I haven’t had any dealings with the WGA for some time—some years ago there was a series of WGA East roundtables here in NYC trying to organize something like the more established game writing caucus I believe they had in WGA West, and WGAE also hosted and helped organize a panel I convened and moderated several years ago about unionizing the game industry. But they never got much traction among game writers because of poor fit and understanding of how the game industry operates. One frequently cited sticking point was the submission requirements for awards consideration, which accepted only a single linear script in screenplay format—hardly the best way to showcase writing excellence in a nonlinear, interactive medium. I’ve heard that they’ve since moved away from trying to organize or incorporate game writers at all, which is a shame. But maybe a strong showing of interest and participation from game writers could change that, since they have been willing allies in the past.
I haven’t had any dealings with the WGA for some time—some years ago there was a series of WGA East roundtables here in NYC trying to organize something like the more established game writing caucus I believe they had in WGA West, and WGAE also hosted and helped organize a panel I convened and moderated several years ago about unionizing the game industry. But they never got much traction among game writers because of poor fit and understanding of how the game industry operates. One frequently cited sticking point was the submission requirements for awards consideration, which accepted only a single linear script in screenplay format—hardly the best way to showcase writing excellence in a nonlinear, interactive medium. I’ve heard that they’ve since moved away from trying to organize or incorporate game writers at all, which is a shame. But maybe a strong showing of interest and participation from game writers could change that, since they have been willing allies in the past.
Hi Jess, this is so interesting to know! Thanks for the insight. I definitely think it might be the right time to push toward banding together.