Adam Sessler | Feature Interview
| Published Feb 1, 2011
Dailyer Nebraskan: You’ve been in the video game industry for more than a decade. How has the industry, and your role in it, changed?
Adam Sessler: Things are definitely a lot different than when I started out. The game industry was really, really niche. Most everything was played on the PC -- it was still seen as a scene for mouth-breathers, and the quality of the content was pretty broad.
Nowadays, we’re looking at a lot of Triple-A stuff... an audience that can make Call of Duty: Black Ops the most successful game of all time. I’ve probably seen a larger transition in this industry in my time than any other.
DerN: Do you think that you’ve affected the industry in any way?
AS: I would like to think so. I have a level of modesty that wants me to pull back. I would like to say so, just because doing video games on television was definitely not something that was regarded well when we started out. I would like to think that myself and everyone I’ve worked with on the show have made an effort to use the medium that is television to help make the visual medium that is video games more understandable, exciting, and acceptable to an audience.
DerN: How do you think the general news media views the games industry, and your job?
AS: Primarily, [the people] running television, news networks, newspapers and magazines are still part of a generational divide. The generation that we occupy understands games and their place in society and social discourse. You don’t get that among the older generations. To them, it seems like something on the outside, and something that hasn’t risen to the level of art. To them, it’s uncomfortable to talk of something that they themselves don’t have knowledge of.
I think it’s something that will be corrected over time. I would say in 20 years, we will look back on the way that video games are viewed in mainstream media now and just kind of chuckle.
DerN: To what do you attribute the long-term success of X Play?
AS: More or less, we’re a parasite on an industry that continues to grow and evolve. If video games had stagnated as an entertainment medium, I don’t think the show would be around. But the fact that the industry has grown into one that innovates--there is a desire to have something that covers this industry. I think one of the things that we did that was wise, many years ago when we transitioned from ‘Extended Play’ to ‘X-Play,’ was adding in a sense of irreverence and humor.
If you cover games too seriously, it seems counter-productive. If you cover games in exclusion to other things that are happening in society, it can become myopic because people who are into games are also likely into something else as well. I think that, during times when the games themselves weren’t that strong, it helped bring people into the show even though they may not know or like all the games we were covering.
One of the things I take some degree of pride in is the number of girlfriends who couldn’t stand their boyfriends playing games, but wanted to sit down and watch the show.
DerN: Do you think the industry has progressed in a positive, natural manner?
AS: There are both good things and bad things that have happened with the game industry. On the good, there’s far less cynicism among the products. It used to be marketing hooks without a good game under the hood. “Good” games are; on the whole, better than “good” games were a generation ago. Having said that, I think the industry has become incredibly timid. Given the economy, and the fact that the cost of making a game has risen considerably, risk taking is something we’re seeing very little of.
Last year [2010] there were some very strong games, but it was also one of the least exciting years for games I’ve seen in a while. Almost everything that was good was a sequel that improved upon what was established before. Red Dead Redemption, which I love to play, was essentially a re-topped Grand Theft Auto. There wasn’t the pop.
When you played Bioshock for the first time, it was clear this was a left-field approach to game design. We’re not seeing as much of that as I would like to. I admire the technical workmanship in a game like Call of Duty, but I can’t get that excited because I know what I’m in for: shooting guys in the head.
DerN: What will it take to push the industry out of this rut?
AS: One thing I think is going to happen is that reliable franchises will stop performing as well. Halo: Reach sold less than Halo 3. The big one to note this year is that companies are reporting how much a game shipped to stores vs. how many were actually sold.
Eventually we’re going to see a Call of Duty that just doesn’t sell that well. We’ll see that, if you take a franchise and beat it into a bloody pulp on a yearly basis, you’re going to create a level of fatigue with your audience.
DerN: How do you see yourself in the industry?
AS: It’s sort of an existential crisis on weekly basis. I, sometimes by the virtue of being in on television, find myself in situations where I’m engaging in journalism. But in reality, it’s probably something much closer to punditry.
‘Cultural Critic’ is probably the most high-minded title I would affix on myself. But I’m also an entertainer. I’ve taken on a variety of tasks that don’t always work as well with one another.
DerN: What are your plans for the future?
AS: I’d be more than happy to stay on X-Play forever. It’s funny; I have a lot of friends that say ‘what are you going to do next?’ I say to them, I didn’t know there was a next. As long as the industry keeps me interested, which could mean either wholesale success or failure, I would love to stay with something like this.
Comments
Post a Comment