Films and computer games
In just a few decades the gaming industry has become much bigger than the film business. What is called "interactive entertainment" makes more money than Hollywood cinema. Is there any way of making films more appealing to people who like to play computer games?
Making a film out of a best-selling computer game can guarantee a large audience. Nowadays films are made with similar ones. They have attractive action scenes relying on fantasy effects as well. Gaming markets consist of science-fiction games, and film-makers have also set films in science-fiction worlds. Any attempt to borrow more than the setting from a game is certain to fail.
Why do gamers feel disappointed by films based on their favorite games? One of the reasons is technical. Now everything can be computer-produced. However, filming a scene from 20 different cameras would cost a fortune, so it simply isn't done in the film version—leaving the gamers feeling that the film didn't look as real as the computer game.
In a film the director doesn't show you some things to keep you have the feeling of excitement or anxiety. For example, you wouldn't be interested in watching the film if you knew the identity of the murderer. But this is not true for computer games. When you play a game, you have to do certain tasks to continue to the new level. You are always in control as a player, while in the cinema you never control the action. You just sit and watch.
There can be some interaction between films and computer games on different levels. For all the similarities between technologies and special effects, we shouldn't forget that a story and a game are fundamentally different.
A. Cameras matter in another sense, too.
B. The success of a game usually lies in the use of special effects.
C. You can't influence what happens at all in the computer games.
D. Computer games may show the action from a number of views easily.
E. The game has a good chance of being as successful as the film on which it is based.
F. You must be able to have access to all the information in order to decide what to do next.
G. However, the difficulty for film producers appears to be knowing where and when to stop.
