"It Plays Just Like A Movie!"

[the7k]

Anybody else get pissed off by this used in video game ads? I've seen it used in Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, Alan Wake, and too many others to name.

Movies play like crap! My input has no bearing on the outcome of the game!

Moreover, this is just furthering the preconceived notion that the only way for video games to be a respected medium is for them to emulate another respected medium. Which is crap. The focus should always be on gameplay.

Sorry. I've just been hearing that damn Alan Wake advert so damn much from working at GameStop, and it's made me snap.

[J T]

Sorry. I've just been hearing that damn Alan Wake advert so damn much from working at GameStop, and it's made me snap.

LOL! I've often wondered how you GameStop employees can listen to those looped adverts all day without spontaneous brain hemorrhaging and seizuring. I start to twitch after being in there for just 10-15 minutes.

I don't mind if a few games try to emulate movies, although I do think it is kind of a limitation. When real writers approach a subject they want to write about, they do a lot of extensive background research on the topic from multiple media sources so they can really grasp the subject matter and breathe life into their work by including important little details. I wish more videogame developers did that. Most videogame "research" consists of either playing Halo every night throughout college or just watching Scarface like 50 million times. There's generally a myopic and self-referential vision to videogame storytelling that really needs to expand.

That's not always the case though. The creators of Left 4 Dead did a lot of research on the Spanish Influenza and that helped inform some of their decisions about how to convey the story of their apocalyptic zombie world through contextual clues like writing on the walls and decimated signs of a once fruitful civilization. Though the basic concept of Kill dem Zombies is about as basic as basic can be, I think their execution of this simple plot heavily benefitted from a little research to inform the process.

[Niode]

That's the dumbest statement I've ever heard. That's almost as dumb as:

"This movie plays like a book"

It's just retarded. You can only watch a film, and you can only read a book (with the exception of those multi choice adventure novels) there's no interactivity beyond hitting play, or turning the page.

If games played like movies/books they would be boring as shit. You might as well just watch a movie.

[lisalover1]

Moreover, this is just furthering the preconceived notion that the only way for video games to be a respected medium is for them to emulate another respected medium. Which is crap. The focus should always be on gameplay.

Exactly. Gameplay is one of the few things that sets video games apart from other media, and we should hold onto that fact for dear life.

[Pulsar_t]

Games are interactive movies. Take Ghostbusters for example. Fun game, but the path you take is linear and there's no room for alternative actions, with everything scripted to a point. It feels like a movie with you taking part from a third person perspective. Need I even mention the dross SP modes of games like CoDMW?

At least traditional interactive movies offered alternative paths and multiple endings. Most modern games don't have either.

[Krooner]

you can only read a book (with the exception of those multi choice adventure novels) there's no interactivity beyond hitting play, or turning the page.

I don't agree with you there Niode, You use your imagination in an unparalleled way while reading, while I accept it's not truly interactive, It's not really a dormant media either.

If given the chance Games will surpass movies, they'll never touch books. Apples and Oranges though really.

[the7k]

Games are interactive movies. Take Ghostbusters for example. Fun game, but the path you take is linear and there's no room for alternative actions, with everything scripted to a point. It feels like a movie with you taking part from a third person perspective. Need I even mention the dross SP modes of games like CoDMW?

At least traditional interactive movies offered alternative paths and multiple endings. Most modern games don't have either.

Right, but that's only because there is the preconceived notion that video games HAVE to mimic movies if they want to be taken seriously. Hell, this was even around back in the day - it's nothing new. (Remember the Sega CD?)

When we get away from this "Let's be a movie!" mentality, we actually do get some games with freedom.

[aaron]

it's just marketing. people associate movies with high production values, rich stories, interesting characters, and an overall enjoyable experience. i can get that from chrono trigger, but i'm sure most people shopping at gamestop really can't, so they need a little help in distinguishing alan wake from madden 11, since, y'know, they're both "games."