Guest Developer's Digest - The Cool Theory of Game Writing
Clayton Oliver, my compatriot and counterpart from the Spycraft Design Team (AKA Jaeger from the Spycraft Forums), has submitted this guest contribution for the developer's digest. It's quite true, and an excllent rule of thumb. Read on:

"Steven Brust, one of my favorite authors, has a Cool Theory of Writing. It goes something like this: write about stuff that you think is cool. You will continue to enjoy your work this way - and people who share your preferences will read your writing and think it is cool, and thus you will gain fans.

I subscribe to a similar theory in game writing. I try to only write game material that I think is cool. More importantly, I'm a fan and a player before I'm a writer. I've been gaming since I was seven or eight, and I view my work in the gaming "industry" not as a job (you usually get paid for a job) so much as a contribution to the hobby. Thus, I rarely work on stuff that I don't want to use in my own games at some point - usually as a player. Frex, when I started writing the animal rules for African Alliance, I knew that I wanted to be able to make an alligator who was trained to open a refrigerator and fetch beer, because that's what I want my Cajun wheelman/martial artist to have as a pet.

Well, *I* think it's cool, anyway. But you get my point."

Clayton brings up an excellent point here (and touches on the last rule from my first column - don't expect to get rich) - that it is important to remember why you are writing, and always keep that at the heart of your work. While we may have to grind away at our day to day jobs to keep our houses/cars/mistresses, the industry is about doing something you love; something many burnt out or jaded designers lose sight of. Thanks Clayton!