Spector: Videogames Still "Comic Books" and "Cartoons"

[Tom Goldman]

Spector: Videogames Still "Comic Books" and "Cartoons"

Warren Spector says videogames may continue to be disregarded by society if the industry doesn't get away from the current path it's on.

Spector took the stage at GDC Europe this week to talk about his development philosophy, and of course his upcoming Wii game Epic Mickey [http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Epic-Mickey-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B002I0GEXM]. Ironically, Spector says that the industry needs to get away from ideas that began in comic books, and to realize that photorealism isn't achievable yet even in the games with the best graphics.

Part of the reason that parts of society may see videogames as a hobby of nerds and geeks is because games are still following what Spector calls "male adolescent fantasies." Despite gaming making strides in the past decade, he says: "If we don't break out of big buff guys with swords and guys in tights and space marines in armor, we're going to get marginalised in the way comics have been in the United States. I hope we can break free of the content of comic books."

Spector also feels that videogames aren't going to be able to compete with movies, and may want to take roads other than extremely realistic graphics to reach their audiences. He believes that "in some respects we're still making cartoons" and that studios would be better served trying to create their own visual styles rather than replicating every wrinkle and pore in a character's face. Even with games out there like Heavy Rain, Spector feels videogames "fall far far short of what people expect from a movie."

Games are about the "player experience" to Spector, and his goal is to make "repeated action" fun. "Our job is to find ways to change the context around the repeated actions that we offer players, so you can do something and it's as much fun the thousandth time as the first time," he said. This is the core of a game to him, not killing dragons and powerful graphics.

Spector's Epic Mickey is his shot at creating a different experience for gamers to enjoy in an iconic world. His comments hearken back to a time when everything was made out of pixels and bright colors, so a game's style was all it had. It wasn't about creating something that looked incredible, but about making something that was fun and unique. The problem is that space marines [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102846-Trailer-Dragon-Age-2s-Possessed-Hero-Unleashed-in-March] sell games really well, so I don't think Spector's hopes for the future are going to happen.

Source: GI.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-08-16-spector-were-still-making-cartoons]

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[Space Jawa]

What, is there something wrong with Comic Books and Cartoons? I happen to like Comic Books and Cartoons, thank you very much.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Well looking at cartoons in the west they are nothing but a marketing tool to sell ads or toys, in the east they are treated like prime time TV or film. As far as comics go......the story telling can be better than prime time because of how cheap and dumb TV/Film is getting.

So ya its not what you have its what you do with it and of course gaming is the most disposable dumping ground of modern media so meh.

 

[TheDukester]

Maybe the shoddy storylines have something to do with the fact that most gaming studios feel that they don't need a dedicated writing team. Or it could have something to do with how male-dominated the industry seems to be.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Maybe the shoddy storylines have something to do with the fact that most gaming studios feel that they don't need a dedicated writing team. Or it could have something to do with how male-dominated the industry seems to be.

HA! Have you watched any prime time TV show lately? Its just as bad!

 

[Breaker deGodot]

What, is there something wrong with Comic Books and Cartoons? I happen to like Comic Books and Cartoons, thank you very much.

You're kind of missing the point. Of course WE like comics and cartoons, but Spector is talking about the average person (read: moron), who thinks that comics and cartoons are kids stuff.

 

[Unrulyhandbag]

you think comic books are marginalized in the US? at least there's a market. In the UK you rarely see a newsagent with more than a handful of copies of one or two that are already reserved and specialist shops are nigh on non-existent.

They aren't just teenage fantasies but almost entirely a teenage only product, which is a shame as some are worth a read. The same goes for cartoons.

Funnily Games do far better and outsell other almost all other media so they must be doing something far better than the supposed source material.

edit:
actually mr Spector has a point though; As much as I love a read of Sandman, V for vendetta and their ilk, the normal marvel and DC fare really are little more than teenage fantasy fluff that have mostly long outgrown any believability. If gaming ever becomes as self referencing and masturbatory as those then it can kiss mainstream acceptability goodbye.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

"If we don't break out of big buff guys with swords and guys in tights and space marines in armor, we're going to get marginalised in the way comics have been in the United States. I hope we can break free of the content of comic books."

