Hollywood Envy

For some reason, games people look to Hollywood as their nirvana. They love to insert moviemaking terminology into their discussions of game design. Storyboards are de rigeur among many games people, even though they really don't add anything to the design process. The word "cinematic" seems to be more common in game design discussions than "interactivity," even though the latter is central to game design and the former is peripheral. And when games people need somebody to write dramatic prose, it's got to be a screenwriter with Hollywood experience, not some mere novelist or playwright.

If the reader will indulge my attempt at psychoanalysis, I suspect that what's going on here is some kind of attempt to break out of the geeky clodishness that so immures games people. Despite the bravado of declarations of geek pride, the sad truth is that hunks, not geeks, get the girls. To put it bluntly, geeks don't got no glamour. But Hollywood now there's glamour for you! Could you imagine yourself at the "Games Oscars," emerging from the limousine to the popping of flashbulbs, walking up the red carpet with a starlet hanging on each arm, smiling that devil-may-care smile that makes beautiful women swoon? Can you see the moment when you accept your award while millions watch and celebrities applaud…Hey! Wake up, you dreamer! Back to the keyboard!