Chris Crawford Surfaces, Trolls

[Russ Pitts]

Gamasutra has published a nice, lengthy interview [http://gamasutra.com/features/20060612/murdey_01.shtml] with the mythical Chris Crawford, in which the long-absent, once-visionary designer essentially pans the entire gaming industry as being derivative.

The industry is so completely inbred that the people working in it aren?t even capable of coming up with new ideas anymore. I was appalled, for example, at the recent GDC. I looked over the games at the Independent Games Festival and they all looked completely derivative to me. Just copies of the same ideas being recycled.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: Craig
http://projectperko.blogspot.com
IMO, he's so rabid because it gives his ten-year project a reason to exist. If he said, "well, yeah, there's innovation, and look at my little corner of the innovation world," he would be diminishing himself. So, instead, "nobody's innovative... except me!"

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: Cybercat
http://protoshell.com
I second the bat-guano insane comment. He's assuming all derivative based works aren't in themselves new ideas, and also tying in his personnel opinion that all derivative ideas are bad. Unless he was buried under a rock since the dawn of time, he apparently thinks cars a bad idea since they're just a derivative of the wheel

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: Aaron

Your analysis of his article is misleading because you suggest interactive storytelling is the ultimate form of gaming, whereas Crawford draws a very clear line between the two and is very careful to point out that people who enjoy modern videogames will most likely not enjoy interactive storytelling.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: KingJackaL
http://www.l3.net.nz
I have to say I disagree with him on a key point. He states that the games industry doesn't support upcoming talent like Hollywood does at all. I'd agree up to the 'at all' point. There are counter-examples - a big one being the annual mod competitions Epic sponsor. They're not industry-wide or common, but there are examples of that sort of support emerging.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: Patrick
http://www.kingludic.blogspot.com
To second Craig's point, if he mentioned, or was aware at all, of other advances in social play, dramatic play, ect. he would undercut his claim to a new realm of design, which he really only holds a fractional claim of. I've been hounding interactive storytelling for 14 months, since discussing the then Erasmatron 4 engine with the company insiders, and I've found there are some profound user experience issues that stem from basic design decisions in the engine - the homogenous archetechture, the single layer of authorship, the impassionate interface. Crawford might consider these choices the right ones, or the only ones to make, but theres nothing stronger than the market to prove him wrong when the thing is released in 2007. His refusal to organize it as middleware to enable mainstream developers to better program dramatic AI is a testament to this obstinance that may ultimately prove his downfall.

The revolution is coming, however, Storytron will probaly not be the primary champion. I think Chris Crawford should be remembered as the first person to pursue the dream in earnest, even if his personal efforts don't prove worthwhile.

More after the jump.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: Mitch
http://www.gamingtrend.com
His comments would mean more if he'd actually done anything in the last decade other than take potshots at an industry he was once on top of. Now he comes off as a disgruntled former employee who wasn't invited to the Christmas party, but who no one wanted to tell was fired.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Original Comment by: Bob_Arctor

Really?

No innovation, not even in the indie scene over the last ten years?

So we have done nothing since 1996. Well I'll just throw away everything then. GTA, Bridge construction set, Natural Selection, The Ship, SWAT4, Half Life, The Sims, Thief, Deux Ex, Brothers in Arms, vehicular FPSs...

I can't look forward to STALKER or Bioshock either.