Local game writer to unveil secrets at DragonCon

A mild-mannered academic by day spends his spare time creating stories for imaginative on-line games played by thousands of fanatics in the cyber world. But his incognito as a master of suspense, surprise and consequences is blown when he shares his gaming secrets with attendees at the local DragonCon convention.

With some tweaking, that premise could work for one of Michael Goodwin's next projects. The soft-spoken coordinator of student conduct and academic integrity at Kennesaw State handles cases as diverse as physical assault and plagiarism as part of his day job. But after hours, he's a successful writer in a genre even he finds hard to pinpoint.

"I'd say it's modern fantasy and general science fiction, but really, my writing doesn't neatly fit into any box," said Goodwin, 32, who holds undergraduate and Master's degrees from KSU. "I've written scripts for puppet shows and poetry, and I'm now working on a young adult novel with a supernatural theme. But primarily, I'd say I'm a game writer."

Ten years ago, Goodwin began writing narratives for on-line games. It's now become "a hobby that pays me money instead of costing me," he said.

"It all started with a girl," he admits. "She expressed fondness for a game based on an old TV show, and I'd seen a few episodes on-line. But I wanted to know more, so I went into the [game] company's forum and started asking questions. I learned that one of their freelancers was about to move to Atlanta and start a game, and through him, I got my foot in the door."

Working with a general outline, Goodwin creates characters, situations and consequences for games played by a multitude of fans.

"You have everyone but one player playing a protagonist, making the decisions that character would make, and that provides the chance and certain level of uncertainty," he said. "We're playing to tell a story together, and nobody knows the outcome. My job as the game writer means I write books that present the setting of the game. I have to make it interesting enough that people will want to explore it."

Part of that process involves dreaming up rules to help players resolve conflict while building dramatic tension. Surprisingly, there are parallels to the work he does at KSU.

"When I have the captive audience of a student who has cheated, they're already in a high-tension situation with consequences based on the decisions they made," he said. "A good game provides the chance for people to see the consequences of their characters' actions. And hopefully, in both cases, people learn from their mistakes."

Goodwin will share some of his secrets for creating game worlds during Atlanta's DragonCon festival, slated for the Labor Day weekend. A longtime attendee, he's thrilled to be a guest at a show that usually draws around 50,000 people.

"It's one of the larger 'geek' conventions for fans of sci-fi fantasy, comic books, TV shows or costuming," he said. "I've been going since I started college, but this is the first time I'll be there as an invited guest. It's exciting to meet some of the people who have inspired me."

Information about DragonCon is on-line at www.dragoncon.org.