Blog Task: Cinematics in Video Games

                                     

After I took a look at the history of video games it was clear to me that over the past few decades, video games have experienced many changes. They are not two bars hitting a ball across a screen anymore; they have become an interactive form of art.

Current video games combine elements from narrative fiction film, music and sports. The amount of work to produce a single game can be very large, especially in terms of art. The development of game environments is an intensive process involving the creation of level maps, lighting sources, setting detail and visual texture complexity.

“Another important element is a belief that creators are artists. At the same time, however, it’s necessary for us creators to be engineers, because of the skill required for the creations.”

                    -Shigeru Miyamoto- (Game designer and producer of Nintendo’s biggest names)

Knowing that art plays a very important role in video games, one of the things I find that makes them very enjoyable it is when they are telling a story. If the story is good, the player would want to discover more by playing the game. They would want the game to take them in a journey and feel like they are living someone else’s life.

In my opinion, cinematics are key to set the game mood and to tell the story.  They add depth and substance to the game. The gaming industry knows it and they make sure to make a good use of it. Such is that, it is common for videogames to start with cinematics. They are used to sell the idea of a game sometimes months before a player will ever get behind a controller.

A well-crafted cinematic will succeed in total immersion of the player before the game even begins. Also, powerful narratives in games like Red Dead redemption and Uncharted 2 have helped show the world that games can be just as meaningful as any other form of art.

On most of games, especially on Japanese games, cut-scenes come across quite often. They are essentially pre-rendered sequences in which the player plays the role closer to that of a detached observer. They are often used to establish the initial setting and background storyline or to push the story forwards.

Some may say that cut-scenes are overused. That it turns the game into a movie and videogames are made to be ‘played’, engaged with in a manner that it is much more active. They might be right, but to me, cut-scenes are quite important. They narrate the story, and guide the player through a journey. They make the gaming experience much better because the player gets to know the characters and immerse himself with the game mood. 
Cut-scenes have the opportunity to convey emotions that would be otherwise disregarded by the player. Game developers can now present emotion through complex facial expressions and body language. The ultimate goal in games is to make them as realistic as possible, and that’s the reason why developers use film techniques in games, to enhance realism.

It is true that sometimes, too many cut-scenes make the player disconnect from the game. When a cut-scene begins all the tangible elements of the game that the player has grown accustomed to become obsolete. That is a thing the industry must be careful about. To tackle this problem, they should provide minimum disruption of gameplay flow. The use of written material such as signs or notes inside the game might be a possible option. In the game world they can be read as the player explores the environment and therefore push the storyline forwards while playing. Also, NPCs (Non Playable Characters) could make interventions to give out clues or tell part of the story plot but without the need to stop the game.

Ultimately what the player wants is to feel like he/she is part of the game. Until now there’s usually been a clear visible gap between the higher quality graphics found in cut-scenes and the lower-quality images that characterise more interactive periods of gameplay. I believe that as the gap reduces with the introduction of more powerful technology, games would lower the number of cut-scenes. It will reach a point where the player would interact with the gaming environment to progress along the storyline as if it were real life. Like if it were a movie, with the distinction that the player would not be viewer, but the central figure.

In conclusion, a video game while cinematic it is not a movie. To make the gaming experience truly engaging is to find a point of balance. Resorting to film techniques to engage with the audience should be avoided but not to the extent that the game lacks all sense of emotion. If cut-scenes were to be abolished, it would strip away one of the most effective storytelling techniques.

Games are a form of art and just like books, ballet or films, they have a narrative. As technology allows the industry to use better graphic engines, cut-scenes will not differ from actual gameplay, making the player feel like the protagonist of the game.

As a future game artist I believe my task is to make the industry push its limits. It is my task and the rest of future generations of game artist’s task to make better graphics, better characters and better stories. Our goal is to make games as visually attractive as possible since I believe, art is key to a video game success.

Thank you for reading,

Carla Chanquia.  

References

1.  Cinematic Camera Control in 3D Computer Games. http://front.cc.nctu.edu.tw/Richfiles/12146-G31.pdf

2. Computer Games / Cinema / Interfaces. http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/05164.41114.pdf

3. Publications by Henry Jenkins. Games, the new lively art. https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/download/attachments/7143524/jenkins.games.pdf

4. The Best Opening Cinematics in Video Games. By Hanuman Welch. August 8, 2013. http://www.complex.com/video-games/2013/08/best-opnening-cinematics-video-games/

5. Dusty Cartridge. Dusty Cartridge Debates: Are cut-scenes outdated?  November 2013. http://dustycartridge.com/features/dusty-cartridge-debates-are-cutscenes-outdated/

6. Contemporary Aesthetics. Are Video Games Art? By Aaron Smuts. 2005. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/ca/7523862.0003.006?rgn=main;view=fulltext

7. Wired. 5 film violations in videogame cut-scenes. By Jason Schreier. September 2011. http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/09/videogame-cutscenes/?pid=1984&pageid=38345#slideid-1984

8. Google images.