Video game movie adaptations are pretty much universally terrible. Thankfully I really like bad movies, especially since many of these adaptations have crossed that line into ‘so terrible its funny’.
But there are a few that were enjoyable for simply being fun and entertaining. My favorite is probably ‘Tomb Raider’. Angelina Jolie does a great job of being an action star, and I’m always a sucker for an intelligent, kick ass, female heroine. My runners up are ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Resident Evil’.
Let me clarify, these are not great movies, but they still managed to represent their games fairly well and be quite entertaining. Frankly, with the selection of game movies that are out there (~cough~ Dungeon Siege movie ~cough~) these three movies are masterpieces.
While games don’t seem to adapt as well into other mediums, the opposite direction is often much more successful. Two of my favorites are Lego Star Wars and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Both are super fun games that represent their various genres extremely well.
It has been incredibly interesting to watch the transformation of Double Fine. I don’t know if this was happening before their Kickstarter, but since then they seen to be evolving into a full-fledged entertainment service. No more do they simply offer games, they are documenting the entire process of creating games and sharing it with all their lucky viewers.
Though lots of developers have been doing video diaries, Double Fine has taken that idea and blown it up into a full-fledged documentary. I would be tempted to call this transparent development, but I am really not sure how much of it ends up being scripted, how much gets left out, and how much is shown out of order. Video is a wonderful media, but lets face it, editing can really change a lot. =)
Now I realize one Kickstarter a trend does not make. It was this latest Double Fine contribution, the Amnesia Fortnight offering at Humble Bundle, which put solid weight on the transparent development idea. Then again, in this age of reality TV, it’s not surprising that a game development company would branch out into this medium.
Is this a bid for fame or a way to provide a more stable income for a small development company? I’m not sure. It does remind me of the Penny Arcade guys, who have expanded far beyond a simple web comic; in business terms, diversifying ones portfolio. It worked beautifully for the PA guys, so why not Double Fine.
It will be interested to see if this is sustainable. Being filmed takes time, which means time away from game development. Will production time be impacted by all the video work?
Ultimately if this helps a small developer like Double Fine stay afloat for longer, then good for them. And I will admit, even though I am not a huge reality TV fan, seeing the inner workings of how they create games at Double Fine is really interesting.
This review, like most of them, is long overdue. The delay is mostly owing to my abandoning the game quite early on and thinking I would come back to it. Well, to be honest, requiring myself to come back, since I didn’t feel I had played enough to give it a fair review.
But it’s become quite obvious that I am not going to return and the review will have to happen regardless. Any guilt I had, has been assuaged by the eight months of subscription I have paid for a completely inactive account – its time to be done.
Sorry that its all been videos this week, but this was just too brilliant not to share.
I found this via ITworld.com, and they also linked the original video that the parody was based off of. What makes this really so brilliant (beyond it simply being a great parody) is that it sums up the movie The People vs. George Lucas in a single music video. Really well done!
I am finding Kickstarter endlessly fascinating, especially the games category. I love browsing through the projects to see what sort of games people are trying to make and which of them is actually getting funded. It’s a new dawn of game development.
Plus I find all sorts of nifty things like this amazing Settlers of Catan board. The Kickstarter for this is already over but the guy who is making these phenomenal boards is selling them beyond just the Kickstarter event. Simply beautiful work, though I’m not sure how it would feel playing without colored tiles.
Then there is the Wasteland 2 Kickstarter, which is already funded, but still really interesting. Another big name in computer games trying to bypass the publisher route and get funding directly from the fans. I never played the original, but did play some of his later games. The party turn based RPG has long since been replaced by first person everything. Its a genre I was sad to see retreat into the background.
The whole site is like an incredibly interesting anthropological study. Kickstarter may just turn out to be my next facebook, though a bit more cash intensive. =P
I sat down in the movie theater tonight unsure what I was about to watch. Science fiction and action my husband told me, two genres I am always up for watching.
The experience turned out to be quite entertaining; lots of action, good humor, compassionate story, and really good acting.
What I find interesting about this movie is that it is based on a 1917 pulp science fiction story by Edgar Rice Burrough. Both book and movie are about a man, John Carter, who gets mysteriously transported to Mars, where his heroic journey leads him to saving the planet. Though the story must have been updated a bit, it was written almost a hundred years ago, I am really curious to see how similar the movie and book are. Going to try and find a copy of the book to read now.
The very first randomly* selected item off of the ‘to watch list’. Space Battleship Yamato turned out to be a fortunate first choice, as I hadn’t seen it yet, plus it was a rather recent purchase of mine, so I was doubly excited to watch it. =)
The movie was actually based on a very popular Japanese anime series that started its run in the early 70s. I am not familiar with this series, was a bit before my time, so I can’t speak to the movie remaining true to the original.
Though there were a few animated movies released in Japan associated with the series, this is the first Live Action version.
I didn’t actually know any of this before watching it. All I really knew was that it looked like a fun Space Sci Fi Action movie. That’s certainly how the trailer sold it.
But like most Japanese movies, it managed to thwart my expectations. There were lots of really decent space battles and good CG, but ultimately I think this movie is really more of a character study. It reminded me of one of those movies that Hollywood actors would do to try for an Oscar.
I’m on a serious K-drama bender right now. And before you ask, I am not Asian, not even a little bit. So how did I develop a love of the Asian persuasion? I blame Transformers.
It would probably be more accurate to say that Transformers had me primed for the anime bug to sink its teeth deep into my soul. Win for Saturday morning cartoons.
Fast forward to my teen years, I watch Akira for the very first time. Am completely clueless about plot or storyline, but generally floored by the whole experience. Of course I immediately watch it again (finally figure out what the hell is going on) and am totally hooked.
Ninja Scrolls follows as well as a bunch of fabulous Chow Yun Fat movies. At this point selection is limited (I lived in a totally boondocks town, I’m shocked they even had Ninja Scrolls) so I make due with what I can find.
Forward a bit more, I finally make it to a city that has options. Am introduced to Escaflowne, Macross Plus, Gundum, Manga and much more.
Eventually I add in live action Japanese movies and various movies/shows based on manga I liked. This also introduces me to a bunch of K-dramas (Korean dramas) based on Japanese manga. And so the story unfolds.
Ringing in the new year with warm chocolate chip cookies, champagne, and the new World of Warcraft TCG Dungeon Decks. Playing the Goblin Shaman in Shadowfang Keep. Really great cooperative play, makes this a really fun game experience.
Video game movie adaptations are pretty much universally terrible. Thankfully I really like bad movies, especially since many of these adaptations have crossed that line into ‘so terrible its funny’.
