As a narrative designer, Meghna Jayanth is responsible for crafting the overarching narrative of a video game, writing dialogue and collaborating with coders and animators to ensure the storytelling is aligned with how players interact with the game’s world. Jayanth is also an outspoken political voice in the industry: Her forthcoming game All Will Rise is about taking a billionaire to court for destroying a river. She speaks from her home in London.

Tom Faber: How is the process of writing a game different from writing a novel?

Meghna Jayanth: One difference is that games are really collaborative. There are so many people required to make a game, from coders to art directors to animators. The role of the writer is that you’re both a collaborator and a conduit. It’s not just about writing words. It’s about articulating a vision, figuring out what we’re trying to say with our mechanics, and thinking more broadly about how meaning is created for the player. 

Game writing also has to be alive to the mechanics of a game, in the same way that playwriting is alive to the constraints of the theater. You’re not thinking about creating one story; you’re creating an engine that can tell multiple stories. You have to let go of that authorial control and be more in conversation with the player. We’re designing pleasurable agency rather than a linear story.

TF: Does game writing feel like self-expression for you?