Comic books have become marginalized because

A) Video games took over their market and
B) Because Superhero comics became completely inaccessable to anyone who doesn't know 10+ years of 20 different comic series' continuity

 

[zombie711]

well I belive manga is still well and alive in the world of comics

 

[Danallighieri]

Interesting thing to say... mind you a video game generally keeps me amused longer than a film

 

[CanadianWolverine]

As much as I respect Warren Spector's views for some of the great moments in classic PC gaming that it brought us (seriously, take a look at things this man has said in the past and the games where his name shows up in the credits) but in this I think he is wrong. Comics have evolved into graphic novels and webcomics (edit: and oh yeah, manga, though it is arguable that manga evolved before comics did but then again, we as a species have been crafting drawn/sketched/carved/painted art stories since cave walls have been a part of our existence) ... and games have evolved beyond simply trying to be as good as a movie to being better than one when they aspire to be what they are, which means being interactive and removal of interactivity lowers it to the level of being a movie and probably a B-Movie straight to DVD at that. The better the interactivity and reactivity of a game, the better it can be than a movie where you are told a story to where the player gets to dictate and experience the player character's story.

How many games would be better if they had comic styled graphics rather than trying to be realistic which will only look dated later and then dedicate the time they would have spent on the sparklely images to better fleshing out the interactivity and reactivity (game play mechanics) of their settings and non-player characters?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Man promoting Cartoon Videogame complains Videogames are Cartoonlike.

Escapists Readers Demand CEOs stop acting like numptys.

 

[bojac6]

I continue to agree with Spector on just about everything. While I'm sure the comic book type games will continue, I do really look forward to development on different themes and new types of games. Now if only Epic Mickey wasn't just for the Wii...

 

[sageoftruth]

I can certainly agree with Spector about choosing a unique art style over realistic graphics. Vanillaware has always been after my heart for that reason.

 

[Plinglebob]

What, is there something wrong with Comic Books and Cartoons? I happen to like Comic Books and Cartoons, thank you very much.

You're kind of missing the point. Of course WE like comics and cartoons, but Spector is talking about the average person (read: moron), who thinks that comics and cartoons are kids stuff.

I think moron is a bit unfair. The biggest problem with comics, cartoon and games is that they were initially meant for kids (and a lot still are) and so rather then seeing these mediums as accesable, interesting and sometimes innovated ways of story-telling, they just see them as items for adults who don't want to abandon their childhood hobbies and grow up.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I get what he's saying but I'm not sure I agree. First, the game playing audience is getting older. Yeah, the old guard may still be looking at videogames as toys or something for kids, but the people who grew up with videogame controllers in their hands are now the ones who are having their own children. It's a process of evolution.

I do, however, agree that games should be more open to other possibilities and approaches. Don't get rid of the games pushing the realism boundary, even if it's in the form of space marines and war games, but continue to produce titles outside of that space as well. The diversity that one can find in the movie business is something to aspire too but it should also be looked at realistically. Look at this past weekend's top 5 money earners. Sure we've got Inception and Scott Pilgrim up there making money, but the top 3 were a "war games" action movie, a by the numbers "chick flick" and a buddy cop movie. That's not exactly what I call an arty eccentric list.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Games about guys with swords and space marines are still not as popular as games about repeatedly clicking on farms or games about repeatedly swinging a wiimote in a bowling game.

There isn't really anything wrong with comic books themselves, in my opinion, other than that I don't really like the most popular content. But I guess if it was all like Y: The Last Man or Transmetropolitan then it would be even more marginalised.

 

[Loonerinoes]

Videogames are actually a VERY young medium if you compare them to comic books and cartoons, which have been around for something like 90 years or so, comics even longer than that. In comparison videogames have what...30 years?

Then there's also the thing of 'copying what works'. So long as big time publishers will be unwilling to take risks, I'm pretty sure videogames will continue to be regarded much like comics and cartoons.

Which to be honest kind of doesn't bother me in the slightest. Because I've read and seen cartoons and comics that put most movies to shame. Just as I've played videogames far deeper than even a good book could go.

 

[Stabby Joe]

I'm sorry but this reads like a statment by someone whose a critic of the games industry.

When were cartoon and comics disregarded by the mainstream? Cartoons have always been respected on the same level as TV and film and comics (or graphic novels as they are now called) have very quickly become important, more so in the film industry for obvious reasons.

Further more there's the mention of video games about space marines and fantasy heroes... yeah film has never touched those... let alone made lots of money and praise at the same time.