基于文本的游戏

基于文本的游戏在智能手机及手持设备领域卷土重来。Finley最近将自己的创作焦点转向这片领域，逐步涉猎基于浏览器的内容。

Finley负责《Academagia: The Making of Mages》的创作工作，这款游戏几个月前刚由Black Chicken Studio发行。这是款瞄准9岁以上用户的PC游戏，融合生活模拟及文本角色扮演游戏的玩法机制。

《Academagia》虽然不是AAA掌机游戏，但对Finley来说却是个重要的学习经历。遗憾的是，文案作者（游戏邦注：尤其是那些投身在线领域的创作者）通常需要很努力地融入项目开发过程中。Finley表示，“这是款大型游戏，所以我需要在空间中添加许多游戏构思。”

Finley目前正在创作可下载内容的探险活动。很快，她将开始着手续集的故事创作。值得一提的是，玩家反馈信息在她构思续集故事的过程中起到促进作用。“目睹论坛的社区成员回应游戏内容及探索我所创作的内容是非常美妙的经历。”

和Black Chicken Studio合作后不久后，Finley就接受Slooce Technologies的要约，担任公司的互动故事设计师和游戏设计师（游戏邦注：Slooce基于Short Message Service推出众多单人及多人文本游戏）。现在她开始创作选择自我探险风格类型的故事，虽然故事具有严格的文字限制。

Finley 表示，“我会试玩自己的新游戏构思，让好友一同进行体验，虽然他们没有智能手机。”她没有细谈自己即将发行的作品，但她表示，此游戏充分挖掘文本游戏题材的可能空间。

入行初始

《Academagia》既是款生活模拟游戏，又是款文本角色扮演游戏

Finley踏入游戏领域始于她早前参加旧金山的Game Developers Conference（GDC）。

Finley表示，“我3岁开始写作，5岁开始玩游戏。”约在4年前，她就开始思考如何将两种兴趣结合起来。她有一些朋友自己创建游戏开发工作室，他们建议她到GDC转转。虽然她很满意参加会议，也碰到很多重要的HR主管，但他们没有游戏创作的职位空缺，更不要说得到工作室的内部职位或外包合同。

尽管之前遭遇挫折，Finley第二年继续参加大会，这次她遇到几位有所帮助的创作者。Finley表示，“在同他们接触后，我非常确信自能够在此行业中立足。”

在于留言板反复发布消息及发送大量邮件后，Finley最终在作家论坛中发现创作职位空缺，就是前面说到的《Academagia》创作工作。她的激情和技能令她得到这份工作，并且很快就得到提拔。

自由职业生活

这是Academagia居住地City of Mineta的概念地图

现在Finley正积极平衡自由创作同持续寻找新工作之间的关系。各项目截然不同，这意味着Finley无法循环利用创作样本。

Finley建议，“应征新工作，最好制作新的样本，以此说明你有针对项目的题材、氛围和风格设计故事。”这需要耗费很多精力，而且你无法保证自己一定能够获得这份工作，但这给你未来的工作奠定良好基础。

如今自由创作者面临残酷现实，他们的社区互助成员也会变成他们的竞争对手。应对此情形的一个策略是，瞄准特殊细分市场，锁定既有客户基础。另一策略就需要我们通过使用量身定做的写作样本，然后在过程中不断学习并提升自己的能力。Finley总结表示，游戏文案的写作风格和玩法机制一样具有独特性。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Writer Toiya Finley Talks About Text-Based Games and Paths to Game Writing

Text-Based Games Live

Text-based games are making a comeback in the world of smartphones, handhelds, and good ol’ cell phones. Finley, who fairly recently transitioned her writing skills to the game industry, started in browser-based games. She is now looking ahead to the future of texting games.

Finley writes for Academagia: The Making of Mages, which was released a couple of months ago by Black Chicken Studio. This PC game, aimed at audiences ages 9+, combines mechanics from life simulation and text-based role-playing games.

Academagia, although not a console AAA title, has been a great learning experience for Finley as a freelancer. Undoubtedly writers, especially those working online, often struggle to be fully included in the development process. “It’s a vast game, so I was able to add a lot of my ideas to the universe,” says Finley.

Finley is currently writing the downloadable content adventures. Soon, she will be starting design work on the sequel. Above all, player feedback drives her as she thinks ahead to the sequel. “It’s been a pretty awesome experience watching the community on the forums respond to the game and discover the elements which I contributed.”

Shortly after working with Black Chicken Studio, Finley also picked up a contract as an Interactive Story Designer and Game Designer for Slooce Technologies. Slooce creates single-player and multiplayer text-based games over Short Message Service (SMS). She gets to spend her days writing choose-your-own adventure style stories, albeit within a tight word count limit.

”I’m also playing around with new game concepts, which enable friends to play with each other, even if they don’t have smartphones,” Finley shares. Of course, she can’t talk about those, but their impending releases will demonstrate the exciting possibilities of the text-based game genre.

Freelance Beginnings

Finley’s journey into the game industry started with literal journeys to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

“I’m one of those ‘I’ve been writing since I was three!’ types and I’d been playing games since I was five,” says Finley. About four years ago, she began to explore how she could combine her two passions. A friend of hers who was an owner of a game development studio suggested she check out GDC. Although she enjoyed the event and met with several very helpful Human Resource representatives, there weren’t any openings for game writers, let alone studios with in-house positions or freelance contracts.

Despite the setback, Finley attended the event again the following year and met a community of supportive writers. “After spending time with them, I was pretty confident that I could work in the industry,” Finley shares.

It took time and lots of posting on message boards and mailing lists, but eventually Finley found a request on a writer’s forum for lore writers, which turned out to be Academagia. Her enthusiasm and skills led to a position and later promotion.

Freelance Life

Now, Finley is balancing the age-old challenge of freelancing—continuously seeking new work while completing contracts. Each project is different, which means that Finley can’t recycle writing samples time and time again.

“When applying for a job, you need to create all new samples that show you tailor your work to the project’s genre, tone, and style,” advises Finley. This can take a lot of effort and energy, and doesn’t guarantee getting the position, but it does build a portfolio for future work.

Notably, freelance writers also face the unfortunate reality that their supportive community can also be their competition. One strategy for handling this situation involves finding a unique niche and sticking with an established client base. The other strategy requires developing your skills by focusing on getting a position using tailor-made writing samples and then learning along the way. After all, writing styles for games are just as unique as the mechanics themselves, as Finley has learned.

Finley is looking forward to unveiling her latest writing that involves unique game concepts for phone-based games.（Source：gamesauce）