Film critic Roger Moore is a presumptuous, ignorant and sad individual. In his review of the Max Payne movie, a film which supposedly bears little relevance to the game it shares a name with, Moore has taken a rather pathetic excuse to slam videogames, haughtily claiming that they are "emotionally inferior" to movies.
The height of his arrogance comes when he claims that nobody ever cried over the death of a videogame character. So he's either a moron or a liar, then:
But as good as a couple of its action beats are, Max still suffers from the heartlessness that makes games emotionally inferior to movies. Nobody ever shed a tear over a video-game character's death.
I'm not sure what it is about film critics that make them so willfully ignorant about the achievements games have made in terms of storytelling, but they seem to actively revel in their own self-imposed stupidity. Perhaps they're jealous that games earn more money and are becoming more culturally relevant than the medium they chose to spend their life discussing?
But in any case, Moore is pathetically wrong. Several games in the Final Fantasy and the Metal Gear Solid series have seen me shed a tear, and I know my colleagues can say the same of other titles. Despite what this wretchedly presumptuous individual claims (and really, how dare he have the gall to speak for everyone?) not every game is heartless and vapid. You could say the same of most movies -- no film has ever made me personally cry, unless it was a typically bad Hollywood adaptation of something superior that I love.
Roger Moore clearly has zero knowledge about videogames, and he should keep his mouth shut on the subject because he only serves to betray his own blinkered and rather dismal view on popular culture. I don't even think we should be too mad at this clearly bitter and deluded hack. We should probably feel sorry for a man who can't allow himself to understand some of the amazing experiences games can now offer.
[Thanks, Eryc]
Contest:
2:42 AM on 10.17.2008
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Character death in Persona 3, same thing.
Someone tell this guy to actually play a decent story game eh?
For this movie critic to feel as if he has to throw a jab at the gaming medium just to tell us that the Max Payne movie sucks, really shows just how little he knows about us. I mean, we already knew it was going to suck. In fact, he could have saved his $7.50 if he'd just had enough respect to ask for our opinion on the trailer commercials.
Film is loosing ground to games. And most reviewers will be out of the job; too many of them anyway.
Games have proven near recession-proof, whereas the film industry has been shooting itself in the foot even at the best of economic times:
Cinemas only get a small percentage (25%, or 10% if the movie is The Phantom Menace) of every ticket sale (this increases per week as of the films release).
This pushes food and drink up, and wages down, and eliminates equity to upgrade or maintain cinema systems.
It's no mystery why the only film in the cinema I've seen in the last year has been The Dark Knight. And that's put me off for ever from that particular cinema.
The people "protecting the artists" (and through inaction, the artists themselves), have hardly enamoured themselves to us.
Your name sounds incredibly familiar...
MY MEDIUM IS BETTER THAN YOUR MEDIUM
Also, crying is for girls.
Then again, I never shed a tear playing any game or any movie for that matter. However, I was scared shitless while playing Friday the 13th for the NES as a kid.
Also, early morning (Eastern time) post. Smacking this asshole down must've been high on Sterling's "To do" list.
Also, early morning (Eastern time) post. Smacking this asshole down must've been high on Sterling's "To do" list.
-The End of Half-Life 2 Ep. 2
-(Obviously) Areis' fate
-The bad ending of The Force Unleashed (but at least you get one of the coolest costumes in the game for it)
-When Link and Saria parted ways
-Any number of moments throughout the Metal Gear series
Barring the odd exception, films are far more superior to games when it comes to emotional attachments, in my opinion, while games are gradually catching up. Mind you, the subject matter for films strecthes from Bambi to Brokeback Mountain.
It was a point that didn't need to be made in such a way but it does raise an interesting discussion, just like the idea of recognisable "directors" of games immerging to give the industry some more recognition to the mainstream media - what else does the games industry need to get the world's attention?
Rmoore@Orlandosentinel.Com
This is also not the first time he came off as pretentious, ignorant, close-minded, and smug:
http://silentbobspeaks.com/?p=291
I don't know why Florida hasn't found a better movie critic for the Orlando Sentinel yet.
This guy is a douchebag.
lost odyssey end of disk one, and klonoas ending made me cry
I curled into a fetal position and cried like a toddler in a crowd of people watching million dollar baby
If you can get attached to a movie character in less that two hours, imagine how attached you can get to a game character who you follow through 50+ hours.
moore@orlandosentinel.com
I am not ashamed to say I cried...the tears are welling up now just thinking about it...
