#Cinematic Games

[blazehedgehog]

How do you feel about the Like a dragon/Yakuza series? Cause on a surface level at least, it has all the elements many take issue with in modern big budget games A big focus on a cinematic experience and realistic looking presentation. But I rarely hear that criticism for those games.

I dunno. They have different feels than what I'd consider a "cinematic" or "prestige" game.

For starters, Yakuza games aren't really any more cinematic than, say, an typical JRPG. You get a lavishly produced cutscene every few hours, but a lot of your dialog interactions aren't even voiced, as far as I remember.

A lot of scenes are classic scrolling text and canned animations.

Two, I think it's important that the Yakuza games do not take themselves seriously. Even Uncharted, with its pulpy adventure, still takes itself seriously.

The primary Yakuza game I've played is the first Judgment, and that's a game with claw grabber (UFO) machines, arcade games, drone races, there are questlines advertising real Japanese restaurants that are full of cheeky product placement dialog, there's a whole quest where you're photographing stray cats, a quest that's a big parody of Phoenix Wright where you have to gather evidence and make a case for who stole a cake, etc.

Like those games have a very serious core, make no mistake. but there's a lot more going on that runs a wide gamut. Prestige games mainly seem focused on being real, and dramatic, and "epic." Yakuza games will do whatever they want as long as its fun and interesting.

Prestige games are also seemingly in a race to see who can spend the most money. Again, we can go back to the Insomniac leaks to reveal Spider-man 2 cost half a billion dollars and they'll be lucky to break even, for a game most people might not even notice is any better looking or more technologically complex than the last one.

Meanwhile I think someone at Sega said "The Man Who Erased His Name" took them 18 months to put together, and since probably 50-75% of the game's story sequences don't even require voice acting or complex animation, they both go together quickly and don't cost much to make. That's not to say they're cheaply made games or that it's totally problem free, far from it, but they are more economical than something like a Horizon, or The Last of Us 2, or whatever.

I mean, Digital Foundry noted we haven't actually gotten a proper new Naughty Dog game since The Last of Us 2 in 2020. But in the last four years, we've gotten two Yakuza games? Three? Maybe even four? That's not to say quantity beats quality, and I think to some degree Sega should be careful about burning people out on this series and its spinoffs.

But whereas Spider-Man 2 could be a game that sinks Insomniac if it doesn't meet its nearly impossible sales figures, I don't think Sega's in too much danger if a Yakuza game under performs.

A cinematic/prestige game is something trying to pretend it's not a game at all and is an interactive movie. Very little about the Yakuza franchise has ever felt ashamed to be a video game.

[fogaminghub]

https://www.fogaminghub.com/post/until-dawn-explore-decision-making-in-horror-gaming

🌙✨ Ready to face your fears? Explore how decision-making drives the narrative in Until Dawn! From Dr. Hill's office to the fate of your characters, every choice counts. Will you embrace friendship or succumb to unease? 🌌🍂 Dive into our latest blog post to unravel the mysteries!

[tmarshconnors]

 Avoid being an ignorant fanboy or fangirl.

Xbox is the element of community. The Xbox player base enjoys multiplayer games and has bonds that can last for years. PlayStation is the element of single-player games. They range from being cinematic to having great gameplay. PC is the element of freedom PC gamers appreciate the most popular and niche titles and the community has some really funny mods Nintendo element of variety they love to experiment and be innovative when they find something that works. They make it incredible. It’s important to see the good in all gaming platforms. This is how you avoid being an ignorant fanboy or fangirl. The four nations lived happily until the mobile gamers attacked.

[an-aussie-button-masher]

The Rise of “Movie Games”

   To say that video game storytelling has come a long way is a tremendous understatement. Remember back thirty or so years ago when the “plot” of a game was just an excuse to give the player an objective? Nowadays, the writing and presentation of a game’s story is often taken just as seriously as the actual gameplay, if not more so. Cinematic games are on the rise, and advancements in technology like motion-capture are causing the differences between game and film development to be outnumbered by similarities. Video games are such a unique medium, able to accomplish things that others cannot, and combining them with the medium of film creation and storytelling is a fascinating and increasingly popular concept. I’ve found a few excellent examples of “movie games” that each showcase ways that games are becoming part of cinema in their own right, and together prove just how far games have really come.

   Every now and then, movies will feature scenes shot in a single, long camera take. For a full minute or even longer, the camera moves around the set without being interrupted by cuts, for a difficult yet spectacular final result. It’s arguably even more difficult to pull off in animation, considering the animators all have to work together on the entire scene at the same time. Now, take that idea and extend it to an entire 50-hour-long scene - that’s God of War: Ragnarök. The full game has the most impressive cinematography I’ve ever seen in a game, which might even be more noteworthy than any long take in a live-action film because of how seamless the camera moves between cutscenes and gameplay. When the camera is often controlled by the player, keeping it consistently uninterrupted and smooth takes incredible talent from both the game’s programmers and director. To add to the cinematic feel of the game, every character is animated entirely by motion-capture, making the characters feel more like actors on a stage rather than just hand-animated character models.

