Five things video games can learn from movies

As the convergence of media continues and more film and video game franchises combine by crossing into each medium, why not look at what each does well and implement those techniques into the other?

In other words, what can video games learn from the film industry and what can the film industry learn from video games?

Below is part one of a two-part series looking at what each industry could learn from one another.

So what can video games learn from movies?

Great Story

There are clear examples of amazing storylines, plot development and characterization in video game, but many console bouts boil down to "go kill the bad guy." If the industry is ever to be legitimized and taken seriously the epic tales players meet should be something players can engage in. It is the only interactive medium after all.

Something called editing

A truly great film can not exist without great editing and video games desperately need to follow suit. Sometimes it's due to graphical missteps in a game's cinematic sequences and sometimes its a lack of attention or background in editing, but video games often miss the mark when choosing when to cut away from a shot or scene or even in repetition of gameplay (there is editing some editing work there too). Editing is a powerful tool and can alter a viewer's perception of what's happening on the screen - The Kuleshov Effect.

Music is important

Once again, too few video game developers understand the importance and impact of a good musical score. Instead, we find billowy and repetitive themes that add little to the experience aside from additional noise. Just as how music can cue a specific emotional response to what's happening on the screen in a film, unique and distinctive musical pieces can diversify the experience in a video game with each environment creating it's own personality by not only its artistic palette, but music as well.

Try some metaphor, symbolism, and motifs

The difference between a "movie" and a "film" is contingent on its artistic merit. As in great literature, one of the most expressive ways content in any medium reaches the realm of art is through creative and expressive techniques such as metaphor, symbolism, and motifs. Video games have never attempted to reach the next dimension of expression with these techniques in a visual and interactive medium where it is easy to tie-in a visual motif in association with a character or gameplay element.

Sometimes less is more

Flashy visual effects, massive boss battles and an innovative physics engine is the recipe of the day for many video game titles. Although there is nothing wrong with this formula, it's sometimes better to go back to the basics. Games like Pac-Man, Tetris and Frogger are not just classics because of their popularity during the dawn of the medium, but because they are simple, timeless entertainment. "Casablanca" never had any explosions, car chases, scantily-clad woman or 3D CGI (cough, Avatar, cough) to warrant it a film masterpiece, it was the mastery of its writing and brilliance of its acting that made it a classic despite its technical inferiority. Video games can make a conscious effort to focus on the core of a great game, such as its gameplay and story, the fanfare should come second.

Nintendo announces new handheld with Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo made a tease of an announcement today that it will release a new handheld called the Nintendo 3DS.

The only information in its paragraph-long press release aside from its name is that it is planned to be fully backwards compatible with all DS and DSi games, will launch in Japan within the next fiscal year and more details on the console are set to be released at E3 beginning June 15.

That miniscule amount of information hasn't (and won't) stop media mongers from speculating exactly what the Nintendo 3DS will be. Is it just another upgrade to the DS? An entirely new handheld plateform? Will it even play games in 3D?

We have seen videos across the internet about 3D motion via head-tracking a la some sort of camera.

Arcs Technica posted a video showcasing how the 3DS could function by using the DSi camera as the unit for head tracking:

Medal of Honor shows its resemblance to Modern Warfare

Electronic Arts's long-running first-person shooter franchise "Medal of Honor" is finally taking it's first steps in a "modern" direction when it's newest title - aptly named "Medal of Honor" - hits shelves this fall.

The game's release will come three years after Activision's "Call of Duty" franchise launched "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare." Ironically, the development team from the first two "Medal of Honor" titles defected in the early 2000s to create their own development studio.

Now it seems like EA is trying to play catch-up by mimicking a lot of the visual look of the first two "Modern Warfare" installments with it's newest title set in Afghanistan.

Check out the latest trailer for "Medal of Honor" below:

PlayStation Move coming to PS3 consoles holiday 2010 priced under $100

Yesterday, Sony finally announced the name and gave a little more insight into its newest motion controller, the PlayStation Move.

Sony made the announcement yesterday at a press conference at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. You can watch the entire presentation below:

The PlayStation Move is a combination of a the Playstation 3 iteration of the Playstation Eye camera; a wand controller which features a multicolor, light-emitting diode sphere and a secondary controller for character movement similar to the nunchuk on the Nintendo Wii. This combination is Sony's answer to the Nintendo Wii and its motion controller - just four years late - and Microsoft's up-coming Natal for the Xbox 360.

Sony has released the most information on the Playstation Move on it's European blog filled with photos and a trailer:

The new Move is slated for release Holiday 2010 and is reported to cost less than $100. Sony is also suggesting that Move features can be added to existing games since integration of the new controller poses low technical demands on PS3.

Be on the look out for more information relating to the Playstation Move and Xbox 360 Natal on VGF.

New York man breaks Donkey Kong world record

It's been about a week and a half since the closing of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada., but records are still being broken - in the world of video games.

Hank Chien a 35-year-old plastic surgeon from New York, NY., broke the world 1,050,200-point world record on the original Donkey Kong arcade game held by Florida resident Billy Mitchell. Mitchell was filmed claiming the previous record in a 2006 documentary called "King of Kong."

Chien's record of 1,061,700 points was set in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

The official gaming scorekeepers, Twin Galaxies, confirmed the record and has a full interview with the new world champion.

