Un-tie the tie-ins

I've played quite a few movie tie-in games in my life, and (surprise) they are generally not very good. I don't think it's the fault of the developers, though, because studios like Beenox, which has created both movie tie-in and original titles, are capable of creating very good games when they aren't tied to films.

I think the so-called curse of movie tie-in games is not so much a curse as it is a failure to recognize the difference in development methods and schedules of movies and video games.

Often, movie tie-in games are expected to begin and end development at or around the same time as the films they are tied to. This production schedule regularly results in game developers having to sacrifice polish and testing in order to ship the product around the same time as the film.

The fact is that video games aren’t created in the same way or within the same time frame that movies are.

This recent movie tie-in game was decent, but not stellar.

Some games are even meant to emulate the film experience so much that a considerable amount of control is taken away from the player in order to show off particularly impressive graphics and scripted scenes.

Video games are not about watching movies from a first-person perspective.

They are about experiencing events, emotions and characters in ways that films cannot allow. They are about giving players the power to create the memorable moments rather than just happen upon them.

Playing cooperatively with someone online and coming together in a moment of tension to overcome a particularly challenging obstacle can be so much more satisfying than walking up to a ledge overlooking a massive battlefield and watching explosions while a battle-weary non-play character spouts lines about how war never changes.

If I want to have a story presented to me, I can read a book. If I want a story presented to me visually and with sound, I can watch a movie. If I want to have an experience that I would otherwise never be able to feel for myself, I can play a video game that places me in a new world and gives me the power to act of my own will within it.

That’s not to say that cinematic games like those in the “Uncharted” series or “Call of Duty” games filled with scripted moments aren’t worth players’ time, or even that they aren’t fun. It’s just that those types of experiences can be had elsewhere in media.

Games give us an opportunity that generations before us could not have imagined. They give us the chance to explore worlds and affect events and individuals in those worlds while creating our own stories.

A game like “Minecraft,” in which there is no narrative background given and no story aside from the one players create for themselves is a good example of the type of freedom games can offer.

Here's a world and some tools. Do whatever you want.

Another game that gives players great narrative power is “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.” The latest chapter in the Elder Scrolls series contains many small stories that players can choose to take part in as well as a main, over-arching storyline, and all of those paths are interesting. But the thing that Bethesda did with the game that makes it so impressive was to offer players the option to follow none of those storylines and simply allow them to explore the land as they see fit. 

Letting people loose in a new world is what makes gaming great.

Certainly, there is a place in the industry for exciting space operas and gritty war stories, and including some interactivity in what would otherwise be a linear story can make for great art, but in the long run, I think that game makers should focus on creating worlds to explore and fill with our own stories rather than guiding players to their end.