Via Tokyo Hosto – Animation Starts | Baller Industries.
I recently finished a project writing and editing dialogue for Baller Industries’ upcoming Tokyo Hosto iOs game. As you can probably guess from the box art, Tokyo Hosto isn’t exactly the type of game I’d seek out and play.
But working for Angus on this project was a really great experience. My ideal working relationship is working for someone who’s invested in the project, who is creative, who knows game development, has completed a game before, and who knows that he/she needs a writer. Working for Angus was pretty great, and I recently completed some work for Burnin’ Ape as well, which was another great experience. Still, as a freelancer in a creative field, I’ve also encountered my share of difficult assignments. (“I could write this myself, but I’m too busy with the important things! Stop asking me questions and write it like it is in my head!” or “Writing? Whatever. I don’t see why I should have to pay you money for this when anyone can just type words.”) It’s made me truly appreciate working for CEOs/Creative Directors/Project Managers who really know what the writer brings to the project.
Baller Industries has shipped games before, so a lot of the problems that often plague creative indies were avoided. No feature creep! No random restructuring of plot arcs! No forgotten info that invalidates days (or weeks) of work! None of my characters got cut halfway through! At least, I think not… It hasn’t actually been released yet…
I started by feeling like this isn’t the type of game I’d seek out to play, but this was a really great project to work on. Really enjoyed it!
