I've OUTLINED BEFORE about the supposed failure of boy's adventure films and I find myself revisiting those thoughts about the critical and fan reaction to PACIFIC RIM. In brief, in catering to a very niche audience it didn't work enough for someone outside those who already like this kind of material. It is too early to call it a financial failure but Hollywood overemphasizes domestic box office and it has underperformed here. Finances aside I think it's the best summer motion picture right behind Man of Steel and my inner twelve year old was sooo happy.
Man of Steel had a kind of split decision between critics and public unlike Pacific Rim where audiences and critics heaped universal praise. More people saw Man of Steel as everyone knows who Superman is even if they've never read a Superman comic. Not everyone knows what a Kaiju is. I think Man of Steel became polarizing because everybody has an idea of what Superman should be and this film may or may not have succeeded in selling the audience on their idea. For the record, it worked splendidly and I am a fan of the various versions of this character in multiple mediums.
In some ways I wish Hollywood wouldn't pay attention to the fans when attempting to adapt material. It is a losing game because no matter what is done it won't match what is inside the fan's head. The filmmakers responsible for this movie clearly have a lot of respect and love for the source and it is all up there on the screen. And yet, some fans hated this.
By hate, I mean hated the entire thing because it wasn't their picture of what Superman is to them. This is doing a disservice to the entire effort. Even as much as I like the film it isn't perfect. The destruction scenes are a bit overlong for example but that's like complaining about the cupholders in a BMW.
So, imagine what happened after the announcement of what Warner Bros wants to do as a followup to Man of Steel. It's a Superman/Batman team up film. It's 2002 again. I can see why they want to go in this direction as it gives them a chance to recast Batman and it can change the stakes for the sequel. Others pointed out that a sequel may be problematic as how do you top a planet destroying menace. With the teamup it forces an interesting question. What kind of problem would require Superman to ask for help? Fan reaction to the teamup has been just as polarizing as the reaction to Man of Steel.
DC wants to follow Marvel in success at the box office hoping for an eventual Justice League movie. Go team! But the path they are taking is odd. The teamup movie idea works but the rumors are The Flash is on the way. At the moment they are pushing for a Flash TV series by using Arrow for the backdoor pilot. A proposed TV series, Amazon, was supposed to chronicle the adventures of a young princess Diana-Wonder Woman. At the moment those plans are on hold.
I'd like everyone here to be a slightly braver and take a risk here. Superman and Batman are taken care of. They need to do an experiment on the audience. They should follow the Superman team up film with a Wonder Woman feature. There are some interesting reasons why HERE.
You know what happened when the Hunger Games smashed box office records? Hollywood didn't understand why a FEMALE LED ACTION MOVIE made that much money. This is one reason of many why we haven't had a Wonder Woman picture yet. They treated this success like an anomaly rather than the start of a positive trend. I have said this BEFORE but Diana can whether lots of interpretations. Even if Hollywood is even more risk averse than usual and doesn't know what they want when they develop a property somebody somewhere can come up with a way to translate Wonder Woman to the big screen.
I think that someone will be a fan of the source material and will have enough passion to pull through the act of God required to make a film. That passion will translate to the screen. The exuberance of Pacific Rim comes through on the screen because you can feel the director had fun making his monster mashup. Exuberance like that can overcome any preconceptions an audience has for the character.
Come on, DC & Warner Bros. Be brave. Trust the material. Trust the filmmaking team. Have faith the audience will show up. You all can make history.
POSTSCRIPT
The reaction to Ben Affleck being cast as Batman doesn't surprise me at all and I think confirms that Warner Bros and DC Comics are following their own model in producing a successful film franchise. "FANS" hate this casting but I think it's brilliant. I have no hope that Diana will make any kind of showing in this upcoming sequel or a potential followup film either but Jennifer Garner would be just fine with me.
POST POST SCRIPT
Apparently Gal Godot has been cast as Wonder Woman/Diana in the Man of Steel sequel. Also Jessie Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons is Alfred. Again DC is going its own way with this franchise. And I'm quite pleased. I hope fans come out and support this.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
WHAT I WISH FOR IN A VIDEO GAME
A little while back a gaming theory webshow called Extra Creditz produced a show about the best starting point for your game. The take away from it was an interesting idea that you start with the game mechanics rather than a narrative.
