Stephen Ford has a ton of experience in acting, producing, directing, writing, and general content creation for both televised and online outlets. After breaking into acting in commercials in his youth, Ford went on to star in the television shows, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, the horror film Maneater, and MTV’s Teen Wolf. In recent years, however, Ford’s pursuits have led him to a new passion: gaming content. Like Henry Cavill, Ford isn’t merely an actor who enjoys games on the side, but an ambitious creative with serious meditations on the medium.
A fan of shooters and adventure games like Ghost of Tsushima and Uncharted, Ford aspires to capture the greatness of video game narratives in short films, and recently kickstarted Ascender, a production outfit that aspires to that endeavor. Ascender has already produced short films based on the Hitman and Call of Duty franchises, with content that is action-packed and comedic in equal measure. In an interview with Game Rant, Ford discussed the crucial components that make video game narratives compelling, where his philosophy on gaming stories is simple, memorable, and surprisingly comprehensive. It all boils down to three things: plot, power, and pacing.
When asked about what made good video game narratives, both in the context of gameplay and filmmaking, Ford answered:
“I think it comes down to three things: plot, power and pacing. Plot: An engaging world, interesting characters, art design, etc. Power: The agency a player is given in the plot and how it grows over time in gameplay. Pacing: The marriage of the two in which they compliment, or hinder, each other. They’re like the three pillars that hold up a game’s narrative.”
These observations stem from Ford’s ample personal experience with games, and likely speak to many gamers who have endeavored to create games or gaming related media. At first blush, this philosophy may seem reductive, since art design, music composition, modeling, and so forth are all extremely varied disciplines from writing, and there is more to writing than mere plotting. However, all these elements contribute to a common goal of creating worlds that feels compelling and real.
By the same token, ‘power’ could be thought of as mechanics, but it is actually deeper than that, referring to the player’s ability to affect change in the game world. In short, power is agency. Even games that do not have a wide variety of mechanics, or silent protagonists—often seen as a storytelling crutch that is unique to games—can still delivering thrilling narratives by allowing the player to catalyze great change in the world they inhabit.
Pacing is perhaps the most nebulous ingredient in Ford’s trinity, but it is also arguably the most insightful and important. Rephrased, ‘pacing’ falls under the purview of direction. With pacing, game designers determine how much power players have, how it accumulates, what the repercussions of agency are. It also determines the traditional narrative elements of pacing, including periods of action, rest, and a dynamic relationship between the player (and viewer) or stakes. To this effect, Ford said,
“For instance, games like Half-Life, Doom, or Halo, you have “silent” protagonists. However, your connection to the game stays consistent because the three pillars are complimenting each other to give you an immersive experience.”
Finally, pacing provides the bridge between game narratives and game adaptations. Through clever direction, filmmakers can make audiences feel empowered in the same way that gamers are empowered by playing games. Adjusting the way audiences project themselves into the film, ranges from cinematographic decisions to how characters are cast, will adjust they way they relate to the characters, and how immersed they are in the movie.
And immersion is the ultimate goal in all forms of narrative where escapism is the goal. Even a title as mechanically simple as Firewatch can have a gripping narrative based on how real the experience feels to players. Silent protagonists matter less when the player is allowed to ‘speak’ through their actions in the world around them. If the only decisions made are where to walk and when, designers and directors must double down on pacing to make the experience memorable and compelling.
While Hollywood often succeeds at capturing the plot of a game, it tends to stumble when it comes to conveying a game’s power with their pacing. As a result, both gamers and non-gamers do not derive the same enjoyment from the adaptations.
Ford also noted that not only Hollywood has lost sight of the ultimate goal of immersion. Many AAA developers and publishers, particularly those that rely on games-as-service models, inherently disrupt the game’s immersion with payment schemes and microtransactions that inescapably break the immersion of a title. As a result, many fans are turning their attention to compelling, independently developed game and film content. There’s certainly something to be said for GaaS and its benefits, but there’s plenty of room for all sorts of games in the industry.
The Ascender Kickstarter is currently active now.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply