Significant Zero

July 15, 2017
Looking back on the decade he spent helping to create some of the most memorable titles in video gaming history, Williams comes clean on scripted violence, workplace politics, situational morality, and the deleterious effects of little sleep and a junk-food diet.In 2013, the outrageous "Grand Theft Auto V" earned $1 billion in just three days after its release. Such huge profits often demand teams of creators sacrifice their souls on the altar of the gaming gods. Louisiana-born Williams did just that as a brash 20-something short on cash but long on dreams of making it as a writer in New York City. After Marvel Comics shut the door in his face, he managed to cultivate a few old college ties into an interview with the burgeoning 2K Games. Both acerbic and witty, the author not only charmed his way into a professional gig playing video games; he also earned the respect of "The Fox," the legendary 2K honcho who would consistently elevate Williams inside the gaming industry's arcane hierarchy. The author was also able to survive the "Crunch," or single-minded, all-consuming focus needed to bring top-notch video games like "Spec Ops: The Line" to market. The work drove him to confront conflicting personalities and thorny morality questions head-on in a quest to deliver the kinds of immersive video games fans love to play. "Whatever it takes to make you feel something, we'll do it," writes Williams. "But that's not always enough. Sometimes, to get your blood pumping, we have to let you decide how far you're willing to go." In the case of "GTA V," that means "running over civilians with a car, shooting police officers, sleeping with prostitutes and then killing them to get their money back." But the author is completely fine with all of that and more, and in this bitingly acrid chronicle, he explains why. An entertaining and provocative look inside big-time video game development.

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July 1, 2017

Video-game writer Williams earned his acclaimed reputation for games such as Bioshock, Borderlands 2, and Spec Ops: The Line. In this mostly memoir, part meditation on what video games can be, he begins and ends with the Fox, his boss at 2K Games and an important, benevolent figure in this tale. With energy and wit, the author recounts his stumbling first interview with the Fox, his upward climb from office grunt to trusted writer, and the various characters whom he encountered along the way. The physical and mental stressors of the job emerge organically in the telling, and without a trace of self-pity, even when it becomes clear that, for Williams, the work is like an addictive drug. His gift for profane turns of phrase and wacky metaphor combine hysterically throughout. There is a lack of self-awareness and a shortage of personal details, but that's the point. Williams merged with his role to an unhealthy degree, and shifting the focus would be dishonest. VERDICT A dark, humorous look into video game publishing, essential for anyone interested in the gaming industry and an entertaining read.--Paul Stenis, Pepperdine Univ. Lib., Malibu, CA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 7, 2017
“It’s natural to wish things weren’t this way, but it won’t change anything,” notes Williams, a former video game writer, in this insightful memoir. “You either agree to the cost or move on with your life.” He is referring specifically to the “crunch,” the wearying, health-threatening final months of a game’s development cycle, but his story of a decade spent in the gaming industry is full of that “it is what it is” ethos. Williams’s positions are defiantly his own, as idiosyncratic as his path into the profession (he was introduced to a Take-Two Interactive employee via connections in a secret society of antiauthoritarians). His book gives readers a useful behind-the-scenes look at how games are made and offers some advice for aspiring creators—often simultaneously practical and tongue-in-cheek. Its most striking observations, however, are on how modern video games differ from older kinds of games, in that the rules are “fluid” and not “rigid,” and on the gaming industry’s current failings, such as a reliance on protagonists who represent blatant wish-fulfillment fantasies. Williams concludes with a hopeful vision for the future of gaming, as long as his former peers are ready to put in the work to tell more daring and unique stories.