Writers Guild creates videogame writing award

The Writers Guild of America has announced the creation of a Videogame Writing Award.

The award, spearheaded by the guild's New Media Caucus, was designed to recognise the essential role of writers behind the creative, cultural, and commercial success of the videogame industries.

"Videogames are written and many are written very well. By recognising the skill and craft of videogame writing, the Writers Guilds intend to raise the profile of these writers so that they can get WGA contracts and benefits for this work, said WGAW president Patric Verrone. "We aim, we shoot, we score."

The award is also intended "to encourage storytelling excellence in videogames, to improve the status of writers, and to begin to encourage uniform standards" within the gaming industry.

"Writers are finally being recognised and valued in the videogame industry. Both artistically and financially, videogames matter - and videogame writers matter to the WGA," commented WGAW New Media Caucus member Jay Lender.

"This is the first time game writers have been honored by their peers in the writing community, and it's an important step toward the WGA's goal of covering everything that moves on a screen," added fellow caucus member Micah Wright.

The award will be presented for the first time at the Los Angeles ceremony of the 2008 Writers Guild Awards on February 9, 2008.