11:54 AM on 11.27.2007
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Nex
Those of you not living in the tremendous shadow of Harry Knowles may not be aware of this, but the Writers Guild of America -- the union containing almost every film and television writer in Hollywood -- is on strike. Since it appears the studio execs are comfortable running reality TV and living off of their wealth during the strike, and the public outcry has been basically non-existent, the writers have been looking for new ways to supplement their now missing income, and gaming is apparently being seen as a viable alternative. GI.biz has a quote:
According to a report in Variety, work in videogames is something that the WGA is keen to embrace at some point, but as it hasn't yet its members are free to work on them during the strike.
Their piece goes on to say that a move to game writing would be a monetary hit for most WGA members, but when the decision eventually becomes one of "monetary hit vs eating your children for sustenance," we assume we'll be seeing more Hollywood-types being hired on at EA and Activision.
Then again, if you've seen a movie, television show or the city of Los Angeles any time recently you'll be as terrified of this prospect as I am. Gaming has made incredible strides recently with titles like Portal, and giving the reins of a virtual world to the guy who wrote that episode of Heroes where Hiro travelled back in time to fight a body inhabited by Dr. Sam Beckett in front of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox would be almost as stupid as his "creative output."
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Look at it this way, a couple good eggs get mixed in with the industry, and will the help of people in the know in the industry, they both with generally evolve into a delicious cake.
(Death by fire to the first person who makes a lying cake joke)
-Rev
BTW Quantum Leap>>>>>>>>> Heroes.
I always wanted a Ziggy.
The WGA is striking because, as it is now, they get some ridiculous number like $0.02 per DVD sold, and the companies don't want to pay for any future claims to digital distrobution rights, because they "don't know if it'll be a profitable medium." Here's a quick bit from the Daily Show writers to illustrate the point.
The WGA and SAG are necessary in order to keep writers and actors on liveable wages. Most of the anime industry, for example, works outside of the SAG, because they can't afford to pay the minimum required rates.
Bringing the WGA into the realm of videogames does a few things. First, it provides a greater importance on writing in videogames. Like I posted about a few weeks back, the WGA is going to start giving out awards for videogames that will be judged by WGA members that actually have experience in working on videogames. Second, it will give a greater incentive to write for videogames full-time and develop that skill, with minimum payments and benefits being outlined. Also, there will be greater protection of work by having the WGA there to protect your work.
And hey, it's not like all the WGA members are retarded. If you read soemthing like PWBeat, you'd realize that a lot of the TV and movie writers are going back to comic book projects (which excite those in the comics industry), and producing some quality work.
It's good to think before you speak, y'know?
Actually, I believe that the rehashing is kind of why they're striking.
Everything has sucked lately, from movies to TV. It's just the same god damn thing over and over again. prequels, sequels, and remakes.
You can't blame the lack of creativity on the writers though. It's not so much creativity as it is just them doing what they're told. You have to blame America. After all, they're the ones who chose reality TV and the same god damn thing with a different name and the writers just give them what they want.
Sorry for the nonsensical rant. I just miss the time where sitcoms were funny and I got excited about new movies.
But yea, that aside, it could go either way if the writers went to the gaming industry. Me being horribly focused on story, I like the idea of better dialogue and perhaps some new story lines (you have to admit that games suffer from the rehashing syndrome as well). It could just as easily result in horribly awkward meshing of the humor of 40-year-olds and an infinite number of platformers. Just wait until they get a hold of the waggle!
If the people who actually know how to create the content were the people who ran the studios, television and movies wouldn't suck so much.
And games desperately NEED better writing. Even the strongest game scripts still sound like crappy first drafts. To claim that games have made "incredible" strides in their storytelling when compared to movies makes me wonder if you've played many games recently (or if you know the definition of the word "incredible").
Who knows? Maybe if these writers are put in an environment where producers aren't constantly yelling at them to put in more fart jokes they'll thrive. It can't be any worse than "Your world will burn until its surface is but glass!"
Jesus Christ, the ignorance is overwhelming. I've lived off WGA and SAG residuals my whole life. Guess what program my family has been on for many years? Wait for it... welfare!!! Ding ding ding! Guess how many food stamps we get that can be converted into Hummer Buckz. And on the topic, writing for video games? How demeaning. I mean, even the people who write Family Guy and Yes Dear probably wouldn't stoop that low.
@Nex
That Heroes comment...come on, man. This season has been a little off, but it's not that bad. Each episode has its moments. The first season was excellent and with the Writer's Strike, they may be able to improve the quality of the show when they come back.
Both of you are correct. I take back what I said.