The Dragon Hunter Speaks: an interview w/ Chris Crawford

Chris-Crawford-NDE

Chris Crawford - Author, Teacher, and Interactive Narrative Designer

"I have committed myself, I have dedicated myself, to the pursuit of the dragon. And having made that commitment … all of a sudden, I can see him! There he is, right in front of me, clear as day.… You’re so much bigger than I ever imagined, and I’m, I’m not so sure I like this. I mean, yes, you’re glorious and beautiful, but you’re ugly, too. Your breath reeks of death!… Am I so pitiful that you can sneer in my face like that? Yes, yes, you frighten me! You hurt me! I’ve felt your claws ripping through my soul! But I’m going to die someday, and before I can do that, I’ve got to face you, eyeball to eyeball. I’ve got to look you right in the eye, and see what’s inside, but I’m not good enough to do that yet. I’m not experienced enough, so I’m going to have to start learning. Today. Here. Now. Come, dragon, I will fight you. Sancho Panza, my sword! (He picks up a sword from the desk behind him, which he unsheaths from its scabbard.) For truth! For beauty! For art! Charge!"  

- Chris Crawford @ the 1992 GDC  

So with this swift swipe of his philosophical sword Chris Crawford of Atari legend left game design in pursuit of interactive narrative. The past 18 years have let many a wound on this cunning rogue of a dragon hunter, "I can’t win, but I can’t stop fighting, either." He goes on to say in his recent interview with The Narrative Designer's Network. "At least this one might someday yield an irreversible advance."

Chris is a fantastic creature himself, full of self-depreciating charm and a timeless wisdom. "I tend to think of myself more as the soldier who falls on the barbed wire so the others can climb over his body."

A bold, outspoken critic of the Frankenstein Monster he helped create called Game Design, when asked if others should follow in his quixotic quest to save humanity with a new art form he responded simply "Don’t attempt this until you feel that you have no other options." In the aftermath of his most recent battle to tame his elusive dragon with Storytron and Balance of Power: 21st Century he has become the siren singing outside the gates of our fair city screaming "Get with the times, people!". When asked about the current state of game design his heart fell heavy as he replied "... people are still weak on the fundamentals."

He goes on to give a stunningly honest take on what we've become, that is those of us whom dwell in the city he once so lovingly co-founded, we who pompously believe that ours is an art encroaching upon the grail Chris seeks so often alone "I don’t think that the city is expanding much; mostly, it’s just building higher and higher, doing the same old stuff over and over, better and better, but without any real creative expansion. Yes, there are plenty of people slowly pushing outward, but their efforts are still limited by their own mental blinders. So long as you think in terms of games, you just keep repeating the same old mistakes. You have to think in broader terms to break out of the creative rut that the games biz has sunk itself into."

In this in-depth interview Chris speaks on his definitions of interactive story, playful linguistics, and lessons learned from a life forging new paradigms of interactivity for the design world at large.  

Read the full interview @

http://narrativedesign.org/2010/04/masters-of-narrative-design-9™-chris-crawford/