On film, games, and writing

The stars of Hollywood would have you believe that every set they've ever been on is made of the best crew, and that every script or screenplay was one of the best they'd ever read. Sometimes, if they're really lucky, they've had the opportunity to read a script that is one of a kind, a rare treat. This goes for just about all of them. It goes for the people on the set of Sniper 3 all the way up to the set and cast of Moon.

I honestly don't know where I was going with that. There was a point to be made and I lost it. Instead, I want to talk about what I think a lot of film and video game scripts are missing. Right, I remember where I was going with that whole opening paragraph.

Everyone has a different opinion on what they think is good. Unfortunately, the majority of people who see films and play video games enjoy crap. They have low standards and settle with explosions and paper thin, meaningless stories. Until we can raise moviegoers and gamers standards, we are all doomed to suffer through what they like. Occasionally a gem makes it through their filter and we get to enjoy something with some substance, but that is a rare occurrence.

I can see someone reading this wondering "If you're so smart, why don't you write something better?" Nice one you. Let me first explain what I think is missing and then I'll get into how I intend to fix it. I think the two mediums lack the human element. When I sit down in a theatre or in my chair at home to play a game, I want to be touched. I want to feel something for someone or something. If I don't feel, what is the point? Isn't that a pretty important part of being a human being?

"You can feel explosions, those are cool." Right, those are certainly cool. However, that isn't what I meant. What I meant was that I want to feel something using my emotions. If you've seen The Kings Speech there is a scene, the opening scene, in which the main protagonost is to give a speech to thousands of people in person and over the radio simultaneously. Spoiler, he has a speech impediment. As soon as he starts talking his failure is echoed over loudspeakers and over the radio. It's heartbreaking to say the least. I felt terrible for the guy. I'm not ashamed to admit it, I got choked up. Honestly, how terrible a feeling that must have been to stand there in front of these people as a figure of the ruling class and fail in front of all of them.

Anyway, you should have a better understanding of what I mean when I say I want to feel. As I said, these moments are few and far between in film and games. Both mediums have their upsides and downsides. Films are a passive experience so you can only give so much of yourself to it. At the moment games are still about entertainment. Should games grow up and take their storytelling more serious? I think so.

Upsides and downsides, remember when I said that? Film has a definite advantage over games and that is the passive experience. It does not allow for interaction, therefore we cannot get our hands on it and foul up the vision the writer/director had for the story. I used to be of the opinion that bending the story to my will was the way to go in games, but now I'm not so sure. I think I prefer a story that is set in stone that allows for only a passive experience. I've yet to learn how to craft a great story, so if you are a game developer or writer, remember that gamers are terrible story tellers. If you think you have a great story and build a game around it, make sure to make it a passive experience.

So, I've decided that a passive experience is best for games and that film has the upper hand when it comes to storytelling. That fact was never questioned I suppose, but I felt it important to take a stance. So I did. Now, do I intend to make a difference? And if so, how? Well, yes. I do intend to make a difference. I've always enjoyed telling stories and I certainly have a creative imagination. That's the beautiful thing about writing isn't it? There are no limits.

I suppose if you're writing a film script you have to take into account the budget. But, when it comes to games, novels, comics and the like there are no limitations. As J.J Abrams once put it in a TedTalk, "THERE ARE NO LIMITS. GO AND WRITE." Okay, I paraphrased, but you get the gist. There are no limits, nobody can keep you from writing. Be you a homeless person, a student, a young adult, whatever. Just go and write.

That is what I've done. I had forgotten how liberating writing a short story can be. Maybe that is part of the problem in Hollywood and the games industry among writers. There are a lot of older members who maybe are set in their ways and have lost their imaginative touch due to budget constraints or a publisher has said "this is what the fans want, make another." Whatever the case, both industries are in need of fresh blood and fresh ideas.

So if you are reading this and are as fed up with the mindless, repetitive drivel that is being pumped out as I am, I urge you to pick up a pen or pencil and start writing. Write about what you know. Slice your heart open (not literally) and let it bleed onto the page in front of you. For those using digital pen and paper, smear a little on the screen. Either way, be the change you wish to see.

Tags: Hollywood, writing, j.j abrams, quality

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Chris Sampson

May 30, 2011

Just wanted to say that I agree 100% with you. Gaming will never transcend its current state by sticking to the same mandate it has followed for the past few generations. Evolution seems to be feared in this industry, yet change will always be at the forefront of progression. Stories in games today are just pure shit; maybe that's why L.A. Noire is so refreshing? The facial fidelity of the characters themselves really adds to the narrative that Team Bondi is presenting to its audience. While it may not be the end all experience, L.A. Noire is certainly a step in the right direction of what I'm expecting from my future games.

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Corey Williams

The thing with L.A Noire is that while it tries to deliver a great story about a man coming back from the war, about a country trying to find itself and move forward, there are game tropes that pull you rom the experience. There are always going to be tropes, that's a given, but there have to be ways of negating or making them transparent to the player so that we can focus solely on the story being delivered.

There are games that tell great stories, but when you compare a game like L.A Noire, Heavy Rain, Uncharted, etc to other games it isn't saying much. That isn't meant to take away from the work all of the developers are doing around the world. I feel like I need a developer to come out and say "Hey, this is a game that focuses on story. The emphasis is on narrative and gameplay and all that other stuff takes a back seat." That wouldn't necessarily mean the game wouldn't be a game anymore, it just means they would have figured out a way to make the gamey part of the experience a passive, forgettable one and have allowed a player to focus on the story being told, ala a film.

I certainly don't want games to become films, that isn't what I want. Instead, I want to play a game and feel like I'm a participant in the world more than I'm a customer of this company and I'm playing through an experience they've crafted.

Kate Cox

May 31, 2011

Well, the genre of games that straight-up tells a story and takes away most of the tropes and tools of actual gameplay, in the sense we currently mean it, is the Adventure Game. And the heyday of those has come and gone, and then come and gone again. ("The Longest Journey" is probably the prime example here.)

The thing that I think is most interesting is that all players of games are constantly forming, developing, revising, and discarding their OWN narratives. And not just in narrative games, either. A player who's really into what s/he is doing can come up with a gripping (to the player) story about how s/he barely managed to get just the right piece at just the right time in Tetris.

I think for big, current games to look at this phenomenon in, we should turn to the Mass Effect franchise. Every player has a different story, and players tend to OWN their Shepards -- and to come up with detailed motivations and explanations for what Shepard does and chooses. Any time I've talked about the game with any other player, the player can, on the spot, explain why Shepard chose as she did in any given moment. Even when the game doesn't provide the background (since the game is all about presenting the choices).

If there's a legion of ME fans out there who know Shepard's favorite color? (About 60% of the time, weirdly, it seems to be green.) That says to me that they've nailed the balance between developer writing and player contribution to create investment in that story.

Jason Lomberg

I know a lot of people will hate me for saying this, but I found The Longest Journey extremely boring. I couldn't force myself to get through it, despite the cool atmosphere, story, and dialogue. It kept putting me to sleep.