I happen to agree and that has made me refresh some ideas, articulated here, about how I'd want to approach my ultimate game. When I'd done this before I felt I was stealing the best ideas from other games. But this question makes narrative secondary so it is actually quite freeing.
After all what do I really want to experience in a game? I want to care. I want a reason to push on even if the mechanics get too challenging.
The best way to experience what I like most in a game is something that not a lot of gamers like. It is the dreaded escort quest. At its most basic you and your charge navigate an obstacle course to arrive safely at journey's end. The biggest complaint levied against these games is your partner's penchant for actively hampering efforts to survive.
Successful games that use the escort quest do two things very well--make your partner endearing on some level that makes you care and has some kind of skill set that otherwise would make navigating the game environment impossible. ICO's whole game is centered around the protagonist creating a safe path for his partner who is nearly helpless. But without her you couldn't get beyond the first locked door. Resident Evil 4 involves rescuing the president's daughter and getting her to safety but without her you also wouldn't make it past the gates. Other examples abound. Enslaved and the 2008 reboot of Prince of Persia features characters who have complimentary skills in combat.
With this in mind I will put forth what I ultimately want in a video game. There is no preference here because I want all of these mechanics to work in tandem for the experience I wish to achieve.
THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE
Lots of games use first person to enhance immersion and might make interesting use of the escort mechanics. Bioshock Infinite looks to be in this camp but for my purposes I think third person is best for use of the environment and admiration for what you are seeing and doing.
AI CONTROLLED PARTNER
The player controls the avatar you inhabit but the object of the game, whomever you are escorting, isn't stupid. She can react to your own actions as well as others in the environment. Whatever obstacles that have been placed in your way are overcome not only by your own actions but by whatever skill set your partner has that you aren't capable of. An example might be the ability to fit into tight spaces simply because you are too heavy. Consequently there must be a certain sense of self preservation with your partner. If she's being hurt she won't just sit there and take it.
ILLUSION OF A PATHWAY
This is also known as the invisible wall syndrome. A lot of effort went into designing the environment. Let's see what else is out there to find. This means that the player can control the camera and while the objective is known they don't guide your hand in getting there. There are no corridors in this game when there are no obvious walls.
ENVIRONMENT AS STORYTELLING DEVICE
Everything you need to know about the game world should be conveyed to you in the environment. For example, Dead Space uses your own suit as a health meter and holography as your objective marker. Assassin's Creed did a remarkable job giving the illusion of a world as you are walking around listening to the NPCs react to what is going on. Keep your game within the game engine as much as possible.
CUTSCENES SHOULD BE A REWARD, NOT THE PRIMARY WAY TO ADVANCE OBJECTIVES
After completing a difficult task you should be rewarded with a beautiful scene showcasing the technical power of whatever machine you are playing on. It should convey a sense of accomplishment be it from a difficult fight, a successful negotiation of a path found or a conversation leading to a deeper understanding of character. Just make that scene noteworthy.
QUICKTIME EVENTS SHOULD BE CONTEXT SENSITIVE
Personally I would like these things to go away permanently but they do have their uses if they have the proper context. The best response I ever heard for why these things should die went something like this: "You're about to punch someone in the face and are suddenly asked to play a round of slot machines." This is immersion breaking. Asking to do a round of Simon Says at the end of a fight is just silly. Instead use a QTE where it makes the most sense either as a reward for a difficult maneuver such as countering an enemy attack or a way to build tension within a scene such as navigating a cliff face with difficult handholds.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT DOES NOT MEAN BREAKING THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
Silent Hill Origins features a protagonist who's jacket can hold multiple TV sets for bludgeoning weapons that break over time. Placing limits on what you can do is part of the challenge of a good game. One of the best inventory management systems that was carried with the person came in Resident Evil 4. Leon was limited to a case, upgradeable overtime that had a grid. Every item took up space within that grid and made reasonable sense. It felt like packing a suitcase but that became a game in itself right there.
UPGRADES SHOULD CHANGE NOT ONLY STATS BUT APPEARANCE AS WELL.
