How Video Game Designers Peek Inside Their Players' Lives

A video game designer responds to K Chess' "Escape Worlds." These are the words that every working artist, no matter the medium, wants to hear at some point. Everyone has at least one piece of art--a formative album, a deeply felt novel, a visit to grand architecture, a powerful movie--that strikes them at the right time, in the right way, so that the impact lasts forever. While a novelist or film crew have to do their best to make a story that is personal and honest and hope that it is relatable, game designers have the opportunity to co-author an experience with the players. This opportunity for participation is what drew me into the craft.