All video games are games, obviously. They're designed. They're digital. They have rules; they give an audience some type of vicarious experience. Tom Bissell audiencedesigndigital Change image and share on social
The kinds of games I'm most interested in are narrative games. Tom Bissell gameinterestkind Change image and share on social
Here's what I just realized: A world in which sport at its best is not seen as some kind of art is a world that doesn't deserve any art. Tom Bissell artdeservekind Change image and share on social
Anyone who's taken a lot of creative-writing classes, or taught creative writing, has learned to dread a certain kind of manuscript. It's long, for one thing. It has irritatingly small type; it's grammatically meticulous when it comes to everything but punctuation, for which it has developed its own system of Tolkienic elaboration. Tom Bissell classcreativedevelop share on social
Only in about 2007 or so did it become clear to me that games could stand proudly beside other storytelling mediums, and that's when I became more, shall we say, evangelistic in my position. Prior to that, I don't know how enthusiastically I would have admitted that I game. Tom Bissell admitclearenthusiastically share on social
The average action game doesn't much traffic in thematic grandiosity, but the BioShock games are different. Tom Bissell actionaveragebioshock Change image and share on social
I guess I would say that most of what I've learned about storytelling derives from novels and short stories. I cannot think of a novel or story, or a novelist or story writer, who thinks in terms of three-act structure. Tom Bissell actderiveguess share on social
I don't know how video game narrative works. Tom Bissell gamenarrativevideo Change image and share on social
I view myself as a fiction writer who just happens to write nonfiction. I think I look at the world through a fiction-writer's eyes. Tom Bissell eyefictionnonfiction Change image and share on social
The underwater businessman philosopher Andrew Ryan was BioShock's unforgettable villain. Tom Bissell andrewbioshockbusinessman Change image and share on social