About This Episode

In Part 2 of The Science of Video Games, Neil and Will Wright discuss artificial intelligence, the Turing Test, IBM’s Watson and how Spore ascends in scale from a microscopic organism to a multi-player galaxy where everyone can encounter the life forms you create. Jeffrey Ryan explains the secret origin of Lara Croft to co-host Eugene Mirman and how fear is built into the mechanics of survival horror games like Resident Evil. You’ll also learn how the lines between the virtual and real world are blurring, from “Gold Farmers” in China who support online economies in World of Warcraft, to military drone pilots who grew up on video games, to soldiers in Iraq who return from patrol and play Counter-Strike on Xbox in their tents.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Advancing to the Next Level: The Science of Video Games (Part 2).