UX writing for video games: 6 articles on crafting microcopy, game writing roles, conversational design, and more
As a Lead UX Writer at a game development studio, I understand how crucial it is for a video game to have a clear and delightful microcopy. I’ve collected my favorite articles on writing for game interface. They feature good practices, real case studies, different writing roles explained, conversational experience design, and more.
If you want to launch a UX writing career in video games industry or you already work in a game dev team where you have to wear many hats, including UX writing, this collection is a must-read. It will also help you communicate better with UX writers on your team and understand what the hell they’re doing. Or, if you still don’t have a UX writer, you’ll understand why your team needs one (or more).
An introduction to UX writing for mobile
In this article Patricia Gómez Jurado from King shares some key principles of creating microcopy for casual mobile games. I recommend this to everyone who wants to learn what UX writers do and what place they take in the development process.
First, she explains how UX writers contribute to the team and what value they add to the product.
Having a good UX writer can make the difference between someone playing your game for hours, and someone abandoning it from the tutorial because the goal is unclear.
Also, Patricia recommends taking into account the specific needs of the mobile interface. Indeed, microcopy for desktop and mobile devices should be different as they are used in a different context.
What I like most about the article is the idea of reducing the mental load of players through microcopy.
Because of the context they are playing in, they may not have their full attention into the game, so we need to make sure that when they’re reading the text they basically don’t need to think much to actually understand what they need to do.
Finally, the article explains why it is important for UX writers to work closely with the localization team and base UX writing decisions on data and research.
5 UX writing case studies of mobile games microcopy
This article dives deeper into the art of crafting microcopy for mobile games. Meg creates 5 case studies based on different games. I like her research and the insights she notices. In her article, she also touches upon some game design and UX issues that are inseparable from UX writing.
Most of all I like the idea of fitting in with the narrative design of the game.
When you beat a level, the game proclaims “Magical!” which is perfect for a game about a witch.
Indeed, some games have perfectly matching microcopy. While some have confusing disconnections between the narrative design and the text that we read from the screen. The article features some nice examples.
Crushing the microcopy game? A Candy Crush UX writing review
A nice detailed review of Candy Crash microcopy. Alana examines UX writing on game screens one by one and shares her thoughts on instructions, buttons, menus, etc. I recommend reading this to watch how a professional writer analyses the interface and its microcopy.
Alana examines UX writing in the game from various viewpoints. First, she comments upon the UX part of the copy, including clarity and consistency. Also, she talks about marketing. Games earn money from players, and UX writing can boost income. There are some nice observations on this.
And, my favorite part is the psychological layer of the analysis. You’ll learn how microcopy can influence a player’s dopamine production and produce positive reinforcement and higher engagement.
Candy Crush constructs this experience for its players by bookending each level with celebratory copy. Hence why users often spend hours rearranging sugar coated pixels: these dopamine doses transition them into flow, a state of extreme focus triggered by action-based delight.
UX writing lessons you can learn from Animal Crossing
One more detailed review of a video game microcopy that mostly focuses on good practices for game UX writing. There are some comments on UX and game design as well as they are closely connected with microcopy. Melodi mentions some key principles, like, positive feedback, smoothness, player’s control over the interface, preventing undesired actions, and provides examples from Animal Crossing.
I especially like Melodi’s thoughts on avoiding any negative feedback that a player can receive from the interface.
You never want to make your users feel bad or guilty for making a decision on your site. Your users should feel confident and not fear seeing any negative messages.
Game UI and UX: in-game character conversational experiences
Another article that I recommend is an analysis of the video game conversational interface. It touches upon good practices of designing conversational experience based upon real examples. Although these tips focus not on writing microcopy but rather on fitting it nicely into the game animation and art, I’ve found a lot of useful takeaways.
In video games conversational copy is inseparable from action, it can go in parallel with animation or a character’s voice. Also, the light or background image can vary. Writing specialists should keep this in mind while crafting in-game text. And, this article includes useful observations on how text coexists with gameplay.
Comprehending and applying instructional queues during real time game play is a difficult task, but Unravel game designers have made this doable with their thoughtful use of content placement and contrast.
Most of all I like numerous real examples thoroughly described, analyzed, and supplied with alternative design solutions.
The 5 “words” roles needed to create a video game
And, finally, I recommend going through a description of different writing roles that exist in the video games industry. Miguel mentions 5 roles, including Narrative designers, Game writers, UX writers, Game copywriters, and Localization specialists.
Of course, the functions can be spread differently among roles existing across various studios, or the same specialist can wear a lot of hats. But what I like most is that this article lists most kinds of elements and assets to be written for a video game and gives an understanding of the professional diversity of writing specialists in this industry. If you don’t know what kind of writing you want to do for a video game, or what kind of writer you need for your project, this is a nice starting point.
I hope you’ve found this collection of articles useful. If you know other great sources of information on writing for video games, you’re welcome to share.
