This is a very interesting article. Apparently, some game publishers are considering making their own feature-length films, rather than outsource that work to Hollywood.
I've hoped Blizzard would make full animated films for the theaters ever since I first saw the Diablo II cinematics, and later the World of Warcraft cinematics (I never played StarCraft). In those cases, a game company doing movies makes sense, because the films would be a natural extension of what Blizzard already does for their games.
On the other side, there are games like Bioshock and Modern Warfare. Great films could made of those, but I'd expect live action and not animation. Ubisoft and Activision would have to create wholly new subsidiaries to make those films.
If the merger of games and films within one company became common, I would worry that we'd see more film-based games rushed to market. I've written before about such games. They're great when they only use the film's basic setting and are not held to a matching release date. The popularity of Ghostbusters, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and LOTR and Star Wars games demonstrate how little timing matters when making quality games of great IPs.
On the other hand, I think films based on game IPs could succeed in the same way. In most cases, I'd like to see the films use only the settings and characters of games, rather than the plots. Great films could made of Halo and Destroy All Humans! if new plots were devised. Bioshock, Neverwinter Nights, and Deus Ex are possible exceptions (I would follow the game plots).
If any company should be trying to make films, it's Bioware. Their reputation is primarily as storytellers already, and they rely heavily on cutscenes in their games. Bioware and Blizzard are best set to lead game publishers and developers into film-making, if that's where the industry's headed.
Showing posts with label film adaptation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film adaptation. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
WAR is everywhere
This new cinematic trailer for WAR is quite simply the coolest video I have ever seen! Wow.
Why the hell don't people make feature films like this?! I mean it. Sure, it's an insane amount of work, but it'd be insanely popular with scenes like this and a solid story.
Of course, no Marauder would ever go down so easily. ;) Yes, I'm in beta, and my main is a ruthless Marauder:
Oh, and by the way.. that huge Chaos monster at the end? I saw that in-game last night!
After completing a quest in the troll mountains, reclaiming a mighty scepter and unleashing its power on an altar, Tchar'zanek himself stepped from the giant portal behind me and spoke to me! He basically congratulated me and said I was worthy servant of Chaos.
Again, wow. I stayed up waaaay too late last night (and have been paying for it, believe me), but that was the perfect ending to a long adventure.
If WAR has anything at all going for it, it's a kickass setting and quests that feel alive. Great job, Mythic.
Why the hell don't people make feature films like this?! I mean it. Sure, it's an insane amount of work, but it'd be insanely popular with scenes like this and a solid story.
Of course, no Marauder would ever go down so easily. ;) Yes, I'm in beta, and my main is a ruthless Marauder:
Oh, and by the way.. that huge Chaos monster at the end? I saw that in-game last night!
After completing a quest in the troll mountains, reclaiming a mighty scepter and unleashing its power on an altar, Tchar'zanek himself stepped from the giant portal behind me and spoke to me! He basically congratulated me and said I was worthy servant of Chaos.
Again, wow. I stayed up waaaay too late last night (and have been paying for it, believe me), but that was the perfect ending to a long adventure.
If WAR has anything at all going for it, it's a kickass setting and quests that feel alive. Great job, Mythic.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Film-based games and timing
Alexandre Remy, of the Beowulf game development team, said "if you don't come out at the same time as the film it's just a waste of the license." That seems to be a common sentiment.
But is it true? I don't think so.
OFF THE RAILS
First, a game released even years after the film it is based on can sell very well, but it must be more than merely a scene-by-scene mimickery of the film. The reason most film-based games suck is that the player's interaction (and games are fundamentally about interaction) is limited to unlocking inevitable events (the film's events), rather than having any influence on the direction of gameplay; limited to character behavior from the film, rather than skills and depth which match that character but were believeably absent from the film; limited to the film's setting, rather than settings which fit into the story's universe and goals.
Basically, most film-based games fail because they are little more than funnels; too many limits, not enough freedom and acceptable divergence from the film's storyboard. The game should be able to stand up on its own, like the N64's Star Wars podracing game or Knights of the Old Republic. Those games would have been fun without the concurrent films; note that KotOR is only loosely related to the films, and the N64 game is entirely focused on just a single scene of Star Wars: Episode 1. MMOs are different animals than smaller games, but Star Wars: Galaxies is worth considering. I'd point to a non-Star Wars licensed game, but I can't think of any that were worth a dime (I haven't played the Batman games, Constantine, or some others).
QUALITY > TIME
Second, it's better to release a great product late than a mediocre product on-time, if you have the funds. Players will forgive a great game for being late, but they won't forgive a timely game for being lackluster.
Timing matters... I'm not denying that. But the most important parts of timing are considering industry-wide trends (ex: Is the market already saturated with horror FPS games?) and maneuvering around heavy competition (ex: Halo 3, Mass Effect, etc).
All I'm saying is that releasing your licensed game in time with the film it's based on is advantageous, but it's not necessary to succeed and doesn't waste the value of familiarity and IP-enthusiasm. If I can get a thrill from playing in the British Museum (Hellgate: London) many years after the only time I ever visited the museum in real life, then I it's not unlikely that playing in the setting of a film I saw years ago will give me a thrill as well.
But is it true? I don't think so.
