by Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) --"Films and games are huge industries that are converging at light speed," explained Hollywood film producer, Michael Peyser, addressing a mixed group of Chinese and U.S. film students and game designers at a recent lecture hosted by the International Culture Collaborative (ICC).
ICC is a joint U.S.-China non-profit organization founded to promote cooperative ventures between the US and China and bridge the culture gap. They host a series of special events and symposiums throughout the year, including the upcoming "U.S.-China Entertainment Innovation Summit" in Los Angeles in October on the heels of the Hollywood Film Festival.
As a tenured professor of University of Southern California"s famed School of Cinematic Arts, Peyser often lectures on economic developments and the future of the entertainment industry.
"As members of the entertainment industry, you have an opportunity to influence the future of gaming," he asserted.
The convergence between two of the world"s largest entertainment industries " film and gaming - has long been considered the Holy Grail of the industry.
By uniting motion pictures, a 50 billion U.S. dollars global industry, and gaming, now a 140 billion U.S. dollars industry, industry pundits have prophesied that even more lucrative franchises could be created.
Said Donna Zhang, President of ICC, "Films and games are big business. When they come together, even bigger enterprise is possible."
So what is driving this convergence potential? What unites films and games?
"Good storytelling," Peyser said. "Character and story are what drives entertainment. You"ve got to get that right."
Peyser was also quick to say that the convergence of film and gaming still has a long way to go with several inherent obstacles to overcome.
Although such mega-hits franchises as "Tombraider" and "Resident Evil" and family films like "Wreck It Ralph" or "Angry Birds" were successful crossovers from games to movies, that level of success is far from guaranteed.
"The viewer becomes the character in a film or game in very different ways. With a film, the viewer watches the story as a passive observer. With a game, the viewer interacts with the digital world and get to make choices," Peyser explained.
"Movies are third-person passive entertainment experiences, while games are immersive and interactive play platforms. Movies are a two or three hour experience. But you can play the same game for hundreds of hours," Peyser told Xinhua. "So, gamers are not natural moviegoers."
To many, the robust interactivity and immersive nature of gaming is both a blessing and a curse.
Said Jiewen Wang, a film editor and participant in the event, "In China, gamers play for hours and hours without stopping. This can be dangerous."
Peyser agreed and posited that this problem is likely to intensify as first-person games become a reality, further blurring the line between the gamer"s immersive experience and reality.
"We have breakthrough digital rendering tools and AI programs that will allow gameplay to evolve to another level. It will enable players to place themselves in the game as first-person players," he explained to Xinhua.
"You will no longer just watch Luke Skywalker battling to save the day - you will be Luke Skywalker. That"s a real gamechanger."
But story will still be key. "The reason games like "Walden" and "Elder Scrolls" are so popular is their rich, immersive, and interactive storylines," Peyser contends.
"Walden," a game based on the experiences of the classic American author Henry David Thoreau"s idyllic life in the woods, was developed under the guidance of Peyser's colleague, Tracy Fullerton, Chair of the USC Interactive Media & Games Division and Director of USC"s Game Innovation Lab.
In sharp contrast to popular trigger games like "Warcraft" or "Counterstrike," players of "Walden" learn how to survive in and derive inspiration from the glories of nature around them.
Peyser postulated that literature could become the gateway to new ways in which users can participate in a digital world. Children could play the "Monkey King" and face not only adventures with important choices along the journey, but also absorb the wealth of their cultural heritage and deeper societal values beyond the ubiquitous gamer mantra of "kill or be killed".
"The scary thing is how gaming is changing our brains. It is reducing people"s ability to carry on a good conversation, to be 'present" with another person. But you need that to be able to socialize and engage me in your story,"said Peyser.
He urges gamers to balance the lure of "the matrix" with the real world.
"Take time to interact with real people. Go to the park with someone who doesn"t even like games and have a real conversation for 4 hours. I promise you, it"ll be worth it," he chuckled.
