Good News for Out-Of-Work Actors

In preparation for its European launch, the MMORPG The Matrix Online has hired actors (via The Movie Blog) to play key roles within the persistant game world:

The “specialised Role Playing Live Events Team” will give players the chance interact with characters from the films – so you might find yourself consulting the Oracle, battling the Merovingian or going for a curry with Morpheus. (Okay, maybe not the last one, but we can dream.)

The team will also be responsible for engineering large scale story events, such as rallies, riots and even street parties. They’ll support events organised by players too, and will take part in high-profile missions and contests.

My biases are showing, but wouldn’t it be wiser to hire a bunch of playwrights? They’re out of work too, let me tell you. Which group–actors or playwrights–is likelier to generate compelling dialogue on the fly? Which group is likelier to do sound research and preparation? Which group can spell better? Regardless, it’s a great idea, and the last people you want handling those characters are game developers.