Sunday Q&As

[Dec 24, 2006, 5:17 pm ET] - 10 Comments

Marc Laidlaw
The Marc Laidlaw Q&A on Computer and Video Games catches up with the Valve writer to discus the story in the Half-Life series: "Are you doing the right thing or the wrong thing? We really like messing around with the implications of telling you that you're doing one thing, when actually, everything else is forcing you to do something different from that. There's irony in the game - everybody tells you that you're a scientist, but all you're actually doing is running around shooting stuff. All these things fall into the bucket of Gordon Freeman..."
Warren Spector
The State of play Q&A with Warren Spector on Computer and Video Games talks with the designer about, well, the state of play: "Well, I'm kind of a Johnny-one-note when it comes to game design - I'm all about giving players control over the experience. The sooner we get rid of games that are movie-inspired instead of pushing the unique qualities of OUR medium... the sooner we move from puzzle-oriented design to problem-oriented/open-ended-solution design... the sooner we stop making linear rollercoaster rides and start making games that give players freedom to act and to experience the consequences of their choices... the more we move in those directions, the better, as far as I'm concerned. The nice thing is, it seems like the market's agreeing with me. Finally!"