voyage to mars

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis say students at the University of Southern California could change moviemaking by playing more video games.

They said video games are getting closer to a storytelling art form but not quite yet.

Not quite yet? By whose standards? Hollywood's?

"I think the real indicator will be when somebody confesses that they cried at level 17," Spielberg said.

Yes, so we're definitely there, then: games do make people cry. I have received mails from players who shed tears at the end of The Longest Journey, and there are plenty of games - like Final Fantasy VII, where a major character dies a tragic and unexpected death - that engender real and powerful emotions in players.

By the way, what's the obsession with levels? It sounds like Spielberg and Zemeckis haven't actually played a game since 1987. Still, it's great to see 'video games' receiving credit for being an important, and relevant, cultural influence. It's about bloody time. ¶ 23:43

Comments:

indeed, the games are not just entertaining, but a new art form :) and I gotta tell that no game before has affected my emotions the way the longest journey did, and I've been playing games since the C64 :D not only did make me shiver, but teached me a whole new philosophy of life that was always there but I didn't see, it has inspired me even in my works as a designer and my webpage :)

ps: did some vector art of april & zoe here http://burnsflipper.deviantart.com

# posted by Cristhian FS : 1:10 AM

i just about cried at the end of TLJ. What a great game.

# posted by Harkins : 2:42 AM

Well, if famous directors like Spielberg and Zemeckis are saying this then it /must be true/! No seriously, they are running after the facts. Cause yeah, there are already videogames that nudge the emotional side and have great storytelling. Doesn't mean there are enough though :) ~Solar

# posted by Anonymous : 8:50 AM

Surely Spielberg played, or at least saw a decent portion of The Dig? It was his concept after all... Maybe he even cried after seeing its final form, but maybe for different reasons than he was talking about in that article...

# posted by Jake : 6:52 PM

Someone should write these two and inform them that they're atleast a decade to late! Surely they've heard of the adventure genre..

# posted by Anonymous : 7:55 PM

I'm guessing Spielburg hasn't played many adventure games. I remember how horrible I felt when I had to choose at the end of Quest for Glory 5 who to bring back from the dead. I wanted to save 'em all, but I could only pick one. I had played the entire series up to that point (QFG I-IV) multiple times through, so I was well aquainted with the characters. It broke my heart to have to choose.

I hate to sound like such a fan (*grin*), but I was more emotionally attached to April in TLJ than I am to the characters in most movies. It's a crying shame that more games aren't as story driven.

# posted by Anonymous : 9:36 AM

This post has been removed by the author.

# posted by ido.mima : 9:36 AM

Spielberg actually played a lot of LucasArts games in the past. I remember reading in a magazine that around 1993-1994, he was playing Day of the Tentacle and kept calling up for hints.

I'd bet he was disappointed in The Dig, not only because the technology at the time limited what they could do, but also because during the lengthy production process, a lot of good ideas probably fell by the wayside.

# posted by ATMachine : 6:17 PM