One of the standout talks given at GCAP 2011 last week came from freelance developer/designer and Freeplay organiser Paul Callaghan.
Callaghan noted two diametrically opposed views of the 2010 XBLA critical darling, Limbo, one which praised its grim, macabre setting (and ability to drive unease into the player), the other lamenting the trial-and-error gameplay.
Citing a similar dichotomy amongst his own personal professional career, Callaghan went on to suggest that the sense of unity and togetherness (proposed by Insomniac Games' Mike Acton some minutes earlier) we ought to feel as gamers should perhaps be considered alongside the knowledge on no uncertain terms that what we all want from and for our games differs greatly.
At 34, Callaghan notes that the form of games themselves developed in tandem with his own taste forming, and that the nascent medium reflects the fledgling ideas of genre, medium and participation we all find as we learn about what drives our taste in games.
In his usual acerbic style, Callaghan backhandedly celebrated the diversity of philosophies surrounding both the playing and creation of videogames, noting that as a creative medium we can expect to be volatile.
The full speech, along with the powerpoint presentation which accompanied it, is available here.
Image courtest of i R Media.
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