Andy Serkis — who became a household name after bringing The Lord of the Rings‘ Gollum to life — has criticized games for having no heart. Serkis feels that with games becoming such a huge medium, their storytelling aspects aren’t doing enough justice to the ever-expanding audience that is embracing interactive entertainment.
“Games — there’s no heart in them,” explains Serkis, who was involved in the motion-capture for PS3 game Heavenly Sword. “They’re not about anything that is lasting. We put so much into the writing of film scripts and plays, but not into games. And games are where the audience is going to be.
“In the next generation of kids, you’re going to see a lot of storytelling in games. And I think it’s important to invest in that. I absolutely think that gaming is a massive storytelling arena in the making and now the technology has arrived to do that. It’s a fascinating time.”
While I think that tarring all games with the same brush does a disservice to some of the truly engaging and thought-provoking titles that already exist, Serkis does have a great point. All creative industries are about making money, but videogames put so much more focus and attention on profit over creativity that it’s become blatant just how little publishers care about storytelling and providing a truly memorable experience.
So very few videogames these days are made out of love, and very much like Serkis, I hope that changes. However, much of the blame also lies with the consumer. Until a publisher can put heart into games without worrying about bankruptcy, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of the games that Andy Serkis wants to see.
