I have never been a gamer. However, the only remotely good movie based on a video game I have ever seen was Takashi Miike's "Ace Attorney", which seemed to approximate the mechanics of gameplay and game aesthetics within its narrative.
I've had eXistenz on my main list for some time now as is, but you're right that it would slot in perfectly to this series; moreso than my mainline posts, certainly.
I'll have to watch Ace Attorney, too, though I assume the only reason that game-movie translation worked as well as it did was because the games are actually visual novels. I credit the franchise for at least admitting to not primarily trying to be a game. Most don't, and most should.
This is so exciting, Charlotte - congrats and can't wait to read it! Outside of Zelda, MarioKart, and the PlayDead games (which I'd love to see you write about) I've lost the pulse completely, and look forward to gaining a deeper appreciation through your insights.
Cheers, Alex! I don't blame you; losing the pulse on a medium like video games is all too easy given the time/money/etc they demand, and that's before we even question what exactly we're looking for in said pulse, to say nothing of the fact that it's that question we should be asking first. Looking forward to diving in with y'all!
Charlotte I'm not kidding when I say thank you for giving me something I can talk to my brother about in a deeper sense. He's obsessed with game design and I'm obsessed with making the world a more communicative place and art reaching it's fullest potential in its given medium lol. So thank you.
I hope this series will be as enriching for you both as it will be for me writing it! And thank you, Taylor, for all that you do for this community and the culture we rally around ❤️
I'm so obsessed with this new column of yours. I've been desperate to find videos game critics on this platform. It may not be of interest, but I'm hugely anticipating Frostpunk 2 to drop on PS5. The first one made me question all aspects of my ethical and moral compass 🤣
I admire what little I do know about Frostpunk, and I would say games like it have a medium-specific advantage not dissimilar to the one that indie films have over Hollywood. That is, the visual layout of it inherently prioritizes mechanical gameplay (the nutritious roots of the medium) instead of any triple-A technical fidelity or immersion, and so there's a near-guaranteed (and expectant!) focus on the falsifiable nuances of its play.
I'll definitely be talking about this more in-depth when I write about Free Guy, which I plan on making one of my earliest subjects in this series.
I don’t think this was a video game, but the new flying lotus film, Ash, felt sooo much like a video game and wanted to put that out there in case you have any thoughts or elaborations on that :)
I watched Ash not terribly long ago (within the month, certainly)! I can't say I remember much about it; FL is a hell of a showman, but isn't much of a storyteller.
At that point, it's just a matter of whether his showmanship makes up for his storytelling ability, which is a matter of subjectivity. It's definitely possible that Ash would have been better off as a video game, depending on how well the film's mystery translates into a puzzle system of sorts. He probably would have been best off doing something like Interstella 5555, though.
Looking forward to these! Especially Five Nights at Freddy's. An actor I've worked with is in the film (he plays Hutcherson's security guard friend at the beginning), so I made myself play the first game before seeing it and...I have thoughts. And perhaps also questions.
If you decide to turn the dial back a few more years, I'd love to read your thoughts on Silent Hill. A pretty good movie about an excellent game, in my opinion.
I'll definitely add it to the list; I'll need as many writing opportunities for this series as I can get!
I never played the game myself, but I have played P.T., which I guess would most aptly be described as a spin-off of the franchise at this point. I'll probably devote some time to the original, though; there's multiple angles I want to explore in the realm of horror games specifically.
Survival horror was really my bag growing up. I've heard P.T.'s legend but never got a chance to play it. The videos I've seen are pretty creepy though!
I have never been a gamer. However, the only remotely good movie based on a video game I have ever seen was Takashi Miike's "Ace Attorney", which seemed to approximate the mechanics of gameplay and game aesthetics within its narrative.
Also, perchance a word or two on "eXistenz?"
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
I've had eXistenz on my main list for some time now as is, but you're right that it would slot in perfectly to this series; moreso than my mainline posts, certainly.
I'll have to watch Ace Attorney, too, though I assume the only reason that game-movie translation worked as well as it did was because the games are actually visual novels. I credit the franchise for at least admitting to not primarily trying to be a game. Most don't, and most should.
This is so exciting, Charlotte - congrats and can't wait to read it! Outside of Zelda, MarioKart, and the PlayDead games (which I'd love to see you write about) I've lost the pulse completely, and look forward to gaining a deeper appreciation through your insights.
Cheers, Alex! I don't blame you; losing the pulse on a medium like video games is all too easy given the time/money/etc they demand, and that's before we even question what exactly we're looking for in said pulse, to say nothing of the fact that it's that question we should be asking first. Looking forward to diving in with y'all!
Charlotte I'm not kidding when I say thank you for giving me something I can talk to my brother about in a deeper sense. He's obsessed with game design and I'm obsessed with making the world a more communicative place and art reaching it's fullest potential in its given medium lol. So thank you.
I hope this series will be as enriching for you both as it will be for me writing it! And thank you, Taylor, for all that you do for this community and the culture we rally around ❤️
Well this is made me emotional. And Charlotte thank YOU.
I'm so obsessed with this new column of yours. I've been desperate to find videos game critics on this platform. It may not be of interest, but I'm hugely anticipating Frostpunk 2 to drop on PS5. The first one made me question all aspects of my ethical and moral compass 🤣
Haha, RTS-adjacent games on console is BRAVE!
I admire what little I do know about Frostpunk, and I would say games like it have a medium-specific advantage not dissimilar to the one that indie films have over Hollywood. That is, the visual layout of it inherently prioritizes mechanical gameplay (the nutritious roots of the medium) instead of any triple-A technical fidelity or immersion, and so there's a near-guaranteed (and expectant!) focus on the falsifiable nuances of its play.
I'll definitely be talking about this more in-depth when I write about Free Guy, which I plan on making one of my earliest subjects in this series.
I don’t think this was a video game, but the new flying lotus film, Ash, felt sooo much like a video game and wanted to put that out there in case you have any thoughts or elaborations on that :)
I watched Ash not terribly long ago (within the month, certainly)! I can't say I remember much about it; FL is a hell of a showman, but isn't much of a storyteller.
At that point, it's just a matter of whether his showmanship makes up for his storytelling ability, which is a matter of subjectivity. It's definitely possible that Ash would have been better off as a video game, depending on how well the film's mystery translates into a puzzle system of sorts. He probably would have been best off doing something like Interstella 5555, though.
non memorable is totally fair & love the interstella suggestion!
Looking forward to these! Especially Five Nights at Freddy's. An actor I've worked with is in the film (he plays Hutcherson's security guard friend at the beginning), so I made myself play the first game before seeing it and...I have thoughts. And perhaps also questions.
If you decide to turn the dial back a few more years, I'd love to read your thoughts on Silent Hill. A pretty good movie about an excellent game, in my opinion.
I'll definitely add it to the list; I'll need as many writing opportunities for this series as I can get!
I never played the game myself, but I have played P.T., which I guess would most aptly be described as a spin-off of the franchise at this point. I'll probably devote some time to the original, though; there's multiple angles I want to explore in the realm of horror games specifically.
Survival horror was really my bag growing up. I've heard P.T.'s legend but never got a chance to play it. The videos I've seen are pretty creepy though!