Levine: PC gaming drives innovation

Irrational Games head Ken Levine has come to the defense of PC gaming, saying “The PC will always be the place that drives innovation.”

Writing on Kotaku as part of the site’s PC Week, the BioShock lead creator was critical of developers who keep clear of the platform in their free time.

"After a long day in front of a PC, the last thing I want to do is come home and sit in front of a PC. I hear this all the time from game developers. It is not something you’ll hear from me. ” he said.

“When it comes down to it, as a gamer, I’m a PC. I like the kind of games you can play on it. I like that designers know they have your full attention, so they feel comfortable EXPECTING your full attention.

“I like the ergonomics of the thing, the mouse and keyboard, the effortless transition from gaming to browsing to typing. I’m an alt-tab kind of guy.”

Levine went on to laud the creativity that is possible in PC development, describing it as a yardstick for understanding the future direction of games development as a whole.

“Sometimes it’s a disaster. In fact, usually it is. Most ideas are terrible. But sometimes it’s Steam. And sometimes it’s modding. And sometimes it’s Minecraft,” he said.

“And then we all, gamers and developers, get to high-five the universe and think about how lucky we are. What’s the future of PCs? Again, fuck if I know.

“But here’s something you can take the bank: If you want to know the future of gaming, buy a PC. And pay attention. Because above all, that thing on your desk is a crystal ball.”