Neil Young

By now, everyone in our business recognizes the value of the game designer, something that wasn't necessarily true even 3 years ago. I think that we'll continue to see the role grow and more true gamemakers emerge - those that can define, articulate and execute on a vision for entertainment experiences in our medium. Over the next 5 years I imagine that we'll first see some extraordinary people functioning in the same way that the writer/producer/director functions in the film business. As the roles mature, I'd hope that we would see more delineation and rewarding of specialization. If we're to compete effectively for the minds and minutes of entertainment consumers, we need to compete with mediums that have already recognized that having great people focused and specialized builds better experiences.

The biggest challenge that faces the game designer today is how to delineate gameplay from entertainment. It's my opinion that, whilst connected, they are not one in the same thing. We are further challenged by how we learn to package that entertainment into slices that are respectful and cognizant of the demands on our aging average user.