In One and One, Game|Life asks a member of the gaming industry two questions: one about gaming, and one about something completely random.
Although Wil Wheaton is perhaps best known for portraying ensign Wesley Crusher on the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, he has always been deeply involved with the world of videogames. He's done everything from hosting the videogame show Arena, to voice work for games like Ghost Recon 2 and GTA, to delivering a memorable keynote at PAX last year. He recently published his third book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives.
Do you think it is possible videogames will ever achieve the sort of widespread and universal acceptance of movies? What has to happen in order for a game console to become as commonplace as a DVD player in the average home?
Wheaton: I think the greatest barrier that videogames need to overcome is the cost. Anyone can get into a movie for under $20. However, to play a videogame, you need to invest hundreds of dollars in the system and anywhere from $20 to $60 for the game. It's a trade off, of course, because most movies are around 90 to 120 minutes while the games with great narrative storylines (Bioshock, GTA: San Andreas, Mass Effect) can last between 90 and 120 hours, and can be replayed differently many times.
There is also a fundamental difference between the movie and videogame experience that can't be overlooked. Movies are very passive experiences: we sit down and hand over control to the filmmakers for a little while. We have no say over what happens, and not a whole lot more at stake than our money and our time.
Videogames, on the other hand, are by their very nature interactive experiences that, among other things, test our reflexes and problem-solving skills. With the advent of sandbox games, we can explore entire worlds in ways that simply aren't possible in movies, and a good game gives us the opportunity to invest a great deal of time and energy into it. I personally love that, but it's clearly not for everyone.
Finally, there's the generation and technology gap. My kids love video games and would much rather play a multiplayer game online or at a LAN
party with their friends than go sit in a theater and "just watch a movie." The boomers and a surprisingly large portion of Generation X
just don't understand the language and conventions of gaming, and are intimidated or disinterested in our culture. They're more comfortable in a movie, and they still outnumber the kids in the Millennial
Generation who are indoctrinated into gaming culture from a very young age.
Until the barrier to entry is significantly altered, and the growing caricature of gamers as either foul-mouthed teens or psychotic misanthropes is stopped -- which is unlikely, because opportunistic politicians have seized on it as the latest version of the Satanic
Panic -- I doubt videogames will reach the level of popularity and ubiquity that movies currently enjoy.
However, my kids have grown up in a world where they can take broadband internet and 100 hour single player campaigns for granted, so as they get older and hit their twenties, I think we'll see videogames reach parity with movies. I doubt they'll ever overtake them, though, because there are a lot of people who just want to sit back and enjoy the ride, rather than holding the (joy)stick.
What do you have on your person (i.e. in pockets, backpack, whatever) every single time you leave the house, without fail?
I put a 3x5 softcover Moleskin notebook and a ballpoint pen into my back pocket when I get dressed every day. It's as automatic as putting on my wedding ring. I carry it with me because I never know when I'm going to get a story idea, or see something that I could incorporate into some future work. It's also handy for playing hangman with my wife when we're waiting for the subway.
Photo courtesy wilwheaton.net
