feel personally offended. But the aspect I want to highlight is the overuse of words.Think of copy editing as a waiting game. You write. You leave the computer. Go on, have a cup of coffee, live a little. Then come back. Rewrite. Get some sleep, go out, give it a day or two. Then come back and cut it in half again. The longer you spend away from your writing, the better you will be at chopping it. And chopping is great for you.When you are making a video game, of all things, don't underestimate how smart a player can be in getting the idea. You have to make sure they understand the rules of the game, but the idea, this illusive concept, can benefit a lot of the immersive character of this medium. Less words leave more room for subtlety, such a charming little thing, and the experience of playing gives the player a different perspective on subtlety. They are not trying to understand your genius, they are living it. If you allow other elements to shine, not just the words, more than enough will be communicated. And the words you do use will be important, precious and measured. Less is more in the sense that if you keep it short, you can laser-focus on what actually matters saying.So, cut the words. Do the work. As they say, trust the process. -Maíra