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!
zwicky at-sign csli period stanford period edu
Posted by Arnold Zwicky at October 24, 2006 09:21 PM