WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 I grew up in Northern Ireland, right up in the 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:04.000 very, very north end of it there, 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.000 where it's absolutely freezing cold. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.000 This was me running around in the back garden mid-summer. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:11.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:12.000 I couldn't pick a career. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.000 In Ireland the obvious choice is the military, 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.000 but to be honest it actually kind of sucks. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.000 My mother wanted me to be a dentist. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.000 But the problem was that people kept blowing everything up. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.000 So I actually went to school in Belfast, 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.000 which was where all the action happened. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:30.000 And this was a pretty common sight. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.000 The school I went to was pretty boring. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.000 They forced us to learn things like Latin. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.000 The school teachers weren't having much fun, 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:39.000 the sports were very dirty or very painful. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:42.000 So I cleverly chose rowing, which I got very good at. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.000 And I was actually rowing for my school here 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:47.000 until this fateful day, and I flipped over right in front 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:48.000 of the entire school. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.000 And that was the finishing post right there. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:51.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:52.000 So this was extremely embarrassing. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.000 But our school at that time got a grant from the government, 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.000 and they got an incredible computer -- the research machine 3DZ -- 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:00.000 and they left the programming manuals lying around. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.000 And so students like myself with nothing to do, 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.000 we would learn how to program it. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:07.000 Also around this time, at home, 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:08.000 this was the computer that people were buying. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.000 It was called the Sinclair ZX80. This was a 1K computer, 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.000 and you'd buy your programs on cassette tape. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.000 Actually I'm just going to pause for one second, 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:18.000 because I heard that there's a prerequisite to speak here at TED -- 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.000 you had to have a picture of yourself from the old days with big hair. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.000 So I brought a picture with big hair. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:24.000 (Laughter). NOTE Paragraph 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.000 I just want to get that out of the way. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:30.000 So after the Sinclair ZX80 came along the very cleverly named 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.000 Sinclair ZX81. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:33.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:34.000 And -- you see the picture at the bottom? 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:36.000 There's a picture of a guy doing homework with his son. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.000 That's what they thought they had built it for. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:41.000 The reality is we got the programming manual 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:42.000 and we started making games for it. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:43.000 We were programming in BASIC, 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.000 which is a pretty awful language for games, 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:47.000 so we ended up learning Assembly language 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.000 so we could really take control of the hardware. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.000 This is the guy that invented it, Sir Clive Sinclair, 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:53.000 and he's showing his machine. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.000 You had this same thing in America, 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.000 it was called the Timex Sinclair1000. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.000 To play a game in those days you had to have an imagination 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.000 to believe that you were really playing "Battlestar Galactica." 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.000 The graphics were just horrible. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.000 You had to have an even better imagination to play this game, 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:09.000 "Death Rider." 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.000 But of course the scientists couldn't help themselves. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.000 They started making their own video games. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:18.000 This is one of my favorite ones here, where they have rabbit breeding, 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:21.000 so males choose the lucky rabbit. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.000 It was around this time we went from 1K to 16K, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.000 which was quite the leap. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.000 And if you're wondering how much 16K is, 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.000 this eBay logo here is 16K. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:32.000 And in that amount of memory someone programmed 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.000 a full flight simulation program. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:36.000 And that's what it looked like. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.000 I spent ages flying this flight simulator, 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:42.000 and I honestly believed I could fly airplanes by the end of it. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.000 Here's Clive Sinclair now launching his color computer. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:49.000 He's recognized as being the father of video games in Europe. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.000 He's a multi-millionaire, and I think that's why he's 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:53.000 smiling in this photograph. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.000 So I went on for the next 20 years or so 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.000 making a lot of different games. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:59.000 Some of the highlights were things like "The Terminator," 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:02.000 "Aladdin," the "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles." 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:03.000 Because I was from the United Kingdom, 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.000 they thought the word ninja was a little too mean for children, 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.000 so they decided to call it hero instead. 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:11.000 I personally preferred the Spanish version, 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.000 which was "Tortugas Ninja." 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.000 That was much better. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Then the last game I did was based on trying to get the video game industry 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.000 and Hollywood to actually work together on something -- 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.000 instead of licensing from each other, to actually work. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.000 Now, Chris did ask me to bring some statistics with me, 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.000 so I've done that. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:35.000 The video game industry in 2005 became a 29 billion dollar business. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:36.000 It grows every year. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.000 Last year was the biggest year. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.000 By 2008, we're going to kick the butt of the music industry. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 By 2010, we're going to hit 42 billion. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.000 43 percent of gamers are female. 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.000 So there's a lot more female gamers than people are really aware. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.000 The average age of gamers? 