Austin Grossman
Austin Grossman
Austin Seth Grossman is an American writer and game designer. He has contributed to the New York Times and to some video games...
ProfessionWriter
fall president cartoon
Nixon is fascinating because he's our most alienated president. Everybody felt that they never knew who he was - that's palpable in the histories. His face is so cartoony that he's become this cartoon figure. I never really related to the romanticization of J.F.K., and I knew too much about Reagan to idealize him. Nixon falls in between.
class evil world
There are days when you just don't feel all that evil." You don't become a world-class villain overnight." -Dr. Impossible
one-day world wake-up
One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.
games video world
Video games are a huge, incredibly popular, world-transforming medium.
novel parts throw until
Writing a novel was completely awesome because parts of it could suck and I could throw them away. I didn't have to know the ending until I got there.
moving dust cities
One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered... I'm going to put a mask on and scrawl my name across the face of the world, build cities of gold, come back and stomp this place flat, until even the bricks are just dust. So you can just shut up. All of you. I'm going to move the world.
mad professors about-yourself
When you get your powers, you learn a lot about yourself. My professors called me mad. It was time for me to stop punishing myself, and start punishing everybody else.
inspirational motivational military
Computers had their origin in military cryptography-in a sense, every computer game represents the commandeering of a military code-breaking apparatus for purposes of human expression.
book character cards
Delicious... Everything I'd hoped for in a new Wild Cards book. The character interactions and plot twists have exactly the complexity, surprise, and unsentimental realism I'd expect out of a George R. R. Martin project.
games cities would-be
My ultimate game - or at least one I would really like to see - would be something where it was like the beginning of George R. R. Martin's 'Game of Thrones', where you're Ned Stark, and you know that one of your friends has been murdered, and you go to the capital city and you have to navigate this web of court intrigue.
memories writing character
I'm really curious about the memory of Nixon for people who grew up under Clinton. What do people remember of him? In his day, the definition of a conservative right-wing president is more like a centrist in our own time. He's also one of our funnier presidents - just a really good character to write about.
hero villain invincible
With 'Invincible', I wanted to create my own version of the Marvel or DC universe, with my own heroes and villains.
games broken stories
The video game story-development process is incredibly broken.
capes social social-life
Wearing a cape doesn't do much for your social life.