My love for video games (and what you can create with them) is nothing less than Deadpool’s love for chimichangas.  You can never get enough and – after a bathroom break – you’re always ready for more!

 

Let’s face it:  VIDEO GAMES ARE FUN.

 

Yet beneath their recreational surface are layers of depth that immerse the player into a different reality, tapping both conscious and subconscious levels of awareness.  The multi-layered elements provide a vehicle that forces the player to exercise critical and strategic thinking skills.  The game designer creates a template that makes the player exercise these skills.  This “subtext” needs to be seamlessly woven into the game in order to never break the player’s immersion.  The game designer architects the blueprint for the levels of depth they offer the player, as well as the interplay between elements of cognition, affect and creative thought.

 

This is what I want to do as a game designer:

Make people question, enable new ways of thinking, and offer an experience that causes a response.

With all this in mind the overall integrity of the games must always remain intact, and the most important rule must never be forgotten:  

GAMES NEED TO BE FUN!

Nobody wants to play a game that isn’t fun.

 

However video games have the potential to go far beyond the “fun factor.”   They are a platform for exploring philosophical and ideological concepts in the interactive way they are brought to life.  They are a medium for contemporary storytelling.  Stories are a powerful tool; they allow us to clarify and share our understanding of the world.  They are a medium that enables us to reflect on our own life experience, grapple with new ideas, and bridge different perspectives.  The combination of all these elements form a compelling personal experience that has the ability to stimulate and influence the player’s mind, emotions, and imagination.

 

Without a doubt, video games are my chimichangas.