Because where else would I be?
{ Monthly Archives }
That’s right people. If purported video game journalists can complain about having to cover news, then I, for the hell of it, can demand a new You Don’t Know Jack! game. This was spawned by Justin’s interview with Amanda Lannert, president of Jellyvision, over at Get The Sugar. Read the interview here.
But most importantly, do your part to revive the line with a new game! By signing this petition! (Because you all know how well internet petitions work.)
Okay, God of War is getting a movie. It’s a great game, and some of it’s core themes, Greek mythology and barbarianism, are ones that game creator and director David Jaffe has enjoyed since school. (He said as much in a great interview over at Eurogamer.) But I’m wandering what, if any, compensation he will get from the movie. Bet your ass it’s going to be well publicized that it’s from a SONY videogame. But will he get a credit in the movie at all? And if so will it be as character creator, a nod like “Thanks to,” or an even lesser “Sony would like to thank…”? Or will it wind up as just a trivia fact on Jaffe’s IMDB page?
(edit: Thank Christ my doom and gloom thinking is completely wrong. He’s involved in the pic, read about it on his blog here, and the whole process was started by a seemingly good crew, Mosiac Entertainment.)
I don’t point this out to poke fun at Jaffe. He seems like a kickass guy that has made kickass games and runs a kickass blog. He likes comics and was a co-creator of Twisted Metal. Twisted Metal for Christ’s sake! Wait, you didn’t know that? Well, that’s the problem I’m talking about. I write this to point out that there’s a problem somewhere when a guy like this says:
the thing to understand about my perspective is that NAME ON THE BOX is a stepping stone to the more important aspect of CASH, and how much cash the publisher feels the key folks are worth (versus the brand name being more important). And if you look at it from a movie standpoint, you are right in that the majority of people choose genres before actors and choose actors before directors….butthe difference between games and movies in that respect is that even though most MOVIEGOERS don’t know who MICHAEL BAY is or who TOM SHADYAC is (both huglely successful film directors), the STUDIOS DO know who they are and pay them many millions because of their track record….so it’s not about being recognized by game fans (or even laypersons)…it’s about getting the same kind of financial respect for proven ability and success that we see in other industries….My theory is that this is not happening right now in game because big game success game be generated via the BRAND NAME and an average game. BUT- once we get amazing game makers who mix art and commerce- then the publishers will see those kinds of games blowing away the average games that are jsut brand based and not emotionally/artistic ally driven.
Dude, you ARE an amazing game maker who’s mixing art and commerce. Okay, granted you’re not gaming’s Orson Welles, on that front I blame Will Wright for being EA’s bitch, but you’ve got a pretty damn good track record going. You should be complaining in your blog about a once-a-month-if-not-week phone call during family dinner from developers and other publishers looking to steal you away from Sony, but you won’t leave because Sony has thrown fat cash at you. That you aren’t says much about the industry. Unless, of course, you just aren’t mentioning that part to us. And in that case, good for you.
Have you ever, for whatever reason, rediscovered a blog you completely forgot about? Well, Josh just linked to Psychochild’s blog that I had somehow completely forgotten about. I like the guy, and I like his blog. While Josh points to a post on free speech, I was also drawn to a post on intellectual property in games.
I went to Full Sail, maybe you’ve heard of it. I was in their Game Design and Development program. And one surprising thing I discovered in going to a game-centric school program is that from my angle, the Industry looks a lot like the comic book industry. Often the coolest thing to do is play with the big boys toys. Many aspiring comic creators just want to work for Marvel. Many aspiring videogame creators just want to work on the next Final Fantasy, or with Blizzard or Nintendo. And that’s why some of them never make it. They graduate, even doing excellent in class, and apply to four jobs that they want at companies they generally (as entry level applicants) have no chance at getting jobs at. And then they give up either going to application development or stop programming completely.
These people don’t want to make their own games, they’re just fans of existing IP. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a fan; I’m a fan of many characters/series/lines/etc. And I’m not talking the majority of wannabes here. But if you’re a film fan, your goal probably isn’t to make a new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. You may love the line, but that’s someone else’s IP. You should be making your own. Something that’s important to you. That’s why I’m amazed when a short while back I saw a post at Scott Miller‘s blog in which he said:
A good industry friend of mine is trying to start a new studio with some well known developers. He wrote to me: Scott, I’ve been making the rounds, pitching that idea for a new development studio — where we retain the IP. Not an easy sell — but no one has officially passed yet. Everyone asks — “Why do you care so much about owning the IP?” I say, “So I can someday sell it, like 3D Realms!”
It’s 2005 for Christ’s sake. If a Big Name wants to make a movie off of your IP, but they required that they own all of the rights, you should laugh at them. If a Big Name wants to distribute your album, but wanted to own your catalog, you should call them insane. If a Big Name offers to print your comic but demands that own your character/story/artwork, they’re just idiots to think you’d agree. If you believe in your work, why wouldn’t you want to own it?
But, why do some wannabes just want to work on others’ IP? I have no damn clue.
