October 24, 2006

Verbs are what make video games work


I'll bet you didn't know that.  But then probably you don't think that verbs are the same thing as (violent) actions.


In "sex, lies, and video games" (The Atlantic Monthly, November 2006, p. 84), Jonathan Rauch writes about video game designers Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern:

The mainstream video-game industry is interested in hits, not research. On the business side of the industry, none of the executives I talked to had heard of Mateas and Stern, and the executives tended to regard the interactive-drama project, when I described it, with polite skepticism, or--off the record--not-so-polite skepticism. "People love to blow shit up," one told me. He acknowledged exceptions, but said, "Blowing shit up is fundamental, because verbs are what make video games work. These guys are not going to succeed."

Yup.  Blowing shit up is just one of the verbs you can find in the typical video game.

Calling Dr. Words N. Things!  Calling Doctor Words N. Things!

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Posted by Arnold Zwicky at October 24, 2006 09:21 PM