There was recently an interesting game exhibition in Kassel called Spielsalon. They used the term “author games” to show a couple if indie / art games. Sadly, I couldn’t be there even though I like the term they used there. The guests they hard were nothing short of spectacular. Luckly, Katharina Tillmanns from CGL was there to record a spontaneous Interview with Paolo Pedercini from La Molleindustria.
There are some really good bits in the interview. I especially like how he doubts the usefulness of serious games that are specifically made to be used in a classroom. I too find this idea ridiculous. Using the film analogy – it’s like the educational movies they made us watch in class sometimes. They were hopelessly outdated, insultingly patronizing and simply boring. There is no way those could stand up even to indie documentaries. A much better solution is to leave the film making to actual filmmakers, use that money to raise overall educational standards and develop curricula around existing, “authentic” media.
I was enjoying Paolo’s work even before I met him at GDC 2010. He’s obviously an incredibly smart, witty and talented developer. We shall try to get him somehow involved in future Cologne Game Lab courses.
