Celebrity Byte

Spielberg with Electronic Arts and Boom Blox producer Louis Castle

A lot of games that are more invested in storytelling are M-rated. I'm thinking of things like Call of Duty, the Grand Theft Auto series, a game called BioShock. These are the equivalent of R-rated movies. Yet the level of violence is a focus of criticism in the gaming industry. What are your feeling about the state of violence in videogame storytelling?

The antidote to that is something like Boom Blox, which is a family activity that everyone can play together. And that's why I developed this, in order to show my kids they can have fun playing games that are non-violent and much more creative and strategic.

Earlier, you mentioned the more complicated project.

I'm working on a game called LMNO, which is just a working title. I'm working with Doug Church, our creative director, and Lou Castle, our executive producer. I've been working on it for a while and I assume I'll be working on it for a while longer.

I remember Richard Dreyfus and I, playing Pong together, got hooked. After shooting every day we'd come back and unwind by playing Pong. That got me into the whole videogaming world.

Most folks think of you as a storyteller. With Boom Blox, some people were surprised that your name was on something that didn't have more of a narrative focus. Were you surprised at that reaction?

I think most of the reactions were people pleasantly surprised that it was something they really enjoyed playing. I didn't think I needed to typecast myself. I don't want to put those restrictions on what people expect of me. My entire life I've lived for the good idea. I don't care whether the idea is in character with how people see me.

Will LMNO be more in touch with you as a storyteller?

It's more of a movie-type story game.

Do you remember your first experience with a videogame?

I was making Jaws and living on Martha's Vineyard. Somebody plugged in a coin op game called Pong at the merry-go-round in Oak Bluffs. I remember Richard Dreyfus and I, playing Pong together, got hooked. After shooting every day we'd come back and unwind by playing Pong. That got me into the whole videogaming world.

Back then, did you have any inclination that this was going to be something huge? Or did you think of it as a cute little diversion?

I thought Pong was the Woodstock of videogaming.