Shenandoah University Hosts ‘Writing for Computer Games,’ April 12

A book has the same beginning, middle, and end every time you read it, but what happens when you give readers control of the story? To answer that question, Shenandoah University’s English Department and the Willa Cather Endowment will host “Writing for Computer Games,” a discussion featuring award-winning science fiction writer and computational linguist Tracy Canfield, on Thursday, April 12, in Hester Auditorium, Henkel Hall, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Canfield, author of the computer game “I, Cyborg,”whose short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including “Analog,” “Strange Horizons,” and Fantasy Magazine, will discuss how writing for games is different from writing books – and how she made sure all those dozens of endings were satisfying.

According to her website, tracycanfield.com, Canfield is in the process of developing a game for Choice of Games where participants play a cyborg whose mind is copied from interstellar outlaw Ypsilanti Rowe’s, and whose attempts to get a much-needed replacement part are thwarted by Ypsilanti’s many, many enemies. And exes.

Canfield’s story “Starship Down” won the Analytical Laboratory Award for best short story appearing in Analog, and her story “The Seal of Sulaymaan” was a Million Writers Award Notable Story. Several of her other stories have been Honorable Mentions in Gardner Dozois’s annual Year’s Best anthologies.

As a linguist, she also specializes in conlangs (constructed languages) such as Esperanto and Klingon.

The discussion is open to anyone interested in creative writing (especially science fiction and fantasy) and computer games.

For more information, contact Assistant Professor of English and Department Chair Sarah Canfield, Ph.D., at scanfiel@su.edu or 540-535-3557.