What Movies Could Learn From Video Games

Throughout the 21st century, the video game industry has seen a monumental rise in popularity, one that cannot be overstated. With the technology available constantly improving year by year, there are always new, unique experiences offered that only games manage to provide. These advancements in technology have allowed the storytelling methods for games to become so much more complex and nuanced for players to experience, mainly by using the world around them to drive the game's story forward instead of linear plots that are most common in films.

Before the 2010s especially, the film industry was where video games gained the majority of their inspiration from, and they still do today in many ways. Video games such as The Last of Us and Uncharted follow a similar linear storytelling technique as films do, which in part is a reason why they have made such effective film/TV adaptations in recent years. But now that many video game series have become so popular due to their expansive, immersive worlds, and their unique utilization of technology, there is a lot that cinema could learn from the industry that it played a massive role in shaping.

As with the previously mentioned video game adaptations, companies have been investing in further video game adaptations, like the upcoming Assasin's Creed Netflix show — hinting that this trend will continue into the future.

Perhaps the main factor that made video games so popular is the vast, intricate world-building opportunities that developers have taken full advantage of. Whether it's an epic Western world like the Red Dead Redemption series, a mythical realm like God of War, or a post-apocalyptic wasteland like Fallout, nothing in the media can compare to the levels of immersion that open-world video games are able to provide. With films typically following linear stories, there isn't as much room for the viewer to become fully engrossed in the world/setting. But more recently, the tide is starting to change for the better.

The beauty of open-world storytelling is that the setting itself essentially becomes a character. The endless opportunities open worlds can create allow each location to set the overall tone of the section/chapter of the game you're in and can create a diverse as well as an immersive setting.

Due to being all about exploration, the player gets to experience the new locations at the same time as the character, something which so many films could benefit from in creating the same immersive feel as the games. The two recent Zelda games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, are excellent examples of this, with the games being two of the most loved open-world games in recent years.

But there have been films released throughout the 2010s that especially benefit from this concept, with Blade Runner 2049 using the diverse sci-fi settings to set the mood of the scenes and ultimately push the narrative forward. Blade Runner 2049 might just be the closest movie to a video game in terms of experiencing all the new locations with the main character Officer K (Ryan Gosling), and the video game-esque linear plot is a huge factor in why the film is so beloved.

Although the film still essentially follows a linear story arch, it goes to show how much of a positive impact video game-inspired world-building can have on almost every area of a film's progression. The video game method for expanding and developing their settings is mainly through the likes of side quests and non-linear storytelling, introducing the player to every corner of the world. Blade Runner 2049 does explore multiple different areas, but not quite in the detail that video games do, which could have made the Blade Runner world even more fascinating.

An element that video games have started to take inspiration from much more in recent years is the use of cut scenes. Typically, linear video games would use cutscenes at the climax of each section and/or the end of the game to allow more depth to moments of dialogue. Cut scenes are recently common in open-world games as well for similar reasons, such as setting the stage for a final boss fight or at the very end of the game.

While cut scenes have benefited video games by building tension and improving character development, on the contrary, films could benefit tremendously by relying on video-game-style visual storytelling rather than only using dialogue for all scenes. Many games, both linear and open-world, don't ever use dialogue for their main character, with titles such as Elden Ring and other Dark Souls games applying this method perfectly. Films in the action, sci-fi, and fantasy genres will almost always use visuals for big set pieces, but using visuals as the primary method of storytelling can assist with creating the same unmatched levels of immersion these video games produce.

Even with Officer K in Blade Runner 2049 having dialogue (although minimal), visuals play a huge role in moving the story forward, working hand in hand with world-building techniques. Another film series that uses visual storytelling in a wonderfully unique way is A Quiet Place, with the characters not being able to speak, or else they will be heard by the film's monsters, and killed. Relying on the character's facial expressions to let audiences know exactly what they're feeling without being able to talk adds so much intensity to the film like nothing else in the horror genre.

Dunkirk is another great example of the war/action genre regarding visual storytelling, with the 'Land' section of the story having the main character Tommy hardly say a word. This allows the audience to immerse themselves in Tommy's experience as he attempts to survive the brutal battle. Very few war films have managed to replicate the video game's level of immersive impartiality with one of its protagonists, reinforcing the benefits of both experiencing new locations and challenges alongside a character who rarely ever speaks like in some of the video games ever made. With Dunkirk benefiting so much from these ideas, so many more films could take a page out of the game industry's book and be just as effective.

Due to video games developing at such an unprecedented rate in recent years, the technology that game studios use has become state-of-the-art for media creation/animation across the majority of the industry. Now that movies have begun to rely much more heavily on CGI for large-scale sci-fi/action films, smashing box office records for some time now, it is only a matter of time before the technology used to create the vast video game worlds is adopted as well.

One of the most effective examples of this is The Mandalorian using the Unreal Engine to power the 'Volume', a large LED screen that displays any setting you want or need, creating a more real, authentic image on-screen of the location the scene is set in compared to the traditional green screen. Epic Games technical lead Jeff Farris worked closely with Jon Favreau to create the Volume for The Mandalorian, who went on to say "What's even more exciting is that the techniques and technology we have developed on The Mandalorian are only the tip of the iceberg." With the scenes that use this tech in the Disney+ show already looking stunning, knowing that this is only the beginning of what's to come down the line preludes a closer relationship between video games and film.

Virtual reality is another technology that is growing in popularity in the gaming space, allowing for the most immersive experience possible. With virtual reality, the Oculus headsets and the rival PlayStation headsets drop the player into the world essentially through their own eyes, fully controlling the movement and actions of the game's avatar. Films would obviously struggle to provide the same experience, but the idea of viewing a film or even any linear narrative becoming a norm surely isn't too far away. The video game industry's future development isn't set to slow down anytime soon, making the proposal of video games becoming the new standard for inspiration for films all the more likely.