I used to be a huge videogame fan, but to be entirely honest, I usually skipped over the story sequences. They used to be TERRIBLE, outside of a few choice games (Zelda, etc).

I think you're right about the sequence approach to a certain extent. Videogames are a lot different than movies because they cannot as easily reference things that happened early on in the script -- videogames often take 15 or so hours to beat, so people may take months to finish them. You can't rely too heavily on keeping the player following the story or remembering early clues, because most won't see the entire story in a single sitting (unlike a movie).

The problem is that what McKee describes is how the video game industry views the needs of "story" in a game.

They have very little use for "writers."

Concept Artists, Game Design, Level Design, Engine Building all take priority over story.

This creates a weird situation for people who are ONLY writers. In that, if you can technically build a game from scratch and proclaim any remedial ability to tell a story, you have a much higher likelihood of "writing" a video game.

Story is very devalued in that business.

I am not saying that there isn't a niche and that video games can't have good stories.

What I am saying is that, is that for your average writer (who has no technical or art background and no interest in acquiring one) it is much easier to land a writing job in television, movies, etc.

You think movies are hard to break into for writers? At least there is a structure already setup in Hollywood that needs new writers.

The video game industry has no such structure -- and has been flourishing even without it.

This is music to my ears. I hope to one day be involved in creating stories for video games. As an avid gamer myself, being paid to play is my goal in life.

I like this thought... "And since you are trying to beat the game as the player, then maybe you are the antagonist. And maybe what you do really foils the protagonist. We are all protagonists of our own stories."

The opportunities and paths for story in the video game medium can be vast. And depending on the story I can be quite complex. It seems writing a good game story could be much harder.

I always scoffed at that Robert McKee's comment. But video games are definitely a changing market. And story is king!

@James. Good point with the structure not setup in the video game market just yet, very true. Probably my main reason for taking the screenwriting approach, and hopefully eventually branch off into these other industries.

one really neat trick in bioshock is that they scatter backstory throughout the game in these little audio journals that you pick up as you scavenge around the levels. talk about non-linear storytelling, right! it's also interesting in that you don't have to pick them up, but you learn a lot about the world of the game if you do.

i guess i'm just fascinated with how cinematic games are now.