Mediabistro’s Jason Boog is covering the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco, where he met up with Aunim Hossain, CEO of social gaming company Tista Games. Hossain argued that with the worldwide gaming audience of 500,000,000 people expected to triple in the next decade, the demand for writers who can craft compelling narratives will skyrocket.

“Storytelling is the best way of keeping people engaged and keeping them playing,” he argues.

For now, however, it looks like you need a solid programming background to work at Tista–narrative abilities or no. Still, we’ve already seen plenty of prominent Hollywood actors lend their talents to the gaming industry. How long before the best screenwriters start jumping ship?