#attackthecouch

[bradjweber]

The Importance of Game Literacy

There’s probably been a time where you played games with somebody who normally- doesn’t. When you handed them the controller, they held it like it was from another planet. Any button press would be preceded by that thing where they inspect the entire controller then slowly press the button. Maybe they struggle with camera controls in 3D games. Maybe they didn’t realize there’s a run button in Mario. Maybe they don’t know what a minimap even is.

This is all simply due to the fact that they don’t have much experience with video games.

ALRIGHT THANKS FOR READING GUYS

No but seriously. When compared to other forms of media, I’d say that video games have more in common with books than film/television.

And no- not because I think video games are some next level shit telling stories that are better than The Great Gatsby or whatever- in fact, that’s largely... the opposite.

What I am saying is that video games and books require active participation on the part of its consumers. While something like film can be engaged with on a higher level than what you see at face value, actually watching a film requires nothing more of its audience than to- well obviously just sit there and watch it. The film keeps going regardless of whether you’re paying attention or not.

Now- another scenario. You and a group of friends have all started playing a new game. This game is completely brand new, and not a sequel or part of another franchise in any way. It literally doesn’t matter what it is, but for the sake of this example we’ll say it’s a shooter; all that actually matters though is that one of your friends is immediately able to perform at a relatively high skill level, while the other is still attempting to learn the controls.

This is because the first friend is very familiar with modern first person shooters, while the other is not. And the first friend doesn’t even necessarily have a mechanical advantage over the second, but he does have more knowledge of common UI configurations, button layouts, and a general understanding of modern map/objective design- whether he knows it or not.

Much like reading a book, game literacy is a skill that’s developed over many years of being immersed in the art form. One of the primary benefits of reading on a regular basis is an increased comprehension of language and texts as well as a more diverse vocabulary. Now, replace comprehension of language with the ability to intuit the objective of a game, and replace vocabulary with a repertoire of basic mechanical skills and well- you’re off to the races.

Another important attribute to literacy in any art form is the ability to quickly detect outside influences, and understand how those influences impact whatever it is you’re listening to, watching, reading, or playing.

One example of this that I know- somebody- somewhere, will take a lot of issue with me making is how Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds draws on two very specific and obvious sources for its game design. Counter-Strike and ARMA. From Counter-Strike it takes the importance of map awareness, player prediction, body placement, a lack of respawns and an intense focus on high mechanical skill in combat. From AMRA, we obviously get the simulation-esque handling of players and weapons, the sprawling maps, realistic ballistics, and the overall pseudo-real military aesthetic. Experience in both of these games will give you not only mechanical advantage in PUBG, but it will also make the initial hours of play much less daunting.

It’s no secret as to why somebody like Shroud is very good at this game.

Another massively-successful-and-popular shooter which draws from wildly different influences for its design is Overwatch. Overwatch obviously draws its player mechanics from popular MOBAs like DOTA and League of Legends, while the majority of its map and objective design comes directly from Team Fortress 2.

Hell, even down to the micro level of a single character in Overwatch like Pharah for example, it's very clear to veterans of the genre, only by looking at her skillset, what some of the more “advanced” maneuvers are that she might be able to execute such as rocket jumping.

Having this background knowledge and literacy in games makes it easier to pick up new games, and to become better at them faster than other people might.

And if you’re part of the group that doesn’t have this literacy in games, that’s okay too. Somebody who just learned to read isn’t going to pick up The Fountainhead the next day and be expected to make any substantial progress.

*although maybe nobody should be reading the fountainhead because like yikes bro-*

Anyways, that is a skill which is built up over time. Literacy not only makes future endeavors in the artform more easily appreciable, but it also allows for a greater appreciation than you had with the things that came before it.

The only thing that stops you from getting better is not doing it. So get out there and do it.

[bradjweber]

Video Game Movies Cannot Work

Disclaimer: This piece was originally written as a script for a video that can be seen here.

It’s obvious to anyone that the biggest trend in Hollywood at the moment is the Superhero blockbuster. Marvel Studios has built an unstoppable money printing machine by adapting not only their beloved characters to film, but also the mechanics of universe building and continuity that have kept comic book fans obsessing over these properties for decades.

Hell, adaptation has been an important staple of film almost literally since the invention of the art form. And in recent decades, some of the most ambitious and successful undertakings in the creation of film franchises have almost all been based on stories from another medium, most- often- literary.

