Bad films, bad games...
HEXUS.gaming: Well that was going to be my next question… well, sort of. I think that today’s gamer is, first off, a lot older than the gamer who would blindly buy a film license based game a few years ago. So now I’m starting to see more film license games that are more than just a standard platformer or re-skinned shooter with the film title as the game name, though traditionally this is all film licenses were… There’s definitely a reputation for being, well, crap, that film license games have to overcome don’t you think?
DJ: Sure, today’s gamer is a lot more discerning in what he buys but there’s always going to be someone looking to make a fast buck out of licensing out their film to whoever pays the right price. What we’re trying to do is get in there right at the concept stage and say to the film director “Ok, whilst your crew is out scouting locations, let’s go over the screenplay and the concept work and start designing the game”. Obviously, there are some films that just can’t be made into a game, just as there’s games that can’t be made into films.
HEXUS.gaming: Oh, I can think of a few of those…
DJ: What? Games that shouldn’t be made into films?
HEXUS.gaming: Yeah, I mean, I’d like to know your opinion on this but there’s plenty of films based on games that are just bloody travesties to the senses. I mean, just what was Bob Hoskins thinking of with Super Mario Bros?
DJ: (laughing) Yeah, that’s one.
Rosanna: You know, we have all seen countless bad examples of licensed translations, whether they be from film to game or vice versa. They have been many! One of the cornerstones in Velvetelvis is being able to conquer that obstacle. We believe in working with the most creative film and game professionals who are willing to take risks and break the molds so that poor production translations are a thing of the past.
HEXUS.gaming: Well you know we were talking about making games and films closer? It seems they decided that they’d make DOOM as if you were playing the damn game. There’s a whole sequence in the film where it goes to a first person view, all you see is a hand waving about holding a gun, just as in the game, and then you go off on a shooting spree… As action sequences go it’s just dire and as a film experience, I was left wondering why I’d paid five bucks to watching someone else play a game I already own… simply dreadful.
Rosanna: They don’t do they?
DJ: (laughing) What’s the point of that?
HEXUS.gaming: Well I guess they thought they’d try and recreate the game experience in the film, but anyone interested in the film will have most likely played the game anyway…
DJ: Well that’s the point of playing a game really. Films are entertainment and games are interactive entertainment. Part of what we do at Velvetelvis is to take the film concept and see if that can successfully be used as a basis for other media, namely a game.