Book Publisher Forms Videogame Team

With the weak economy still holding a vice-like grip on business, many companies are looking for new revenue streams to help keep the bottom line in the black. Book publisher Random House is expanding into games.

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Random House wants to use its storytelling expertise in the videogame field. The publishers wants to tap into its stable of authors to start creating game storylines. One deal is already in place to work with Stardock on its upcioming strategy game Elemental: War of Magic.

From the story:

"There is increasing emphasis on storytelling in the videogame business, on building new worlds from the ground up," said Keith Clayton, Random House's director of creative development, who is heading the unit with Mikita Labanok, director of business development.

Around 15 employees are involved in the new venture. Several, including Mr. Clayton, have been involved in adapting videogames into books, and were responsible for building the "Star Wars" book franchise in partnership with Lucasfilm Ltd.

Stardock has welcomed the input from Random House:

"Poor dialogue ruins the experience." said Brad Wardell, Stardock's chief executive, who added that amateurish writing is one of the most common complaints in gaming.

I've always been a fan of good stories in videogames, so I'm all for this if it means I get more substance with my game play.

(Image, from the Wall Street Journal article, shows an illustration from a propsed Random House adventure game)