Interference Random Movie Talk

[LMP]

Force Unleashed could end up being the best Star Wars game ever.

Better than Shadows of the Empire, Knights of the Old Republic, Jedi Outcast II, and even Battlefront.

 

[Lancemc]

Knights of the Republic will likely remain the best Star Wars video game ever made. Along with its sequel. Just aint gonna be topped.

The KOTOR series has, thanks in great part to Bioware, delivered a story greater than the entire film series, if you include the game's sequel. In my humble opinion, anyway.

I've ever lowered myself to the level of writing extensive KOTOR fanfiction back in my glory days.

 

[LMP]

KOTOR was an experience, I was so into that game it wasn't even funny.

 

[Lancemc]

KOTOR was an experience, I was so into that game it wasn't even funny.

That game literally make me rethink the way I viewed videogames as an art and entertainment medium.

 

[LMP]

That game literally make me rethink the way I viewed videogames as an art and entertainment medium.

Games like that are the next wave of entertainment, that's why so many movie -> game converts are going on right now (Heat, Scarface The Godfather...). It's like reading a "pick your own journey" book, except there's a good chance you play Al Pacino.

I can't wait until Glengarry Glen Ross: The Game.

 

[Lancemc]

Video Games and Motion Pictures will one day merge into a single interactive, virtual entertainment medium.

How long until that happens is hard to say. But it's in our future.

Think holodeck on the Enterprise.

 

[LMP]

That's exactly what will happen.

How badass is that? Is that even quantifiable?

Probably not.

 

[Lancemc]

And it all starts in 2009 with the first wave of Digital Stereoscopic Films.

---Avatar: Memorial Day 2009---


[/obligatory Avatar plug]

 

[lazarus]

I've ever lowered myself to the level of writing extensive KOTOR fanfiction back in my glory days.

I think we have a winner, folks.

That makes me feel so less geeky for my SW posts of the last two days, I can't even tell you.

Unfortunately I never got a chance to play those games. Can you get them for Mac? I imagine they wouldn't be compatible with the new Intel chips for Mac though.

 

[namkcuR]

I think we have a winner, folks.

That makes me feel so less geeky for my SW posts of the last two days, I can't even tell you.

Unfortunately I never got a chance to play those games. Can you get them for Mac? I imagine they wouldn't be compatible with the new Intel chips for Mac though.

You can install Windows on your mac and run the games that way.

 

[Lancemc]

KOTOR is more than just a game. It's a way of life.

 

[No spoken words]

Nothing ever makes me feel less dorky or geeky, because I'm a huge fucking dork.

I often think that the only thing that ever saved me from a daily ass-kicking in grade school was the fact that I played many sports. But, take me away from my love of sports, and you have 100% dork.

I have owned many video game consoles since having Telstar, which was after Pong but before Atari...but never really played KOTOR. I wish I had. I think the first Star Wars title I ever played was Battlefront.

This new one looks cool, though, regardless of how it stacks up to KOTOR, and so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[namkcuR]

Video Games and Motion Pictures will one day merge into a single interactive, virtual entertainment medium.

How long until that happens is hard to say. But it's in our future.

Think holodeck on the Enterprise.

See...that's exactly what I don't want to happen. They shouldn't have anything to do with each other. Movies are movies and games are games. One of my biggest problems with the last generation or two of games is that they have become way too cinematic, to the point where developers can cloak a lack of gameplay with amazing graphics and film-like cinematics.

I have nothing against amazing graphics or cinematics, mind you. It's just that amazing graphics are only worth anything if they accompany a game with equally amazing gameplay, and too often these days, I see masses flocking to shitty games with amazing graphics(not saying KOTOR is a shitty game, I've never played it or even seen it played). As for cinematics...they are at their best when they are a payoff. When you've spent hours completing a big task in a game, the payoff can be a ten-minute cinematic. But I've literally seen games where it feels you're spending more time watching cinematics than playing, and that just seems very backwards to me.

I just feel that the more cinema is injected into games, the worse off gaming in general will be in the long run. Same goes for movies. If I want to watch a movie, I'll watch a movie. If I'm playing a game, it's because I want to play a game.

If they combine into one thing for this and that, that could be really cool, but the thought of them combing permantly to make one industry is something that I really hope doesn't happen. I feel it would degrade and cheapen both artforms.

 

[Lancemc]

I definitely see where you're coming from namkcuR, but this is what I believe is going to happen.

We're definitely going to see the industry go where I initially said it would, but it's not going ot eliminate the other media. I beileve this "blend" of experience is going to become the predominent go-to form of entertainment for, at least this country. But I think we're still always going to have "classic" video games. That said, I think "traditional" cinema is going to stay intact in one degree, but more in the form of "art-house" pictures, which we movie-snobs love to analyse and discuss so much. However, the more mainstream, big-budget, F/X Porn ( ) films we see every summer these days are eventually going to evolve into this digital interactive medium I'm talking about. In a sense, a new medium will emerge out of two fundemantally basic ones, which will survive in their own niches.

 

[lazarus]

I'm actually working with technology right now that is going to be leading right into that synergy between cinema and gaming.

