History repeating it self

We have known for years that history is repeating itself over and over again. We see it in many parts of our society. Lately I have started to notice another iteration, this time from within the computer gaming society.

Serials

No not in the modern sense of the word. Today the market is flooded with sequels, a safe bet for the starving gaming houses. Can’t blame them thou, fresh ideas doesn’t pay the rent (less a three year development cycle).

Back in the days (read 100 years ago) the cinema was somewhat different from what we experience today. Back then movies came on smaller reels and in the transition between shorter films and the feature films a genre called serials became very popular. One of the earliest and more popular was the adventures of Kathryn (1913). A side note to that particular serial is that it introduced the term ‘cliffhanger’ for the first time. It was called a serials because they required you to comeback at a later date to see the next installment. The show often carried a story line that spanned over all its episodes much like tv-shows today.

If you are at least a little bit interested in what is happening in the computer gaming scene you can see where this is going. For all you others I’ll try to explain what I mean.

Today more than ever game developers have realized the full distribution potential of the internet. In the fore front of this is Valve, a company that has given us titles such as Half life, Half life 2 and Counter strike. With their distribution system, steam, they deliver games for download. Here they not only promote their own episodic saga of the physicist Gordon Freeman but other games as well. There is a new game called SiN that copies the serials concept from the early twentieth century to the letter. They release an episode that ends in a cliffhanger and then put out another episode continuing the story line.

This of course is just as a brilliant market strategy just as it was back then. By creating parts of the game one episode at the time they can, both ensure that the gamers will come back for more and can adjust the future product to accommodate the market demands.

This further strengthens my theory that the gaming industry is the movie industry’s kid brother. Just as computer games have borrowed narrative inspiration from their silver screen elders they have now borrowed the market thinking as well. It is indeed interesting times.

Inherited fame

"Comics are one step in the digestive process of Hollywood eating
itself"
- Allan Moore, writer

Allan More, creator of many brilliant comics adapted for the silver screen, is tired of Hollywood buying comic properties and then completely remakes them into its usual watered out entertainment destroying every single piece of artistic merit the comic ever had. With a track record like him I understand that he has turned his back to tinseltown. So far they have made three movies based on his creations and for the last one, V for vendetta, he even removed his name completely even refusing to receive revenue from the movie.

Mr Moore is one of the few that has voiced his fears over that comics have become a “pumpkin patch for the studios to come picking”. I for one agree with him. The moving image is a powerful medium that today consume everything it touches. Many of the movies that are being made today are based on books, plays, computer games and comics. I would dare to say that only rarely is the movie as good as its original creation. Even if the movie is as good as the original it immediately has inherited its predecessor’s fame. How many comics can you mention that has been made into a movie? After X-men, Spider man, Super man and Hulk it’s getting harder.

Did you know that the movies From Hell, Road to perdition and A history of violence are all based on comics? Don’t feel bad, not many people know this and this is never brought to people’s attention. Most people will never know that there is a visual world out there that you can take with you almost everywhere and that rival many movies you will see at the cinema. Instead Hollywood receives cred for something someone else has created; this is what I mean with inherited fame.

So when you go to the movies next time pay attention to where the story came from. Sometimes it says based on the book by, or the author has co credit as producer or writer, You will be surprised how many movies that are made today has borrowed their stories from books and comics.

Only in America

Gamespy is my premium source of gaming news. they just ran an article on a new bill that the state of Virginia has submitted for review. Let's make the warning signs on the boxes bigger. The bill states that the warning sign must be printed on the front cover of the box and be at least 3 inches wide. Like people didn't know before. It's not like the rating in hidden in it's current incarnation.

"Grand theft auto III is M rated? I had no idea."
- Surprised minor

This reminds me of a stand up routine comedian Dennis Leary did a few years back. He rideculed a bill that wanted to make the warning signs on the cigarette packs bigger and more dangerously looking. A great skit from his album No cure for cancer.

I wonder what they will come up with next?