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Thanks for the thoughts. And I still play point & click adventure games (but hey I guess I'm old)! I'm in the middle of 'Leisure Suit Larry: wet dreams dry twice' - good silly fun, obviously lot of phallic shaped objects around the screens and sill puzzles. Kind of relaxing, not too demanding. And I recently played Return to Monkey Island, that was fun as well.

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The technological generation gap is a real thing, but I often wonder if some of the burnout is also down to the vast number of compromises that must be made during any game's development. Certainly, while games has been very good to me, I've always continued writing books and graphic novels to stay sane, because I have so much more control over those products. Movie and TV directors will complain about the compromises they have to make, and those are real, but they're nothing compared to what a game producer or director has to deal with.

You cite Kojima, Pope, and Barlow, and I suspect people like that are able to continue because they take their destiny in their own hands, and strive to ensure their compromises are a result of their own decisions and ambitions, rather than a dozen different executives and financiers all weighing in with an opinion that must be obeyed.

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Right, I think that's why solo operators or people with trusted teams making smaller are able to survive longer. I don't know enough about movie/TV to compare the level of compromises people have to make – certainly it feels like those industries are a bit more stable in comparison to the tumult of games – but at least the plus side for the games industry is that distribution is theoretically much easier (even if profitabilty is not!)

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I wonder how/why/if certain kinds of creative spark are specifically tied to certain forms of media. Using Lucas Pope as an example, Obra Dinn's brilliance isn't inherently tied to a video game format; it could be adapted to book form. (Though now that I'm thinking about it, I want it in VR.) My point is, certain forms of creative intelligence have a technological lifespan, no? Or do I have no idea what I'm talking about?

(Also, Perplex City 4 lyfe.)

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Golden Idol could absolutely be a book, too. People grow up surrounded by all kinds of influences and tools, I keep swaying back and forth between writing and game design and non-fiction and novels depending on the people I talk to and what's going on in society and what you make can money from and what tools are available!

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Golden Idol is a great shout. That could absolutely be a book.

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