The blog has been stolen by ninjas

Video games have come a long way in terms of story over the past three decades. Back in the days when 8 bit was the new 4 bit and you had to use your imagination to fill in the gaps between those pixels, the only plot you really needed was “you’re a good guy. Everyone else is bad. Kill kill kill.”

Today you have games with writers, real honest-to-god screen writers coming up with dialogue and plot twists, almost like video games are becoming a form of art. (Eat it Ebert) Games are now produced with a budget big enough to rival today's blockbuster movies, and even in the goriest hack-n-slash game, you can find something unexpected. Still, games can present a unique challenge to writers, since there are certain elements that absolutely need to be in each game.