Jimquisition: Videogames Are Not Movies, Get Over It

[Tarkand]

Yay, another video series about how video games are supposed to have a deeper meaning other than just being fun. I understand that video games can have phenomenal narratives, writing, direction, etc, but must we constantly have this argument about the whole games as art" thing?

Go ahead, talk about how I have a lack of higher thought process or whatever. I'll be over here getting my kicks with Bulletstorm (pun not intended).

Actually, I think you'll find Sterling is on your side in that particular question.


Personally, I find his angle depressing and reductive.

Well, if that's basically what he does all the time, I don't think I'm going to be a fan of this series...

It's not visually appealing, still not funny... and his points are kinda 'deeeeeeeeeer'. It really feels like he's talking down to the audience too. I don't appreciate having someone telling me what I already know in a condescending tone.

 

[danhere]

You're just as bad. You say video games are being treated in an inferior manner, then go on to state that video games could probably be superior. Apples to oranges my ass.

Interactivity does add elements to the narrative, but it certainly also takes away plenty of elements as well. Every medium has its own restrictions.

Comparing video game designers to movie directors occurs because movies predate games, and as such, are more developed as an art form. Since both are visual media, the comparison seems fairly sound to some.

Either way, a hierarchy should not exist between different mediums, as they can certainly learn from each other but also coexist peacefully. There is never going to be a moment where people stop reading books or watching movies. Now, there will also never be a moment when people stop playing games. If you assume that X > Y > Z, then Y and Z both become obsolete in the scheme of things.

Arguably, the existence of Heavy Rain is less detrimental to video games than Gears of War 57 1/2: Episode 4 because they are at least trying to bring innovation into the field. Whether Heavy Rain is a failure or success is up to you, but it certainly contributed in some way to the evolution of the medium.

 

[Kron_the_mad wants to be deleted]

He's right but he sucks at getting that across, he cant channel his rage as coherently and eloquently as Yahtzee and he keeps circling back and repeating himself. Maybe wander off and get a little practice at public speaking and use less flow breaking random images or at least go back and do re-takes and edit the video a little more carefully to weed out the crap bits.

 

[DustyDrB]

Whoa Jim has joined the site? Destructoid and The Escapist converging....too much awesome...

Edit: It seems some people are going to need to get used to Destructoid's off-kilter style videos.

Delve into the oddball world of Birdie!

 

[jcg]

yeah no. Just because games aren't movies (duh, chairs aren't bicicles either, why don't you make a video about that?) doesn't mean there aren't any parallels between them.

Yet would make a bicycle like you would make a chair? The problem is that different media require different methods. A book can spent a chapter about how scary a hallway is. In a film you might show the hallway with sound effects. In a game you drop the player in the hallway and let find him/her out the hallway is scary.

Now image a narrator telling you the hallway is scary while you see it in a movie, it might break the immersion. Yet some games do just that, the break into a cutscene with cinematic effects, which jerks you away from your character and breaks some of the immersion.

Yes it's easier to make a point with a cutscene, because how else do you keep the player in the hallway long enough so he/she discovers it's scary.

 

[LiquidGrape]

Honestly, while I do like David Cage, even I admit that he can be a pretentious twat once in a while. I like to think that you need a little bit of pretentiousness to move any medium forward, and few developers are as passionate (or loud) as Cage about trying to move this medium forward. Still, he never really knows when to shut his mouth or what should come out of it.

But he's not moving it forward - if he was then yes, I might stomach him a bit more.

As for him being passionate about it, I'm pretty sure I've heard him actively shun the idea of being called a game developer. He wants to be a film writer/director, and his lack of talent means he never got to do that.

Its just a shame that we put him on a pedestal.

I think the point of a certain level of pretension being crucial for artistic development is a salient one, and I welcome any attempt to explore new means and methods. Hell, I rather liked Fahrenheit for the first hour or so. It had an absolutely stellar opening.

I'm just thoroughly sick of how Cage is actively attempting to distance himself from the form as if he was above it.

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

Boring presentation and a high inability to soliloquies his thoughts into a coherent manner. Couldn't something much more interesting be put into a Monday spot instead?

 

[MrShadowzs]

I think videogames are like movies in that they tell a story from start to finish using video...okay let the crucifixion begin

 

[Mikeyfell]

Is this the new Escapist show?
Please, God tell me this is the new Escapist show!!

 

[Toastngravy]

Guess i'll have to skip the Escapist on mondays now. I can't stand this guy, he's the reason why i stopped paying attention to Destructoid.

I'm actually quite sad to say I agree with this, very much so.

 

[Knight Templar]

Jim Sterling?

The Escapist keeps picking up the best. Now all you need to to pick up Ross Scott and have Anthony Burch start Rev Rants again.

EDIT: Good core point, you say a few off centre things though.

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

well, its better than that top 5 BS

 

[Jumplion]

But he's not moving it forward - if he was then yes, I might stomach him a bit more.

Eh, debatable. I for one am glad that a game like Heavy Rain exists (and yes, it is a game, I don't care what anyone else says) and was as successful as it was. While it certainly had its flaws, I prefer to look at it in a more optimistic light and say that it's developing the medium in some way. It proved that you don't need explosions, gunplay, or blood+guts everywhere to sell a game, you can have a more mature, more adult game (whether or not is succeeded is beside the point).

As for him being passionate about it, I'm pretty sure I've heard him actively shun the idea of being called a game developer. He wants to be a film writer/director, and his lack of talent means he never got to do that.

That's more on what he thinks he is. He's still passionate about his visions and whatnot, and I respect that to an extent. I do think gaming needs a few more auteurs like with movies, it helps focus the direction a game would go.

Its just a shame that we put him on a pedestal.

I think Cage just imagines the pedestal is there ;P

 

[Mr Kaneda]

Good point, I'll come back for next video

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

I thought it was good. I'm interested in seeing what he will talk about in the future, so I'll watch the next one, at least.

 

[Maur DL]

Hm, the accent is a little too thick and watching a fat guy stand in a room is only so appealing, other than that, he had interesting stuff to say...

 

[GloatingSwine]

That says films has better stories. Look at some of the films out there; that ain't fucking true most of the time.

Yes it is, unfortunately.

Not really. Most film stories are utter toss. Over the last 20 or more years Hollywood in particular has been reducing the number of themes and constructs it uses in storytelling to a vastly reduced pool, so much so that you can almost tell from the poster the entire story of the film.

and few developers are as passionate (or loud) as Cage about trying to move this medium forward. Still, he never really knows when to shut his mouth or what should come out of it.

He's not moving the medium forward though, he's moving it backwards by removing freedom of interaction. Heavy Rain is just an animated equivalent to a Visual Novel, not a game in any real sense of the word.

David Cage needs to be picked up by a snatch squad in the middle of the night and taken to the secret facility where the hideous mutated thing that used to be Chris Roberts' career is kept, so he can understand the consequences of diving into the "I am a repressed movie maker honest" pit.

 

[xxDontknowHowtoDeleteanAccountxx]

Personally, I found most of it to be bland, and any swearing and personality seemed to detract attention from the actual point of the episode, to the extent where I had to remind myself what exactly he was raging about.

However, I don't claim to be a voice for anyone but myself on the escapist, and could see this being popular, and bringing more viewers and revenue to the site, which can only be good.

Because it was posted on here, I'm willing to watch a few more episodes of this before coming to a final decision, purely because i love most of the other critic videos here on The Escapist. Anywhere else and I would be avoiding it like the plague.

Heres hoping for a calmer second episode, and maybe a more original topic than an old one with swear-words added