Houser: gaming is storytelling "infant"

Rockstar bigwig and Grand Theft Auto lead writer Dan Houser reckons that videogames are still storytelling infants and doesn't want the industry to grow up any time soon.

"I think the medium is still very young. It's not a baby, but it's still probably an infant. So everything is growing and evolving as we go along and we're still figuring out how to do stuff," Houser told the Telegraph.

"It's really fun at the moment because we're not in any Academy and the medium's not codified. There's no accepted way of doing anything so that gives us enormous pleasure because we can make it up as we go along.

"Movies and TV and books have become so structured in the way they have to approach things. Not working in that environment gives us enormous freedom," added Houser.

"I'd rather keep the freedom and not have the respect."

Grand Theft Auto IV presented players with a sprawling world that reacted to their decisions and felt alive. "You can't do that in a film or a book," he quipped.

GTAIV centred around the American dream of Eastern European immigrant Niko Bellic. But he'll be dropped as focal point for upcoming The Lost and Damned downloadable content, which arrives on 17th February for 1600 Microsoft Points (GBP 13.60 / EUR 19.20).

Instead, players will become Johnny Klebitz, a member of the Liberty City biker gang The Lost.

Catch up with our recent hands-on impressions of The Lost and Damned for our thoughts.