The Leipzig Games Convention has always been famous for its capacity to be more than just a publicity campaign for games; it gives the industry and its people a place to have their voices heard and opinions expresses, as acclaimed games writer and developer Tim Schafer aptly demonstrated today, in typical Tim Schafer style.

Double Fine Games' CEO and president, and accomplished gaming script writer, Tim Schafer is a man with many critically acclaimed titles under his belt, which include amongst them; The Secret of Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, and the recent Pyschonauts.

Of course, Schafer is also well known for his outspoken and honest opinion on, well... everything. so if anyone is in any place to talk to about the current state of the industry, he is.

Schafer initially "disappointed" the crowd at his keynote presentation by not mentioning his latest project, which has been shrouded in secrecy for nearly a year now, except to point out that he wouldn't be mentioning it.

"There were some rumours that I would be announcing the new game from Double Fine here at Leipzig, but this was a lot of erroneous information that was passed around, so I will not be doing that here. I'm not allowed to talk about the game yet."

Presumably, he is not allowed to discuss the title just yet. He continued to "not discuss" the title by pointing out, "I don't want to use this forum to plug my excellent, awesome new game which is coming out next year."

The rest of his keynote involved lots of "not discussing" his upcoming title, and his talked about personal concerns such as overcoming writer's block, the frustration of letting go of ideas that don't work, and dealing with critique.

"With the current game" he pointed out, "I had all this writing to do, and I kept putting it off and suddenly I came up with the name for the main character... And in the next few days I wrote about half the dialogue for the game."

Schafer continues by discussing the importance of creative uniqueness and branching out with games, instead of "chasing of the golden goose".

"You can't lead the goose around, you have to follow it wherever it goes...And that comes up sometimes in games, when you've done a certain kind of game in the past, people want you to do that same game--they want you to just do that one again, do a sequel for that game. I think if your brain's telling you you've got to get on a new idea, you have to do that, even if you feel a lot of pressure to do the thing you did before."

Schafer closed his keynote speech with a wake-up call to the industry, and to developers, arguing that the creative desire of developers and the need for profit by publishers isn't the one thing holding the industry back; it's a lack of drive and desire by developers and publishers alike.

"We are at war, and the enemies are... the publishers? No, they're not. It's not that easy. The enemies are mediocrity, laziness, and fear, and they exist in all of us."

Considering Schafer's track record, and the fact that he can be credited for never developing an unimagative, poor quality, derivative title, he has a point. Until the "creators" in the gaming industry get up and push for the same level of creativity that is so often displayed in film, literature, and music, gaming will always remain a second-tier interest in the eyes of the consumer, and possibly in the eyes of the gamers themselves.

Tags : Double Fine Games : Leipzig Games Convention 2007 : psychonauts : Secret Projects : Tim Schafer

Comments

By: Mobius Zero On: 12:36 Aug 22nd, 2007 Offline	I think Tim pretty much has knocked the ball out of the park as he mentions the issues of lack of originality and how developer seem more focused on making the green than something new and original, which seems to be the biggest problem with games lately, as they just don't appeal enough as they use to, for me at least.

By: Corrine On: 02:42 Aug 22nd, 2007 Offline	Wonderful article. I think you have to admire a man whose actions, even more than his words, ooze with his beliefs. Tim Schafer really creates, and his criticism of the video game industry means more because of it. And the beautiful thing about what he's saying is that it means more than for just games. "The enemies are mediocrity, laziness, and fear, and they exist in all of us." When someone like Schafer says this stuff the video game industry should really listen.

By: Animeboy On: 11:00 Aug 22nd, 2007 Offline	I think he is right, try to make better games rather than something that is showy and unoriginal, and just for profit-making motives. I think more games need to be made on the tried and true systems that are not only impressive to the eye, but provide an entertaining and immersive gaming experience. I love those kind of games.