Revolutionising the film industry: A look at emerging video game technologies

Over my last couple of blog posts (which you can find here and here) I’ve discussed the increasing convergence between films and video games, and also looked at how film narratives are paving the way for a new generation of video games.

In this post I’d like to move away from that and instead focus on how video games can influence the film industry. Rather than look at the usual examples of excellent games turned terrible movies (examples of which, if you really must look, can be seen here, here and here) I’d like to focus on a less noted topic: how video game technology can help revolutionise the film industry.

A less than stellar line up of video game to film adaptations

It seems odd to even mention; surely an industry as technologically advanced as the film industry doesn’t have much to learn, especially from video games, which endlessly strive to reach the cinematic heights of blockbuster films and emotional tugs of heartfelt dramas.

This is true, to an extent, the film industry isn’t really looking for help, though perhaps more accurately, it wasn't.

Take a look at the video below, a tech demonstration from the upcoming Star Wars 1313 game project:

An article ran in The Inquirer about this video, and just what exactly Lucasfilm are doing here and how it affects films. You can read the whole thing here (and I recommend you do), but to sum up, the main points are as follows:

• Lucasfilm believe that video game engines will be used in filmmaking
• The two disciplines will combine to ‘axe’ the post-production process from filmmaking
• Heading this claim is Kim Libreri who talked about how advancements in computer graphics are driving this change
• Essentially, real-time motion capture and video game graphics will continue to become more realistic and effective, allowing effects to be applied in real time on a movie set
• Libreri talks about how quickly the video game industry is catching up to the movie business
• He states that within a few generations graphics will be so realistic it will allow shots to be composited ‘on the day’, and be sent off nearly complete
• He then goes on to talk about how in the future, this could be applied to allow viewers to customise films as they watch

No small order, for sure. It seems almost unthinkable within our current generation for any of this to be possible, especially the possibility of a viewer changing elements of a film as they watch it!

The future of both video games and film? (from 'Star Wars 1313')

 But this is all down to the advancement of video game technology, and is also a testament to the hard work and imaginative thinking of those involved. George Lucas is, arguably, a terrible film director, but his company are developing ground-breaking technologies that will revolutionise filmmaking.

What’s also important to note is Libreri’s insistence that video game technologies will help merge game design with filmmaking, and not just inform it. He sees a future wherein interactivity within films will become the norm. If you combine this with the maturing aspect of storytelling within games, what we have is the possibility of a future in which films and games are no longer separate; in a sense they no longer exist. In their place we have a cross media system of interactive entertainment. In other words, we have a fully developed and realised trans-media industry... but more on that next week.