Chris Crawford's hope for the future: Indies 'will save video games'

"The indie game developers are doing what the publishers should have been doing decades ago. They are the ones who will save video games."

- GDC founder and independent game developer Chris Crawford in a new profile by Simon Parkin. Chris Crawford founded the Game Developers Conference in 1988 after having found tremendous success with his 1985 PC game Balance of Power. But in 1992, he left the game industry to work independently on tools to increase the storytelling potential of the medium -- after he became frustrated that he and the bulk of the industry were working toward different goals and pursuing different audiences. These days he is known as an iconoclastic independent developer, far outside of the mainstream industry -- but that is precisely where he thinks the innovation he has hoped for for 20 years will arise. Thanks to a new profile, you can understand his dreams and his story. Today, Simon Parkin speaks to Crawford about his work since he left the industry in 1992 -- both what he has achieved in the last 20 years, and what he still hopes to accomplish, and the changes he'd still like to see in games. If that's not enough Crawford for you, a little-seen but engaging 2009 documentary about his work, filmed in conversation with Jason Rohrer (The Castle Doctrine) is available on YouTube.