"Why I hate Cinematics"

[Phelot]

http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-i-hate-cinematic.html

This is by one of the devs at Frictional Games, the folks behind Penumbra and Amnesia: The Dark Descent

"Cinematic" still seems to be a kind of buzz-word for videogames these days. Often scenes that are extra emotional or involving are called "cinematic". I do not really like this word and its usage expose many of the problems videogames have today. I guess some explanation is required. My two major reasons for disliking the word are:


1) Movies are not rolemodels
It means that videogames should strive to be more like cinema, that there are really important lessons to be learned by doing things like "in the movies". There is so much done in games the past 20 years, based on cinema, that has kept videogames from evolving. Linear and strict plots being one of the biggest. Because movies rely so much on being extremely specific in what the viewer shall see, it has standards that are direct opposite of what a videogame is. By having these "cinematic" goals, we have gotten things like cut scenes where all the "fun stuff" happens, quick-time-events and annoying camera angles. Games would have been far better off if these things did not become the design standards they are today.


2) Movies are not better
It implies that film is a superior medium. I would like to say that it is actually reverse. Film is probably the lesser of all story telling media. It leaves less to imagination and is the least fulfilling. Films do not require any real effort and leaves very little to the imagination. Sure, there are films that are hard to get and with very subtle imagery, but these are far between, and in my eyes does not live up the fantasies a great novel or piece of music can conjure up. In my mind games take all this a step further. While all other media gives us a prefabricated descriptions, videogames places us in living breathing worlds. I feel the difference is like reading about climbing Everest and actually doing it. Videogames as a medium is not inferior, I would say it is far superior than any else.


Does this means that the best games of today trump the best films, music and books? Far from it and quite the reverse. But videogames as a medium has an awesome potential. It would be very bad to let catchy buzz-words such as cinematic to stand in the way of fulfilling it.

 

[Berekän]

 

[Phelot]

I dunno about videogames being a superior medium outside of hypothetical discussions of their capability.

I agree, he may be praising games a bit too much, but still I think he has an important point. Movies are a completely different media that games shouldn't attempt to mimic. Movies are for watching and being presented with a story while games are for interacting. I don't mind a few cutscenes here or there, but it's gotten out of hand.

In a movie, I don't mind watching characters talk and act for an hour or two, but in a game it's hell and I'll never understand why some people love it. Movie wise, games are terrible. The animations are terrible and the VO's are average at best, so why even try to compete with movies?

Actually, I take that back, some animations are actually very well done, but they're still repeated too often and the VO's, even when good, will be heard over and over again because games are, as a rule suppose to be played over and over again.

 

[Zomg]

Movies are literally a subset of video games

 

[MetalCraze]

But many people want to watch shitty movies instead of playing games. Even more - they demand it. Devs wouldn't make that shit if retards didn't cry about how they absolutely hate gameplay in, say, RPGs and how they just want to watch people talking for 10 hours with cinematic bullshit.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Oh, it's some small blog. I want this to be published on kotaku or gamespot, so we get deliciously retarded comments.

Ed123 wrote:
I dunno about videogames being a superior medium outside of hypothetical discussions of their capability.

He says a bit more on the comments.

 

[Felix]

n4g is also a good place, imagine the amount of butthurt.

 

[Mastermind]

I don't necessarily mind cinematics (particularly for low detail games where it's interesting to see stuff up close like diablo style arpgs or strategy games), as long as they're fairly brief and rare. They can add quite a bit of flavor if they are well done and have an actual purpose other than to show how big the company's HD animation cock is. Eye raping me with pointless cinematics every other minute OTOH,

 

[Hobo Elf]

I agree with him. I always cringe when I'm playing video games that have obvious movie or book plots. When I think of all the different mediums out there, I think they all have their own distinct ways of telling stories (captain obvious to the rescue!). However, this seems to be lost to many people in the industry and they try to push their rejected hollywood movie script into video game format (Metal Gear Solid, anyone?). Books, music, movies, television and games all have their own unique ways of telling stories, but I think trying to implement that way of telling a story into another medium is more often a recipe for fail.
It's the reason why scientists don't try to impregnate different species of animals with each other. It doesn't work.

Also, gameplay should never ever be sacrificed in favor of the plot. It is very important to make the gameplay resonate with the story the game is trying to tell, but if you can't achieve this then don't put gameplay in the back burner while the story takes the lead.
What I mean is that the plot should always be told through gameplay and not through long cinematics or by hundreds of blocks of dialogue.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

However, this seems to be lost to many people in the industry and they try to push their rejected hollywood movie script into video game format (Metal Gear Solid, anyone?).

In Kojima's defense, MGS also takes great advantage of the game medium. Best example I can think of is the telepath character that reads the player's inputs and requires the player himself to mess with the console. Also, analysing your save to tell the player's personality (doesn't save often = confident, gets detected too many times = reckless, etc). The hollywood feel seems to be there because of the "super secret agents" setting.