The company I work for invented a spherical camera that has 11 lenses (the base is where the 12th lens would be), all filming at the same time. We also have software that stitches all these views together, so when you're watching the playback, you use an standard game controller to rotate the view while it's playing, as if you're turning your own head. It's practically seamless.

So if you imagine a movie shot with this camera, where the viewer at home decides what they're looking at in any given moment, there are tons of possiblities with POV films that feature whodunnits, battle scenes, etc. Each time you watch it you can have a completely different experience. I'm sure the porn industry would love to get a hold of this as well, as they're usually at the forefront of any new tech developments.

Obviously this is the kind of thing that would only be viable with home entertainment. I don't see how you could make a film interactive in the theatrical format, unless you're having the audience vote on what they want to happen, which I think would make it difficult to get "lost" in what's on the screen. Because of that, I imagine regular movies are going to be around for quite some time.

 

[LMP]

That's amazing lazarus, how far along in development is it?

 

[lazarus]

It's actually in operation already. We sell the camera and equipment directly to people, and we also are contracted to film various projects for municipal purposes, military training stuff, etc. I'm currently traveling across the United States doing mapping in various cities. We drive around in a car that has the camera mounted on the roof, and film all the important streets in each city. All the footage has GPS data on it as well.

Some of our work has been bought by Google Maps; if you check out the Street View on the maps website you can see still frames that they've pulled from the video, and you can rotate your view from any point on the city map that's been captured. The cities they have up so far include New York, L.A., San Fran, Vegas, Denver, Miami, and a few others.

Our website has a demo you can play with on your own computer to see how the 360 thing works. If you want to check it out:

www.immersivemedia.com

But what does any of this have to do with Star Wars?

 

[LMP]

It has everything to do with Star Wars. Yub yub.

That's really interesting though.

 

[lazarus]

Well, the camera does look a bit like an interrogation droid...

 

[No spoken words]

You're not going to get me to give up the location of the secret rebel base with that fucking thing, Lazarus, so shove it up yo....Yavin, fine, it's Yavin.

Seriously, that's some interesting stuff you're working on. Must be gratifying to work in a field that you also have a passion for. I do, too, but know so many others that do not.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Well, the camera does look a bit like an interrogation droid...

I remember when I was a little kid that thing used to scare the shit out of me... Whenever the interrogation scene came on, I used to hide behind the couch

 

[lazarus]

Well, just wait until the new, improved version of the camera comes out:

 

[love_u2_adam]

freaking million dollar baby is the greatest movie in a while that i have seen lol..

 

[Lancemc]

I was just watching these Mass Effect videos (far and away my most anticipated game right now, the spiritual successor to KOTOR):

http://www.gamersyde.com/news_5061_en.html

And got my thinking again about the convergence of video games and cinema. Just watching that intro video, reminded how Bioware in particular is one developer really pushing this convergence, with their breakthroughs in digital actors and dynamic instantaneous conversation systems and such.

I was also thinking about the Metal Gear Solid franchise which has been doing this sort of this for upwards of 10 years now, incorperating tons of unique interactive devices that aren't quite traditional "Gaming" and aren't quite cinema either, but something right in between.

 

[LMP]

My buddy wants me to come over and play Bio Shock with him, the trailers for that game look insane. I love games with an actual narrative to it, it gives them substance, you know?

Take the Halo franchise for example.

 

[No spoken words]

I just bought Bio Shock, but have yet to play it. I've heard nothing but amazing things.

 

[Lancemc]

Bioshock was a wonderful game, possibly the best this generation. I was disappointed with the final act a bit, but overall, it's one of the most engaging experiences I've had in a while.

Halo 3 will be in my hands in approximately 4 days, 21 hours and 42 minutes.

My anticipation knows no bounds.

 

[No spoken words]

I've never played Halo.

I'm assuming I should.

Lance, can one start with Halo 3?

 

[LMP]

I've never played Halo.

I'm assuming I should.

Lance, can one start with Halo 3?

I'd start with 1, but I'm just a little bastard.

 

[Lancemc]

I've never played Halo.

I'm assuming I should.

Lance, can one start with Halo 3?

It depends how important story is to your gaming experience. Halo has a fairly unoriginal story, but it's extremely good. The characters are incredibly likable and iconic, and the game offers a brilliant cinematic quality. That said, if you were to just read up on the Halo 1 and 2 plots in some depth on wikipedia for instance, Halo 3 would probably still be remarkably enjoyable, even from a story standpoint.

I'd obviously recommend playing through the first two games first though for the best experience, as well as getting a feel for the evolution of the gameplay throughout the series.

Having played countless hours of both previous Halo games, as well as a solid month's worth of Halo 3 during the Beta test, I can safely say that Halo is far and away the best-playing game in the franchise, and also the most balanced and exciting. It also goes without saying it's the best looking of the bunch. However, the Halo 1 campaign is still a remarkable experience, and I'd highly, HIGHLY recommend playing it some time, just because of how good it is. It's like Half-Life. Even if you played Half-Life 2 first (I did) it's still one of those game you just need to play, you know?