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