Playing Producer: An alternative perspective on video games as film
Abstract
This paper proposes a perspective on analyzing video games as film by comparing the interactions of the player with those of a producer or other member in the film-making process. This contrasts with existing methodologies which focus on formal characteristics or narratology. This proposal also provides a method for combining the interactivity of games with the storytelling capacity of cinema without encountering the narrative paradox.References
Adams, E. (1999, December 29). The Designer’s Notebook: Three Problems for Interactive Storytellers. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131821/the_designers_notebook_three_.php
Aylett, R. (2000). Emergent narrative, social immersion and “storification.” In Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Narrative and Interactive Learning Environments (pp. 35–44). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/download/3420309/NILE2000.pdf
Bioware. (2009). Dragon Age: Origins. Electronic Arts.
Bloom, G. (2015). Videogame Shakespeare: Enskilling audiences through theater-making games. In Shakespeare Studies (Vol. 43, pp. 114–127). Plainsboro, NJ: Rosemont Publishing and Printing Corporation.
Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. A. (1999). Remediation: understanding new media. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Callois, R. (2006). The definition of play and the classification of games. In K. Salen & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), The game design reader, A rules of play anthology (pp. 122–155). Cambridge, Mass; London, England: MIT Press.
Eskelinen, M. (2001). The gaming situation. Game Studies, 1(1). Retrieved from http://gamestudies.org/0101/eskelinen/
Frasca, G. (2003). Simulation versus Narrative. In J. P. M. Wolf & B. Perron (Eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader (pp. 221–235). New York and London: Routledge.
Gouveia, P. (2009). Narrative paradox and the design of alternate reality games (ARGs) and blogs. In 2009 International IEEE Consumer Electronics Society’s Games Innovations Conference (pp. 231–238). IEEE. Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5293585
Griesinger, J. (2015). Movie Crew Job Titles. Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://filmincolorado.com/resources/job-descriptions/
Chris Sawyer Productions. (1999). Roller Coaster Tycoon. Hasbro Interactive.
Jenkins, H. (2007, October 28). Game design as narrative architecture. Retrieved from http://skynet.ie/~ogami/notes/year%204/writing/jenkins%20game%20design.pdf
King, G., & Krzywinska, T. (2006). Film Studies and Digital Games. In J. Rutter & J. Bryce (Eds.), Understanding Digital Games (pp. 112–128). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://sk.sagepub.com/books/understanding-digital-games/n7.xml
Klevjer, R. (2002). In Defense of Cutscenes. In CGDC Conf. Retrieved from http://folk.uib.no/smkrk/docs/klevjerpaper.htm
Louchart, S., & Aylett, R. (2003). Solving the narrative paradox in VEs - lessons from RPGs. Retrieved from http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~ruth/Papers/narrative/IVA03-Louchart-Aylett.pdf
Loyall, B. (2004). From Game-Story to Cyberdrama, Response by Bryan Loyall. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game (pp. 2–11). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Martin, G. R. R. (1996). A Games of Thrones. New York: Voyager Books.
Murray, J. (2004). From Game-Story to Cyberdrama. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game (pp. 2–11). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Nolan, C. (2008). The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. Pictures.
Paolini, C. (2003). Eragon (2nd ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Perron, B. (2003). From gamers to players and gameplayers. In J. P. M. Wolf & B. Perron (Eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader (pp. 237–258). New York and London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://www.ctcs505.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Perron.pdf
Perron, B. (2008). 22. Genre Profile: Interactive Movies. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/download/30941783/Perron_-_Interactive_Movies.pdf
Schmidt, J. N. (2013). Narration in Film. In P. Huhn (Ed.), The living handbook of narratology. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press. Retrieved from http://wikis.sub.uni-hamburg.de/lhn/index.php?title=Narration_in_Film&oldid
Sidhu, S. (2013, May 10). Poetics of the Videogame Setpiece. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. Retrieved from http://cmsw.mit.edu/poetics-videogame-setpiece
Taylor, T. L. (2012). Raising the stakes : e-sports and the professionalization of computer gaming. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954). The Fellowship of the Ring. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Veale, K. (2012). “Interactive Cinema” Is an Oxymoron, but May Not Always Be. Game Studies, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.gamestudies.org/1201/articles/veale
Aylett, R. (2000). Emergent narrative, social immersion and “storification.” In Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Narrative and Interactive Learning Environments (pp. 35–44). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/download/3420309/NILE2000.pdf
Bioware. (2009). Dragon Age: Origins. Electronic Arts.
