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