The best of your comments on the latest films and music
The holy grail of computer gaming, gpwayne informs us, is "an experience where the gamer is in an 'interactive' film". That observation was a response to Jane Graham's piece asking whether gaming could ever match the experience given by cinema, given the suggestion that a new generation of games already all but match films for emotional immersion.
There were three sides to the argument. One, summed up by CentralBelter ? "Are novels better than symphonies? Discuss" ? held it was a ridiculous comparison to make.
A second ? we'll take quipu as our spokesperson ? took issue with the notion that gaming cannot generate true emotion: "People have pointed out that games cannot imbue their characters with any humanity, and that a series of pixels will always fail to capture the subtle nuance available to human actors. First of all, Pixar has proven that computer-generated images cannot only be imbued with life, but have made us able to sympathise with computer-generated characters."
The third perspective was that the task-driven nature of games robbed them of nuance, even though so many take direct inspiration from movies. MalignantDoublethink pointed out how easy it would be to make a game based on The Battle of Algiers while completely missing the power of the film: "The movie is not about shooting, looting ammunition from dead bodies, looking for a strategic cover or smuggling a bomb unnoticed in a crowded place. Performing the actions yourself, shifting the role of an audience into the role of the performer, would de-emphasise the drama, the very theme of the movie. By the time you are executing the actions, your thought is not inside the game's mindset, or context ? it is inside itself, wrapped in its own solitude. The execution is for the sake of its execution."
So, that holy grail of game-as-participatory movie: what chance? Let's ask gpwayne. "The 'holy grail' is an impossible one, if the story is to remain the key driver of our interest and interaction. That said, there is another kind of gaming, one where there is considerable freedom and a lack of predictability, and that of course is online, cooperative gaming. It was a revelation when the first online games appeared, because finally there was a way to introduce utterly random, but meaningful, interactions, without spending inordinate amounts of time trying to program AI interactivity (boy, do we have a long way to go with that one)."
Might it be fair to say that reactions to Kaiser Chiefs' surprise album release ? listeners can create their own album from 20 tracks, as revealed in last week's F&M ? was dictated by whether or not one liked the band? So FrancescFabregas unleashed this broadside: "Let's be honest here, this is nothing more than a last-ditch throw at the dice for the most nauseating band that have ever been handed a recording contract. Their last album flopped like Bobby Davro jumping off that high board on Channel 4 and I thought we may have seen the last of them." Shocktactix responded: "I just spent an enjoyable hour picking my favourite tracks and creating my own album. A cynical marketing ploy maybe, but I like the Kaiser Chiefs and it's great to have some new material."
A practical objection came from SaveTheWorldLikeBono: "I can't understand why you would pay for a portion of the band's latest material, and then go to the gig and be clueless as to 10 songs they're playing despite having paid for their latest work."
Comment of the week came from frenchdogblues, in response to our report of a movie cut of the Rob Bryson/Steve Coogan TV show The Trip for the US: "They're doing a remake ? with Seth Rogan and Seann William Scott in the lead roles driving through the midwest. Judd Apatow directs. Can't wait."
Simone Mütherthies Carrie Underwood Rosario Dawson Tricia Helfer Elena Lyons
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