The utterly meaningless “cinematic” qualifier keeps being thrown at videogames, but it keeps happening because some game developers – no names mentioned – are trying to turn videogames in to things that look and feel more like movies. Activision wants none of that.
Speaking about innovation in the games industry, Activision’s Eric Hirschberg responded to Edge’s question about the possibility of a romantic comedy from the publisher with a big, giant negative.
“There’s this strange desire to morph games into movies or have them behave more like movies,” Activision’s Eric Hirshberg told Edge. “I don’t share that desire. Games are wonderful as they are and do different things better than other forms of media.”
He thinks games should stick to doing what they do best; allowing people to live out experiences they wouldn’t be able to in their everyday lives.
“Because they’re interactive, because you are more involved in the experience than in any other form of entertainment, it all starts with being transported. And obviously a natural place to want to transport people is into an experience they can’t have in their everyday lives. Sometimes that’s driving a fast car, sometimes that’s being a professional athlete, sometimes that’s being a rock star, sometimes that’s being a hero or going into a fantastical future.”
I think there’s enough room in the industry for all sorts of games, to be honest. I frankly loved Heavy Rain (though I was less enamoured with its follow up), and Telltale’s The Walking Dead was one of last year’s best gaming experiences.
Last Updated: October 24, 2013
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oVg
October 24, 2013 at 11:05
What? Somebody said that at Activision?
I thought it was just soulless robots over in the land of Bobby Robotics.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:07
A whole company consisting of gingers? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
oVg
October 24, 2013 at 11:13
1% of the worlds population.
John's (JJ's) Steaming backlog
October 24, 2013 at 11:49
So is people with green eyes.
ToshZA
October 24, 2013 at 11:53
God I must be a rare breed indeed. Ginger with green eyes. Oh wait.
TiMsTeR1033
October 24, 2013 at 11:56
Really?
oVg
October 24, 2013 at 12:04
http://www.icollectgingers.com/
ToshZA
October 24, 2013 at 12:10
Epic and awesome. Fuck yeah!
Unavengedavo(aka. IceCreamMan)
October 24, 2013 at 11:25
Unless they all look like her…
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:31
Who? Oh, I nearly didn’t see her under all that camouflage.
Admiral Chief Ninja
October 24, 2013 at 11:33
Where is this woman you speak of?
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:34
You can just see the top of her head just above the pink line on the bottom of the picture.
Admiral Chief Ninja
October 24, 2013 at 11:38
STILL CAN’T SEE
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:39
OPEN YOUR EYES!
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:39
And you call yourself a Master Race gamer? We absorbed pixel hunting with our mother’s milk!
Admiral Chief Ninja
October 24, 2013 at 11:41
I’m blind to ginger beauty, sue me
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 12:08
What? She not photoshopped enough for you?
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:33
Can someone please tell me who this woman is????
Unavengedavo(aka. IceCreamMan)
October 24, 2013 at 11:36
The internet does not seem to know her name… This must be some random stock image or something.
Eric
October 24, 2013 at 11:47
She did redhead a lot better than yesterday’s ION
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:50
Yes, but we do not mention yesterday’s ION ever again.
ToshZA
October 24, 2013 at 11:52
I’ll take one of those.
http://coreybradshaw.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/i-want-that-one.jpg?w=510
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:06
I read an article quite a while back about publishers, and how many of the top people don’t have experience in the gaming industry, they come from the movie industry. Which would explain a lot of things – like their fascination with opening day sales, blockbuster games, etc.
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:07
1. I didn’t know people at Activision could talk.
2. I actually agree with this… I’m playing a game, not a interactive movie. Realism isn’t necessarily always a good thing.
TiMsTeR1033
October 24, 2013 at 11:54
Is for GTA V!
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:56
Yeah it helps the experience in GTAV
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:12
Geoffrey, you know I love you like a brother. But please man! Do something about the spelling in your articles? I cringe when I read these : “…in *heir everyday lives…” and “Speaking about innovation *in* the games industry…”
FoxOneZA
October 24, 2013 at 11:23
“There, their, they’re” 😛
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:26
I blame going to school between the years of 1983 and 1995
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 11:45
Oh yeah. I have seen Uni English essays, both Tuks and Unisa. Holy crap, they cannot construct a sentence, they throw comma’s around like nobody’s business, they cannot get apostrophe’s in the right place and, worst of all, they combine many concepts into one long sentence.
Hah, kids today, eh?
