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Show PLAYING THE HOLLYWOOD GAME: 7 When Cinema and Nintendo Collide. BY CAMERON SIMEK PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID MOORE n gaming's infancy, most of the premises were adapted from movies. Game developers were using films as hypertext as early as the dismal E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial, crafted for the Atari 2600 in 1982. That software may have ended up in a landfill in New Mexico. But nowadays games have grown up, and have even begun to outsell movies, which many studios want to capitalize on. Perhaps in correlation to recent technological advances, the demand for games to improve has increased exponentially over the last few years. The stories have become increasingly complex, the music far more symphonic, and the visuals more, well, cinematic. However, even with all this progress, the film industry doesn't know how to capitalize on the gaming industry. Most games based on movies are pretty terrible, partly due to the fact that a studio simply hopes to capitalize on the popularity of its film and takes no care in choosing which company makes the accompanying video game. After trying for years to persuade gamers into buying their schlock, the film industry is only now starting to comprehend the meticulous standards. While it may take more capital to enlist a quality designer to make your game, spending that extra money could spell the difference between something like the popular Goldeneye 007 and something like the tedious Enter the Matrix. Meanwhile, the gaming industry is taking initiative to hire actual writers for their games. Duppy Demetrius, who has written for hit TV shows like 24 and The Closer, was nominated in 2010 by the Writers Guild of America for an award for his scripting work on the third-person action shooter Wet. The fact that the WGA is even handing out accolades for adaptation for that matter, will be video game writing is an worth anyone's time. It takes a indication of the increasing tremendous amount of skill to take an and cultural significance of games. Even interactive experience like a game and through famous composers like Hans Zimmer, turn it into a passive entertainment. the myriad who scored the high-grossing Modern From the perspective of gamers, film layers of an Warfare 2, are getting in on the action. studios don't seem to take the games unsuspecting mind Collaborations like this illustrate just they adapt seriously. They see an idea in order to plant their idea. In other how conjoined games and film are. that sells well in another medium words, they have to make it through However, if the gaming industry is and take it, but mutate it beyond levels to complete their objective. going to take advantage of the film recognition in the process. Levels are the basic structure of industry's rich resources, it's only Other than story ideas, films of gaming. Progressively harder levels going to make their wares that much late have been borrowing concepts lead you to your goal until there are more delectable. very specific to games. New, original no other castles your princess could You can probably sit down and stories with seemingly insignificant possibly be in. name every game movie that's ever ideas taken from games are what really Basic narrative references from been made. Mortal Kombat, Super seem to work in films. And if you pay game to film are merely a start for an Mario Bros. and Resident Evil are enough attention, you may just catch industry that is still trying to prove probably the best game-to-film a few. itself as an art form. It'll be a few adaptations. That isn't saying a lot Consider Avatar, which, at a more years before this trend makes — each of those films was loathed by worldwide total of 2.782 billion is significant headway and the film critics and did only marginally well the highest grossing film of all time. industry starts to realize that a good in the box office thanks to the low Avatar was based on the idea of being gaming movie is more profitable than cinematic standards of our nation's someone else, taking over a new body, an awful one. teenage boys. But lackluster reviews and exploring a world you could As consumers of entertainment, it and piddling returns hasn't deterred never visit in the flesh. It seems an is important to pay attention to the Hollywood from purchasing rights to awful lot like an MMO, or massively details of what we consume and how produce films from games. Uncharted, multiplayer online game. If Sully the lines are beginning to blur. It is considered one of the most cinematic logged on in his mom's basement and a beautiful thing, allowing film and gaming experiences in recent years, is thrived on a diet of Hot Pockets and gaming to merge in their storylines currently being produced into a film Mountain Dew, more people would and concepts. As gaming continues by Columbia Pictures, with David see the connection. to grow as a medium, perhaps 0. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) Avatar takes after one of gaming's Hollywood will put more time and attached to direct. most basic premises — the desire to effort into adaptations. Perhaps one However, despite the promise of immerse yourself in a world completely day we'll see a game movie that doesn't a big name studio and a critically- different from your own. This yen for completely suck, or a game based on acclaimed director, reservations bit-graphic metamorphosis, the need a movie that isn't entirely ridiculous. remain over whether or not to escape the limitations of your body Uncharted, or any other game |