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.000 Well, obviously it's for children, right? 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:54.000 Well, no, actually it's 30 years old. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.000 And interestingly, the people who buy the most games are 37. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:00.000 So 37 is our target audience. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:02.000 All video games are violent. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.000 Of course the newspapers love to beat on this. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.000 But 83 percent of games don't have any mature content whatsoever, 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:11.000 so it's just not true. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.000 Online gaming statistics. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.000 I brought some stuff on "World of Warcraft." It's 5.5 million players. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:19.000 It makes about 80 million bucks a month in subscriptions. 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.000 It costs 50 bucks just to install it on your computer, 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:26.000 making the publisher about another 275 million. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.000 The game costs about 80 million dollars to make, 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.000 so basically it pays for itself in about a month. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.000 A player in a game called "Project Entropia" 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:37.000 actually bought his own island for 26,500 dollars. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:39.000 You have to remember that this is not a real island. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:41.000 He didn't actually buy anything, just some data. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.000 But he got great terms on it. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:46.000 This purchase included mining and hunting rights, 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.000 ownership of all land on the island, and a castle 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.000 with no furniture included. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:51.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.000 This market is now estimated at over 800 million dollars annually. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.000 And what's interesting about it is the market was actually created 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.000 by the gamers themselves. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.000 They found clever ways to trade items 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.000 and to sell their accounts to each other 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.000 so that they could make money while they were playing their games. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.000 I dove onto eBay a couple of days ago 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:11.000 just to see what was gong on, typed in World of Warcraft, got 6,000 items. 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.000 I liked this one the best: 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:17.000 a level 60 Warlock with lots of epics for 174,000 dollars. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.000 It's like that guy obviously had some pain while making it. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.000 So as far as popularity of games, 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.000 what do you think these people are doing here? 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:31.000 It turns out they're actually in Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.000 listening to the L.A. Philharmonic playing video game music. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:35.000 That's what the show looks like. 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:37.000 You would expect it to be cheesy, but it's not. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.000 It's very, very epic and a very beautiful concert. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:41.000 And the people that went there absolutely loved it. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:43.000 What do you think these people are doing? 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.000 They're actually bringing their computers so they can play games 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.000 against each other. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.000 And this is happening in every city around the world. 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:51.000 This is happening in your local cities too, 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:52.000 you're probably just not aware of it. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:55.000 Now, Chris told me that you had a timeline video a few years ago 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.000 here just to show how video game graphics have been improving. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:02.000 I wanted to update that video and give you a new look at it. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.000 But what I want you to do is to try to understand it. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.000 We're on this curve, and the graphics are getting 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:08.000 so ridiculously better. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.000 And I'm going to show you up to maybe 2007. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.000 But I want you to try and think about what games could look like 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.000 10 years from now. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.000 So we're going to start that video. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:21.000 Video: Throughout human history people have played games. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:24.000 As man's intellect and technology have evolved 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.000 so too have the games he plays. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:27.000 --> 00:08:47.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.000 David Perry: The thing again I want you to think about is, 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.000 don't look at these graphics and think of that's the way it is. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.000 Think about that's where we are right now, 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.000 and the curve that we're on means that this is going to continue 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.000 to get better. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.000 This is an example of the kind of graphics you need to be able to draw 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.000 if you wanted to get a job in the video game industry today. 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.000 You need to be really an incredible artist. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.000 And once we get enough of those guys, we're going to want 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:10.000 more fantasy artists that can create places 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.000 we've never been to before, or characters that 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:14.000 we've just never seen before. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.000 So the obvious thing for me to talk about today is graphics and audio. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.000 But if you were to go to a game developers conference, 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.000 what they're all talking about is emotion, purpose, 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.000 meaning, understanding and feeling. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.000 You'll hear about talks like, can a video game make you cry? 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:30.000 And these are the kind of topics we really actually care about. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.000 I came across a student who's absolutely excellent 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.000 at expressing himself, and this student agreed 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:40.000 that he would not show his video to anybody until 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.000 you here at TED had seen it. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:43.000 So I'd like to play this video. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:47.000 So this is a student's opinion on what his experience of games are. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.000 Video: I, like many of you, live somewhere between 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.000 reality and video games. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.000 Some part of me -- a true living, breathing person -- 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:00.000 has become programmed, electronic and virtual. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.000 The boundary of my brain that divides real from fantasy 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.000 has finally begun to crumble. 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:08.000 I'm a video game addict and this is my story. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:24.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.000 In the year of my birth 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:29.000 the Nintendo Entertainment System also went into development. