A Whole New Type of In-Game Cinematic

[Logan Westbrook]

A Whole New Type of In-Game Cinematic

The quality and quantity of in-game cinematics can sometimes make you feel like you're playing a movie rather than a videogame, but a community of talented game artists have approached this notion from the other direction.

We've all heard the idea that art imitates life and vice versa, but sometimes art imitates, well, other art. GameArtists.net [http://events.game-artist.net/scene_from_a_movie/index.php], an online community focusing on videogame art, ran a competition that challenged its members to recreate a movie still in a game engine, with nearly $12,000 worth of prizes up for grabs.

The five winning entries are simply stunning, recreating a range of movies from the dark and brooding Blade Runner to the super-sugary Hook. Words can't do the pictures justice, so why not take a look at the winning entries here [http://www.game-artist.net/forums/scene-movie-competition/9540-scene-movie-results.html].

Source: via Fidgit [http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/05/crysis_engine_used_to_render_a.php]



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[thenumberthirteen]

Can I just say. WOW. Those are brilliant. I wish I could do stuff like that. Do they say which Game engine it is? or can they use any they want?

 

[NeedAUserName]

WoW those were amazing, even if I did only recognize 2 of them... But still, simply stunning.

 

[PurpleLeafRave]

I'm lost for words! Amazing! I remember the cinematics of jack and daxter, when i were a lad they always made me laugh and were pretty awesome...and i used to have to get up before i went to bed...

 

[Nivag the Owl]

My stupid is acting up again. How do you actually watch them?

EDIT: My stupid is REALLY acting up. Was expecting movies

 

[level250geek]

They were all especially well done. I say let the team who did the Aliens still design the next Aliens game.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

Amazing, but I only recognised 3. What are 1 & 5?

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

Simply stunning.

 

[zoozilla]

Amazing, but I only recognised 3. What are 1 & 5?

1 was Blade Runner, 5 was Aliens.

I would think that those would be the most recognizable.

Really great work, though - I wonder what game engine they used and how much resources they had to create themselves?

 

[destroyer2k]

Can I just say. WOW. Those are brilliant. I wish I could do stuff like that. Do they say which Game engine it is? or can they use any they want?

Blade Runner, Aliens, I am Legend are using cryengine 2, the other two are on unreal engine 3.

 

[chimmers]

My stupid is acting up again. How do you actually watch them?

EDIT: My stupid is REALLY acting up. Was expecting movies

I was expecting the same..thanks for posting first matey

 

[ssgt splatter]

Can someone tell me how to play the movies.

[edit] Oh I see, it's not really a movie it's just a still frame from a movie. Nevermind.

 

[capnjack]

The appeal of this is completely lost on me. A new type of in-game cinematic? Um, how? It's a new type of art, at best.

I'm sure it's a difficult thing to do, but... I'm basically looking at graphical imitations of movies... which isn't exactly new to video games...

 

[Klagermeister]

Can someone give me a link to some of these videos, please?
I couldn't find a "View Submission" button or anything of the sort.
Specifically, I want to see the "I Am Legend" one.

Oops, nevermind. Guess it's just screenshots.

 

[scotth266]

Why only screenshots, and no movies? Boooo. This is a VERY interesting thing though.

 

[scotth266]

Why only screenshots, and no movies? Boooo. This is a VERY interesting thing though.

Because, with the exception of Keanu Reeves, we don't have any actors who move and react as awkwardly as videogame characters.

Hah, too true. That explains the Hollywood obsession with him.

 

[joystickjunki3]

That's sweet.

 

[samsonguy920]

Why only screenshots, and no movies? Boooo. This is a VERY interesting thing though.

Because, with the exception of Keanu Reeves, we don't have any actors who move and react as awkwardly as videogame characters.

That explains so much, and made me LOL!
And at first I fell in the trap that they were doing computer rendered videos of movie scenes, then I saw the word 'stills.' A bit disheartening but didn't lessen my appreciation for the work that went into those. Awesome.

 

[SharPhoe]

My stupid is acting up again. How do you actually watch them?

EDIT: My stupid is REALLY acting up. Was expecting movies

It's quite alright, I'm sure you weren't alone in that thought process.

It makes me sad that I only recognized one still, but they all looked absolutely stunning.