In an interview the Los Angeles Times Neill Blomkamp, the man who almost made the Halo movie but went on to do District 9 instead, touched upon why there was never a video game made about the fooking prawns.
"The idea of 'District 9' as a video game stresses me out a little bit because games based on movies rarely work," said Blomkamp. "And movies based on games don't work -- I don't know what's up with that."
With that said, he continues, "District 9 as a game would be fascinating. And I don't want to see it happen for any sort of corporate reason or profit thing. I used to be involved in computer graphics and I love virtual environments. That's why I like video games, really.
"And I think a virtual environment of the slums of Soweto is an appealing idea to me. The weapons are cool, too. I photographed the film in a way that isn't that different than video-game perspective in some parts. So a game would be interesting to me. There's nothing happening with it though."
well yes i probably could work. they'll even be vehicles in it. but could the setting work? i'm not so sure. they are all in district 9 unless you do something half life one-esk
Watched this for the 1st time last night and loved it. wouldnt have been half as good set in the states. The South African accent cracks me up (fookin sly prawns) lol
Watched this for the 1st time last night and loved it. wouldnt have been half as good set in the states. The South African accent cracks me up (fookin sly prawns) lol
Same as that, I got it on blu-ray and I have to say the DTS-HD sound is outstanding. You can hear the fooks twice as clearly.
I'm surprised he didn't actually have an opinion about why videogames based on movies don't work. I'm sure he has some very strong views, but chose not to express them. I agree with him that money rather than a geniune love of the characters or story seem to be the biggest motivation.
I'm convinced that for videogames, certainly ones based on movies, to improve further that they need to helmed by movie directors. A good movie director has the skills required to craft an adventure, to tell a story, which is ultimately the aim of most games. The movie industry is full of very skilled storytelling craftsmen. The games industry isn't!
The game developer is like the special effects departments in the film industry. As important a department that it can be, you wouldn't want the FX guys to write and direct a movie. Games are starting to attract more skilled musicians and actors, and that's already improved games. But the fundamental storytelling skills, those of the writers and directors are still generally missing.
I loved District 9. I think the director has made a lot of fans with that film, and I'm sure many of us will keep an eye on his future work. I really wish though that people like him, skilled directors, storytellers who've also grown up with videogames would actually make games too. For me they're the most natural person to create and oversee a videogame. They have all the skills to control a variety of teams and departments with a goal to telling a story and entertaining.
The majority of people who currently oversee videogames feel like promoted programmers. I've no doubt they're skilled in the technical or graphic side of the industry but it's these people who are responsible for the cliche, shallow characters that fill our games. They're the ones responsible for the poor voice-acting or cheesy music. They're the ones who allow ridiculous or unbelievable story lines or dull game mechanics into our videogames.
I've no doubt if the games industry was given District 9 to make into a game it would be as bad as we can imagine. But if the director was asked to make the game, to use the people involved in the movie, and use a game developer as he would a special effects department, it would be a completely different story.
I've no doubt if the games industry was given District 9 to make into a game it would be as bad as we can imagine. But if the director was asked to make the game, to use the people involved in the movie, and use a game developer as he would a special effects department, it would be a completely different story.
I wouldn't be so sure. James Cameron had a big involvement in Avatar, and look how well that turned out. Special effects aren't exactly a mystery to him, either.
yes but James Cameron by and large makes s**te movies that are saved by their effects. Pretty much what happened with both film and game versions of avatar.
District 9 could work as a game, but it'd definately be very half life esq.
a district 9 game would be crap, as they would probably get someone like EA or activision to publish it, and some company like ubisoft to develop it. it wouldnt work. the film, tho, is one of the only films i have ever seen which i could call flawless
yes but James Cameron by and large makes s**te movies that are saved by their effects. Pretty much what happened with both film and game versions of avatar.
Even if you don't like Avatar or Titanic......Terminator? T2? Aliens? The Abyss? TRUE LIES?!?!
Anyways, Avatar was fantastic, regardless of the effects - just not as gritty or real as District 9 felt.
yes but James Cameron by and large makes s**te movies that are saved by their effects. Pretty much what happened with both film and game versions of avatar.
Even if you don't like Avatar or Titanic......Terminator? T2? Aliens?
Anyways, Avatar was fantastic, regardless of the effects - just not as gritty or real as District 9 felt.
I'm with altitude on this one monkey. Even though Titanic is whack (I'm seeing Avatar on the 19th), those previous films are definitely some of the best movies of all time.
yes but James Cameron by and large makes s**te movies that are saved by their effects. Pretty much what happened with both film and game versions of avatar.
Even if you don't like Avatar or Titanic......Terminator? T2? Aliens?
Anyways, Avatar was fantastic, regardless of the effects - just not as gritty or real as District 9 felt.
I'm with altitude on this one monkey. Even though Titanic is whack (I'm seeing Avatar on the 19th), those previous films are definitely some of the best movies of all time.
