Warren Spector, lead designer of Deus Ex and Epic Mickey, has spoken out quite a lot recently, mainly about ultraviolence in video games and he's got something else on his mind. Now he's calling out John Carmack, co-founder of id, and Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games. Spector wants the pair to stop focusing on creating believably rendered objects and work more on better AI, the kind that better simulates life.
In a talk with Eurogamer at Gamescom, Spector ruminated what the two designers could make if they just did what he said.
"I've been actively trying to shame some of my fellow developers, specifically John Carmack and Tim Sweeney," Spector stated. "Can you imagine what games would look like if those two guys spent as much time working on non-combat AI as they do on rendering? Can you imagine what games we would have if John Carmack decided he wanted to create a believable character as opposed to a believable gun?
If you're wondering why Spector, a weathered designer himself, is putting the challenge to Carmack and Sweeney, he has an answer for you.
"I mean, oh my god! Those guys are way smarter than I am. I don't know how to solve the problem, but they could figure it out.
Tying this back into his original gripes with games lately, Spector stresses that video games encompass violence, but not "basic human interactions.
"We focus a little bit too much on violence, but we all know how to do it. It's easy. And a lot of players seem to like it. It isn't all we can do and it certainly isn't all we should do," Spector observed.
He concluded, "We focus a little bit too much on violence, but we all know how to do it. It's easy. And a lot of players seem to like it. It isn't all we can do and it certainly isn't all we should do."
Via Eurogamer
