Hellboy Director Hates Game Cutscenes

[vansau]

Hellboy Director Hates Game Cutscenes

"'I'm not watching a movie, f*** you'. I want a game."

Ever since movie director Guillermo Del Toro announced <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106897-Guillermo-del-Toro-Demanded-Innovation-from-THQ-on-Insane>his survival horror game Insane, there's been a lot of excitement about the project. That said, if you were hoping the game would contain movie-length cutscenes featuring Del Toro's signature style, you're in for some disappointment: The dude who directed Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth actually hates cutscenes.

Speaking to Ken Levine in an audio interview, Del Toro explained that he always skips cutscenes when he plays games:

"I'm a gamer, my daughters are gamers, we spend countless hours in the game universe ... You know what kind of gamer I am? When we come to a cinematic, I jump it. I go 'I'm not watching a movie, f*** you'. I want a game. You can selectively take control away from the gamer for a few seconds but don't render him inactive. Give him something to do, but don't f****** say, 'And now a word from our sponsor'."

Details like an actual release date have yet to be revealed, but earlier statements have implied that the game is due out in a couple of years.

CORRECTION: It was earlier reported that Greg Kasavin would be writing the game's story. That was an error: Greg Kasavin is not writing Insane.

Source: Irrational via <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-17-del-toro-levine-speak-out-against-cutscenes>Eurogamer

Permalink

 

[AugustFall]

I would say a more relevant claim to fame for Greg Kasavin in light of the content of this story is his work on Bastion.

This could be good, depends how they do it.

 

[therandombear]

I get what he means...you don't need cutscenes to express something or to tell the story. *cough* Bastion *cough* Half-Life2 *cough*, but if he just skips cutscenes....he must miss out on lots of part of a games story.

Just saiyan.

 

[Something Amyss]

Cutscenes aren't all bad, but there are some seriously ham-handed ones, which illicit roughly the same response he gave from me.

Cutscenes every minute or so, five minute cutscenes, and cutscenes that yank control away from me in the heat of the action are all among those.

 

[GaltarDude1138]

I suppose he'd be a fan of Valve games then, eh?

But I would ask if you're looking to MAKE your game without cutscenes then look at such games that don't USE cutscenes and how you could take those methods, see how they were implemented and see how you can tailor them to fit your game's story or make them better.

Just sayin.

 

[EvilPicnic]

Colour me intrigued. I don't share Del Toro's hatred of cutscenes (they have their place if done right), but I am fascinated to see his unique style brought into the game world.

Let's just hope his Mountains of Madness gets off the ground at some point too...

 

[octafish]

I get what he means...you don't need cutscenes to express something or to tell the story. *cough* Bastion *cough* Half-Life2 *cough*, but if he just skips cutscenes....he must miss out on lots of part of a games story.

Just saiyan.

Well to be fair he says he skips cutscenes that don't offer any interactivity. So he wouldn't skip conversations in Mass Effect or the like. I tend to do the same thing, but there are very few games I play that actually have pre-rendered cut-scenes. Deus Ex: Human Resources is the only recent one I can think of (Mind you, they were some of the worst, with terrible quality video and totally out of character actions). Maybe BF3 has cut-scenes in the campaign or in Co-op but I haven't played anything but Conquest (Ok, I lie, I have played Rush a couple of times).

Oh Just Cause 2? I skipped the hell out of those Bolo Santosi scenes that is for sure lah.

 

[rsvp42]

There are many ways to make a game and tell a story in a game. Good for Del Toro for picking a way and staying with it, but no one sit here and act like "he's right because he's a director." No. There's no one way to tell a story in a game and that's what's so great about them. I've played amazing games that are full of cutscenes and I never resort to some "no true Scotsman" fallacy and pretend like cutscene-heavy games "aren't real games."

I don't mean to get all soapboxy about this, but it seems like every few months, some high-profile person stands up and makes some kind of sweeping claim about cutscenes or the lack thereof and then a bunch of apes show up and nod their heads in agreement, forgetting that there are good games in both styles. Bastion's narrator or Bioshock's audio logs are great ways to give story and background, but so is a Mass Effect or Arkham City cutscene. Even better would be a mix of the two, I think. It's all up to personal preference and creating an entertaining final product.

