There is a question that has been asked on almost every message board, game website, and game channel. It is a question that we all can’t agree on. What video game should be made into a movie? Now before you start answering this question, I’m going to ask a counter question. Do we really need to turn video games into movies? With how far the gaming industry has come, I don’t understand why fan boys and girls are so eager for their favorite games to hit the big screen. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, video games can be better than movies. Not only do you get sucked into a great story, but you actually get to play as the characters instead of watching an actor surrounded by special effects do everything.
The thing is, I don’t know if the average player understands that current games are treated similar to movies. Even though it is all digital, the creators still need to worry about a script, lighting, blocking the scenes, transitions, continuity, etc. The first time I really understood this was when I saw a video in which Hideo Kojima was showing the intricacies if the engine that Metal Gear Solid 4 ran on. The ting about the video that I remember the most was how he could instantly tweak the smallest detail of the lighting, and the particle effects of snakes surroundings in real time. The funny thing is that people made fun of metal gear solid for being more of a movie than a game because of the number of cut scenes in it, and every time the original question is posed, people want a MGS movie. On a similar note, Uncharted 3 is practically a movie. The uncharted series is one of the most realistic looking games on the market. This is because the game is motion captured and voiced at the same time. This means that there is no longer a disconnect from the voice actor and the motion. This adds more realism because the voice actor can get into character better and do a better job. Below is a short video interview with the actors of Uncharted.
For me, I’m not sure I could ever like a video game movie more than the game the characters originated from. I say this because one of the aspects of movie would be casting the characters, and if the characters voice doesn’t match it would bother me. I would rather a director change the look of a character slightly over changing the voice. Nolan North will always be Nathan Drake, Carlos Ferro will always be Dominic Santiago, and Link will never have a voice.
In the end, do we really need another video game movie. Just look at the track record of these movies. I mean, don’t get me wrong I would pay to see Matthew Fox as Commander Shepard in a Mass Effect movie, or Nathan Fillion as Nathan Drake in an Uncharted Film. but is it necessary. I would love to see original ideas coming out of Hollywood for a change, but that is for a different post.
Hell, for the fun of it there is a poll if you want to vote.
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