Choice Reviews Online · 2003 · 184 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesFilm StudiesFilm AestheticsFilm TheoryGenre StudiesFilm AudiencesFilm GenresLanguage In FilmVideo Game CultureVideo Game StudiesComparative Film AnalysisFilm IndustryFilm TitlesInteractive CinemaMedia FranchisesPopular Film GenresVideo Game Industry
Hollywood film franchises are routinely adapted into video games, which often borrow film genres and branding, yet games also provide distinct interactive experiences. The study asks how cinema and video games influence each other, whether they merge languages, and to what extent films adopt game‑like qualities. ScreenPlay applies film analysis techniques to video games, comparing player experiences with cinematic ones to assess similarities and differences.
What is the relationship between cinema and videogames? Hollywood film franchises are routinely translated into games. Some game titles make the move onto the big screen, none more prominently than Lara Croft, iconic star of the Tomb Raider series. Games often depend on recognised film genres, milieu or devices for branding and marketing. Some aspire to a film-like quality of graphics and action. But games also offer markedly different experiences, especially in the realm of interactivity. And what happens in the interface between cinema and games console or PC? Is there a merging of languages as games influence movies and movies influence games? Are some films becoming increasingly like games, and to what extent do they draw on the characteristics of Hollywood or other forms of cinema? ScreenPlay: cinema/videogames/interfaces investigates all these issues and explores the extent to which the tools of film analysis can be applied to games, in particular how the pleasures (and frustrations) of computer games can be compared with those of cinema.