This is one of those things that has gotten better with the tech so there really is no excuse for it not to be there. This allows personalization for the avatar you inhabit within the game and can help with how feel about the person you are escorting. This should also apply to upgrading abilities to suit your play style. In the case of this hypothetical escort mission an ability upgrade should enhance how you want to protect your partner.
TREASURE HUNTS RESULT IN TANGIBLE REWARDS
If you are going to reward the explorers make sure the rewards benefit the player. It could be something to help the player or partner within the game or extra content for a peek behind the curtain. It might even be something that gives insight into the world created within game. If you simply went from point A to point B you would not lose understanding of what is going on. But for the explorers the extra rewards enhance whatever interest you already have in the experience.
CONVERSATIONS ARE OPTIONAL AND ALWAYS FULLY VOICED
Technology has caught up with ambition here. Voices enhance emotional attachment and this goes for the player's avatar as well. I think Bioware's Mass Effect series implementation of the dialogue wheel where you are given an idea of your response before you hear it fully voiced is revolutionary. It gave you control in how you responded and built anticipation at the same time.
ENDINGS SHOULD REFLECT CONSEQUENCES NOT BINARY PATHS
I have already detailed here my thoughts on how Mass Effect 3 brilliantly handled this because the path always has an end point. How you get there defines your experience and ultimately how you feel about it. Silent Hill 2 had three different endings that corresponded with your play style throughout the game and ultimately made a statement about the protagonist's guilt with the ending you got.
WRITING AND WHERE IT REALLY FITS WITHIN A GAME
If you care enough about a character chances are.you will follow them anywhere into whatever tale you can craft. Video games should be no different. Good writing will make you care about your partner let alone the protagonist regardless of story. We all know what bad writing is when we encounter it but we forget what good writing is when we don't notice it. We are too wrapped up in the adventure to notice. Hopefully we will come to care about the characters so.much that we can overlook things like gender, sexual orientation and race and just appreciate them for what they are-a companion on the adventure of a lifetime.
POST SCRIPT
Based on everything I've been hearing about this I think I'm getting closer to my ultimate video game.
I happen to agree and that has made me refresh some ideas, articulated here, about how I'd want to approach my ultimate game. When I'd done this before I felt I was stealing the best ideas from other games. But this question makes narrative secondary so it is actually quite freeing.
After all what do I really want to experience in a game? I want to care. I want a reason to push on even if the mechanics get too challenging.
The best way to experience what I like most in a game is something that not a lot of gamers like. It is the dreaded escort quest. At its most basic you and your charge navigate an obstacle course to arrive safely at journey's end. The biggest complaint levied against these games is your partner's penchant for actively hampering efforts to survive.
Successful games that use the escort quest do two things very well--make your partner endearing on some level that makes you care and has some kind of skill set that otherwise would make navigating the game environment impossible. ICO's whole game is centered around the protagonist creating a safe path for his partner who is nearly helpless. But without her you couldn't get beyond the first locked door. Resident Evil 4 involves rescuing the president's daughter and getting her to safety but without her you also wouldn't make it past the gates. Other examples abound. Enslaved and the 2008 reboot of Prince of Persia features characters who have complimentary skills in combat.
With this in mind I will put forth what I ultimately want in a video game. There is no preference here because I want all of these mechanics to work in tandem for the experience I wish to achieve.
THIRD PERSON PERSPECTIVE
Lots of games use first person to enhance immersion and might make interesting use of the escort mechanics. Bioshock Infinite looks to be in this camp but for my purposes I think third person is best for use of the environment and admiration for what you are seeing and doing.
AI CONTROLLED PARTNER
The player controls the avatar you inhabit but the object of the game, whomever you are escorting, isn't stupid. She can react to your own actions as well as others in the environment. Whatever obstacles that have been placed in your way are overcome not only by your own actions but by whatever skill set your partner has that you aren't capable of. An example might be the ability to fit into tight spaces simply because you are too heavy. Consequently there must be a certain sense of self preservation with your partner. If she's being hurt she won't just sit there and take it.
