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The story
On 5ch’s “Hardware/Industry” (Geha) board, a thread asked why game scripts are so often written by in-house staff rather than famous screenwriters — like an Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist. Using Xenoblade and Final Fantasy as examples, posters repeatedly pointed out that writing a game script involves constraints unlike those of novels or film screenplays. Others pushed back, noting that Silent Hill f brought in a writer with a background in visual novels, and that Yakuza had used outside writers in the past — arguing that hiring external writers isn’t actually rare, which sparked further debate.
What people said
Movies: "We got that Akutagawa Prize-winning novelist to write the screenplay."
Games: "I love anime and manga and I'm decent at writing, so they let me handle the script!"
This is exactly the problem.
Games: "I love anime and manga and I'm decent at writing, so they let me handle the script!"
This is exactly the problem.
This is such a Xenoblade thing.
It'd be so much better if they just hired someone who can actually write proper dialogue.
It'd be so much better if they just hired someone who can actually write proper dialogue.
Re: #3
It is written by a proper screenwriter, you know.
It is written by a proper screenwriter, you know.
Probably because they're expensive and ignore what's actually feasible to express in a game.
Because it's the juiciest part of the job for the people making it.
An Akutagawa Prize novelist just isn't cut out for games lol
Are you dissing President Hino!?
Honestly, once you write something as a game script specifically, it usually ends up garbage no matter who wrote it, so I don't think it matters that much.
For the record, Xenoblade does bring in writers from anime and other fields too.
According to Yoko Taro, games often hit cases of "can't do this, can't do that" because of spec limitations, so it's frequently easier to adjust the script instead of forcing the implementation through —
which is why it's better to have a writer on staff full-time.
which is why it's better to have a writer on staff full-time.
People keep saying that game scripts aren't a straight line,
which makes writing them a pretty specialized job.
which makes writing them a pretty specialized job.
If someone can only write scripts where the protagonist just moves the plot forward on their own, putting them on a game script won't work out.
Games have their own know-how.
Games have their own know-how.
Simply because it doesn't sell.
Even seinen magazines like Young Jump and Young Magazine are running isekai "Narou-style" stories these days (Narou = Shōsetsuka ni Narō, the web novel site tied to isekai tropes).
Even seinen magazines like Young Jump and Young Magazine are running isekai "Narou-style" stories these days (Narou = Shōsetsuka ni Narō, the web novel site tied to isekai tropes).
Who exactly counts as a "top-tier screenwriter" anyway?
Re: #15
Someone like Miyuki Miyabe, maybe?
Someone like Miyuki Miyabe, maybe?
Probably because they can't fully trust that person's sense of responsibility.
This one really stings for the Nintendo fanboys defending garbage scripts from Kusakihara and KMR.
They try to express everything through narrative prose,
which clashes with games, where you show things through visuals, music, and controls.
which clashes with games, where you show things through visuals, music, and controls.
Re: #18
All they'd really be asked to do is come up with lines, like writing a TRPG replay collection.
All they'd really be asked to do is come up with lines, like writing a TRPG replay collection.
Re: #1
Nah, "it won the Akutagawa Prize so it must be good" is a pretty shallow take too, you know.
Even famous awards have handed out trash novels decided by rigged judging, right?
KAGEROU……
Nah, "it won the Akutagawa Prize so it must be good" is a pretty shallow take too, you know.
Even famous awards have handed out trash novels decided by rigged judging, right?
KAGEROU……
Re: #23
The Poplar Prize isn't really that famous.
It only got attention because an actor won it.
The Poplar Prize isn't really that famous.
It only got attention because an actor won it.
What even is a "top-tier screenwriter"?
Re: #24
Someone like Gen Urobuchi, maybe?
Someone like Gen Urobuchi, maybe?
Whether it's movies, novels, or manga,
the truly great stuff tends to stay buried.
Everyone only looks at what's already in the spotlight, and then judges everything based on just that.
the truly great stuff tends to stay buried.
Everyone only looks at what's already in the spotlight, and then judges everything based on just that.
Re: #35
You seem like the type who'd like matcha-scented soap.
You seem like the type who'd like matcha-scented soap.
Re: #1
Depends on the company.
Yakuza, for one, used to bring in famous writers early on.
FF has publishing deals and still ends up with weird stories, so they're probably just cheaping out on scenario budgets.
Depends on the company.
Yakuza, for one, used to bring in famous writers early on.
FF has publishing deals and still ends up with weird stories, so they're probably just cheaping out on scenario budgets.
Re: #40
I've been hanging around Geha and following the industry for a long time, and that's not really it.
That company has a structure where whoever's higher up tends to grab all the control — it skews dictatorial. If that person were genuinely a great creator, the company would've just kept thriving without issue.
The reason it ended up this way is that the person in that powerful position got there through political clout, not creative talent.
Most other first-party studios are roughly the same.
I've been hanging around Geha and following the industry for a long time, and that's not really it.
That company has a structure where whoever's higher up tends to grab all the control — it skews dictatorial. If that person were genuinely a great creator, the company would've just kept thriving without issue.
The reason it ended up this way is that the person in that powerful position got there through political clout, not creative talent.
