Video games are reaching a broader and older audience as the industry and its developers grow older, according to veteran game designer and producer Warren Spector.
In a recent question and answer segment with Joystiq, Spector talked about his forthcoming speech at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session, what games he is currently playing and what influences his creative process.
"Used to be, games were largely the domain of youngsters - kids played them and 'kids' relatively speaking made them," Spector told Joystiq. "Nowadays, things are different. Gamers are everywhere, coming in all ages and genders, and developers have grown up, too."
Spector said that in his D.I.C.E speech, he would address the impact of aging on gamers, on developers and on the video game medium.
"How does the graying of gaming affect Game Content, Player Commitment, Design Philosophy, Gaming Platforms, Mainstream Media Interactions and, generally speaking, The Future," Spector told Joystiq. "This talk will be a personal look backwards and forwards that will, I hope, offer something for kids and adults, boys and girls, men and women, whatever their relationship may be with games as pastime, as art or as business."
Spector told Joystiq that he is currently playing a wide variety of video games on multiple gaming platforms.
I'm in the middle of The Walking Dead from Telltale," Spector said. "I'm also playing Dishonored and Papo & Yo and finishing up Rayman on the Vita. And I'm always playing stuff like Drop 7 and Can't Stop on my iPhone."
The veteran game designer said that if he hadn't discovered science fiction and fantasy at an early age, he would not have entered the gaming industry.
"No Heinlein or Tolkien and there's no me, professionally, at least," Spector said. "Like most game developers of my generation, I got into this because I loved reading about aliens and spaceships and monsters and myths. My taste in literature has broadened over the years, but that formative stuff was critical."
He also mentions that he is eagerly anticipating the release of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V and he says that he will play it despite his "misgivings about the content in the GTA series."
You can check out the rest of the Q&A on Joystiq. Spector's studio Junction released its latest game, Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on Nov. 18, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U. Check out the game's trailer below...