   Taking the idea of motion-capture even further, Detroit: Become Human is about as close as it gets to a full live-action game without actually being live-action, largely thanks to mocap magic. Every character is modelled to look exactly like their voice actors, who also perform the motion-capture for a complete live-action feel. On top of the realistic graphics and excellent acting, the choice-based nature of the game makes D:BH closer to an interactive movie than a video game. Many choose-your-own adventure games can feel clunky and inconsistent due to allowing the player to control certain character decisions that clash with the rest of the writing, but D:BH is impressively consistent with any choice made by the player thanks to incredibly intricate programming and quality writing. Watching this game makes it easy to see why there is a growing overlap between game writers and film writers - the screenplay of this game could be mistaken for a film, and could very well be adapted to film with almost no modifications.

   Is the screenshot above taken from a game, or a new Pixar movie? The fact that it’s nearly impossible to tell will never not impress me, and that’s just the beginning. Despite what some might say, animation has just as much of a place in cinema as live action - animated films can tell some of the most emotional and moving stories ever in a short few hours (and if anyone disagrees, they haven’t watched Toy Story 3), and Kena: Bridge of Spirits does exactly that. The only difference is, instead of a bucket of popcorn, you’ve got a controller in your hands. Kena has an incredibly touching story told through a cute, charming and downright gorgeous artstyle, combined with whimsical orchestral music and adorable sound effects that make the game feel as close to a playable Pixar movie as it gets. You could pop a walkthrough of this game in front of a theatre audience and it would probably be a while before they realised they were even watching a video game!

   Looking at these games and all the technology and tricks that go into making them, it’s fascinating to see how far things have come in the past 50 years or so. Advanced cinematography, motion-capture and incredible animation, all held up by genuinely emotional and engaging writing that puts plenty of best-selling films to shame, makes me honestly believe video games are just as important to cinema as any movie or series. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this - do you agree, or do you think games aren’t quite there yet? Feedback is greatly appreciated, alongside reblogs and likes!   Thanks for reading!

[sunrithyll]

I think it's weird how some people talk about how stupid "walking simulator"/cutscene & storyheavy games are and how they would never ""play"" such a ""game"" because that would be so extremely boring, but then they talk about a movie they recently watched

[notacluedo]

lil gods own country Andrew and Neil

[supine-ly]

Peter’s wall crawling on nothing

doodle for @luciaintheskyainthi’s work Existential Crisis Mode

[welcome-to-green-hills]

Shadow the Hedgehog breaks the Guinness World Record for the largest shadow projection in New Jersey

SOURCE

[yellodisney]

[sylveonechidna]

Jeff Fowler shared the first concept art with Maria and Shadow. And he is so fascinatingly beautiful that there are no words.

[wanderingibon]

regrets

[jonnywaistcoat]

Hi sir! Do you have any opinions on the new dungeons and dragons rules??

The same opinion I've had on D&D rules for over a decade now - they're fine, pretty bland and I'll play it if I have to, but I'd always rather play an RPG that's actually interesting.

The impression I get is it's a coward's update, too scared of alienating the 5e players to actually make any change that matters. I mean, I hear the illusionist changes are fun, and everything else has been smoothed down a bit too much and overbalanced, but they've certainly not done anything to render the system actually compelling to me.

[orangechickenpillow]

The ✨️Genders✨️ of the Pedro Pascal Cinematic Universe:

Asshole (affectionate)

Babygirl (derogatory)

Babygirl (affectionate)

Slut

[jiyascepter]

Sooo i made a silly game :3

Screenshot and see which loki do you get 𖹭

Reblog which one you got (on your first go!)

DO NOT CHEAT !!

Tagging some peeps who might be interested (no pressure): @vbecker10 @holdmytesseract @foxherder @mypainischronicbutmyassisiconic @lulubelle814 @fandxmslxt69 @queenoffiresign88 and anyone who sees this!!

[mayasaura]

Guys. The cows were about how if people don't like you or don't want to listen to you, they'll decontextualise your actions and use them to discredit you in any situation. How doing one (1) memorable bad thing can be held against you forever. The cows are about looking a council of world leaders in the eyes, telling them we're all being robbed of our futures by megacorporations, showing them the receipts and numbers and photographic evidence, and being told none of your arguments matter actually because you're The Cow Guy.

The cows are about how people don't forgive, not really.

[guardian-of-da-gay]

For @sonicfashionweek's prompt: 'Traditional' (this isn't late shhh)

The high priestess would've performed a ceremony, formally welcoming the Master Emerald back to the tribe. But there are no more priestesses. There's no one else at all. So Knuckles makes do.