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UBCx: Writing Video Game Scenes and Dialogue

Learn the fundamentals of writing cinematics, cutscenes, and in-game dialogue.

Writing Video Game Scenes and Dialogue
5 weeks
4–6 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 27
Ends Dec 31

About this course

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Increasingly, game designers are realizing that cutscenes, cinematics and character interactions through dialogue are not just breaks from gameplay, or ways of providing exposition. They are integral to the player’s experience of a game. Talking is action. Dialogue is gameplay.

In this course we will explore how to create compelling, vital scenes, and how to use dialogue to support gameplay, deepen character, and advance the game’s story.

Early career game writers will often get their first experience writing dialogue for NPCs, especially the infamous barks and taunts. We’ll show you how to make this dialogue work, when it should sing and when it should be invisible.

Verified learners will access additional game industry interviews, assignments and discussion topics, connecting with a community of other writers and game enthusiasts.

At a glance

What you'll learn

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  • The importance of voice and how to find and develop it
  • How scenes work, and how to build and deepen them
  • How to write unskippable dialogue
  • The fundamental building blocks of cinematic storytelling
  • How to excel at writing ambient conversations, barks and taunts.

Module 1: Voice

  • Finding voice
  • Developing voice
  • Supporting gameplay

Module 2: Scenes

  • Scene structure
  • Building scenes
  • Deepening scenes

Module 3: Cinematics and Cutscenes

  • Cutscenes
  • Cinematic storytelling
  • Formatting

Module 4: In-Game Dialogue

  • Supporting level design
  • Triggers

Module 5: Ambient Conversations, Barks and Taunts

  • Ambient conversations
  • Barks and taunts

This course is part of Writing for Video Games Professional Certificate Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
6 skill-building courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
8 months
4 - 6 hours per week

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