I enjoy video games in many different ways. Obviously, I play them. Although Davey Wreden’s The Beginner’s Guide is my favorite game, I’ve played through all of Kingdom Hearts 2 about 4x and I sink a ton of time into roguelikes (Steam alone says I have a total of 122 hours spread across 4 different roguelikes, 56 of those hours belonging to Rogue Legacy which I one-hundred percented, and there are still two roguelikes I haven’t even started). I also adore puzzle games, mostly for their variety. Roguelikes blend together a little bit, but puzzle games have a grand diversity that makes each one shine if polished correctly. My most played puzzle game on Steam is Mini Metro with 54 hours. Besides that, I watch more Overwatch and Monster Hunter streaming than is healthy for a growing boy. I’ve literally watch over a hundred hours but have no desire to play either of them. So what does all this matter?
A fun exercise I find myself doing more and more these days is distinguishing what makes each artistic medium different. Film’s eccentricities and unique aspects stick out to me, but video games steal a lot from them. Although video games’ cutscenes are where most of them pop up and are somewhat arguably not part of video games proper, I think films can learn from video games in turn. The main thing that sets video games apart from all other mediums is the game mechanic. Game mechanics are the ways players interact with the game world. In Super Mario Bros. players have the jump mechanic. This is the only time the audience is able to interact with the medium. They change the world that has been created for them. I think I like film more because I cannot change anything, I just have to sit back and accept it. I’m not trying to suggest that movies become interactive or choose your own adventure; rather, we should look to puzzle games for two different points of inspiration.
First, the exposition of the mechanic. Some video games are bad at this because pop-ups appear on screen telling the player which buttons to push and what the effect will be. But better games give the player space to explore the world as well as the mechanics. Being given this space to play allows me to feel more immersed in the world, but I understand that some games just cannot let the player go like this. Although I’ve never played a MoBA games before, I’m pretty sure there’s way too much happening mechanically to not provide instructions. But smaller games feel more intimate for this very reason. I think that films can treat exposition of style in the same way. It’s often said that filmmakers need to teach their audiences how to watch a movie. I think lazy filmmakers use the credit sequence to do this. They just slap some thematically appropriate music on top of a pretty background with some words flowing over it. Sure, the music slowly brings the audience into the tone and emotion of a movie, but usually not that movie in particular. Now look at Do The Right Thing. It’s inconceivable to imagine that title sequence over any other film and the audience is instantaneously introduced to the style. They are primed for the viewing experience they are about to receive and they got to jam out to Public Enemy at the same time. Stylistic exposition doesn’t have to come during the credits, but put something at the front of the film. Get Out, as amazing as the writing is, has a terrible opening in my opinion. I think we don’t learn how to watch the film and the commentary from the character is more annoying than it is enlightening. Almost the exact same opening works better in It Follows, a movie I enjoyed less but had better commitment to its directing and commits from the very start without faltering. What I want is for movies to bring us into the emotional and intellectual space of the film without making us aware of it so that we can immerse ourselves in the film.
Second, the expansion and exploration of that mechanic is equally as important. Making Mario jump is fun, but not forever. What does jumping allow Mario to do? Well, he can kill goombas and break blocks. In later games, Mario can string jumps together and explore new areas. In puzzle games, the central mechanic is usually augmented with side-mechanics or tools that the player gets over time. Essentially, the developers find ways to iterate on tasks by changing the way the player must view the game mechanic. In terms of film style, I think this means we cannot just use a high angle constantly to show someone is powerful. This would be like forcing a player to do the same puzzle over and over again but maybe just with a change of scenery. We must develop the language of a film over time. We must either shift when that language is used or slowly alter what the meaning is. As filmmakers, we inherit techniques from over a century of masters and it’s very easy to take what we are given and stop there. But audiences are smart and we need to be smarter. So we need to take what we are given and expand upon it. Deepening our understanding of a mechanic or changing how that mechanic works applies perfectly to how style in film should operate. If a visual motif is repeated often enough, it is no longer a motif because it becomes an obvious sign telling viewers what to think. We must constantly challenge people and ourselves.
I like video games and I love movies. I spend most of my free time between the two and I can’t help but to have these thoughts pop into my head when I’m taking a shower. I’m always excited to think of how I can make better films and so I think stealing from the things I love most is a good way to start.
It’s never really game over,
Austin
A Bigger Boat 