Comments on: Interactive Storytelling http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html Games & interactive entertainment: design, production, industry and related topics Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:00:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Jurie Horneman http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-383 Jurie Horneman Sat, 11 Dec 2004 18:54:38 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-383 Hm. Good point. There is a subtle difference between lots of money and lack of financial pressure. Unfortunately, the lack of financial pressure can also cause a lack of functional products, ie whole, coherent works of art that integrate a new gameplay or technology. I think EA does think about where they want to go in the medium and long term and spend money and effort to get there. However, their direction doesn't seem to include anything close to innovative interactivity. Hm. Good point. There is a subtle difference between lots of money and lack of financial pressure. Unfortunately, the lack of financial pressure can also cause a lack of functional products, ie whole, coherent works of art that integrate a new gameplay or technology.

I think EA does think about where they want to go in the medium and long term and spend money and effort to get there. However, their direction doesn’t seem to include anything close to innovative interactivity.

]]> By: JP http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-382 JP Sat, 11 Dec 2004 00:45:52 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-382 "The fact is that the real breakthrough work takes a lot of money" I don't buy this. EA has all the money in the world and they cover about a millimeter of creative ground every 5 years. What you really need to do good research is a lack of financial pressure. You need to be allowed to fail, because truly new ideas are only realistically going to happen with a lot of iterative experimentation, failure and refinement. And you need good people who will know which ideas are worth pursuing in the first place - and they are hard to find because the mainstream industry is a giant black hole from which nothing imaginative can escape. Financial pressure to succeed DEFINES the game industry circa 2004. The big new disruptive technologies are only going to come from small developers (Valve), the few (one or two!) big companies who are forward thinking enough to establish an R&D corpus (Nintendo), and out of nowhere (independents, academics). “The fact is that the real breakthrough work takes a lot of money”

I don’t buy this. EA has all the money in the world and they cover about a millimeter of creative ground every 5 years.

What you really need to do good research is a lack of financial pressure. You need to be allowed to fail, because truly new ideas are only realistically going to happen with a lot of iterative experimentation, failure and refinement. And you need good people who will know which ideas are worth pursuing in the first place – and they are hard to find because the mainstream industry is a giant black hole from which nothing imaginative can escape.

Financial pressure to succeed DEFINES the game industry circa 2004. The big new disruptive technologies are only going to come from small developers (Valve), the few (one or two!) big companies who are forward thinking enough to establish an R&D corpus (Nintendo), and out of nowhere (independents, academics).

]]> By: Jurie Horneman http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-381 Jurie Horneman Fri, 10 Dec 2004 17:25:28 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-381 That's right! We need no steenking arguments! We need to get this baby out the door by Christmas!! That’s right! We need no steenking arguments! We need to get this baby out the door by Christmas!!

]]> By: Noah Falstein http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-380 Noah Falstein Fri, 10 Dec 2004 10:07:13 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-380 I'm convinced the really interesting innovations in interactive storytelling/synthespians will continue to come from the industry side for a while. The fact is that the real breakthrough work takes a lot of money and that is rarely available to academics - it's rarely available to people in the industry too, but at least if you have talent it is possible. I expect that Robin herself will do some fascinating stuff but as an employee of some lucky company. I could back this supposition up with a reasoned, logical proof, but then I'd be an academic - instead I'm going with a gut feeling based on experience, 'cause I'm a hardcore pro... I’m convinced the really interesting innovations in interactive storytelling/synthespians will continue to come from the industry side for a while. The fact is that the real breakthrough work takes a lot of money and that is rarely available to academics – it’s rarely available to people in the industry too, but at least if you have talent it is possible. I expect that Robin herself will do some fascinating stuff but as an employee of some lucky company. I could back this supposition up with a reasoned, logical proof, but then I’d be an academic – instead I’m going with a gut feeling based on experience, ’cause I’m a hardcore pro…

]]> By: Jurie Horneman http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-379 Jurie Horneman Thu, 09 Dec 2004 02:57:38 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-379 Academics are pretty much per definition not in the industry. Admittedly, there are some exceptions: academics setting up companies on the side, industry people teaching. But to my knowledge this is pretty rare. I'm not talking about people who went to university working for game companies: I'm talking about people being paid to think about games at universities. Academics are pretty much per definition not in the industry. Admittedly, there are some exceptions: academics setting up companies on the side, industry people teaching. But to my knowledge this is pretty rare. I’m not talking about people who went to university working for game companies: I’m talking about people being paid to think about games at universities.

]]> By: Markus Friedl http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-378 Markus Friedl Wed, 08 Dec 2004 22:18:48 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-378 shocking... shocking…

]]> By: tobe http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-377 tobe Wed, 08 Dec 2004 04:16:23 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-377 There are even rumors about academics _inside_ the industry ;) (No, I'm not) There are even rumors about academics _inside_ the industry ;)

(No, I’m not)

]]> By: Jurie Horneman http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-376 Jurie Horneman Tue, 07 Dec 2004 18:15:31 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-376 There is more interaction between industry and academia than one can see on the internet, but not as much as might be necessary. However, when I say I've been interested in interactive storytelling for a long time, I wasn't thinking of something academic. People "in the industry" have been talking and thinking about how to make better games for ages, well before universities were able to get funding for doing so for a living. There is more interaction between industry and academia than one can see on the internet, but not as much as might be necessary.

However, when I say I’ve been interested in interactive storytelling for a long time, I wasn’t thinking of something academic. People “in the industry” have been talking and thinking about how to make better games for ages, well before universities were able to get funding for doing so for a living.

]]> By: BuG http://www.intelligent-artifice.com/2004/12/interactive_sto.html/comment-page-1#comment-375 BuG Tue, 07 Dec 2004 17:34:30 +0000 http://intelligent-artifice.dreamhosters.com/2004/12/07/interactive-storytelling/#comment-375 It's good to see industry people take a public interest in what the academia folk keep rabbiting on about, even if it's only done so in their personal blog. You say you've been interested in it since the stone ages ;) but until people start talking about it in a public forum no-one seems to care. At least that's how it looks from the viewpoint of a simple consumer, like myself. Completely unrelated, I only just noticed a bunch of links on your sidebar which I hadn't seen before. I guess I have some new reading material for the evening. It’s good to see industry people take a public interest in what the academia folk keep rabbiting on about, even if it’s only done so in their personal blog. You say you’ve been interested in it since the stone ages ;) but until people start talking about it in a public forum no-one seems to care. At least that’s how it looks from the viewpoint of a simple consumer, like myself.

Completely unrelated, I only just noticed a bunch of links on your sidebar which I hadn’t seen before. I guess I have some new reading material for the evening.

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