Spielberg, Zemeckis say video games, films could become one

“It’s important to emphasize story and emotion and character. This is one of the things that games don’t do,” Spielberg said. “Currently, what games do is they give you the entire story in the run-up to the actual game play from level to level. You get to see a movie, and you’re supposed to remember what the stakes are for the characters. But there’s no reminder, nothing refreshes who these characters are.

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“Is the player in charge of the story, or is the programmer in control of the story?” Spielberg asked. “How do you make those two things reconcile with each other? Audiences often don’t want to be in control of a story. They want to be lost in your story. They come to hear you be the storyteller, but in gaming it’s going to have to be a little bit of both, a little bit of give and take.” —Anthony Breznican —Spielberg, Zemeckis say video games, films could become one  (AP|Sign on San Diego)

A good introduction to one of the core differences between the aesthetic goals of movie directors and those of videogame designers. Perhaps Hollywood will one day “get” the concepts behind videogaming, but I don’t think it’s productive to think of video games and movies merging. Yes, they’ll continue to influence each other, but if they do merge, then what they become won’t be either a movie or a video game. It will be something else.