Wizards of the Coast Interview
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Q: You are also one of the top game designers at Wizards of the Coast. What are the differences you've found in writing a novel and writing a roleplaying game?
A: The most important lesson I had to learn about the difference between writing game products and writing fiction is that in game products, the players bring the heroes to the story, so you're writing around them. But fiction is all about the heroes -- it's more like playing a D&D character than being the Dungeon Master!
Writing game supplements is all about providing options for players to use in building their characters, which hopefully help them develop their characters' personality as well as their game statistics. Writing adventures is primarily about the setting, and the plot of an adventure largely consists of determining what would happen if the characters weren't involved. When players meet an adventure, anything can happen, and all we can do is hope that we've equipped the DM to handle most possibilities.
