Assassin’s Creed IV, Arkham Origins Lead Videogame Writing Award Nominations

The Writers Guild of America has announced its nominees for the 2014 Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing award.

Five games have been given the nod by the Writers Guild of America for “Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing” over the course of 2013. This year’s cream of the crop includes:

• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Story by Darby McDevitt, Mustapha Mahrach, Jean Guesdon; Lead Scriptwriter Darby McDevitt; Scriptwriter Jill Murray; AI Scriptwriter Nicholas Grimwood; Scriptwriter Singapore Mark Llabres Hill; Ubisoft
• Batman: Arkham Origins, Narrative Director Dooma Wendschuh; Writer & Senior Narrative Designer Ryan Galletta; Writer Corey May; Warner Bros. Interactive
• God of War: Ascension, Written by Marianne Krawczyk; Additional Writing Ariel Lawrence; Sony Computer Entertainment
• The Last of Us, Written by Neil Druckmann; Sony Computer Entertainment
• Lost Planet 3, Head Writer Richard Gaubert; Writers Orion Walker, Matt Sophos; Capcom

I haven’t played any of the nominated games so I can’t comment on the validity of their inclusion (yes, I’m a terrible gamer) but I can’t say that any of them strike me as the sort of game that would bring particularly compelling narratives to the table, either. It’s worth noting, however, that WGA rules omit a number – quite possibly a large number – of potential contenders.

In order to be nominated, a game must feature on-screen writing credits, and the credited writers must be (or apply to be) a member of the WGA Videogame Writers Caucus when the scripts are submitted for consideration. And they must be submitted in the first place, something that publishers including BioWare and Take Two have refused to do in the past.

The Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing Award, along with all other WGA awards, will be presented on February 1 during simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.