Dan Houser sees freedom in lack of respect for video games

Dan Houser of Rockstar Games sat down with The Telegraph and said that he enjoys the fact that video games have not been given as much respect as TV or film despite being a similar artform. Why? It’s all in the full article.

Dan Houser of Rockstar Games sat down with The Telegraph and said that he enjoys the fact that video games have not been given as much respect as TV or film despite being a similar artform. The industry has been at some disadvantage because of that fact, like in the UK, where gaming does not receive tax breaks the way films do. So why does Houser enjoy this “privilege”?

It’s quite simple, really. Houser believes that because there is a lack of respect for gaming, there are still no established norms in going about it. No traditional mediums have been “codified” and videogames have enjoyed having “no accepted way of doing anything.”

“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,” he said as he hoped that this “privilege” will last for a long time. “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.”

Via Games Industry