Veteran gaming industry figure Ian Livingstone is responsible for many great things; he co-founded Games Workshop back in the 1980s, he wrote countless Fighting Fantasy choose-your-own-adventure novels, and he helped make Lara Croft a pop culture icon.
Unsurprisingly, he’s got some pretty strong opinions on games, specifically the difference in the way they’re analyzed compared to more traditional media, especially when it comes to violent content.
“If you can find evidence to support those claims of violence and addiction you have got one on me,” he told The Independent, adding: “If you were talking about films – which have way more violence in them – that is not the first question.”
In fact, Livingstone suggests that video games could in fact be a very positive influence on children - games like Minecraft teach computer skills, creativity and problem-solving in a way that actually captures their attention.
“Children were being bored to death by having to use technology but were given no insight into how to create their own. There is no point in asking kids to study Excel spreadsheets for a year. All you are going to do is turn them off technology for life,” he points out.
The full interview, which covers Livingstone’s time as Eidos chairman, during which he fell in ”love at first sight” with a certain famous fictional archaeologist, as well as the current status of the games industry, is well worth a read.