OFF THE RAILS
First, a game released even years after the film it is based on can sell very well, but it must be more than merely a scene-by-scene mimickery of the film. The reason most film-based games suck is that the player's interaction (and games are fundamentally about interaction) is limited to unlocking inevitable events (the film's events), rather than having any influence on the direction of gameplay; limited to character behavior from the film, rather than skills and depth which match that character but were believeably absent from the film; limited to the film's setting, rather than settings which fit into the story's universe and goals.
Basically, most film-based games fail because they are little more than funnels; too many limits, not enough freedom and acceptable divergence from the film's storyboard. The game should be able to stand up on its own, like the N64's Star Wars podracing game or Knights of the Old Republic. Those games would have been fun without the concurrent films; note that KotOR is only loosely related to the films, and the N64 game is entirely focused on just a single scene of Star Wars: Episode 1. MMOs are different animals than smaller games, but Star Wars: Galaxies is worth considering. I'd point to a non-Star Wars licensed game, but I can't think of any that were worth a dime (I haven't played the Batman games, Constantine, or some others).
QUALITY > TIME
Second, it's better to release a great product late than a mediocre product on-time, if you have the funds. Players will forgive a great game for being late, but they won't forgive a timely game for being lackluster.
Timing matters... I'm not denying that. But the most important parts of timing are considering industry-wide trends (ex: Is the market already saturated with horror FPS games?) and maneuvering around heavy competition (ex: Halo 3, Mass Effect, etc).
All I'm saying is that releasing your licensed game in time with the film it's based on is advantageous, but it's not necessary to succeed and doesn't waste the value of familiarity and IP-enthusiasm. If I can get a thrill from playing in the British Museum (Hellgate: London) many years after the only time I ever visited the museum in real life, then I it's not unlikely that playing in the setting of a film I saw years ago will give me a thrill as well.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
MMO (the movie)
Yesterday, I offered to begin writing a script for a game-based film. So far, the IPs that show the most promise are Zelda and GTA. I'm still interested in ideas.
But I've already begun brainstorming for a movie about MMOs in general. For one reason, I wouldn't have to get a game publisher's approval before passing the script on to a film studio (though I don't have access to one, so that may not happen anyway).
More importantly, I realized that the setting opens up some unique narrative opportunities. For example, how will the protagonists distinguish themselves in world full of "heroes"? What's a believeable reason such adventurers would move on to greater foes before they've really helped save the villagers (NPCs) from lesser but serious threats?
In short, imagine an MMO-based film that doesn't adapt the setting to fit classic story formulas. Imagine being able to recognize things like camping, kill-stealing, mismatched gear, guilds of disparate mercenaries, etc. I won't abandon all of those old formulas unless I can come up with something that works as well, but I think I can do that.
Inspiration Requested
So here's where you come in. Regardless of how I might work them into the story:
But I've already begun brainstorming for a movie about MMOs in general. For one reason, I wouldn't have to get a game publisher's approval before passing the script on to a film studio (though I don't have access to one, so that may not happen anyway).
More importantly, I realized that the setting opens up some unique narrative opportunities. For example, how will the protagonists distinguish themselves in world full of "heroes"? What's a believeable reason such adventurers would move on to greater foes before they've really helped save the villagers (NPCs) from lesser but serious threats?
In short, imagine an MMO-based film that doesn't adapt the setting to fit classic story formulas. Imagine being able to recognize things like camping, kill-stealing, mismatched gear, guilds of disparate mercenaries, etc. I won't abandon all of those old formulas unless I can come up with something that works as well, but I think I can do that.
Inspiration Requested
So here's where you come in. Regardless of how I might work them into the story:
- What are some essential characteristics of classic MMOs? (camping, levelling, raids, etc.)
- What was one (or more) of your most memorable MMO experiences? Details appreciated.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Game to film, you choose
Woody mentioned a thought that commonly goes through a lot of gamers' minds:
Well, I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm not a director, but I can write the film script. And I'm sure Woody or some of my fellow bloggers could help draw the storyboards (draw a template for each scene and camera angle, similar to comics).
Name 3-5 games you think had a relatively deep and intriguing story, and I'll flesh one or two out in a script over the next few months. When I have a draft done, I'll post it here on my site for all to critique. Then I'll revise it, and we'll keep repeating that process until we have a game-movie script that's actually worthy of being made into an A-grade Hollywood film.
Unfortunately, I'll have to ask you to limit your list to games on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, original NES, SNES, or N64... because those are the only platforms I own, and I'll need to go back and play the game to be able to write a good script based on it.
"I'm waiting patiently for that one director that takes a video game and turns it into movie gold. Surely someone somewhere has the skill and game fandom to do a title justice."
Well, I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm not a director, but I can write the film script. And I'm sure Woody or some of my fellow bloggers could help draw the storyboards (draw a template for each scene and camera angle, similar to comics).
Name 3-5 games you think had a relatively deep and intriguing story, and I'll flesh one or two out in a script over the next few months. When I have a draft done, I'll post it here on my site for all to critique. Then I'll revise it, and we'll keep repeating that process until we have a game-movie script that's actually worthy of being made into an A-grade Hollywood film.
Unfortunately, I'll have to ask you to limit your list to games on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, original NES, SNES, or N64... because those are the only platforms I own, and I'll need to go back and play the game to be able to write a good script based on it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
