Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Portal 2 head writer Erik Wolpaw on last-minute rewrites and creating surprise in a sequel

The Gameological Society: Portal 2 head writer Erik Wolpaw on last-minute rewrites and creating surprise in a sequel

Interview: Erik Wolpaw, Portal 2 head writer

Special Topics In Gameology is an in-depth look at a specific corner of the gaming world, in miniseries form. For this edition of the feature—Funny People—Anthony John Agnello interviews a few icons of video game comedy. The series debuted with Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe, followed by You Don’t Know Jack head writer Steve Heinrich. This week: Portal 2 writer Erik Wolpaw.
Video games are often iterative beasts, evolving through multiple sequels. A game comes out, the players react, and developers go back to make things better with Game No. 2 (and sometimes No. 3, and so on). That process isn’t an ideal environment for comedy, though. A joke doesn’t work as well the second time around, even if it’s been polished since the first telling. It needs to take its audience unawares to work, and it needs precise timing. It takes craftsmanship ...

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