Deus Ex and Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector used his PAX Australia keynote last weekend to give his view of the state of gaming.

Spector stressed his fondness for "collaborative storytelling" between the designer and the player, saying "it’s important that we embrace that capability."

Citing Dishonored, Fallout, The Sims, and the new Deus Ex games as examples of "high expression" games, Spector said that video games' capacity for emergent scenarios and player agency is what sets the medium apart.

The Walking Dead and Heavy Rain were described as "medium expression" - games where the player can make choices, but only choosing from a range of options designed by the developer.

"I love The Walking Dead, but the choices you have to make; they’re compelling choices… but they’re designer driven, not player driven. Every choice in a game like this has been pre-scripted and handwritten by a designer somewhere."

"They’re basically like five movie scripts all mashed together, and you’re just picking which script you’re telling at any given point in time," he explained.

As for "low expression" games, Spector said Uncharted was an example of games that "limit your ability to interact with the game world, so the story can unfold the way the storyteller wants it to unfold."

He concluded that video games are "in a rut," and that players should "vote with [their] dollars" as to what they want to see more of.

Naughty Dog's community strategist Arne Meyer, also at PAX Aus, responded to the criticism, saying, "Right now, in the industry, we have such an great opportunity to create many different games, from blockbuster triple-A studios to indie studios, to address every type of play style."

"I think people are really starting to think about those things – about what more could games do [...] and I think that’s what’s really special about the industry right now."

For comparison, the new Deus Ex lands February 23, while the new Uncharted drops March 18.