Games Are Not Stories
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His argument dealt with the different roots of linear stories and interactive games, and the mistake people tend to make in thinking of the two in the same context.I bring this up because the confusion on this difference only seem to be on the rise, as games like Mass Effect aim to be as cinematic as possible and in doing so open the path to completely missing the strength gaming has over movies. Your thoughts?
"We first had books, then we had live theatre, we went to radio, movies, then television, and people have been interpreting games through this lens, as though they're the natural evolution to this.
"Well, in some senses I think games have a very different evolutionary heritage from what I call linear storytelling media.
"Games are rooted as far back, if not further, than the printed word, and sports as well, then the idea of toys and general play.
"Now if you actually look at play, obviously it evolved for a reason. Animals play in the wild, it's a form of education - they play out little scenarios which help them survive into the future.
"And then you can look at babies and one of the first things they do is to start interacting with the real world, they wave their arms around and at some point they understand that they can control this thing that's beating them in the face, that they can pick up things and manipulate them - then interactivity with the environment is their first natural form of education."
"Storytelling is a little bit different, it's based upon these functions that we have as humans - language, imagination and empathy, and these are all prerequisites for story, and in some senses it's learned behaviour."