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:48
I personally blame people not reading anymore. Proper books, not some random tweet…
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 11:49
Indeed. We have thousands at home, I trust my daughter will pick up the habit from me.
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:51
How old is your daughter if I may ask?
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 11:55
She will be born next month 🙂
TiMsTeR1033
October 24, 2013 at 11:57
A Scorpio!! YAY!
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 11:59
Scorpio? What does that mean, exactly? I have not a sausage
TiMsTeR1033
October 24, 2013 at 12:01
Means like me!! Smart, Artistic..funny, good looking! watch out in later years, Scorpio girls tend to be very flirty!
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 12:04
oh Tanya you flirt you.
TiMsTeR1033
October 24, 2013 at 12:05
Only you!
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 12:04
Oops wrong person to respond to…
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 12:07
I do not get it?
Comment on sausage? Expression, that is, means I do not have a clue, right?
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 12:07
Means you gonna have a cool ninja baby! Refresh for image
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:58
Great stuff, man!
Teach her from a young age reading is important. Otherwise she may end up like Geoff here! 😉
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 12:02
I will do my best to teach reading. By the time I was 5 I knew most of the Greek and Roman myths, the illiad and so forth. My gran read to me. It was AWESOME. TOTALLY AWESOME. But I do not see that level of involvement from a close relative with my child
Nah, I think you malign Geoff. I think he is well read. the mistakes are ones that I make with my documents when I try to proof read them. It is very difficult to properly proof read something you wrote, in my opinion. I sometimes print it out, different medium seems to help.
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 12:13
Proof reading is a bitch, I’ll admit. What I have found works wonders is giving your stuff to someone else to read.
I hope your daughter turns out like me then when it comes to reading. My mom told me that from a very young age (she said I was three years old) I would read her passages from the Bible.
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 13:44
That is good. I was forbidden from learning to read till I was six, at school. My gran and my mom (not related to my gran) had running battles about that, so my Gran comprised and read to me for hours everyday.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 24, 2013 at 12:16
Not able to type properly? 😛
I don’t see the correlation.
Sageville
October 24, 2013 at 12:11
I believe “apostrophe’s” should not have an apostrophe..
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 13:43
Ah, I stand corrected 🙂
FoxOneZA
October 24, 2013 at 11:29
LOL…Oh yes, even the pre-OBE products can blame the education system for something. I was the last of the pre-OBE lot and ever since then my old teachers always talk about retirement when I meet I meet them.
NecroRince
October 24, 2013 at 12:20
YOU WIN! HAHAHAHAHA
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 24, 2013 at 11:31
Spelling and typos are two very different things. I can spell, but I type like a moose wearing oven mitts. And I apologise.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:33
You know, there’s actually a picture for that. I love Google image search.
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:34
Spell check? Reread before publish? These things ring a bell Mr Tim?
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:36
I thought someone had to proof read these articles lol
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 24, 2013 at 11:37
*proofread trollol!
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:38
*Douche Bag
Unavengedavo(aka. IceCreamMan)
October 24, 2013 at 11:39
*Douchebag
Unavengedavo(aka. IceCreamMan)
October 24, 2013 at 11:38
I think Geoff did mention previously that the problem is he is the one that does all the proof reading and editing. And when you read your own work you always see what you want and everything looks right to you
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:39
So true
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:42
Then you give it to someone else to read. What the hell do they have an intern for???
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 24, 2013 at 11:43
Mostly to take up all my time because It takes forever to turn his articles in to things remotely readable. 😉
Brady miaau
October 24, 2013 at 11:46
well, that is the point of the internship. I do, however, understand exactly what you are going through. Patience. I have almost none, perhaps you took it?
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:49
Then how the hell did that Top 10 from hell make it to print? Damn it Geoffrey, stop digging your own grave here!
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 24, 2013 at 11:57
Well, fuck.
Vampyre Squirrel
October 24, 2013 at 11:58
LOL!!!! Well said!
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 11:59
I concur…
NecroRince
October 24, 2013 at 12:20
They do, he’s Asian 😉
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 24, 2013 at 11:48
It is run through a spellcheck, but unfortunately, “heir” is a valid word. The other issue was an omission, which spellchecks, unsentient fuckers that they are, do not pick up.
SaintsRowNigri
October 24, 2013 at 12:16
Okay fine then. But re-read… Give to someone else… I stand by my very valid points…
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 24, 2013 at 12:17
I do agree.
Kromas
October 24, 2013 at 12:56
For perfect balance between story and game-play refer to Bioware.