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The common denominator I found between these three groups was what I call '''An Appetite for Sameness'''. Players seem to want to play the same games over and over again, Press seem to want to write about the same games over and over again, and Developers seem to want to make the games over and over again. It's not just a tolerance for sameness, it's an actual appetite for it. This is true of both the mainstream and indies. | The common denominator I found between these three groups was what I call '''An Appetite for Sameness'''. Players seem to want to play the same games over and over again, Press seem to want to write about the same games over and over again, and Developers seem to want to make the games over and over again. It's not just a tolerance for sameness, it's an actual appetite for it. This is true of both the mainstream and indies. | ||
I played a snippet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crawford_%28game_designer%29 Chris Crawford]'s Dragon Speech, the entirety of which you can and should watch: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_04PLBdhqZ4 part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymu4A9861Ck part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpW0fZ0390M part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7N_Ju1L_Mg part 4], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMwmdvf8v0 part 5]. It's a sad but important lecture. | I played a snippet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crawford_%28game_designer%29 Chris Crawford]'s Dragon Speech, the entirety of which you can and should watch: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_04PLBdhqZ4 part 1], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymu4A9861Ck part 2], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpW0fZ0390M part 3], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7N_Ju1L_Mg part 4], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMwmdvf8v0 part 5]. It's a sad but important lecture. I make a parallel between Chris's study of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote Don Quixote], and my study of Chris. I hope I don't eventually run out of the GDC carrying a sword, never to be seen again, but it's a distinct possibility. | ||
In the end, I gave the following advice: | In the end, I gave the following advice: | ||
Revision as of 00:17, 12 March 2012
My GDC 2011 rant was titled The Dysfunctional Three-Way, and Steve Rabin was nice enough to let me move him from his prime seat to record it for me:
As you can see in the video, the 2012 Duct Tape Award went to Scott Jon Siegel, who gave a great rant about shutting up and making more games.
The three-way I'm talking about in this rant involves Developers, Players, and the Press. The relationship between the three groups is completely broken, and the games we all make, play, and write about have almost no variety. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but they are just that: exceptions.
The common denominator I found between these three groups was what I call An Appetite for Sameness. Players seem to want to play the same games over and over again, Press seem to want to write about the same games over and over again, and Developers seem to want to make the games over and over again. It's not just a tolerance for sameness, it's an actual appetite for it. This is true of both the mainstream and indies.
I played a snippet from Chris Crawford's Dragon Speech, the entirety of which you can and should watch: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5. It's a sad but important lecture. I make a parallel between Chris's study of Don Quixote, and my study of Chris. I hope I don't eventually run out of the GDC carrying a sword, never to be seen again, but it's a distinct possibility.
In the end, I gave the following advice:
- Players: Request and purchase true variety. True variety is not a turret mission in an FPS. You are the body of the industry, and you need to feed your body a variety of healthy foods.
- Press: Provide sorely needed context, and hold Players and Developers accountable for this appetite for sameness. You are the conscience of the industry.
- Developers: The statement, "We make the games we want to play" may be true and great, but then can you please want to play a wider variety of games so you'll make them in turn?
Here are the slides: ppt.