Topic: Video Games and Film - Blurring the lines?

I've noticed quite a lot recently that the once-distinct line between games and movies has faded somewhat. For example, the movie Avatar looks a heck of a lot like a videogame (trailer). I saw the trailer at the cinema today and almost wondered where the HUD was on some of the scenes. Whilst on the other hand, the PS3 game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves appears to provide a much more movie-like experience (trailer), with mechanics and dramatic scenes and camera angles you wouldn't necessarily expect from a videogame.

So, do you think that the line is being blurred? Is it a good thing? Discuss.

i don't know, but i do know there willbe an avatar game.

Considering how much techonolgy advance, I would say so. We aren't there yet, thought.

Basically yes. A lot of action movies gets made into a game, and lately games have started being made into movies. These are already in the works:
Halo
Uncharted
Infamous
Prince of Persia
Dante's Inferno
Mass Effect
The Sims
World of Warcraft
BioShock
Army of Two
Lost Planet
Gears of War
God of War
Dead Space

If games become movies and movies become games, then this guy is gonna have a lot crap to deal with on his hands. Not that it would be a bad thing.

Duuuuuude, Spoony rocks!

Totally agreed. He's one of the (if not the) most entertaining reviewer in years.

Games turning into films is basically the biggest problem I have with the medium right now. Not least because it's the wrong kind of films they're turning into, i.e. the ones I don't really like: big, flashy Hollywood blockbusters. When I look at screenshots for the new COD or Uncharted games, I'm mostly thinking that Michael Bay and his shiny shitty films would probably look a lot like that if they were CGI. That's not something I've ever thought until the PS3/360 generation. Video games had much more of a unique identity back in the 80s and 90s. They were much more easy to distinguish from the rest of the entertainment industry. Losing that identity has also resulted in them being generally less appealing, to me at least.

Yeah, we are seeing tons of games being turned into movies, but I don't really know why... Almost everyone who wants to see the movie will already know the story and with today's games, there is little distinction between film and game, so you are seeing the identical thing you just played... A cinematic feel to the game is fine, but you should still feel like you are playing the game. That is one of MGS4's problems, sometimes you just feel like you aren't even playing anymore. Some of these games, I feel like they would be a great movie to see, but others (Halo, Sims, Uncharted, and WoW namely) don't feel like they can be a good movie. I don't get Halo at all. I just see poor story, good action scenes, poor costumes, predictable everything, and all-and-all, just more of the same. It's not a horror, it's an action-fantasy. Fantasy means it should have a good story and wonderful worlds, which it doesn't. Action means some sort of twist in plot, and smart action, but that is good action. This movie is like 300 without the historical aspect, Beowulf without the historical aspect, or any movie with very thin plot but fancy-schmancy action sequences.

Sorry about the rant, but I suppose that's what happens when something becomes really popular. Just look at the Twilight movie, I can't comment on the book, but that was the second worst movie I ever saw. Scratch that, worst movie I ever saw that most said was great. >.>

Also, the Sims, really? are you joking??

Yep, The Sims movie is currently in development. Oy. The only way it could be a halfway decent movie is if the film is actually about people who play and/or are addicted to The Sims, rather than the game itself. That could be interesting.

Anyways, it's not even so much that games are resembling movies that's leading to the deluge of game-inspired titles. It's just Hollywood seeing that gaming has become a huge industry financially, and they wanna little piece of that, especially since snatching up the rights of an established franchise now can be cheap (comparatively), and there's less of a creative input necessary over all (you already have your core ideas, setting and usually characters). They also know that a game-movie comes with a pre-installed base (fans of the game) who are going to see the movie even if it sucks.

And I thought it was bad enough that Hollywood keeps re-making movies that had nothing wrong with them in the first place. ie. good actors, good plot, good everything, including the exclusion of Hollywood from the movie.