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.000 I played in the backyard, learned to read, 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.000 and even ate some of my vegetables. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:42.000 Most of my childhood was spent playing with Legos. 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.000 But as was the case for most of my generation, 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:48.000 I spent a lot of time in front of the TV. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.000 Mr. Rogers, Walt Disney, Nick Junior, 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.000 and roughly half a million commercials have undoubtedly 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.000 left their mark on me. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.000 When my parents bought my sister and I our first Nintendo, 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.000 whatever inherent addictive quality this early interactive 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:09.000 electronic entertainment possessed quickly took hold of me. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:17.000 At some point something clicked. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:23.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:25.000 With the combination of simple, interactive stories 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.000 and the warmth of the TV set, my simple 16-bit Nintendo 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.000 became more than just an escape. 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.000 It became an alternate existence, my virtual reality. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:53.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:55.000 I'm a video game addict, and it's not because of 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:56.000 a certain number of hours I have spent playing, 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:00.000 or nights I have gone without sleep to finish the next level. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.000 It is because I have had life-altering experiences in virtual space, 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:06.000 and video games had begun to erode my own understanding 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.000 of what is real and what is not. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.000 I'm addicted, because even though I know I'm losing my grip on reality, 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.000 I still crave more. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:26.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.000 From an early age I learned to invest myself emotionally 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.000 in what unfolded before me on screen. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:36.000 Today, after 20 years of watching TV geared to make me emotional, 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.000 even a decent insurance commercial can bring tears to my eyes. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.000 I am just one of a new generation that is growing up. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.000 A generation who may experience much more meaning 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.000 through video games than they will through the real world. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:56.000 Video games are nearing an evolutionary leap, 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:59.000 a point where game worlds will look and feel just as real 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:02.000 as the films we see in theatres, or the news we watch on TV. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:04.000 And while my sense of free will in these virtual worlds 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:08.000 may still be limited, what I do learn applies to my real life. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.000 Play enough video games and eventually you will 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:14.000 really believe you can snowboard, fly a plane, 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.000 drive a nine-second quarter mile, or kill a man. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.000 I know I can. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.000 Unlike any pop culture phenomenon before it, 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.000 video games actually allow us to become part of the machine. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:33.000 They allow us to sublimate into the culture of interactive, 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.000 downloaded, streaming, HD reality. 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.000 We are interacting with our entertainment. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:42.000 I have come to expect this level of interaction. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.000 Without it, the problems faced in the real world -- 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:50.000 poverty, war, disease and genocide -- lack the levity they should. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:53.000 Their importance blends into the sensationalized drama 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.000 of prime time TV. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.000 But the beauty of video games today lies not in the lifelike graphics, 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:02.000 the vibrating joysticks or virtual surround sound. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:06.000 It lies in that these games are beginning to make me emotional. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.000 I have fought in wars, feared for my own survival, 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.000 watched my cohorts die on beaches and woods that look and feel 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.000 more real than any textbook or any news story. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.000 The people who create these games are smart. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 They know what makes me scared, excited, panicked, proud or sad. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:28.000 Then they use these emotions to dimensionalize the worlds they create. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:30.000 A well-designed video game will seamlessly 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.000 weave the user into the fabric of the virtual experience. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:35.000 As one becomes more experienced 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.000 the awareness of physical control melts away. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.000 I know what I want and I do it. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:45.000 No buttons to push, no triggers to pull, just me and the game. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:49.000 My fate and the fate of the world around me lie inside my hands. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:56.000 I know violent video games make my mother worry. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.000 What troubles me is not that video game violence 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.000 is becoming more and more like real life violence, 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:04.000 but that real life violence is starting to look more and more 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.000 like a video game. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:13.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.000 These are all troubles outside of myself. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 I, however, have a problem very close to home. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.000 Something has happened to my brain. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:32.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.000 Perhaps there is a single part of our brain that holds 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:36.000 all of our gut instincts, the things we know to do 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.000 before we even think. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.000 While some of these instincts may be innate, most are learned, 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.000 and all of them are hardwired into our brains. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:49.000 These instincts are essential for survival in both real and virtual worlds. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.000 Only in recent years has the technology behind video games 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:00.000 allowed for a true overlap in stimuli. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.000 As gamers we are now living by the same laws of physics 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.000 in the same cities and doing many of the same things 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.000 we once did in real life, only virtually. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:11.000 Consider this -- 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.000 my real life car has about 25,000 miles on it. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:19.000 In all my driving games, I've driven a total of 31,459 miles. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.000 To some degree I've learned how to drive from the game. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.000 The sensory cues are very similar. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.000 It's a funny feeling when you have spent more time 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.000 doing something on the TV than you have in real life. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.000 When I am driving down a road at sunset all I can think is, 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:36.000 this is almost as beautiful as my games are. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.000 For my virtual worlds are perfect. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.000 More beautiful and rich than the real world around us. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:44.000 I'm not sure what the implications of my experience are, 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000 but the potential for using realistic video game stimuli in repetition 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.000 on a vast number of loyal participants is frightening to me. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.000 Today I believe Big Brother would find much more success 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.000 brainwashing the masses with video games 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:00.000 rather than just simply TVs. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:03.000 Video games are fun, engaging, and leave your brain 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:06.000 completely vulnerable to re-programming. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:10.000 But maybe brainwashing isn't always bad. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.000 Imagine a game that teaches us to respect each other, 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.000 or helps us to understand the problems we're all facing 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:16.000 in the real world. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.000 There is a potential to do good as well. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.000 It is critical, as these virtual worlds continue to mirror 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.000 the real world we live in, that game developers realize 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.000 that they have tremendous responsibilities before them. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.000 I'm not sure what the future of video games holds 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:32.000 for our civilization. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:36.000 But as virtual and real world experiences increasingly overlap 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.000 there is a greater and greater potential for other people 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:41.000 to feel the same way I do. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:44.000 What I have only recently come to realize 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:48.000 is that beyond the graphics, sound, game play and emotion 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.000 it is the power to break down reality that is so fascinating 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.000 and addictive to me. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.000 I know that I am losing my grip. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.000 Part of me is just waiting to let go. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.000 I know though, that no matter how amazing video games may become, 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.000 or how flat the real world may seem to us, 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.000 that we must stay aware of what our games are teaching us 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:16.000 and how they leave us feeling when we finally do unplug. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:20.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:21.000 DP: Wow. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:28.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.000 I found that video very, very thought provoking, 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.000 and that's why I wanted to bring it here for you guys to see. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.000 And what was interesting about it is the obvious choice 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.000 for me to talk about was graphics and audio. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.000 But as you heard, Michael talked about all these other elements as well. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.000 Video games give an awful lot of other things too, 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:45.000 and that's why people get so addicted. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:47.000 The most important one being fun. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.000 The name of this track is "The Magic To Come." 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:50.000 Who is that going to come from? 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.000 Is it going to come from the best directors in the world 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.000 as we thought it probably would? 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:54.000 I don't think so. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:57.000 I think it's going to come from the children who are growing up now 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:02.000 that aren't stuck with all of the stuff that we remember from the past. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.000 They're going to do it their way, using the tools that we've created. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:07.000 The same with students or highly creative people, 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:09.000 writers and people like that. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.000 As far as colleges go, there's about 350 colleges around the world 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.000 teaching video game courses. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:18.000 That means there's literally thousands of new ideas. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:21.000 Some of the ideas are really dreadful and some of them are great. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:23.000 There's nothing worse than having to listen to someone 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.000 try and pitch you a really bad video game idea. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:31.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:33.000 Chris Anderson: You're off, you're off. That's it. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000 He's out of time. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.000 DP: I've just got a little tiny bit more if you'll indulge me. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.000 CA: Go ahead. I'm going to stay right here though. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:41.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.000 DP: This is just a cool shot, because this is students coming to school after class. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.000 The school is closed; they're coming back at midnight 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.000 because they want to pitch their video game ideas. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.000 I'm sitting at the front of the class, 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.000 and they're actually pitching their ideas. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.000 So it's hard to get students to come back to class, 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.000 but it is possible. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:58.000 This is my daughter, her name's Emma, she's 17 months old. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:01.000 And I've been asking myself, what is Emma going to experience 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:03.000 in the video game world? 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:06.000 And as I've shown here, we have the audience. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:09.000 She's never going to know a world where you can't press a button 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.000 and have millions of people ready to play. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.000 You know, we have the technology. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:15.000 She's never going to know a world where the graphics just aren't 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:17.000 stunning and really immersive. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:20.000 And as the student video showed, we can impact and move. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.000 She's never going to know a world where video games 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.000 aren't incredibly emotional and will probably make her cry. 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.000 I just hope she likes video games. NOTE Paragraph 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:28.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.000 So, my closing thought. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.000 Games on the surface seem simple entertainment, 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.000 but for those that like to look a little deeper, 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.000 the new paradigm of video games could open entirely new frontiers 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.000 to creative minds that like to think big. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:41.000 Where better to challenge those minds than here at TED? NOTE Paragraph 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:42.000 Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.000 Chris Anderson: David Perry. That was awesome.