Deus Ex and System Shock designer Warren Spector has called for the games industry to stop emulating other forms of media, telling developers that “If you want to make your game as a movie, you should be making movies” in a keynote speech at GDC Europe.
Spector, who's renowned for his work on titles such as Ultima Underworld and Thief: The Dark Project, is currently working at Disney on the new Wii title, Epic Mickey.
“We are in a sense an amalgamation of all these other media,” Spector told attendees at GDC Europe, according to Develop.
”But is that all we are? That question has always really bothered me. I just can’t believe that. We don’t want to make games like other media. We cannot be bound by the conventions of other media. We have to make our own conventions.”
Spector reckons that, where films offer single magic moments, games are unique in that they offer "the reality of choice" to players - something no other medium can do.
”We all know about those moments in games [such as in Resident Evil] when dogs fly through windows,” he said, “but games are not about magic moments, or one-shots. Games are about the repeated action. Our job is to change the context around the repeated action.”
"We need to stop telling players what to do. We need to get them to tell their own story.”
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Spector, who's renowned for his work on titles such as Ultima Underworld and Thief: The Dark Project, is currently working at Disney on the new Wii title, Epic Mickey.
“We are in a sense an amalgamation of all these other media,” Spector told attendees at GDC Europe, according to Develop.
”But is that all we are? That question has always really bothered me. I just can’t believe that. We don’t want to make games like other media. We cannot be bound by the conventions of other media. We have to make our own conventions.”
Spector reckons that, where films offer single magic moments, games are unique in that they offer "the reality of choice" to players - something no other medium can do.
”We all know about those moments in games [such as in Resident Evil] when dogs fly through windows,” he said, “but games are not about magic moments, or one-shots. Games are about the repeated action. Our job is to change the context around the repeated action.”
"We need to stop telling players what to do. We need to get them to tell their own story.”
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
RELATED ARTICLES
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review
October 14 2021 | 15:04
Want to comment? Please log in.