If anybody does email him, just say that he could have raised a good question as to whether or not games can have the same emotional effect as films do. Maybe not, maybe so, but his extreme point of view was a pathetic stance, undermining millions of people.
Games ARE by and large shallow, emotionless experiences. If you die, you respawn at the checkpoint or reload your last save. Even those games with a story of some kind rarely connect with the player because the plot is usually linear, shallow and meaningless. Or its the other extreme and the plot is meaninglessly complex akin to a comic book where if someone dies because they'll probably get resurrected in the sequel or something.
Usually somebody drags out Shadow of the Colossus as a game with some kind of moral backbone. Maybe it does, but where are the others? Most movies are vapid too but there are plenty that push the right buttons.
Perhaps game stories just suck. Perhaps games alter the way viewers / players interact and see characters. I expect the answer is a little of both.
I doubt that he will ever read it, but it helped make me less angry.
I would have had all the great research paper material I needed! If the writer/producer/director of a particular movie can communicate emotion through imagery, musical score (orchestra & movie music), and all that, then I think the same can be done with the story in video games.
Basically, with regard to the audience emotions, as long as suspension of disbelief is maintained, then the media matters not, IMO.
Fair play to you. Perhaps he will not be able to resist looking. Unfortunately, quotes like "I don't think anyone has ever cried over the death of a film critic.... can we shoot him in the face?" will not garner any kind of genuine response or change of attitude.
There are, no doubt, plenty of games that are shallow crap. But there are also games like Trinity, Planetfall, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Planescape Torment, The Longest Journey, Grim Fandango, and Syberia that contain powerful and moving stories.
I like how you slander comic books as well. Sure, there's a lot of crap out there, but there's also Maus, Watchmen, and Bone.
I'm on the fourth disc of Lost Odyssey right now. It's such a sweet miasma of grief and suffering.
Pro Tip: Games are art. Even if a movie critic says they aren't.
Jim next review you do for a game based on a movie, say that no one ever cried about a movie characters death. See if movie buffs then talk about it, on the internet.
Comments like this are fucking stupid.
HOW DARE YOU...
I cried every time my Mario died, for every Lemming in lemmings that did not make it to the end. Everytime I respawned in Halo I lost a part of my soul to the emotional pain and distress it caused me.
How dare you say most games are shallow compared to movies death scenes such as:
The Green Mile
A walk to remember
Moulin Rouge
My life without me
Ladder 49
Nouvelle France
Life as a house
Titanic
E.T. - E.T. Dies.
Bambi - Bambis mother dies.
The Lion King - Simbas Father Dies.
City of Angels - Meg Ryan dies
Homeward Bound - Shadow's last words.
Mickey Christmas Carol - Tiny Tim
Cocoon - Pool Scene
Grumpier Old Men - Pop Dies
All Dogs go to Heaven - The Ending
I am Legend - Remembering Sam the dog
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - Ant dies
Short Circuit 2 - Johnny 5 broken
The Outsiders - Johnny Dies
Never Ending Story 2 - Memory of Mother
Lassie - Lassie drowns
Click - Adam Sandler dies (lulz)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - The station scene
Rocky 3 - Mickey dies
My Girl - the Funeral
Edward Scissorhands - Vincent dies
Radio - Mother dies
Lord of the Rings - Frodo leaves
Forrest Gump - Missing Jenny.
How preposterous.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that finished Dreamfall.
There were a lot of emotional points in that game. Been a while since I even thought of the game, though. Thanks for the memories.
How come no one's brought up having to incinerate your companion cube in Portal? Srsly.
@lrgdup
Yikes. Attacking Kevin Smith's rampant commercialization of his own life? Where does this guy get off? Thank God Smith has a blog in order to defend himself from pretty much anyone who takes issue with the joke that has become his career. Also, great advertising opportunity! It's win every which way you slice it!
""Yay now a blog has been written his mind will change. Oh wait the world doesn't work like that does it? Damn"
Comments like this are fucking stupid."
Comments on the internet are fucking stupid. Didn't you read that onion article about the town idiot posting comments?
Also 'that' moment in the Darkness - didn't cry but I was totally enraged by it, so don't try and tell me theres no emotional connection!