Interactive Storytelling is our Project Xanadu

Jason Rohrer speaks at the Art History of Games Symposium on February 6, 2010 in the High Museum of Art's Rich Auditorium on the campus of the Woodruff Arts Center, in midtown Atlanta. The symposium was presented by Georgia Tech and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Imagine freshly-generated dramatic experiences unfurling before your eyes and changing based on your inputs. Imagine dynamic characters that react—grow angry at you, laugh at your jokes, or even fall in love with you. Interactive storytelling is our medium's artistic holy grail. It has haunted almost all of us, stolen decades from some of our brightest minds, and indefinitely postponed "making great art" pending future technological advancements. Our destination is no closer now than it was when we started this 30-year windmill quest. But turning around reveals a curious perspective: perhaps we're there already. Perhaps we've been there all along.

Jason Rohrer is an independent game artist, programmer, and critic. With game designs that explore complex and subtle aspects of the human condition, his work has bolstered the acceptance of games as a serious art form. Rohrer's games have been shown at festivals and art exhibitions in Park City, Toronto, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Seattle and Lleida, Spain. His 2007 release, Passage, received widespread critical acclaim. Wired magazine's Clive Thompson wrote: "More than any game I've ever played, it illustrates how a game can be a fantastically expressive, artistic vehicle for exploring the human condition." Rohrer's 2008 release, Gravitation, won the Jury Prize at IndieCade and Between won the Innovation Award at the 2009 Independent Games Festival. Rohrer was featured in Esquire's December 2008 "Genius Issue" along with 27 other innovators.

Materials hosted by SMARTech, Georgia Tech's institutional repository, ‪‪http://smartech.gatech.edu/.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• art history of games
• video games
• georgia tech
• scad
• jason rohrer

[laughingfurry]

About the whole clockwork people thing, I don't think we should aim for that in games. Movies don't aim for that, books don't aim for that. The Mona Lisa isn't clockwork. So why put so much basis in making a game that has such a thing? It will only get to the point where you're not playing the game, but the game is playing you. It won't ever be a game if it worked like that. It would be better to make a robot if the focus is on AI alone.

[laughingfurry]

Of course, my last comment is in regards to what's said around 17:55.

I find it perplexing that most people find Interactive Storytelling to be difficult. Some have done it right before, but now so many people seem to be approaching it the wrong way. Why?

Then again, it's because most game designers these day are attempting the hal approach, like they're trying to far outdo System Shock and Bionic Heart. Well, as Chris said, it's all running the wrong way.

[laughingfurry]

Games with characters talking to each other is considered difficult as apposed to a game with spaceships? I needed tutorials to learn how to make a basic shmup. I find the easiest are maze games. As for a game revolving around characters talking to eachother, it's pretty easy. Just that the majority approach it the wrong way.

[ChrisDevl]

He's not as skilled with the mic as he is with game design is he..

[DinDinAlright]

Wonderful, thanks for the upload.

I've just recently started my foundation year in game art & design.