More immersive - Games or Movies

MooseJam

So just back from the cinema - The day the earth stood still - anyway got me thinking which is more immersive - movies or games, it's a toss up for me but I think games find it hard to comete with the jumbo screen and the surround sound setup - what do you think ?

Seifer

I think movies tell a better story. You develope a deeper understanding of the characters and why they're doing what they're doing (assuming it's a good movie).
However I think games are a better form of entertainment with much more staying power to them. I don't get how people can watch the same movie over and over. Nothing changes. Where as when you're playing a game (multiplayer) it's different every time.

mayordenis

purely talking about immersion there's really no contest - games win

but the overall entertainment experience is something where you can't call it.
Immersion, storeytelling, yadayada etc. are all part of a bigger picture and each medium will perform better in some aspects and worse in other.

Fnz

Movies are more immersive - having to interact using a controller to progress takes the player out of the experience. Movies put people in a more trance-like state and can be more affecting.

death1234567

mayordenis wrote: »

purely talking about immersion there's really no contest - games win

+1. You have control over the characters in a game they do what you tell them.
Which was more immersive the Tomb Raider movie or the game? The game.

thebman

Movies can be very immersive but in a different way. Movies bring across the athmosphere of the situation and make you care about the characters in the movie but you'll never feel like your in the movie.

Playing Mirrors Edge, I got to one part where bullets where flying past Faith and I found myself moving around a little trying to avoid them while also using the controller. You'll never have that weird feel when watching a movie. Used to happen to me in Gran Turismo when I was going off the circuit too. Its a weird automatic thing you don't even see yourself doing. Same in Half-Life.

Overall I think a lot of modern games have ruined their immersion in an attempt to look more cinematic and the over use of effects to make it seem like your not experiencing it but that your just a passenger guiding the character along. It probably has something to do with taking the colours out too. Just makes the games seem more boring and so its harder to get into them.

I think Half-Life is the perfect example of a great story line with a very immersive experience. The first Metroid Prime game is that good though. It takes longer to get into MP but after a while, you really get into it

petes

Reminds me of watching people who don't use comuters playing a car game. Moving to the left and right to steer!

uglyjohn

i'd say games can be but only a few are, it really depends on the genre (sp?) and if that is what the developers went for.

basically its FPS games that i find immersive, there is no real point in trying to compare pro ev or supreme commander to a good film in this context.

the same goes for most multiplayer games ( alhough MMOs are probably immersive, i dont play them so i dont know)

the exception being left 4 dead.

What i think gives games the ability to be immersive is the longer contact time which lets them be more subtle in adding backstory and atmosphere. you can play for a bit, go off and let it sink in, come back and play again....i think i played HL2 for about over 30hrs, i cant realy see how 2 hour film can compete with that.

its kinda like how if you read a book and then see the film, there simply isnt time in the film to put in the same level of information found in the book. Some film try to ram backstory in in an effort to create a "world" and it just doesnt work, or they have one film to set up the "world" before the series starts properly. there just isnt time in a film, unless you want to watch reams of text on screen of have characters explain current events to each other...both of those tecniques work better in game than on screen.

all that said, there are only a few games that try and be immersive, nmost try and be entertaining....

immersive: stalker, half life/portal L4D. deus ex oblivion, all these are games you spend a LONG time playing.


sorry for such a random lng post.

Varkov

FNZ, I just have to ask.

Is your avitar supposed to be Dante?

DirkVoodoo

Depends solely on the game for me, the medium is irrelevant.

I suppose you could point to games becoming more cinematic and "movie-like" in their direction. Mass Effect, MGS4 are all very much like movies.

Having said that, half life was quite unique in its narrative and definitely more immersive than any movie.

Fnz

Varkov wrote: »

FNZ, I just have to ask.

Is your avitar supposed to be Dante?

No, the only Dante I know of is the Devil May Cry protagonist and I wasn't trying to recreate him. Assuming you're talking about my Xbox (as opposed to my boards.ie) avatar, I just picked out some ridiculous looking features and went from there - just look at that leer...

Maybe I should 'monocle-up' my avatar; Xbox Live is a classy place after all.

petes

I have to say that the original Half Life and Deus Ex dragged me right in.


Don't get me started on Zelda!!

KilOit

Fine line really, games like FF7, Deus Ex, Bioshock etc etc drag me in for a few hours, but a good movie will do the same.

TerrorFirmer

Left 4 Dead really captured the frantic feel of a zombie movie, amazed it took them this long to produce such a game. It's a fantastic game in it's own right, but I'd love to see additions such as more weapons and perhaps more detailed textures like the HL2 high res packs.

Call of Duty has always held the crown for immersion in FPS games I think - some of the sequences in COD original and its predecessor Allied Assault are easily dismissed now but relative to the time, I was blown away by both - literally felt like I was playing WW2. COD2, COD4 - all excellent and in some ways better games but they don't have the same spirit and capture of the imagination.

It's a titanic shame that 90% of movie tie-ins are woeful games, because the potential they have for immersion is limitless. To 'play' Saving Private Ryan was my dream as a younger games player, COD and MOH:AA came about as close as could be gotten back in the day.

evil-monkey

I'll have to think on this one so I will...good thread though

/applauds OP