Chapter 14 Interview: Chris Crawford ...............
Chapter 14 Interview: Chris Crawford .................
Today, Chris Crawford is probably best known for his contributions to the dia-
log of game design, including his founding of the Computer Game Devel-
opers Conference, publishing theJournal of Computer Game Design, and
writing the bookThe Art of Computer Game Design. In particular,The Art of
Computer Game Design, though written in 1983, remains the best work ever
published on the subject, and served as the inspiration for this book. The bril-
liance of Crawford’s games cannot be denied either, including such undis-
puted classics asEastern Front (1941),Balance of Power, and Crawford’s
personal favorite,Trust & Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot. For most of the ’90s
Crawford devoted himself to his labor of love, the interactive storytelling sys-
tem called the Erasmatron, a tool that shows great promise for transforming
interactive stories from mostly prewritten affairs into truly dynamic experi-
ences. Most recently he has continued to contribute to the dialog of interactive
design, having authored two new books,Understanding Interactivity/The Art
of Interactive DesignandChris Crawford on Game Design.257