Video Games On Film
What are some qualities that make a successful movie based on a video game?
A lot of times video games have a very rapid fan base, and trying to appease fans of the game by including throws to the game can be very difficult. In order to make it successful, a lot of times you have to appeal to another genre outside the video game fan base. For example, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" was for action movie fans as well, and "Silent Hill" was for horror movie fans as well. To make it successful, you have to go outside just the game's fan base.
What are some qualities that make a successful video game based on a movie?
There were some problems in the beginning with making successful video games out of movies, especially when movie companies first started putting games to come out with their movies, in that a lot of times they wouldn't leave enough money left for the game budgets, and so had these not so good games coming out based on movies. The trick is to keep in mind that it is a game and to make it fun. Some of the most successful games that are based on movies add something extra to it. You're going to take us to a plot in movie that we didn't see on screen, the back story, or something that came after. For example, "The Chronicles of Riddick" took us outside the story of the movie and that partially made it the success that it was. It was a great game. You have to keep in mind that people don't necessarily want to play a game straight through the movie.
What are some influential movies based on video games?
You have some of the earlier movies, I mean, everybody had seen the 'Super Mario Bros.' movie when it came out, because Super Mario Brothers was such a big game. However, in terms of influential movies, there haven't been as many. I think 'Silent Hill' was influential in showing that you can bring a mainstream audience to video game movies, but at the same time that is something that a lot of other movies have failed to do. I think if you're going to look at the successful ones, then 'Lara Croft'. Also, 'Mortal Combat' was pretty successful; it brought the kind of martial arts genre into it. It helps to be able to get people who don't just play the games to see it.
What are some of the best movies based on video games?
I think 'Final Fantasy: Advent Children' was a huge step in video movies. It is animated, or computer graphically animated; it's not live action. However, I think that it's really one of the better ones in the genre. It incorporates some great elements of the game, but it's still its own movie and it's beautiful. I also think that 'Silent Hill' had the look right. I think that other movies have captured the look or captured just one part of the game, but haven't actually been able to make that game into a really great movie. I think Final Fantasy Advent Children probably did it the best.
What are some of the worst movies based on video games?
I think if you're going to mention the worst movies based on video games, Uwe Boll's name has to come up. I think the positive thing is that his movies actually seem to be getting slightly better as they go along, but Alone in the Dark and Blood Reign were just atrocious. I think people forget, too, that Super Mario Brothers really wasn't that great and a lot of the earlier video game movies weren't that great, but his movies have been staggeringly bad.
What are some of the best video games based on movies?
Some of the best video games have been based on movies. GoldenEye for the N64 was amazing if not just for the multi-player. You also had a lot of the games that were based on the Disney movies like Aladdin and Toy Story. Those were actually really great games and I also personally liked Lego Star Wars I. I liked the first one, and even though I didn't like the movies more, I liked the first game more than I liked the second game.
What are some of the worst video games based on movies?
I know E.T. gets the rap as a bad video game based on a movie, because everybody knows that they bury the cartridges out in the middle of desert, and it was something Atari really wanted to forget about. Terminator games and Total Recall games are some of the worst games based on movies, and there was also Beethoven's Second! I'm not kidding, it was horrible. There are actually quite a fair amount, especially from that same time period, that are equally as bad if not far worse.
Will the video game and movie industries continue to be intertwined?
Absolutely. You're already seeing a push towards photo realism on consoles, and having the graphics just be amazing; I think on par sometimes with what you see in movies. We give Academy awards for special effects, and I'm seeing the same kind of cinematics and the same kind of graphics coming into games, and consoles being developed to have the best graphics possible. I think the movie industry takes note, and I think the game industry also watches what the movie industry does, and there's a lot of cross-over now; actors taking roles in video games, directors wanting to direct video games (like John Woo doing Stranglehold), and cross-over between games being made into films. A lot of game directors that direct games like their movies. I think that we're going to continue to see the two converge over the next few years, and farther in the future.
How will video games and movies interact in the future?
Well, I think, in a way, partially how they do now. A lot of times, video games can add something extra to the plot. Also, there are plans for movies in the upcoming years that do combine a lot of the elements of video games; more of a choose-your-own-adventure with a movie, allowing more audience participation. Kind of a synthesis between game and film.