Bloom, G. (2015). Videogame Shakespeare: Enskilling audiences through theater-making games. In Shakespeare Studies (Vol. 43, pp. 114–127). Plainsboro, NJ: Rosemont Publishing and Printing Corporation.
Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. A. (1999). Remediation: understanding new media. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Callois, R. (2006). The definition of play and the classification of games. In K. Salen & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), The game design reader, A rules of play anthology (pp. 122–155). Cambridge, Mass; London, England: MIT Press.
Eskelinen, M. (2001). The gaming situation. Game Studies, 1(1). Retrieved from http://gamestudies.org/0101/eskelinen/
Frasca, G. (2003). Simulation versus Narrative. In J. P. M. Wolf & B. Perron (Eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader (pp. 221–235). New York and London: Routledge.
Gouveia, P. (2009). Narrative paradox and the design of alternate reality games (ARGs) and blogs. In 2009 International IEEE Consumer Electronics Society’s Games Innovations Conference (pp. 231–238). IEEE. Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5293585
Griesinger, J. (2015). Movie Crew Job Titles. Retrieved November 28, 2016, from http://filmincolorado.com/resources/job-descriptions/
Chris Sawyer Productions. (1999). Roller Coaster Tycoon. Hasbro Interactive.
Jenkins, H. (2007, October 28). Game design as narrative architecture. Retrieved from http://skynet.ie/~ogami/notes/year%204/writing/jenkins%20game%20design.pdf
King, G., & Krzywinska, T. (2006). Film Studies and Digital Games. In J. Rutter & J. Bryce (Eds.), Understanding Digital Games (pp. 112–128). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://sk.sagepub.com/books/understanding-digital-games/n7.xml
Klevjer, R. (2002). In Defense of Cutscenes. In CGDC Conf. Retrieved from http://folk.uib.no/smkrk/docs/klevjerpaper.htm
Louchart, S., & Aylett, R. (2003). Solving the narrative paradox in VEs - lessons from RPGs. Retrieved from http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~ruth/Papers/narrative/IVA03-Louchart-Aylett.pdf
Loyall, B. (2004). From Game-Story to Cyberdrama, Response by Bryan Loyall. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game (pp. 2–11). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Martin, G. R. R. (1996). A Games of Thrones. New York: Voyager Books.
Murray, J. (2004). From Game-Story to Cyberdrama. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.), First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game (pp. 2–11). Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Nolan, C. (2008). The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. Pictures.
Paolini, C. (2003). Eragon (2nd ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Perron, B. (2003). From gamers to players and gameplayers. In J. P. M. Wolf & B. Perron (Eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader (pp. 237–258). New York and London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://www.ctcs505.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Perron.pdf
Perron, B. (2008). 22. Genre Profile: Interactive Movies. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/download/30941783/Perron_-_Interactive_Movies.pdf
Schmidt, J. N. (2013). Narration in Film. In P. Huhn (Ed.), The living handbook of narratology. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press. Retrieved from http://wikis.sub.uni-hamburg.de/lhn/index.php?title=Narration_in_Film&oldid
Sidhu, S. (2013, May 10). Poetics of the Videogame Setpiece. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. Retrieved from http://cmsw.mit.edu/poetics-videogame-setpiece
Taylor, T. L. (2012). Raising the stakes : e-sports and the professionalization of computer gaming. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954). The Fellowship of the Ring. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Veale, K. (2012). “Interactive Cinema” Is an Oxymoron, but May Not Always Be. Game Studies, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.gamestudies.org/1201/articles/veale
Published
June 12, 2017
Issue
Section
Critical Insights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright for papers and articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the University of Glasgow. It is a condition of publication that authors license their paper or article under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.
