Kotaku: r-e-s-p-e-c-t

Rockstar's Dan Houser Favors Creative Freedom Over Respect

Mike Fahey — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:40:00 MST

Rockstar creative VP and lead GTA IV writer Dan Houser would rather have the creative freedom of writing for video games remain intact than be treated with respect.

When an interviewer for the UK Telegraph asks Houser if it will be long before video game writers are afforded the same respect as TV and film writers enjoy, Dan neatly explains that he'd rather not have it.

“I hope it's long,” he says. “It's really fun at the moment because we're not in any Academy and the medium's not codified. There's no accepted way of doing anything so that give us enormous pleasure because we can make it up as we go along. Movies and TV and books have become so structured in the way they have to approach things. Not working in that environment gives us enormous freedom. I'd rather keep the freedom and not have the respect.”

The man makes a very good point. Though video games are gaining popularity every day, they still don't have to deal with the rigid standards enforced for films and television shows in most countries. The multiple layers of scrutiny that those mediums undergo are something that the game industry has thankfully avoided so far.

Note that I said so far. This would be a good place for a little dramatic incidental music.

Dan Houser interview: Rockstar Games's writer for GTA 4 and The Lost And Damned [Telegraph via Games Industry]

Codemasters Cancels DiRT TV Ads

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:00:25 MDT

With Colin McRae's passing this past weekend, speculation arouse as to how Codemasters would handle the venerable rally game series named after the racing legend. While the future of the series is still in question, the are handling the PS3 release of DiRT with the utmost respect, canceling a series of television ads for the game despite the fact that the title launches tomorrow in the UK.

"With consideration to and in agreement with McRae's family, there was a stop put on the TV ads that were planned to run on Sky channels at the weekend and through this week," said a spokesperson for Codemasters.

Well done, Codemasters. In a world where half the time such an event would be seen as a PR win, you showed some real class. Bravo.

Codemasters pulls Colin McRae ad campaign [GamesIndustry.biz]

Game Vixens To Look Up To

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:00:39 MDT

Top ten list for female gaming characters usually look like this. Old hat and mehsville. So! It's nice to see something, I dunno, different? Interesting? Over at ShinyShiny, they've put together a list of ten female game characters to idolize. They are:

10. Claire Redfield from Resident Evil
9. Yorda from Ico
8. Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda series
7. Kreia from Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
6. Mia Fey from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
5. Yuna from Final Fantasy
4. Samus Aran from Metroid
3. Jade from Beyond Good and Evil
2. Carla Valenti from Fahrenheit
1. Jill Valentine from Resident Evil

Agree? Disagree? Discuss. Brian Ashcraft

List of Characters [Shiny Shiny via Alice]