This post is more of a shout out than anything else. I have been subscribed to the Critical Path Project on Youtube for a few years now and try to absorb every piece of content they put out. The channel has interviews with numerous game luminaries from many facets of the industry, be it indie or AAA, be it a game design veteran or an up and coming commodity.  The videos are slickly produced by Artifact, a team of talented documentarians whose credits include HBO, PBS, and more. There mission statement is to create a panoramic overview of the contemporary state of the video game medium, and to that extent there quality is second to none.

The channel has two distinct types of video: 1) Short yet well-articulated vignettes from what I can only assume is a greater long-form interview where a designer explains what one specific facet of game design means to them on a personal level; and 2) more documentary-like layered groupings of talking points, titled Conversations, from multiple development minds.

What stands out almost immediately is how Critical Path approaches game development, their subjects and the game industry. The conversation around video games often carries with it a sadly juvenile tone and behaviour. Such opinions tend to dominate the conversation all too frequently. Critical Path, on the other hand, take a more respectful and thought-provoking approach. If video games are to exist as a mature and adult art form, it is through the work of groups like Critical Path that gaming will be legitimized.

Below are just a few of their conversations. I hope you enjoy them and check out even more of what the Critical Path Project has on offer.

Check out the Critical Path Project’s website here.

Check out the Critical Path Youtube channel here.

Follow Tom on Twitter @thomaskagar