Most other first-party studios are roughly the same.
There probably aren't that many pro screenwriters eager to work on game scenarios, where scenes regularly get cut or heavily rewritten depending on how development goes, and after spending years on it the whole project can still end up shelved and never actually released.
Re: #48
Isn't that true in their main field too, though?
Editors and sponsors asking for cuts or changes is completely normal there as well.
The only places you really get to do whatever you want are web novels (Narou) or doujin work.
Isn't that true in their main field too, though?
Editors and sponsors asking for cuts or changes is completely normal there as well.
The only places you really get to do whatever you want are web novels (Narou) or doujin work.
Re: #51
The production timelines are just too different.
Games can take five or six years and still get scrapped in the end.
The production timelines are just too different.
Games can take five or six years and still get scrapped in the end.
Re: #51
I think the point is that games are especially troublesome to work on compared to other industries.
I think the point is that games are especially troublesome to work on compared to other industries.
People who can write interesting stories for games mostly end up leaving for other industries.
That's the answer.
That's the answer.
Re: #54
We already know that part — I think they're asking you to explain the reason behind it, lolw?
We already know that part — I think they're asking you to explain the reason behind it, lolw?
Re: #63
Game writers quit because development takes so long, and
because the job includes non-writing work too (implementation, debugging, playtesting).
Game writers quit because development takes so long, and
because the job includes non-writing work too (implementation, debugging, playtesting).
Re: #63
As a medium, games just put less weight on the scenario.
The exceptions with high weight are basically visual novels and adventure games.
As a medium, games just put less weight on the scenario.
The exceptions with high weight are basically visual novels and adventure games.
> RP
There are still people out there who naturally look down on light novels……
There are also people in the industry who naturally look down on visual novels too — you run into them sometimes, like certain old-school console guys. So honestly, seeing Silent Hill f succeed after hiring a visual novel writer does give me a satisfying little "serves you right" feeling.
— Motoi Okamoto (@obakemogura) October 20, 2025
There are still people out there who naturally look down on light novels……
There are also people in the industry who naturally look down on visual novels too — you run into them sometimes, like certain old-school console guys. So honestly, seeing Silent Hill f succeed after hiring a visual novel writer does give me a satisfying little "serves you right" feeling.
— Motoi Okamoto (@obakemogura) October 20, 2025
Re: #88
The bigger factor was that the protagonist was a young woman, so this take is off the mark.
The bigger factor was that the protagonist was a young woman, so this take is off the mark.
There are plenty of visual-novel writers and light-novel authors who'd take the job.
What I dislike is the attitude of trying to get by with in-house amateurs.
What I dislike is the attitude of trying to get by with in-house amateurs.
Re: #92
Well, hiring an outside writer isn't actually all that rare in itself.
You occasionally hear about writers who got brought in during early development to help with plotting,
through interviews or social media posts from people involved.
Sometimes it goes unnoticed because the credit is listed under a different name.
The thing is, the amount of scenario material a game actually needs —
for a visual novel it can be dozens of times the volume of a regular book,
plus you need huge amounts of side dialogue and minor events beyond the main story,
and whenever a town or field layout changes, the lines have to be rewritten too,
so handling that in-house is overwhelmingly more efficient in a lot of cases,
which is why it rarely turns into the kind of job where you'd hand a professional author or scenario writer
enough work to credit them as the main scenario writer.
Since the volume and format are so different from a novel or TV drama script,
even when a writer does provide a script for a game, it often ends up staying at the "original concept" stage rather than the finished product.
Well, hiring an outside writer isn't actually all that rare in itself.
You occasionally hear about writers who got brought in during early development to help with plotting,
through interviews or social media posts from people involved.
Sometimes it goes unnoticed because the credit is listed under a different name.
The thing is, the amount of scenario material a game actually needs —
for a visual novel it can be dozens of times the volume of a regular book,
plus you need huge amounts of side dialogue and minor events beyond the main story,
and whenever a town or field layout changes, the lines have to be rewritten too,
so handling that in-house is overwhelmingly more efficient in a lot of cases,
which is why it rarely turns into the kind of job where you'd hand a professional author or scenario writer
enough work to credit them as the main scenario writer.
Since the volume and format are so different from a novel or TV drama script,
even when a writer does provide a script for a game, it often ends up staying at the "original concept" stage rather than the finished product.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Unlike novels or film screenplays, game scenarios differ enormously in volume and format — branching paths, minor events, and dialogue that has to be rewritten whenever a field layout changes. The fact that development can stretch on for years, with the scenario itself liable to get cut due to spec changes, was cited as another reason professional writers rarely stay attached full-time. As examples like Yakuza’s use of outside writers and Silent Hill f’s hiring of a visual-novel writer show, bringing in external writers isn’t itself unusual — but posters noted it rarely turns into work substantial enough to be credited as the main scenario. One point that got lost in the thread was that the very premise — “a writer with a prestigious award must be able to write a good script” — is itself disconnected from the practical realities of making a game.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, aka Geha) thread “Why do games get handled by otaku-turned-developers instead of top-tier screenwriters?“
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