ILLUSION OF A PATHWAY
This is also known as the invisible wall syndrome. A lot of effort went into designing the environment. Let's see what else is out there to find. This means that the player can control the camera and while the objective is known they don't guide your hand in getting there. There are no corridors in this game when there are no obvious walls.
ENVIRONMENT AS STORYTELLING DEVICE
Everything you need to know about the game world should be conveyed to you in the environment. For example, Dead Space uses your own suit as a health meter and holography as your objective marker. Assassin's Creed did a remarkable job giving the illusion of a world as you are walking around listening to the NPCs react to what is going on. Keep your game within the game engine as much as possible.
CUTSCENES SHOULD BE A REWARD, NOT THE PRIMARY WAY TO ADVANCE OBJECTIVES
After completing a difficult task you should be rewarded with a beautiful scene showcasing the technical power of whatever machine you are playing on. It should convey a sense of accomplishment be it from a difficult fight, a successful negotiation of a path found or a conversation leading to a deeper understanding of character. Just make that scene noteworthy.
QUICKTIME EVENTS SHOULD BE CONTEXT SENSITIVE
Personally I would like these things to go away permanently but they do have their uses if they have the proper context. The best response I ever heard for why these things should die went something like this: "You're about to punch someone in the face and are suddenly asked to play a round of slot machines." This is immersion breaking. Asking to do a round of Simon Says at the end of a fight is just silly. Instead use a QTE where it makes the most sense either as a reward for a difficult maneuver such as countering an enemy attack or a way to build tension within a scene such as navigating a cliff face with difficult handholds.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT DOES NOT MEAN BREAKING THE LAWS OF PHYSICS
Silent Hill Origins features a protagonist who's jacket can hold multiple TV sets for bludgeoning weapons that break over time. Placing limits on what you can do is part of the challenge of a good game. One of the best inventory management systems that was carried with the person came in Resident Evil 4. Leon was limited to a case, upgradeable overtime that had a grid. Every item took up space within that grid and made reasonable sense. It felt like packing a suitcase but that became a game in itself right there.
UPGRADES SHOULD CHANGE NOT ONLY STATS BUT APPEARANCE AS WELL.
This is one of those things that has gotten better with the tech so there really is no excuse for it not to be there. This allows personalization for the avatar you inhabit within the game and can help with how feel about the person you are escorting. This should also apply to upgrading abilities to suit your play style. In the case of this hypothetical escort mission an ability upgrade should enhance how you want to protect your partner.
TREASURE HUNTS RESULT IN TANGIBLE REWARDS
If you are going to reward the explorers make sure the rewards benefit the player. It could be something to help the player or partner within the game or extra content for a peek behind the curtain. It might even be something that gives insight into the world created within game. If you simply went from point A to point B you would not lose understanding of what is going on. But for the explorers the extra rewards enhance whatever interest you already have in the experience.
CONVERSATIONS ARE OPTIONAL AND ALWAYS FULLY VOICED
Technology has caught up with ambition here. Voices enhance emotional attachment and this goes for the player's avatar as well. I think Bioware's Mass Effect series implementation of the dialogue wheel where you are given an idea of your response before you hear it fully voiced is revolutionary. It gave you control in how you responded and built anticipation at the same time.
ENDINGS SHOULD REFLECT CONSEQUENCES NOT BINARY PATHS
I have already detailed here my thoughts on how Mass Effect 3 brilliantly handled this because the path always has an end point. How you get there defines your experience and ultimately how you feel about it. Silent Hill 2 had three different endings that corresponded with your play style throughout the game and ultimately made a statement about the protagonist's guilt with the ending you got.
WRITING AND WHERE IT REALLY FITS WITHIN A GAME
If you care enough about a character chances are.you will follow them anywhere into whatever tale you can craft. Video games should be no different. Good writing will make you care about your partner let alone the protagonist regardless of story. We all know what bad writing is when we encounter it but we forget what good writing is when we don't notice it. We are too wrapped up in the adventure to notice. Hopefully we will come to care about the characters so.much that we can overlook things like gender, sexual orientation and race and just appreciate them for what they are-a companion on the adventure of a lifetime.
POST SCRIPT
Based on everything I've been hearing about this I think I'm getting closer to my ultimate video game.
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