Every time I go to the cinema it is almost a given that one of the trailers will be for a new game and these trailers are often bigger, louder and more action packed than those for the actual films. As game technology advances at an astonishing rate, the advertising, let alone the gameplay, becomes ever more cinematic and engaging.
Quantic Dream is one company that seems to be at the forefront of closing the gap between game and film. Their use of motion capture technology has increased the range and depth of emotion that can be achieved in games characters (see Kara), allowing for more complex and involving narratives. As this technology has been making deeper inroads into cinema as well (Avatar, Lord of the Rings and the less photorealistic Beowulf) there is now less of a visual discrepancy between the two mediums.
The next step after sharing techniques seems to be sharing talent. While it is not new for actors to reprise their roles by voicing characters in video game imaginings of their films, Beyond: Two Souls allows gamers to interact with characters brought to life, both vocally and physically, by Hollywood actors Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. The process of acting for a game does not seem so very far removed from film production, aside from the increased quantity of story which is needed to accommodate multiple scenarios rather than one linear narrative. Perhaps it will not be long before cinema becomes interactive.
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