Chris Crawford on Game Design

Is More Interactivity Better?

Now I turn to a more difficult question: If interactivity is accorded primacy in entertainment software design, then is not more interactivity better than less interactivity? Put more baldly, is a more interactive product better than a less interactive product? I think so.

My first argument in favor of greater interactivity relies on the primacy of interactivity. Since interactivity is the basis of competitive advantage of the computer, it is only fit and proper that we should emphasize it. The more we emphasize interactivity in our designs, the more fully we utilize the true strength of the computer as an artistic medium.

Consider the cinema by way of example. Very roughly speaking, and all other factors being equal, ...