Gabrielle Zevin Believes Games Show People Who They Really Are

In her new novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin presents playing video games and understanding each other as kindred activities. "There is no more intimate act than play," states one character states during a fictional interview with Kotaku, "even sex." For those who will struggle to square this conviction with the image of teenagers screaming into their mics as they firebomb enemy soldiers, the book acts as a kind of corrective. To go even deeper, WIRED spoke with Zevin over Zoom about her book, the public perception of gamers, and the problematic brilliance of Metal Gear Solid. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.