Jimquisition: Videogames Are Not Movies, Get Over It

[EscChaos]

Focusing on pathos and swearing to emphasize an argument does not make you insightful. Of course I prefer the proponents of a particular view to be passionate and involved with the subject at hand but in this case it just twists and contorts and reduces the show to utter mediocrity.

He never actually puts forward a valid argument. No differentiating two mediums by their origins by the way must be the most redundant argument I have ever heard as there is no further step beyond that statement. Gaming is defined by interactivity not that Nintendo did something in the 80s. The reason people compare VGs and films is because of them both being visually dynamic mediums and often work with the same methods of putting forward a story.
Let's be honest, a cut-scene is a short film and if the scene or level is only vaguely interactive as is the case with parts in the CoD games it's valid to ask whether this is significantly different from a movie.

You can't both claim that games shoudn't be compared to films and then say they are better.

 

[bdcjacko]

What the hell? I don't need a rambling rant about video games not being movies. I already knew that.

But do devs know it? If they did Homefront probably wouldn't have happened, after all they had Hollywood consultants, CIA operatives, and novelists, all of which who have no idea how to write for a game, and they never thought "wait, do any of these guys know to write a video game?".

Well go fucking tell them. Everyone on this site already knows video game aren't movies.

 

[Nerf Ninja]

All I got from his constant swearing was that he was unsure about exactly what he was going to say next. It's a fairly common trait amongst the British that when we get "het up" we swear a lot.

 

[punipunipyo]

um... this guy is like... Bob's big picture gone Zeropunctuation(with punctuation), done "personal"; instead behind graphics, he's behind shades...

Comments:
Amen bratha!~ actually, why not just go all the way and say Game>Film! Delivering sound narratives is ONLY the beginning! the audience(s) of games actually "INTERACT" with the medium! There is no Hour limit for the story to take place! movies couldn't hold their audiences for more than 3.5 hours!

The film critics who denounces games as an art medium are simply clinching on to their last (dying) breath! They know their medium is reached it's peak, golden era, climax. there is not much you can do to top what's already there, their medium is dying out, being replaced, they want to boast superiority for the remaining time they had. they want to go down praising their dead god, because they've simply spent their entire lifetime devoting to this trend, and when the new one came, they just can't adjust, thus they discriminate now, while ours is at a growing phase.

Yes, games are not movies; games have BETTER POTENTIAL then movies. Studies showed that people who watching TV/Movies, their minds go inactive, while people who plays games, their minds ARE VERY much active! it's a different medium, different history, different style of creations, but one thing for sure:

Any/Every thing that a movie can deliver, a game have the ability to do so better!

Mock my words, this IS the truth!

 

[bdcjacko]

What the hell? I don't need a rambling rant about video games not being movies. I already knew that.

But do devs know it? If they did Homefront probably wouldn't have happened, after all they had Hollywood consultants, CIA operatives, and novelists, all of which who have no idea how to write for a game, and they never thought "wait, do any of these guys know to write a video game?".

Well go fucking tell them. Everyone on this site already knows video game aren't movies.

I wish that was true, once in while I hear somebody complaining about things like how "removing regenerating health would ruin the cinematic effect", even this site has it's "games aren't art, movies are better" crowd (albeit in much smaller number).

Cinematic effect doesn't mean they think games are movies. It just means cinematic effect. Still this is a gaming site where most everyone here is a game player not a game maker. Sure there are a few game makers here and there. So my point remains, I don't need the Stay Puft Marshmallowman ranting and cussing at me about games are not art. I don't care how reflective his sunglasses are.

 

[littlerudi08107]

So he pretty much reiterated every point that Yahtzee already made

 

[DenUrs]

I'm sorry, but this is the worst show I've seen at the Escapist so far. It really doesn't add anything new to the site that Yahtzee and Moviebob don't already do a million times better.

Btw, narrative of games at the same level as movies? Sorry, I love games, but you have to admit that at the moment the level of quality of narratives of the average game still isn't that great. Sure, there are games which do this brilliantly, but on average, they're not yet on the level.

 

[ultimasupersaiyan]

I like this guy. An in your face kinda guy to add to The Escapist stable. I look forward to seeing more of these. He definately made some good points in this video.

Also I like the fact that Zorn and Thorns theme from Final Fantasy IX was playing in the background.

 

[MB202]

Wow... This guy actually makes quite a bit of sense!

Also, I LOVE how he used music from Kirby Air Ride/Hoshi no Kirby (the Kirby anime).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQiC2b1YmJI

 

[tlozoot]

Content wise fairly standard and nothing we haven't really seen before.

Delivery wise that was one of the most annoying and deliberately inflammatory things I've ever seen. I don't want to feel like I'm being shouted down when I watch something for entertainment. Will probably not be watching any more of these based on this very, very poor first impression.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

See my above quote, from the advert alone I thought it was going to be Jim Cornette

Be thankful he didn't have a tennis racket. And, who knows....maybe it's his son?

........

On second thought, don't think too much into that.

 

[proghead]

You don't know what you got until it's gone. I want Lisa back. :-/

 

[TheSnesDuckling]

The Big Picture does it better. You're boring. Sorry.

 

[t3hmaniac]

aww, I was expecting Jim Cornette

 

[Dack_Martini]

Couldn't make it past the first two minutes. I wouldn't even listen to you in the pub. On a different site I'd ignore you as another example of god-awful YouTube commentators that think they're hilarious. One for the ignore bin.

 

[Fullmetalfox]

Welcome to The Escapist, Jim.

 

[Dale Cooper]

If we throw him a cheesecake do you think he will fuck off?

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

Well that was unimpressive. Do we need yet another contributor who's job is to deliver scathing commentary through fast speech and swearing? I would argue not. I get that he's a (presumably) big name in terms of the internet in relation to gaming, but that doesn't mean he's a particularly good orator.

With regards to the video itself: The point was made; unfortunately, I wouldn't say it was made very clearly or delivered well. The medium of rant is not the best way to make a point and I think this video proved it. There were some good arguments amongst the mindless ranting though, especially regarding the treatment of games as inferior to Hollywood productions and the argument concerning the fine line between art and pretention (a point for another video, perhaps?) but overall the mistakes, the halting speech and the fact that its pretty much the same trick as a number of other Escapist videos brings this down.

Still, I'll keep an eye out for the next video, and see if any of the problems with this first video are addressed. Try again next week.