"There's a sense that games are more exploitive in a way that The Hurt Locker which also was designed as form of entertainment isn't." Newell's opinion is that "video games are fictitious popular culture." "I think they are an art form," he continued. "And I think that 'too soon' criteria is not applied to things like Green Zone. Or United 93. There will be a time when we look back and find it quaint that video games were so controversial. I think the active ingredient to changing that attitude is time."
Newell elaborated, "The producers didn't create The Hurt Locker as a public service; they did it to tell a story that they thought needed to be told. It was a piece of entertainment that they sold tickets to and sell DVDs with. And, yet, that's not viewed as exploiting current events. It's viewed as somehow artistically interpreting and commenting on current events. The creative process of making that movie and making our games is very similar, but they're received differently."
Will the future efforts of Steam's next Half Life game help move the public's perception of video games into a more respected place? "I don't know if there is a way for us to accelerate that process through content," the CEO says. "There's a way to accelerate it through continued success, through continued engagement and commitment to quality by making great games that people want to play. The more people that play I think the more mainstream and accepted games will become."
"The narrative of Half Life has been much more good guys and bad guys, and brotherhood and the journey and the battle," Newell says. "And I don't think that's an indictment. It's a choice, one that's maybe a little less literary and a little more action-oriented in terms of its foundation. I don't think that means the narrative structure of Half Life is lacking, though. I can name a hundred other movies that are not like Black Hawk Down, but you don't leave questioning about the heroism and the bravery and the action and the sort of extreme experience of battle."
"We've told the stories that the developers want to tell," said Newell. "I don't think we've made choices based on avoiding or aiming for commentary. The story and the characters have unfolded with great intent from our developers."
