BioShock designer Ken Levine upset over male dominance in game business, says "problem" must be understood before it can be worked on.
The industry's gender gap is "terrible" for the business of making games. That's according to Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine, who opened up on the issue today on Twitter.
"a) The gender gap in the industry is terrible for the industry," Levine . "b) to work on the problem, we need to have an understanding of the problem."
He , "c) The first step is research that doesn't ignore basic statistical standards? (small sample sizes, self-reporting, experience x ref)."
"Probably statistically safe to say 50% of potential game talent is female (adjust for nurture issues)," he . "Long way to go, but need good data."
A new Game Developer magazine United States Salary Survey report found that in 2012, . In addition, men made up a significantly higher portion of overall salaried developers in 2012.
Wired: Do people still have conversations around the water cooler anymore? If so, BioShock Infinite is sure to be a hot topic of discussion wherever nerds still coalesce around beverage dispensers.
If you were at all familiar with Ken Levine and Irrational Games 2007 magnum opus BioShock, with its enveloping, fascinating world and its masterfully written characters, you should have expected that BioShock Infinite, the sequel nearly six years in the making, would have delivered another such experience. Days and weeks after finishing it, we cant stop thinking about it. With so many angles to explore, we decided to have a conversation about what we took away from Infinite. I am joined by Wired fellow Jensen Toperzer and contributor John Mix Meyer. Heres our first round of letters, with at least one more to follow.
Note: Colossal BioShock Infinite spoilers follow. Only read this if youve already finished the game, too!
Violent video games has become a controversial topic over the past several months, and Irrational Games' Ken Levine recently addressed the hot-button issue on NPR's radio program On Point.
BioShock designer Ken Levine says for better or worse, violence as a story device has been used since "the dawn of narrative."
In the wake of the December Newtown, Conn. shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, Ken Levine has responded to the ongoing violence in games discussion. Speaking with NPR's radio program, Levine said violence being used as a narrative device is nothing new.
"Violence, for better or for worse, is#133;going back to the dawn of narrative, is a part of the story teller's toolkit," Levine said.
Levine then brought up an example of his childhood, explaining that he had a tough time making friends growing up and so he spent a lot of time playing Dungeons & Dragons. At the time, this game was linked to murders and suicides, though Levine said it did not have a negative effect on him.
"I think there's a couple questions here. I remember when I was a kid; I was not a very popular kid. I was a nerdy, little kid. And I didn't have friends because I wasn't very good at socializing," Levine said. "And I found Dungeons & Dragons and if you remember, back in the 70s there was this big human cry about Dungeons and Dragons; kids were going off and killing themselves and disappearing into caves. And that happened with comic books and that happened with rock and roll music."
Interviewer Tom Ashbrook then interjected, pointing out that in the case of the Sandy Hook shooting, the loss of life was immediate and overwhelming to the world at large. Levine responded to this, saying for him, games were a shield, in a way, from violence.
"My point is, for me personally, games were a way around being 'that kid.' I'm not speaking as a scientist here; we can argue the science, but I'm#133; not the best guy to do that," Levine said.
"I think the other point is they call them first-person shooters; F-P-S. There's the F-P, the first-person aspect of being, inhabiting a character's role," he added. "And then there's the S part, which is the shooter part. And I'm not sure that they're necessarily one in the same."
BioShock designer Ken Levine says for better or worse, violence as a story device has been used since "the dawn of narrative."
In the wake of the December Newtown, Conn. shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, Ken Levine has responded to the ongoing violence in games discussion. Speaking with NPR's radio program, Levine said violence being used as a narrative device is nothing new.
"Violence, for better or for worse, is#146;going back to the dawn of narrative, is a part of the story teller's toolkit," Levine said.
Levine then brought up an example of his childhood, explaining that he had a tough time making friends growing up and so he spent a lot of time playing Dungeons & Dragons. At the time, this game was linked to murders and suicides, though Levine said it did not have a negative effect on him.
"I think there's a couple questions here. I remember when I was a kid; I was not a very popular kid. I was a nerdy, little kid. And I didn't have friends because I wasn't very good at socializing," Levine said. "And I found Dungeons & Dragons and if you remember, back in the 70s there was this big human cry about Dungeons and Dragons; kids were going off and killing themselves and disappearing into caves. And that happened with comic books and that happened with rock and roll music."
Interviewer Tom Ashbrook then interjected, pointing out that in the case of the Sandy Hook shooting, the loss of life was immediate and overwhelming to the world at large. Levine responded to this, saying for him, games were a shield, in a way, from violence.
"My point is, for me personally, games were a way around being 'that kid.' I'm not speaking as a scientist here; we can argue the science, but I'm#146; not the best guy to do that," Levine said.
"I think the other point is they call them first-person shooters; F-P-S. There's the F-P, the first-person aspect of being, inhabiting a character's role," he added. "And then there's the S part, which is the shooter part. And I'm not sure that they're necessarily one in the same."
onPause writes:
Ken Levine, the creative director of BioShock Infinite and Irrational Games, went on the NPR radio program On Point Radio this morning and the Audio Recording made its way onto the Internet.