Successful film adaptations of books, poems, plays, musicals, radio programs, and television shows are abundant in the industry. But, one medium of storytelling that has yet been able to make the jump is one that’s nearest and dearest to me. Video games.

When you think about video game movies, what probably comes to mind is something like the Resident Evil series, the recent Assassin’s Creed and Warcraft, or maybe... I don’t know... Hitman? Max Payne with- Marky Mark? Not exactly landmark achievements in the space of cinema is what I’m saying.

This, rightfully, begs the question of why Hollywood can tackle outlandish concepts like the ones seen in superhero movies or sci-fi and fantasy adaptations, but have such a hard time making movies out of video games?

And the answer to this, while it may sound shocking or ignorant, is that most, not all, but most video games could not- and should not- be adapted to film.

The reason I believe this is because most impactful moments in video games are created with the belief that the context in which the game will be experienced is by a player with a controller in their hands, who is directly in control of some aspect of the experience.

The quiet Tibetan village in Uncharted 2, the Psycho Mantis boss fight in Metal Gear Solid, the human cost of your actions in Spec Ops: The Line, the pace at which you discover the truth about your sister in Gone Home, and Andrew Ryan’s final speech in BioShock are all examples of moments where a player’s input to the game has a direct relation to the emotional impact that those points in the experience will carry.

On BioShock, this video is actually directly inspired by a Reddit post I saw today about how Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water presented a set of visuals that, to this user, beg to be used to create a BioShock film. Which, to be fair, has been in development hell for a long- long time.

But, this sentiment is one that runs rampant in video game fandom, and completely misses the point I just made about what makes video games so impactful. This is the idea that in order for a video game movie to be good it only needs to capture the aesthetic qualities of a game. This ignores the meaningfulness of these games, and the themes the present, and will leave you only with a husk of these properties, devoid of whatever substance it is that you’d expect.

Yes. Rapture is an extremely interesting setting, and a concept for a world so original I don’t really believe we’ve seen much else like in the ten years since its release.

But, I think the reason BioShock is so impactful is because it's a game, not in spite of it. It isn't incidental that this is the medium chosen to tell this story. BioShock is a game about games, and how players never give any thought to the rules or objectives they're given, no matter how grisly the implications. Which is why the reveal [INCOMING SPOILERS FOR BIOSHOCK, A TEN YEAR OLD GAME] that you never actually had any free will at all is so impactful. Because players are generally told by developers that they’re in control, that they have complete freedom. People who watch movies to don’t have any free will within the story, they don’t even ask for it. But BioShock punishes you for thinking that way in the first place.

In order for a Bioshock movie to work it would need to be a film about stories in movies, or about how we watch them. Which would require a lot of retooling, and rewriting. And at that point you might as well make something else entirely.

A direct adaptation of BioShock would look very nice, yes. And you’d get to see a Big Daddy in live action. Neat. And, you’d get to see Andrew Ryan’s speech recited by some big name actor. But, ultimately what’s the point of all that? These things have already been expertly realized in the way that they were meant to be experienced.

Does the jump to film provide legitimacy to these games? Being made into a film doesn’t provide legitimacy to these stories and experiences. They’re already legitimate in their own right as masterpieces of their artform. Hell, even just by virtue of existing these games are provided legitimacy.

The only option I see for video game adaptations to work is for the people behind these films to take the universes of these games and to tell their own stories within them. This way you can potentially end up with substantive text, all wrapped up in that familiar aesthetic that these fuckin nerds can’t get enough of.

Hollywood must create their own stories because video game stories on a structural level cannot work in the span of a two or even three hour movie. Because they’re too long. The story for The Last Of Us would require almost five three hour movies to tell that story.

Now, you’re probably saying, “but Brad, you could cut out all the gameplay, trim down the cutscenes, and bing bam boom you got yourself a movie.”

And to that I say, “have you not been paying attention for the entirety of like this whole fucking video?” Because look. THIS, would not work without the player being directly responsible for THIS!

That’s not to say I don’t think the world of The Last Of Us can’t be used for a film, just that Joel and Ellie’s story cannot be adapted correctly.

And no. That doesn’t mean we should get a fucking Ish movie either. Discovering that story through the notes is 100% the point of that whole thing.

It’s that line of thinking that leaves you with the Star Wars prequels. [show obi-wan talking about the clone wars]

Surprisingly, Hollywood has kinda started to figure this out. 2016’s Assassin’s Creed took place within the universe of