Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games

Walt Williams

Sep 2017 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From the award-winning video game writer of such hits as Star Wars Battlefront and BioShock comes an exclusive “compelling look into a world that doesn’t like to spill its secrets to outsiders” (NPR): the video game industry.

When his satirical musings in a college newspaper got him discharged from the Air Force, it became clear to Walt Williams that his destiny in life was to be a writer—he just never thought he’d end up writing video games, including some of the biggest franchises today.

A veteran video game narrative designer, Williams pulls back the curtain on an astonishingly profitable industry that has put its stamp on pop culture and yet is little known to those outside its walls. As Williams walks you through his unlikely and at times inglorious rise within one of the world’s top gaming companies, he exposes an industry abundant in brain power and out-sized egos, but struggling to stay innovative. Significant Zero also provides clear-eyed criticism of the industry’s addiction to violence and explains how the role of the narrative designer is crucial for expanding the scope of video games into more immersive and emotional experiences.

Significant Zero is a rare and illuminating look inside “the video gaming industry in all its lucrative shine and questionable morality…[and] provides a refreshing and realistic portrayal of succeeding at attaining a dream via an unforeseen career trajectory” (Booklist).

Ratings and reviews

You don't need to enjoy video games to love this book. Walt is an amazing writer who knows how to tell a story and talk to you his words are direct to the point where you can easily picture what he's talking about. I can't wait to see how his work in Battlefront II Unfolds and also cannot wait for the future!

This book really helped me. It gave me that final push and inspiration to double down on my attempts at getting into the game industry.

Got this book for the Spec Ops and was very pleasantly surprised by how well it is written overall. Enjoyed every single page of it!

About the author

Walt Williams is the award-winning video game writer known for his work on such beloved franchises as Star Wars Battlefront, Bioshock, Civilization, Borderlands, Mafia, The Darkness, and the acclaimed, genre-bending Spec Ops: The Line. His book, Significant Zero, explores the hardships and insanity of AAA game development. He lives in Louisiana with his family.