There’s always been a degree of overlap between video games and films. After all, they’re both audio-visual mediums that often utilise character-driven stories and high-octane action sequences.
However, there are important distinctions between the two. Films are linear and games are highly customisable. In video games, you can do things like go back to a point in the game and play it again, or generate a name for your clan, but with films you are more of a passive consumer. Despite these differences, the two formats are becoming increasingly intertwined, thanks in part to the increasing realism of today’s games. How much influence do video games have over film design? Let’s find out.
Game Engines
Video games are made using sophisticated software platforms called game engines. Some of the most well-known engines include Unreal, Unity, and Godot, while major game development studios like Rockstar build their own custom game engines.
Recently, filmmakers have been making use of game engines for a range of different purposes. Traditionally, creating computer-generated backgrounds meant filming actors in front of a green screen and then adding the backgrounds in post-production. With the use of game engines, filmmakers can render live CG backgrounds and display these on massive soundstage screens, reducing the time and money spent finalising the film in post.
Game Controllers
Game controllers are iconic units, who doesn’t know what a PlayStation or Xbox controller looks like? Their use has expanded well beyond the realms of the video game world, and they can be seen in use across a range of different industries and sectors.
The film industry has been quick to adopt the use of video game controllers. The hyper-sensitive movement controllers and mappable buttons mean they can be repurposed for a variety of things. Editors can use them to make quick cuts on the fly, and camera operators can even use them to control shots and fly drone-mounted cameras.
Game to Film Adaptations
The most obvious way in which video games are influencing film design is through direct game-to-film adaptations. In the past, it was the other way around; there have been countless video games based on films, such as James Bond, Alien, and Star Wars to name but a few.
However, we’ve seen the tables turn in recent years, and game-to-film adaptations are becoming more popular and more successful. In the past, game-to-film adaptations had a tendency to bomb at the box office, due in part to the fact that modern filmmaking techniques couldn’t recreate the feelings of immersion and realism felt in even the most basic of games.
As film technology has improved, and as it has borrowed more from video game design, we’ve seen a proliferation of game-to-film adaptations that match or even exceed the success of the works they have been inspired by. Resident Evil, Pokemon, and Tomb Raider have all been turned into successful movie franchises, while the Last of Us game was adapted into a hit TV drama.
Conclusion
Video games and films remain separate entities, and they likely always will. However, we’re seeing more and more overlap between the two formats, and video games are influencing film design to an ever-increasing degree.
Bernadine Racoma is the Content Manager of WorkSmartr.com. Her long experience in an international development institution and extensive travels have provided her with a wealth of knowledge and insights to cultural diversity. She writes to inform, engage, and share the idea of the Internet being a useful platform for communicating, knowledge sharing, educating, and entertaining.
