Political Gaming

insertcredit describes a few of the interviews they've had recently on political aspects of game design:

Smith is clearly thinking about how to advance games as an art, actively thinking about how to make an immersive and valuable experience. If you read it, you'll see what I mean, but here's an excerpt: "It's so hard to convince your team about those things. I was recently adding a buzzard to BlackSite, and I wanted buzzards that wheel in the distance in the desert, and when you're driving along, I wanted, 20 yards down the road, buzzards around roadkill. As you get closer, they turn and flap and ascend into the air, and as you get closer, you realize it's a wrecked Humvee, and the roadkill is an American troop. That worked for me on many different levels. Some producer will look at that and be like, "Ambient Animal: Priority Four." And I'm just like, "You don't understand. This is really fucking important. I can't explain to you why." And he's like, "Well, is it more important than fixing this bug in our animation system?" Technically, no! It's a nightmare."

-- News: Political interviews: Smith, Ferriera, Seropian [insertcredit]

Also discussed are Army of Two and Hail to the Chimp.