What better way to provoke game developers than by telling them that games are evil and that they're killing the Earth? That's the general statement Yoshiyuki Tomino--creator of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise--presented in his recent CEDEC 2009 games conference keynote speech. Gamesutra was there for the revelation, and reports that Tomino wants developers to reconsider the future of gaming.
"I think that video games are evil," Tomino told the audience. "[Gaming] is not a type of activity that provides any support to our daily lives, and all these consoles are just consuming electricity! Let's say we have about three billion people on this planet wasting their time, bringing no productivity at all. Add 10 billion more people, and what would happen to our planet? Video games are assisting the death of our planet!"
Apparently, he's forgotten about the millions in revenue he pocketed from "evil" games based on his robotic creations. However, overall the basis of Tomino's speech sounds rather Nintendo-ish: change the face of gaming. Create memorable titles that gives the player the feeling that time wasn't wasted on something pointless. Create a game that doesn't have a negative impact on the consumer's daily life, something that could be considered more productive. He points to Tetris, and asked the audience if there has been anything better since its release in June 1984.
He also said that CG designers have become too dependent on the software and tools. "People working on CG have become caught up with how to use these tools, but do not give a thought on creating content that will be relevant 10 years from now," said Tomino. "As long as we remember to ask ourselves the question, I believe that a hint towards the next step can be seen."
