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Independent Game 'Limbo' Brings a Film Noir Aesthetic to the PS3 and PC

07.19.11 @ 1:14PM Tags : games, indiegames, interactivity, limbo, videogames

Check out the aesthetic of the independent game Limbo, which seems to be influenced by film noir, sci-fi, and german expressionism. Limbo won Spike’s best independent game award last year for its presence on the Xbox Live Arcade and has been lauded as a “modern classic.” Today, the game premiered on the Playstation Network for $14.99, and will also be coming to the PC platform on August 2nd via Steam. Here’s the atmospheric trailer, which shows its cinematic influences by beginning with the sound of scratchy film: More »

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Boy, Games Sure are Getting Close to Movies: The 'Bioshock Infinite' Trailer

07.9.11 @ 2:11PM Tags : bioshock, games, indiegames, interactive, interactivity, videogames

In the blockbuster game world, recent multimillion-dollar releases like L.A. Noire (which was the first video game to play at the Tribeca Film Festival) and Portal 2 have taken videogame storytelling up a notch. If this demo of the forthcoming game BioShock Infinite is any indication, first-person shooters are packing in the action, set-pieces, ideas, and storytelling of blockbuster films — but handing controls over to the player. And that’s the whole point, right? Take a look at this video, which isn’t a pre-rendered trailer, but rather 15 minutes of screen-captured gameplay : More »

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'L.A. Noire' Looks to Blur Further the Line Between Movie and Game

12.27.10 @ 9:33AM Tags : games, interactivity, la-noire, rockstargames

Rockstar Games has long been in development on L.A. Noire, a sort of videogame version of L.A. Confidential. Many of Rockstar’s games have taken their cue from film history, but instead of fleshing out the concept as another action-based shooter, Rockstar has taken Noire in the direction of an interactive movie, creating a playing experience that may be more closely related to watching a film than playing any of their previous games. Here’s the trailer for Noire, which is cut like a movie preview and lacks any on-screen graphics other than the titling: More »

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Another Example of Game/Film Convergence: Uncharted 3 Behind-The-Scenes

12.19.10 @ 3:36PM Tags : behindthescenes, games, interactivity, uncharted

Since we’re on the subject of games this weekend, it occurred to me how much like a movie production is this behind-the-scenes video of Uncharted 3 — it’s especially akin to a CGI-based film like Avatar. I’m not much of a gamer, but I always keep an eye on Game Trailers to see what’s new in the world of interactive storytelling, as it’s something I fancy getting into… eventually. I can’t help but thinking that the gaming world’s lower standards for writing and acting (in my opinion) represents an opportunity for filmmakers. More »