Recently retired game designer Ken Rolston (The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) got reflective and talked about his career in the industry. Few know RPGs better than Rolston. He's worked on everything from next-gen titles to tabletop dice-game RPGs. His insights on the genre?

I had once dreamed that roleplaying games would transform culture. I expected roleplaying games to take their place alongside literature, drama, and cinema. It didn't happen that way, perhaps just because it is so much more work for users to produce a narrative than to consume one — or perhaps because crafting narratives as a hobbyist is of interest only to a limited number of people. I'm only a little disappointed, though. For a small number of people, roleplaying games have become a uniquely satisfying pastime, perhaps even occasionally a vehicle for exploring the human condition.

Poignant stuff. —Brian Ashcraft

Full Interview Here [H Consumer] Thanks, Daniel!

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