Back in February, at the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit, one keynote speaker became my textbook definition for “hypocrite.” I’m talking, of course, about “Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski. At this year’s D.I.C.E. Summit, Verbinski, or as I refer to him, Captain Hypocrite, gave an esoteric, convoluted, multiple mini-rant speech, to warn the gaming industry against sacrificing creativity in favor of the “numbers game.” He believed that good storytelling has given way to endless sequels and the “recycling of the same [filmic] language…”. If anyone would know, he of the mega sequel movies would.

Now, Captain Hypocrite is apparently planning to enter the gaming industry himself. Find out what the future may bring with Cap’n H making video games after the jump!

Verbinski told The Los Angeles Times that he has been thinking of entering the gaming industry for the past year and that the project he is thinking of starting was “a little bit out there.” You don’t say! Despite some praise for titles like Halo and BioShock, Cap’n H told the LA Times that he did not want to “compete with those guys.”

Verbinski said, “I want to come in from a completely different direction. I’ve had a tremendous experience in the film industry, taking knocks and figuring out how to navigate that world. Before I assume I know how to navigate this one, I want to observe.”

Taking a step back and learning the in’s and out’s of the gaming industry sounds reasonable.

Cap’n H also expressed an interest in taking a different approach to the narratives used in games. Gore said he would like to see a game narrative that evoked a stronger, varied emotional response from gamers rather than the simple excitement most provide.

I have to admit, that sounds great, as most game storylines are lackluster at best. However, he also spoke of creating a title with no narrative at all, since the interactive nature of gaming doesn’t necessarily have to impose a narrative on gamers. Sounds like multiplayer game to me. A single player game without a story makes absolutely no sense (unless it’s a title like Tetris). We’d have a game where we’d do stuff just because, with no emotional connection to our character and without a drive to do anything.

Tweet This Post

CONTINUE TO PAGE: 1 2