Dragons Flying Backwards

With games getting so amazingly complex, glitches come natural. Having your console working with the internet, your game will never have to suffer permanent programming mistakes like they use to.
Skyrim is a fantastic game! But IT has glitches as well. Even when they fixed one problem another occurred.
Watch this video. Dragons are now flying backwards.

The Artist

In response to Bob's post.

Check out the trailer.

If you look at games like LA Noir I definitely see the artistry of "The Artist" showing up in video games. Over the last 10 years artists have had more and more creative input in the video game industry. The writing/dialogue has become much better. Voice over work has become more impressive and with technology improving the freedom to be more artistic visually is becoming endless.

Here's a screen shot of LA Noir.

Presenting

There was so much discussion on "Presentation" last time, I feel we should have had a whole lecture dedicated on that. Just a thought.

I mean the idea is only as good as the lecture.

I hope this next one will be better.

Team One Presentation

Dear Class,

For those of you who saw our Tam One dry-run presentation, any suggestions on how to make it better?

Big thanks on behalf of Team One,

Bob

The Artist

Dear Gang,

I recently saw the feature film, "The Artist," it's in B & W with no dialogue, spare a half a dozen at the end. The film is carried by the beauty of the images, performances, and a great musical score. It been well-received.

I'm probably crazy to ask, but does anyone see a place for this aesthetic approach in video game development?

Would this approach open up video game market to other demographics?

Best, Bob

Suggested Screenwriting Books

Dear Gang,

While those of us in the screenwriting program have libraries full of screenwriting books, I thought those of you on the animation side and elsewhere might enjoy some titles I have enjoyed:

From UCLA Faculty:

Essentials of Screenwriting by Richard Walter

Writing Screenplays that Sell the Ackerman Way by Hal Ackerman

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter

Former UCLA Faculty:

Re-write by Paul Chitlik (it's a great intro to basics, not only re-writing.)

Others:

Story by Robert McKee

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglasias

Screenplay: Writing the Picture by Robin Russin and William Downs

Writing the Character Centered Screenplay by Andy Horton

Writing Screenplays that Sell by Michael Hague

While these books are not the only books out there, they are all excellent. I suggest that you go to Amazon and read what is said about them to see which is the best fit for your personal tastes/objectives. Likewise, I am happy to answer any questions you have on them.

Enjoy, Bob

Believable Characters

Ign.com posted an interesting article about characters and storytelling in modern gaming mentioning several games discussed in class:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1213415p1.html

There's a certain part of me that doesn't see the video game industry evolving much farther than it already has in terms of story. Games inevitably will improve, change, provide new semblances of gameplay--but there's a certain security blanket that Hollywood has adopted that video games seem to have taken on as well: the blockbuster, the hero caper, the art house, etc. Both platforms/medias have it. Sometimes a game slips through the cracks that blows us all away (an indie sleeper), but even the days of graphical explosions has diminished with the need to garner a wider market.

Gameplay and the ability to better immerse the player seems the way of the console/PC. The new Zelda game has garnered rave reviews and is said to be the future of motion controls. Rumors about the next generation Kinect having lip reading technology has sent the internet abuzz. Has storytelling reached a zenith when it comes to gaming, or are the new ways of telling the same story a way unto itself?