In the interview he discusses his strategy:

Well there aren't many secrets left in Donkey Kong and I'd be glad to share what I know. I think in the past there were some secrets, but these days it's more a matter of execution. First, getting the bottom hammer on the barrels boards is absolutely crucial for breaking 1M. Not just getting it either, but knowing when to get it and how to steer the rest of the barrels down after you get it. But what really pushed me to the world record is what I call "barrel grouping" and running down ladders to re-jump groups. You get more points by jumping barrels in groups than you would individually and you can run down ladders to re-jump the same group and get even more points. You have to get good at recognizing when the barrels will group and when it's safe to run down ladders. You can do that anywhere on the screen, but I find near the top of the screen to be the safest. Even there, it's not risk free.

He also provides some inspirational hope to the youth of the world:

As one notable Donkey Kong record holder says "It's in your DNA." While I do believe there is some truth to that, I also feel it's really a combination of DNA and practice. Don't be afraid to shoot for the stars, just stay away from my record.

Finally, here shares an interesting experience that was a request of a mother and her son that could make for a story all on its own:

That does reminds me of a funny story....I have this video on YouTube of me doing a perfect speed run of the hardest board on Super Mario Galaxy. A mom and her daughter found the video and emailed me asking if I could pass that board for them if they sent me their memory card. I asked "Is this for you or your daughter?" She reluctantly told me "Both!"

Top Five Final Fantasy Games of All-Time

Today marks the stateside release of Square-Enix's thirteenth numbered title in it's long-running RPG series with "Final Fantasy XIII."

Culminating for more than 20 years, the Final Fantasy series has been honored with making mages cool, Chocobo a household name (in gaming households) and level-up a term of endearment.

To honor the newest installment of the crowning achievement that is the Final Fantasy franchise, lets take a look at some of the best Final Fantasy games of all-time.

5. Final Fantasy X

Although the game suffered from not only linear gameplay, but an incredibly linear story it was a visual masterpiece on the Playstation 2 and continued the tradition of wonderfully crafted music by composer Nobuo Uematsu.

4. Final Fantasy IV

Originally unreleased in the United States, Final Fantasy IV has been hailed by many as the best Final Fantasy of the 2D days. Main protagonist Cecil showed gamers that multidimensional can exist in video games.

3. Final Fantasy IX

Having perhaps the best music in the series, Final Fantasy IX is proof that you can't judge a game by its abrupt departure in artistic design from a successful series. FFIX has an amazing story that spans a satisfyingly long journey.

2. Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII needs no introduction nor does the game's protagonist and antagonist. In one of the most amazing and unforgettable video games ever created, FFVII has the perfect blend of unrelentless RPG mayham and instant classic of a storyline. FFVII is near perfection in every way and is a stable in the video game canon.

1. Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII matched its predecessor in every way while exceeding it with slightly more engaging characters and a much better visual palette. FFVIII is quintessentially everything the series stands for with the most dynamic blend of gameplay and drama in any video game ever made.

Playstation 3 Glitch Resolved?

A new update on the official Playstation blog states that Sony's PS3 glitch blunder may be over for millions of upset PS3 owners.

The post in its entirety is below:

We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model, recognized the year 2010 as a leap year. Having the internal clock date change from February 29 to March 1 (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3 normally.

If the time displayed on the XMB is still incorrect, users are able to adjust time settings manually or via the internet. If we have new information, we will update you through the PlayStation.Blog or PlayStation.com.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

No firmware update? It was just some stupid error with PS3 consoles thinking this is a leap year? How does that affect trophies or other game content?

It seems that Sony needs to release more of an explanation for it's blunder.

Playstationary: Millions of Older PS3 Models Suffering from Playstation 3 Calendar Glitch

Millions of Playstation 3 owners - myself included - were met with a peculiar and annoying "glitch" yesterday that has Sony panicking.

Owners of the non-slim versions of the Playstation 3 failed to connect to the Playstation Network preventing access to online content via the PS3 and also seems to affect games for off-line play.

Media outlets are suggesting that the glitch is somehow related to the date turnover from February to March and is affecting trophy information and possibly corrupting system information.

The console's date and time have reportedly been reset on many systems and the bug seems hit console regardless of connectivity to the internet or not suggesting an internal software error and not an external attack.

Jeff Rubenstein, social media manager with the Playstation Network, wrote on the official Playstation blog that Sony has identified the issue and are working to resolve it:

"Know that we have narrowed down the issue and have engineers working to restore service even as you read this. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, and genuinely appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this."

You can follow the status of Sony's resolution on their Twitter page.

PC World has pieced together a pretty concise list of what is known about the glitch thus far.

Playstation 3 owners should be mindful of their usage for the time being because I attempted to play "Bionic Commando: Rearmed" last evening and my full version was somehow reset to a demo mode and I later received a message saying the game was corrupted after I tried to relaunch the title.

Furthermore, I was unable to play "Assassin's Creed II" and re-directed to the XMB because of a trophy malfunction. 

UPDATE: Sony has confirmed that the malfunctions on older PS3 units are due to a "bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system." They hope to resolve the issue within 24-hours according to Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications and social media for Playstation wrote: 

"In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data."