Game Writing Software | Software for Game Writing

Focus on your story, not your tools. Gem helps create scalable, manageable stories.

Gem blends classic filmmaking techniques with game design, empowering writers to work with intuitive scriptwriting tools and branching, highly scalable narratives while building a clear, readable, and manageable data model that can serve as the basis for VO and LOC. With its wildly collaborative nature and a highly flexible REST API that weaves narrative into game development pipelines, Gem stands uniquely as a system that puts story at the heart of game design.

Where scriptwriting, production, and game design meet

Experience the best of all worlds. Writers can conjure up stories in Gem's familiar screenplay-style editor, while Gem automatically builds a powerful data model that informs the game dev process and facilitates the transition of ideas from script to game.

Familiar script-writing

Writers can work with a script editor they’re comfortable with, letting their ideas flow onto the page.

PDF exports

Convert narratives into classic screenplay formats for actor read-throughs and cinematic planning workflows.

Dynamic Data Modeling

Gem extracts information from scripts as they're written, creating an on-the-fly data model for game development.

Create stories of unlimited scope and scale

Break free from the confines of spreadsheets and docs. Backlight Gem's powerful narrative management platform lets you weave vast, intricate stories via a single, easily navigable UI. With Backlight Gem, you can unleash your storytelling potential.

Visualize branching paths

Design interconnected story pathways with Gem’s storymap, making intricate plots and character developments clear.

Neatly organize your story

Organize your story into nested hierarchies to keep things readable and clear, no matter how large your story grows.

Build interactive logic

Use custom conditions and variables to build clear logic into your story flow. Utilize a built-in heatmap to review your logic paths.

“Over my 15+ year career, I have tried every writing tool under the sun. Gem is the first narrative tool I’ve found that prioritizes creativity and collaboration. It’s simple to set up and easy to use, yet underneath is an extremely deep and feature-rich platform with which you can create the most powerful branching narrative experiences imaginable.”

Dennis Lenart CTO, Adhoc Studios

Manage every element of your story

Gem transforms every line of dialogue in your script into an organized element linked to voice-over, characters, and cinematics. This data model can form the framework for your narrative and make it easy to prep for VO and LOC well before launch.

Your dialogue, organized

Access Catalog, Sequence, and Dialogue Reports for insights into your narrative’s progress, all in a user-friendly format.

Efficient Editing

With Gem's auto-tagging and mass editing, you can make sweeping changes to your script quickly and without fuss.

Version Control

Easily track and revert changes. Your story's history is always at your fingertips, so you won't lose any great ideas.

Test story flows, fast

Gem’s playthrough option allows you to quickly prototype story flows and ensure you're hitting all the right notes.

Gem's REST API weaves narrative into game dev

With Gem, you can tightly integrate your stories with game development, thanks to Gem's user-friendly REST API and dynamic JSON data model.

A Powerful REST API

Connect your narrative with your game development software. What you do with Gem's API is limited only by your imagination.

Complete Control

Each script component in Gem has its own endpoint, so you can direct narrative elements throughout the development process.

Export Data for Game Engines

Export your project into common video game production formats and drive your game with the narrative power of Gem.

Tell your story, your way

Backlight Gem's cloud-based workspace acts your narrative project's central narrative hub, designed to keep everyone in sync. Live updates, real-time user presence, interactive comments, and a tagging system empower your team to join forces and weave narratives together.