14 DAY TRIAL // Warren Spector, the creator of the classic Deus Ex and the more recent Epic Mickey series, believes that video games need to add more variety to their universes and mechanics in order to appeal to a wider audience.
The developer also says that more price points are needed in order to attract more players, because the niche appeal cannot sustain an entire market in the long term.
Writing on GamesIndustry.biz, Spector says, “I’m not trying to limit game content – in no way am I or would I say all games should do anything, that we should give up genres, that our medium should eclipse some other medium or that we should try to do what any other medium does well.”
He admits his own love for video games that feature zombies, ray guns and elemental magic, perhaps with a hint of irony, but says the limits that now exist are unrealistic and cannot sustain gaming in the coming years.
Spector adds, “No one should have to play ‘intellectual’ games, but that doesn’t mean people who want such games shouldn’t be allowed or able to play them. We deserve and our medium needs different games for different audiences.”
The last video game the developer put out was Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two in 2012.
The title failed to attract critical appeal or generate commercial sales and since then, the Junction Point studio that created it has been closed down after Disney changed its approach to video game development.
His biggest contributions to gaming have been related to Thief and Deus Ex, two of the video games that have defined their genres.
Human Revolution updated the second series in 2011 and a new Thief title is expected to be launched on the PC and next-generation consoles in 2014, starring the same lead character.