Virtually my greatest tool

Have you ever heard a famous quote and shrugged or have you ever seen a scene in a film and said that it was okay. (while your friends where fangirling and fanboying) I have too. Not all things do impress us, but when they do they can change a writer’s life for the better. I am going to discuss something that really got me into writing.

Video games. Yeah, that… Now before you close this post and write me of for just expressing my love for games, hear me out. Some of us are fortunate enough to be weak. Cowboys don’t cry, but cowboys don’t write. Am I saying that authors are criers? No, but I needed something to make me feel. I needed games. I needed to know how art can make people emotional before I attempted the same. Now, if you aren’t a gamer… which of course you guys probably aren’t, I am going to talk a lot about this love of mine.

I play all kinds of games. I don’t play every game, but the ones I know have a great story. Why? As I have mentioned before writers need a skill that actors have. We needs to know our characters. Video games allow this at a click of a button. You make choices in many games… many of which have moral consequences. You lose characters that are close to you. It has the ability to quickly turn you into someone that can relate and yes that is an important skill. This is why I am also a film lover. Not that novels can’t do the same. I am a novelist after all, but the stimulation broke my cowboy. I have never cried for fiction before and I confess to you that it took a game to change me. Maybe you are better than me, but like music it has become a great tool I use.

The truth is that the script writers for video games don’t always get the recognition they deserve. The Last of Us, Bioshock, Telltale’s Walking Dead, Dishonored. I have tons of respect for the people that wrote games like these. Without them my novel would not even be a dream. I know now how important inspiration is and that you can seek it. Now, I have this media as well. I needed a heart so I found a virtual one.