The action and horror genres of movies and games alike are not interested in pondering deep philosophical questions or creating complex characters, but would rather provide primal thrills of showing crap explode, creating elaborate sets for the heroes to blow up aforementioned crap, and disemboweling characters in some of the most painful and creative ways imaginable. There is nothing wrong with this formula; I am just making the observation that this is not some sort of “high art.” These genres do not leave much for the viewer or gamer to chew on after they leave the theater or set down the controller. The main reaction tends to be “That was awesome!” or “Oh my Gawd, I like s*** my pants” and not much else. What I will argue is that action and horror genres actually work much better in the video game medium than in the movies, especially with the high quality graphics, soundtracks, and voice acting these days. While action and horror movies still provide a good amount of thrills, they just do not have the same degree of immersion that video games can provide. How else can you explain playing six straight hours of video games but questioning whether you want to sit through a two hour movie or not?
Let me illustrate the average viewer’s brain activity when watching a movie:
Average Action Movie: Hope that truck explodes…YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH! Shoot him in the face! That gun is badass! How is he going to get out of this one? Maybe this or that or…oh of course, that option we did not know was an option until 5 seconds ago. This car chase scene is awesome! That chick is hawt! SATISFACTION ACHIEVED
Average Horror Movie: Don’t walk in there! Lookout! What the hell are you doing? That was stupid! Aw, sick! What’s behind the door—OH CRAP! Sweet, a sex scene…naturally climaxing in an orgy of blood and phallic imagery. Of course the traumatized kid was the killer. Or was he… SATISFACTION ACHIEVED
While movies have the viewer sit passively in the dark, allowing the events to basically wash over him or her, games, on the other hand, get much more personal with the simple addition of having the fate of the characters resting literally in the player’s hands. YOU are now that person who has to find the right escape route and blow up everything that needs blowing up. YOU are now the person who has to walk through that ominous hallway full well knowing some bad s*** is about to go down. Your decisions are actually what appear on the screen, not the carefully constructed cause and effect chains that cannot be broken in a movie. Much more thinking is involved. Only the best movies are able to replicate this feeling. That sensation that you are actually there. The feeling that you are making the decisions. With video games there is no time for hindsight bias, such as “I thought she would do that” or “he was a dumbass for doing such and such.” If you really are an idiot or just do not handle situations well under stress, you will find out…or just find another defensive mechanism to live in your own special bubble of denial forever.
With so many decisions to juggle and without a clear path to always hold your hand, video games become a much more immersive experience with this constant tension of uncertainty nagging you. With a movie you know it has to end by its runtime. A video game, conversely, takes as long as it takes you to figure out how to beat the objectives. The player is also responsible for taking the character through those impossibly difficult car chases and shoot outs. In relation to the horror games, closing your eyes and waiting for those scary moments to pass is simply not an option. You have to navigate the labyrinthine halls of the haunted mansion and make it out alive, braving all those damn monsters/zombies/aliens/whathaveyou that pop out at the worst times (there’s never a good time for those sort of things really). It is for these reasons that I feel it is fair to say the most thrilling parts of games like Uncharted, Zelda, and Silent Hill rival those of Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, and Silent Hill. Without a doubt, the best parts of the Resident Evil games beat the crap out of the Resident Evil movies.
All that said, I still believe movies are the go-to source for all things drama, romance, comedy, and psychological thriller—though games are definitely catching up to this last area. Overtaking these genres is not an impossible task for video games. One of the most dramatically powerful scenes I have seen that provoked all sorts of emotions on par with a well made film is the now infamous scene in COD4: Modern Warfare. I’ll just let the scene speak for itself. SPOILERS: Yes, your character just dies =( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2S3N0uSSho
I cannot wait until a game is recognized as being equally valuable as the classics of Charles Dickens or Fitzgerald. For some sick reason, I would like to see the show Mad Men turned into a video game. Cheat or don’t cheat on your wife? Fire or not fire your new secretary? Agree with a pitch idea or shoot it down? The day you see a character driven drama like this successfully turned into a video game, you will know the tides have turned.
Bonus: Haven’t played the first ones, but if the game is as good as the trailer, Deus Ex 3 will be amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6JTvzrpBy0&fmt=22&annotation_id=annotation_935604&feature=iv
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