Interview #2

This interview features Krischan Makowka, a staff member of Free Gamer. Free gamer is a blog that commentates about free software games. Like the other interview, the questions are similar with some additions.

·         What are your experiences with gaming?

I grew up with the early forms of gaming (C64, Amiga500, 286/386 IBM compatibles etc.) and got into the FPS modding scene at some point. Nowadays I play actually only a little and try to reserve some time for gaming related 3D modeling, however my job, which is totally unrelated, occupies most of my time.

·         Do you think the gaming population greatly increases when new technology becomes available?

Not really, gaming compatible mobile devices may have increased the hours played and increased the gaming population by a few casual gamers, but I think it mostly just increased the time spend gaming, especially of people that might have gotten out of the habit a bit.

·         Do you think video games help or hurt social interaction?

That depends, obviously it can introduce people into the gaming population, and LAN parties (which are getting sadly less common) were certainly a great way to get to know people back in the day. However games like World of Warcraft which occupy massive amounts of time (and the people you interact with virtually are mostly not know to you in real life) certainly take a toll on the remaining social life.

·         What are your thoughts of gaming industries promoting their products through various media?

No problem with that really, I am still a bit surprised when a see a big gaming commercial in the cinema or TV, but I don't see anything wrong with that. It's a business and they are doing advertisements like any other.

·         What is your opinion of gaming influencing learning capabilities?

This is actually a very interesting point. I think the new interactive technologies (gaming internet etc.) have a strong influence on the formation of everyones brains especially that of children. If it would be utilized right (and here the experience of developing open-source games is certainly much better than just consuming the next call of duty title) it could have a great overall effect on learning. However it also makes our brains somewhat incompatible with traditional learning methods, and I think you can see that in todays schools already, especially with boys. But here I think the schools need to adjust, as the technology is here to stay and be utilized.

·         Do you think gamers are more aware of struggles in the country, for example war and the national debt, than non-gamers?

No, and I would say the general gaming demographic is probably less aware (not necessarily due to gaming, but just being the 15-35 mainly male demographic). Open-source enthusiasts might be a bit different, as it certainly has a political/moral part.

·         How do you think society would differ if gaming cease to exist?

I would say this differently... basically gaming is still largly non-existant for the majority of society. Television etc. is a much more dominant force. However this is changing rapidly in the last couple of years (in tandem with the rise of the internet) and this is in my opinion a positive change for the most part.

References
(Krischan Makowka, Personal Communication, November 23, 2012)