'Games should be engines of happiness' - The rise of NZ's video game industry - Categories Via RSS |
- Arts
- Publication Date |
- Nov 07, 2021
- Episode Duration |
- 00:22:59
The world-wide gaming industry is big. It's really big. Just ten years ago it generated over 25 billion dollars of income a year in the US alone. Last year it took in 135 billion dollars. Taking in the rest of the world it's been estimated that gaming is worth over 300 billion dollars - that's more than the film and music industries combined. But it's also one of the most challenging and creative industries to work in. The production of a top-end game can rival most movie blockbusters - there's narrative, story arcs, even characters. But the range is extraordinary - from cellphone word games and brain teasers to empire-building, shoot-'em-ups and My Little Pony. What many of us don't realise is how many Kiwi companies are doing games - and doing very well with them. Today, we take a look at one of this country's biggest audience generators. What counts as a video game in 2021? Who's playing them, what's the range, how many people does it take to make them and where does Aotearoa New Zealand fit in the gaming world? Yadana Saw talks to Chelsea Rapp - Chairperson of the NZ Game Developers Association, Patrick Wagner - head of interactive Weta Workshop, and Zoe Hobson - CEO of Runaway Play in Dunedin.