For my Go Abroad experience, I chose to go to Nice, France to pursue a writing internship. My role was Junior Game Writer for Wolcen Studio, a young start-up firm aiming to make the next big RPG. At university, I got back into writing and decided to emulate some of my favourite games by making my stories interactive. This led me to look into writing for games, designing my own games (as can be seen here) and finding internships in the industry. With a degree in French, I wanted to use my niche to my advantage, and ended up finding an English writing job in a fully French-speaking work environment.

Despite having taken an internship in the games industry the previous summer, I was nervous because this was my first role as a writer. Previously, I worked with an independent studio called Wako Factory as a community manager, allowing me to flex my editing and marketing skills but leaving my creative side wanting more.  However, at Wolcen, I was given a lot of freedom to be creative, being tasked with writing pitches for lore, items and abilities in the game. The company’s atmosphere was a bit alien to me, it was fairly informal with a lot of banter, but I was able to adapt and join the team.

As the intern and only native English speaker, I did get a lot of the menial processing tasks. Creating databases, reformatting text and spell-checking stick out in my mind. I still had a lot of opportunities to improve as a writer under the tutelage of the game’s narrative lead. His experience allowed him to give me detailed advice on how to fight on behalf of a game’s story, which is often seen as minor and ignored by other departments. His feedback was often insightful and allowed me to make each text, no matter how small, as good as it could be.

As for Nice, what more can you ask for than a little city with a beach? It was always warm, and I took the chance to explore Antibes and Sanremo, Italy on the weekends. In a tremendous cliché, I would often take books to read on the beach on the weekends, usually during the evening to avoid the heat. I had an affordable apartment with a welcoming roommate who helped me get to know the city. It was also air-conditioned, which was very much appreciated!

In conclusion, my time in Nice was creatively fulfilling as well as an excellent addition to my CV. When the game comes out, I will be the first to start it up and see my name in the credits.

By Benjamin Williams

Check out Wolcen here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/424370/Wolcen_Lords_of_Mayhem/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kotayabsw