Intervista a Dino Dini, il padre dei giochi di calcio con Kick Off

Gamemag: One of my main curiosity, first of all, concerns your name. Evidently suggests Italian origins, is not it?

Dino Dini: Yes, both my parents are Italian.

Gamemag: How did the idea of creating Kick Off? At that time the industry was very different than today. Everything was more pioneering.

Dino Dini: At the time the football games were rather crude; ANCO wanted a better football game.

Gamemag: Why Kick Off established as the best football game at that time?

Dino Dini: I guess because it was the best when it came out.

Gamemag: What is lacking in the football games today that instead Kick Off had already in the 90s. Maybe a little of immediacy?

Dino Dini: In general, video games have become more and more scripted, less relying on skill to play. Not needing skill to play games can make them more fun for a short while, perhaps; but the game will never be a classic. Rather as with all commercial art forms, as time goes on the art form becomes less and less sophisticated until it is almost nothing. Commercial Games replaced this art of gameplay with production value and licenses. In the same way as most popular music now consists of four notes and less than four chords, video games have lost their depth, their creativity, their spark; we have to look to the indie revolution to see any of that come back.

Gamemag: Why did you leave the gaming world and you no longer have realized other chapters of Kick Off?

Dino Dini: Because the industry would not allow me to on my terms.

Gamemag: When Kick Off and Goal were released, the challenge was mainly against Sensible Soccer. There was some element of that game that fascinated you and you wanted in Kick Off?

Dino Dini: Not really. It was a reinterpretation of my games and mainly a copy of them.

Gamemag: How do you see the video game industry today? We are going through a very difficult phase and the introduction of new consoles is fragile. Do you think the world of video games could return to 2006 levels as sales and as interest of the community?

Dino Dini: I think the future is Indie and the old broken ways of making 'big' games will have to change.

Gamemag: Gaming on tablets today is incredibly widespread. Do you think that this is the definitive device for video games?

Dino Dini: There is no definitive device for video games. However, at some point in the future, there will I believe be many devices sharing a unified standard for video game development. This is necessary for video games to properly flourish.

Gamemag: You are also a great musician. How do you combine passions for video games and music? Is there any point in common between the two media?

Dino Dini: Yes, but I have not yet managed to join them. I am a performer. I perform either through music, or through a game, but it is all about entertainment, interaction, creativity and trying to leave a mark on the player or listener.

Gamemag: Can we imagine your return to the world of video games sooner or later?

Dino Dini: I have only left commercially, I have always been and always will remain in the world of video games. It is only a question of how big my little part of it is.