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    Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games
    Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games
    Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games
    Audiobook9 hours

    Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games

    Written by Walt Williams

    Narrated by Kevin T. Collins

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    About this audiobook

    When his satirical musings in a college newspaper got him discharged from the Air Force, it became clear to Walt Williams that his destiny in life was to be a writer-he just never thought he'd end up writing video games, let alone working on some of the most successful franchises in the industry-Bioshock, Civilization, Borderlands, and Mafia, among others.

    Williams pulls back the curtain on an astonishingly profitable industry that has put its stamp on pop culture and yet is little known to those outside its walls. In his reflective yet comically-observant voice, Williams walks you through his unlikely and at times inglorious rise within one of the world's top gaming companies, exposing an industry abundant in brain power and out-sized egos, but struggling to stay innovative. Significant Zero also provides clear-eyed criticism of the industry's addiction to violence and explains how the role of the narrative designer-the poor soul responsible for harmonizing gameplay with storylines-is crucial for expanding the scope of video games into more immersive and emotional experiences.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateSep 19, 2017
    ISBN9781541481350
    Author

    Walt Williams

    Walt Williams is the award-winning video game writer known for his work on such beloved franchises as Star Wars Battlefront, Bioshock, Civilization, Borderlands, Mafia, The Darkness, and the acclaimed, genre-bending Spec Ops: The Line. His book, Significant Zero, explores the hardships and insanity of AAA game development. He lives in Louisiana with his family.

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    • 5/5
      Wow. I know next to nothing about video games. When I try to play them, I usually get dizzy and have to stop, but Significant Zero was utterly engrossing. It starts out funny and irreverent, so that in parts I laughed out loud, and then, once Williams moves from NYC to California and starts getting sucked into the morass of working on Spec Ops: The Line, it gradually becomes more serious and troubling. Walt is honest about how narrow his life became when he was consumed by work, and how miserable he was as, every six months, the end point of the Alpha phase of development was extended another six months. The stuff about writing is fascinating, and the ending is profound.
      I'm surprised at myself for liking this so much because it's unlike my usual reading, but the explication of moral choices in the games, and the parallels between the antagonist of the game and the developer of the game intrigued me. When, for instance, the player is confronted with a choice so disturbing that they have to step away from the game, but then they still come back, that's a very curious power dynamic.
      I'll be thinking about this one for sure. I'm inspired to keep going with my own writing. I'm glad Williams ends up in a better, more balanced life, and I feel certain he'll make the world a better place.