ScreenPlay

by Geoff King

What is the relationship between cinema and videogames? Hollywood film franchises are routinely translated into games. Some game titles make the move onto the big screen, none more prominently than Lara Croft, iconic star of the Tomb Raider series. Games often depend on recognized film genres, milieu or devices for branding and marketing. Some aspire to a film-like quality of graphics and action. But games also offer markedly different experiences, especially in the realm of "interactivity." But what happens in the interface between cinema and games console or PC? Is there a merging of languages as games influence movies and movies influence games? Are some films becoming increasingly like games, and to what extent do they draw on the characteristics of Hollywood or other forms of cinema? ScreenPlay investigates all these issues and explores the extent to which the tools of film analysis can be applied to games, in particular, how the pleasures (and frustrations) of computer games can be compared with those of cinema.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Geoff King is lecturer in film and television Studies at Brunel University, London.

Reviews

[David Blanar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, I particularly enjoyed Playing With Lara for its discussion of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider in general, although the comparison to Ripley in Alien missed the mark.