The background for this essay can be found in two essays I wrote more than twenty ago: The Two Cultures War and Two Cultures Again. The two cultures problem is at its most extreme in the world of gaming, which is 100% Science & Engineering culture and 0% Arts & Humanities culture. This is one reason why gaming has been so stuck in a rut for decades; creative progress requires the collaboration of the two cultures.
We are once again faced with the problem in the Wumpus project. It has attracted the attention of a cadre of gamers, who are enthusiastically playing with the technology and offering an avalanche of suggestions for improvements. So far, no Arts & Humanities people have joined. So here we go, rushing down the same old path that has gotten us nowhere.
Here’s my dilemma: do I allow the gamers to run with the technology, turning it into a gaming technology in the process? Or do I insist on preserving some provisions for storytellers? For example, gamers all have big, powerful computers with huge screens, while the storytellers likely have less powerful machines. I could take advantage of the greater power of the gamers’ machines and build a better Wumpus — but in the process I would shut out the storytellers.
Yet the gamers are here, the gamers are enthusiastic, and they have energy and drive. The storytellers are nowhere to be found. Why insist that the road pass by places nobody wants to visit?
Perhaps my concern for storytellers has been one of my greatest mistakes. I went to extreme lengths with the Erasmatron, with Storytron, and now with Wumpus to insure that the technology would be accessible to less-technologically astute users. But those users never showed up.
This also plays into the old “evolution versus revolution” dilemma. I have long held that games will never evolve into anything with artistic merit, because the gaming audience does not expect artistic content from games. You can’t sell Beef Wellington to people who want candy. You can’t sell poetry to people who read comic books. You can’t sell art-house movies to people who watch cartoons. And you can’t sell artistic content to gamers who want action and instant gratification. Games as a a medium are ill-disposed to evolve in a storytelling direction.
Yet revolution will not happen. I have wasted three decades trying to foment a revolution that will never happen. It’s time for me to admit the futility of my efforts.
Therefore, gaming is the only game in town. The only path that has any hope of eventual success is through gaming. Moreover, it seems to me that gamers are finally starting to notice the creative stasis of games. Perhaps they will be more open to the directions.
It appears, then, that the only path to the mountaintops runs through the swamps.