Writing, however, was a part of the game industry in the beginning. It’s most faithful legacy is now considered niche. Great game writers like Steve Meretzky and Tim Schafer are as memorable as writers in comparable genres; Robert Heinlein, Dashiell Hammett, H. P. Lovecraft. Today, you have to dig deep into the circles of game development to learn the names of modern game writers.

Every year, dozens of promising writers break into games through the Interactive Fiction community. There are at least three companies selling ‘choices’/RPG literature on iOS. Also, many indie games rely on the cost effectiveness of text to tell their stories.

The IGF could be a big help to these aspiring artists, but again this year there is no mention of awarding the difficult effort of quality writing in games. The absence of a writing award locks out many indie games that deserve as much attention as games with great graphics or audio or technical merits.Gamasutra: Keith Nemitz’s Blog – The Enduring Orphan of the IGF.