For those who don't know, Tad Williams is a rather prolific fantasy/fiction writer who has no particular expertise in philosophy as far as I know. In this clip he is discussing the creation of a MMORPG (massively multi player online role-playing game) out of one his four book series-Otherland. At the end of this interview he makes some really interesting statements about the challenges in creating an environment where free will can be exercised within the context of a larger story. He points out the fact that if story line is too linear the gamer will feel coerced and the subsequent game play experience will be rather boring, but he also notes that if the story is too broad and the parameters are too wide the game experience will tend to be shallow and without much purpose and meaning.
When I watched this I couldn't help but make the connection between the juxtaposition that Tad mentioned in his creating virtual worlds and the ways that God has also created reality in such a way that we are able to live within a larger story while exercising our own somewhat limited free will. This God-given desire to create, opens a window (albeit a small one) into what lies behind the creation of our own reality. Todd Hunter also has some interesting ideas about living in the right story.
Original Interview Is Here
