Course on Cinema and Video Games In my last semest...

Course on Cinema and Video Games
In my last semester of coursework for my Masters degree and I FINALLY get to take a class that focuses specifically on video games and all the issues that surround them. Our first task is to choose a game and a movie in order to do some comparative work. (It is a cinema course afterall). We must choose a game we have not played and document our play experience (learning curve, immersive elements, interactivity, etc). From my understanding (the course is given in french) we are to compare these elements to the movie that we choose. In the case of mmog players such as myself, we are welcome to document our play in terms of where we are now compared to the process of getting to our specific level.

I am torn between working on mmog related material – character development in mmog’s versus character development in a film (perhaps even a fantasy type film) and taking off into left field and do something I haven’t done at all. I have considered taking Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and do some work with the game. Although a liscenced game, it breaks a few boundaries in the fact that it is an extension of the movie and not meant to be a replica. That and the fact that the game devs consulted Burton on the making of the game and its script makes it an interesting link between games and movies in contrast to the more traditional “movie made from game” (Tomb Raider, Resident Evil) or “game made from movie” (LoTR, The Incredibles) formula.

I have until Monday to choose – so it’s still a bit up in the air.

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