 

[Hobo Elf]

I was thinking more or less of MGS4 when I wrote that. The earlier MGS games were pretty fun, and so was MGS4 as long as you got to actually play the damn game.

 

[Phelot]

I loved the NES Metal Gear and even liked Solid Snake... that said, I still can't figure out how they managed to make this vast story from a game with lines like "The truck have started to move!"

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Older console games were translated by blind monkeys so I dunno if the original plot was salvageable.

 

[piydek]

http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-i-hate-cinematic.html

This is by one of the devs at Frictional Games, the folks behind Penumbra and Amnesia: The Dark Descent

2) Movies are not better
It implies that film is a superior medium. I would like to say that it is actually reverse. Film is probably the lesser of all story telling media. It leaves less to imagination and is the least fulfilling. Films do not require any real effort and leaves very little to the imagination. Sure, there are films that are hard to get and with very subtle imagery, but these are far between, and in my eyes does not live up the fantasies a great novel or piece of music can conjure up.

This is just complete bullshit. The innermost point of movies is not "story-telling" at all. Scripts aren't the essence of movies. That's complete misunderstanding of specific movie language. Apart from that, he also seems to mix two things in his talk: he talks about movies as such and then he talks about majority of movies not being subtle or whatever. Most movies being shit has nothing to do with arguing about movies as such. Movies in their pure sense create spiritual experience which is not necessarily connected with story-telling at all. And even when it is, story-telling isn't central.

That about films not requiring any real effort and leaving little to imagination is just dumbfuck-worthy material not worthy of a comment.

Apart from his being completely retarded in the above quote, i agree with his general point.

 

[Topher]

It implies that film is a superior medium. I would like to say that it is actually reverse. Film is probably the lesser of all story telling media. It leaves less to imagination and is the least fulfilling. Films do not require any real effort and leaves very little to the imagination. Sure, there are films that are hard to get and with very subtle imagery, but these are far between, and in my eyes does not live up the fantasies a great novel or piece of music can conjure up. In my mind games take all this a step further. While all other media gives us a prefabricated descriptions, videogames places us in living breathing worlds. I feel the difference is like reading about climbing Everest and actually doing it. Videogames as a medium is not inferior, I would say it is far superior than any else.

So why doesn't he make text adventures?

 

[MetalCraze]

Hohoho look at me I'm trying to be a smartass by using the opposite extreme

 

[commie]

I dunno about videogames being a superior medium outside of hypothetical discussions of their capability.

I agree, he may be praising games a bit too much, but still I think he has an important point. Movies are a completely different media that games shouldn't attempt to mimic. Movies are for watching and being presented with a story while games are for interacting. I don't mind a few cutscenes here or there, but it's gotten out of hand.

In a movie, I don't mind watching characters talk and act for an hour or two, but in a game it's hell and I'll never understand why some people love it. Movie wise, games are terrible. The animations are terrible and the VO's are average at best, so why even try to compete with movies?

Actually, I take that back, some animations are actually very well done, but they're still repeated too often and the VO's, even when good, will be heard over and over again because games are, as a rule suppose to be played over and over again.

I know what you mean. In Mafia for example there was a story being told and lengthy cutscenes, but just to set the stage for a bunch of repetitive missions. The cutscenes actually made the game seem less repetitive and with a premise to go around killing things. In Mafia 2 they went crazy with the cutscenes to cover up the fact that the game is very short. It was annoying every 5 minutes to face a few minutes of cutscenes several times a mission. Cutscenes in Mafia look good, but fuck, stopping every few minutes to watch a cutscene is not a good thing.

 

[ghostdog]

Shitty movies, or shitty games...

which is better and why ?

 

[Phelot]

Movies in their pure sense create spiritual experience which is not necessarily connected with story-telling at all..

Not sure what you mean by spiritual experience...

I do agree that he is painting a bit of a black and white situation here, but it still should be stated since increasingly cinematic games are being released, taking control away from the player and convincing them that cutscene dialogues that showcase tits, awkward body language, and the player habitually clicking "continue" is somehow gameplay.

 

[Cassidy]

I guess the writer of that article forgot some very important points:

1) The average person is used to be a sheeple passively watching things happening instead of getting involved in them.

2) New mainstream "games" are marketed to cater to the widest possible audience. Thus why they must be so dumbed down and closer to a passive entertainment.

3) The world is marching towards Idiocracy.

4) The Jews rule the entertainment industry.

 

[Wild Slop]

Many game plots are often blatantly ripped from movies.

I have no problem with the retelling of stories and many variations there of.
Such are the nature of storytelling since it began.
Its just, there is an over reliance on "paying homage".

At some point its just stealing.

If not the plot/ story than characters or at least character models which seem to be based well known actors.

Oh look its just like Boon Dock Saints or Goodfelllas or its Starship Troopers! ... kind of.

Oh look the video hot girl kinda looks like Angelina Jolie click on the woo her button!
and that mobster guy looks like Gary Oldman now I know hes a bad ass