Barnett Does GDC, GDC Survives The Experience

by Scott Jennings on March 26, 2009

Apparently, being a DIY punk involves giving a talk that has nothing to do with what you promised you’d talk about.

Game design theory is very complicated, he said, because people are overthinking the problem. “Theories in design are as timeless as the fashion of hats,” he said. The theories, he continued, are a means to sell a product and are nothing more than a series of catchphrases that get traction and are then sold to people. “This is because we don’t like chaos, we don’t like uncertainty,” he said. “So we look for earnest people with intelligent systems to sell. Prophets that can fortify our faith. It’s caustic, and it’s dangerous.”

Clearly, we need someone to struggle against the status quo of publishers who squelch innovation. Designers who aren’t afraid to advocate new ideas in the face of the conservative mainstream.

You know. Heretics!

{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }

The Claw April 3, 2009 at 5:36 pm  (Quote)

“so all those guys who stuck with EVE must be real ‘tards, right?”

Not sure what the connection is between EVE, a game which has slowly but steadily attracted more and more and more players continuously over it’s entire lifespan (which is quite a long time now); and WAR, a game which hyped a lot of hype and shifted a lot of boxes and then saw 75-90% (depending on whose numbers you believe) of the buyers ditch it almost immediately because they simply didn’t like it.

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