About

Writing Games is a shared resource for people who care about text-based games. If you’ve ever thought about creating your own game, or becoming part of someone else’s, this site is for you.

Mission

Writing Games exists to make text-based games easier to join, easier to understand, and easier to manage.

Some of the ways it does this is by sharing lessons learned from experienced members of the community, explaining terminology, and gathering relevant resources from across internet into one familiar place. The goal is to help people navigate a niche, hobbyist space they may have never encountered before.

Content focus

Writing Games focuses on text-based and writing-driven games, with a strong emphasis on roleplaying and multiplayer formats. Topics include everything from game and system design to onboarding, player retention, and community health. You can find a full list on the Topics page.

The content itself takes several forms, including articles, essays, interviews, glossary entries, and resource pages. You can find these categories in the main navigation menu of the site.

Accessibility and inclusion

Accessibility comes up often on Writing Games because it’s part of good game and community design. Text-based games can be especially welcoming to players who use assistive tech, but only when developers and admins make the effort.

Therefore, this site treats accessibility as a practical topic that affects real people and real communities. It approaches inclusivity as an ongoing effort worth being made. You can find more details in the Accessibility Statement.

Community and contributions

In addition to solo writing, Writing Games features interviews and contributions from people involved in text-based games and roleplaying communities. These voices make the site richer and more useful by providing different perspectives grounded in real-world experience.

While not everyone may agree on what is the “right” or “best” approach, they all provide valuable food for thought to help others on their own text-based journey.

The Contributors page lists many of the people who have contributed to the site in one way or another.

Supporting Writing Games

Writing Games is supported by readers who choose to share posts, offer feedback, contribute ideas, or chip in financially. That support helps keep the site online and makes it easier to spend time maintaining and updating its resources. You can find more info on the Support page.

Frequently Asked Questions