I added The Abyss and True Lies to that list as well
yes but James Cameron by and large makes s**te movies that are saved by their effects. Pretty much what happened with both film and game versions of avatar.
Even if you don't like Avatar or Titanic......Terminator? T2? Aliens?
Anyways, Avatar was fantastic, regardless of the effects - just not as gritty or real as District 9 felt.
I'm with altitude on this one monkey. Even though Titanic is whack (I'm seeing Avatar on the 19th), those previous films are definitely some of the best movies of all time.
I added The Abyss and True Lies to that list as well
The Abyss I can agree with, not so much True Lies, although I did enjoy it when I first saw it.
yes but James Cameron by and large makes s**te movies that are saved by their effects. Pretty much what happened with both film and game versions of avatar.
Even if you don't like Avatar or Titanic......Terminator? T2? Aliens?
Anyways, Avatar was fantastic, regardless of the effects - just not as gritty or real as District 9 felt.
I'm with altitude on this one monkey. Even though Titanic is whack (I'm seeing Avatar on the 19th), those previous films are definitely some of the best movies of all time.
I added The Abyss and True Lies to that list as well
The Abyss I can agree with, not so much True Lies, although I did enjoy it when I first saw it.
Awww True Lies is amazing, such a great action movie. Arnie chasing a guy on motorbike with a horse. Or Arnie flying a harrier, which he can because, you know, he's a secret agent!
The first shots I saw of D9 I immediately thought of Halflife 2. When explaining the look of the movie to friends I would mention that.
D9 was one of my movies of the year. Sharlto Copley was excellent in it and it was his first movie too. He was funny and at other times, you just had to feel sorry for him getting s**t on time and time again. He was kind of a Gordon Freeman like character in how he was dropped right into the mixer and had to fight his way through all the obstacles that were put in front of him. The right man in the wrong place
The first shots I saw of D9 I immediately thought of Halflife 2. When explaining the look of the movie to friends I would mention that.
D9 was one of my movies of the year. Sharlto Copley was excellent in it and it was his first movie too. He was funny and at other times, you just had to feel sorry for him getting s**t on time and time again. He was kind of a Gordon Freeman like character in how he was dropped right into the mixer and had to fight his way through all the obstacles that were put in front of him. The right man in the wrong place
I loved Copley's Wikus. He was loveable, ditestable, pathetic and hilarious all in the same movie. Loved it.
I've no doubt if the games industry was given District 9 to make into a game it would be as bad as we can imagine. But if the director was asked to make the game, to use the people involved in the movie, and use a game developer as he would a special effects department, it would be a completely different story.
I wouldn't be so sure. James Cameron had a big involvement in Avatar, and look how well that turned out. Special effects aren't exactly a mystery to him, either.
James Cameron isn't a gamer, and I think that's the issue. I know he had some involvement in the game and made as much information available to the developers as possible, but that's not what I was suggesting. I don't think any of the current established directors would be much use as none of them are true gamers or grown up in this culture. I've read that Spielberg has shown a passing interesting and says he has played games and has or is slightly involved. Future directors who grow up playing games are people I'm talking about.
You can only imagine how amazing games based on the movies of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron or Ridley Scott would be if these guys were younger, grew up on games and actually cared to make games. Instead we have games made by people enthusiastic about their movies or characters but they don't possess the skills or artistry to really do the games much justice.
As has been mentioned movie-based games are always about making money. I accept that's the ultimate goal of all games, but there's often more care or passion involved in an original title than a movie tie-in.
In theory there's no logic behind why an original sci-fi based game should be better than one based on a sci-fi movie. But when you compare the work done by the games industry to that of the work of the movie industry it's clear the games industry in terms of writing, creativity and story-telling craftsmanship is still way behind it's counterpart. It will change, but I don't think the current established movie directors or games producers are the right people to do this.
Peter Jackson's apparently a bit of a gamer which was one of the reasons he was getting involved with the Halo movie.
Anyway, he hand-picked Michel Ancel to develop the King Kong game after he was so impressed with the way Ancel and his team developed the characters and story in Beyond Good and Evil.
A management game putting you in a role similar to Wikus could work. How the player treats the Prawns would reflect on them which ties in with the film thematically.
Peter Jackson's apparently a bit of a gamer which was one of the reasons he was getting involved with the Halo movie.
Anyway, he hand-picked Michel Ancel to develop the King Kong game after he was so impressed with the way Ancel and his team developed the characters and story in Beyond Good and Evil.
And more will come in future. The videogame/movie tie-in issue will be resolved in the same way comic-book movies have in recent years. There are more directors around today that grew up on comics and love comic book characters than there ever have been. Obviously the advance in effects has also been useful. And so now we're seeing more comic-book based movies than ever before, and the majority are of fairly good quality, at least compared to decades past. Games are still in their infancy compared to other entertainment mediums.
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