Warren Spector on “Player Powered” Games

As part of a rather roundabout publicity drive for his upcoming multiplayer immersive sim Argos: Riders on the Storm, Otherside Entertainment’s Warren Spector will be authoring a series of articles over at GameDeveloper (formerly Gamasutra). The first of those revolves around the idea of “player powered” games and what they mean for the mastermind behind Deus Ex.

Here’s a couple of sample paragraphs:

Here’s the list of things I add to the list above, as if those weren’t hard enough. Stick with me. We’re playing on Expert now!

• Have I empowered players to tell their stories in collaboration with us – with the developers?
• Have I delivered at least one new thing in the game that no one has ever seen or done in a game before?
• Have I allowed players to see the world through the eyes of someone else, someone potentially unlike themselves?
• And have I made a game that’s about something more than just what’s on the surface? Have I made players think?

My hope is either to convince you to agree with me that these are desirable success criteria or to get you disagreeing so emphatically that you’ll be moved to consider what your mission is. Then we can have a fun little argument in comments or in person at a conference (someday). Just be ready for a knock-down-drag-out argument. Those aren’t just success criteria and Player Powered isn’t just a motto. It’s a mission. On my team at OtherSide, we consider it when we make every one of the myriad decisions required when developing a game.