 

[Casual Shinji]

So he's comparing all cutscenes to adds in a movie?

This... doesn't really sound like someone who knows what he's talking about.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Well, you can count on Guillermo Del Toro to know how to show a story, and it sounds like he has an idea of what makes games fun as well. I don't entirely agree with his viewpoints on cutscenes, but he does have a good reason to feel as he does.

 

[xPixelatedx]

I can understand his position, but coming form him it's a horrifically biased opinion. Most people who do the cinematic stuff in games are people who aspired to be more in Hollywood. There is usually a reason why these people didn't make it, to. I am sure it's very apparent to real movie directors when they see these attempts at cinema. HOWEVER, that's just how it is from their perspective. To them, cinema is ultra-serious uber business, they can't just watch something to have fun, they have to be too critical of it. Video game cinemas are meant to be dumb distractions; something I am sure is far above the ability of this man to enjoy.

 

[lovest harding]

I get what he means...you don't need cutscenes to express something or to tell the story. *cough* Bastion *cough* Half-Life2 *cough*, but if he just skips cutscenes....he must miss out on lots of part of a games story.

Just saiyan.

Technically there are very few cutscenes in games like some of the Elder Scrolls and those can tell a good story (Shivering Isles, Morrowind, Skyrim).
You don't have to have cutscenes to make a good story (but you'll still need a lot of talking or reading). It's just that most developers can't pull it off without cutscenes.
Not to say cutscenes are bad. I like them personally. The only thing I dislike is when I'm forced to play a poor/boring game to enjoy great cutscenes (Armed and Dangerous comes to mind, but they did it right by including cheats to unlock all the cutscenes without playing the game).

 

[RJ Dalton]

Well, that's a good start. And I'm sure Yahtzee would agree with that.

 

[6SteW6]

I don't hate cutscenes, I enjoy them if done right I just hate long drawn out cutscenes that take me out of control for too long *Cough* MGS *Cough*

I am a fan of Guillermo's movies he makes movies that are very visually appealing but never sacrifice in story. If he can carry that over to his games it will be something real special.

 

[AugustFall]

snip

Hmm. I have to disagree. That cutscene was entirely comprised on action scenes that I would have much preferred doing myself. Combat is one of the few things the final fantasy series allows you to control and having that wrestled away is kind of what Del Toro is saying.

Also, that's what FF13 was? Looks more like Digimon than FF. Weirdly disconcerting to have Lightning use Odin in a cutscene, most likely because that's something reserved for combat. To me of course.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Blast, double post. Needs to be an option to remove posts.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Well, that's a good start. And I'm sure Yahtzee would agree with that.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

I would say a more relevant claim to fame for Greg Kasavin in light of the content of this story is his work on Bastion.

This could be good, depends how they do it.

Aye, honestly a better credit for non-cutscene story-telling WOULD be Bastion. Having played the game the narration and such did much more to convey the story. Then again, I doubt anyone would want to listen to a voice narrating things for 20-30+ hours depending on how long Del Toro wants his game to be.

I also wouldn't start saying "f#$% it" to all cut scenes. They do present a chance for players to relax their hands, and also allow the game's dev team to flex their creative muscles and do more with the graphical engine (if its pre-rendered). Heck, I'd rather watch this for 4 minutes, instead of playing the game for 4 minutes...

That is the best scene in FFXIII, also I don't know about you guys but I liked cut scenes but games like MGS4...push it to far

 

[shrekfan246]

Heck, I'd rather watch this for 4 minutes, instead of playing the game for 4 minutes...

To be fair, the game-play of Final Fantasy XIII isn't exactly mind-blowingly exciting. I like a good story as much as the next guy, I can handle insanely long cut-scenes, but when the cut-scenes are more engaging than the game-play, you're doing something wrong. The Metal Gear Solid series has the worst game-play-to-cut-scene ratio that I've ever seen, but it still holds my attention much better than Final Fantasy XIII did because the game-play is actually fun and interesting.