Cinema is “cinematic”: the former is the predominant art form of the 21st century, while the latter is its “essence” that can be borrowed by other media like TV and video games. But for all intents and purposes, art media are uniquely distinguishable from each other.
Even though movies have come to the point where they’re now borrowing from videogames, videogames have already borrowed many cups of sugar from its more developed neighbour with varying amounts of success. But to what end? To make video games that are more like movies, or movies that are more like video games?
The difference between those two choices seem to depend on whether you enjoy sitting through an unskippable cutscene, but in the end it doesn’t matter. No matter how cinematic video games become, even to the point of becoming “movies you play with a controller in your hand”, it’s still a video game—one that depends on the player to give it life..
Fear Effect (2000) is a video game inspired by the controls and cinematic angles from Resident Evil (1996) to give the player an experience not unlike watching a movie. Whereas an action game usually provides a full, unobstructed view of their hero, Fear Effect trades spatial awareness for intrigue and style.
And even though it’s a game about sneaking around and getting into gun battles, Fear Effect is surprisingly contemplative. Despite its great action, the Resident Evil-control scheme slow things down to help you get outside your head—that is, simultaneously get its player to act as a spectator who comments “That was cool” as well as the game’s hero who makes the assertion “I did that”*.
Fear Effect has a different context and than Resident Evil, but both games disable the freedom of movement for different purposes: Resident Evil has its players panic and they frantically try to flee for their lives, while Fear Effect allows for the aforementioned dichotomy as a player/spectator so they can better appreciate the game’s cinematic qualities.
But no matter how much they borrow from movies, videogames aren’t movies—they depend on interactions to continue the game experience, and so will always be telling a separate narrative from the game’s story, that being of the player’s own motivations and success.
Fear Effect is a cool cinematic videogame, but it’s not a videogame I’d like to see translated into a movie. I don’t need to watch the entire procedure of obtaining keys and keycards that is the heart of Fear Effects gameplay.
As much as video games and movies borrow from each other, each is fundamentally different from the other. Movies will get to the point of a scene much quicker for an emotional payoff, while video games immerse a player in the details of completing every single task in order to complete an objective.
After finishing a complete run-through of Fear Effect lasting several hours and uncovering its true story, it could be that its story could make a cool movie. However, in order to become a 90-minute theatrical release, that movie will excise everything that is video game about it.
We often wonder why videogames don’t make for good movies, but then the stories of video games are just a placeholder context for a player to compete in. This is why the very best videogame movie to have ever been made—Edge of Tomorrow—isn’t based on an existing video game property, but upon the essence of videogames itself.
Meanwhile, stop and smell the roses of the lush cinematic world of Fear Effect by stumbling your way down corridors, not knowing how to walk in a straight line.
* Bruce Willis in Die Hard 4
How far I got in half an hour: Found a machine gun, but wasn’t able to shoot four guys in the back. I know, the shame.
The good: I love the fact that the cinematics and the game play graphics are more or less the same.
The bad: The path to victory is to shoot guys in the back. Can’t I stab anyone, you know, like a normal sociopath?
Will I play this game once this year is over: Absolutely. I have to know how the movie turns out.
Days so far in the Year of the Play-a-DayStation: 31
Play-a-Daystation 