Get Your Dirty Hands Off My Games!

Hollywood Directors and Their Tough Love for Video Games

Director Guillermo Del Toro To Assist on New Video Games

I seem to be noticing a trend in the video game industry. This week, acclaimed director Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) announced he wants to partner up with video game publisher THQ, in what he says would be a one game per three year development cycle deal, with the earliest game coming out in 2013. Del Toro has speculated that many of the ideas he has are horror based, which included a game he had in mind that was "eerily similar to Left 4 Dead." Del Toro isn't alone. Steven Spielberg has thrown his Fedora into the ring when it comes to assisting in video game development, and just a couple of weeks ago news broke of Christopher Nolan speaking on how he'd love to create a game based on the world of his latest movie "Inception." These are all extremely talented directors who are masters of their craft, and I say we keep it that way.

I will be the first to admit; I don't know all the specifics involved in designing a video game, but neither do most film directors. Designing a game is an insane task that is more complex than putting a motion picture together. Besides that, most video game developers already have a game director on board. So my question is, when Hollywood directors sign on to assist in the development of a video game, what's their role? Because if it has nothing to do with designing a new gameplay mechanic, or assisting in designing a new art style, then they have no business being involved. From what it looks like to me, directors are just there to look at the work of other talented indiviulas, and give their seal of approval. It's a distraction.

Avatar: The Video Game. Proof that directors don't make for good gaming

You don't have to look very far to observe some of the catastrophes that involved the unholy marriage of Hollywood and Video Games. Take Exhibit A) Avatar. James Cameron had his nose way up in the development of the Avatar video game. Cameron kept pushing how the game would forever change the way we play video games by introducing stereoscopic 3D gaming. Of course, you need a pricey 3D television plus glasses to do so, but whatever, the game was ultimately developed. Low and behold, Avatar the game was nowhere close to the success of its movie counterpart, and the game was met with mish-mash reviews. Why? Because the gameplay mechanics didn't jive well with players. And that's something that not even the almighty Terminator creator himself Cameron can cure with his magical directing powers.

Lets look at the glaring contradiction in this whole thing. What if the roles were reversed? What if say, Gears of War director Cliff Blezinski was asked to direct Spielberg's next action film? What if legendary game creator Will Wright (The Sims) was asked to write a script for the next brainy comedy? Do you think something like this would ever happen? Doubtful. Yet Hollywood can get away with entering the domain of game designers because of their charming, "rich" on camera persona. Not only that, now that Hollywood is getting comfortable turning games into films, rarely do they ever consult the actual game creators for input on the film. Look at movies like "Resident Evil," "Doom," or even "Hitman." They all missed the mark...badly...because the studio wanted to tweak the game's essence for a more mainstream crowd. It just doesn't seem fair to me. (I can't comment yet on "Prince of Persia," but I can already tell you they lost me when they cast Jake Gyllenhall as a PERSIAN prince. Come on now)

I'm not dogging on directors like Nolan, Cameron, Spielberg, etc. Everyone has a talent, and for these directors it belongs in the film universe, not gaming. As The Clown Prince of Crime Joker once said, "If you're good at something, never do it for free." Unfortunately, Hollywood seems to be taking this saying a bit too literal. I know they mean well, but it's hurting the way we play games.