Pixar recently said that videogames graphically are catching up to movies, however they have alot of work to do in the narrative department. Wall-E really exemplifies that point. To put it side by side with something like MGS4 (or the whole MGS series for that matter) which is "supposed" to be one of the medium's highest achievements as far as story and direction goes, it's not even a contest.
(very minor spoilers in this first part. More thematic than specific events)
Wall-E is hands down pixar's crowning achievement artistically. I went in expecting a cute movie filled with humor and fun, ala Ratatouille (which until this, I thought was their best movie). I did not expect such a masterfully crafted, wonderfully directed, powerful movie, filled with symbolism, subtle nuanced performances, and such incredible sweeping messages and themes, not to mention a fantastic soundtrack which I purchased on Itunes as soon as I got home. This movie has very little spoken dialogue, is adorable and yet it covers such heavy handed topics as environmentalism, the dangers of a consumer heavy capitolistic society, the digital age, materialism and the soul, and probably more that I missed on the first viewing (there will definately be more viewings). Nothing any videogame has done can come anywhere close to the beauty, subtlety, and power of Wall-E. And I don't mean that as an affront to videogames, but rather praise for a wonderfully done movie, and also an optimistic view of what videogames may someday be able to do.
(slightly more specific spoilers in this part, but nothing movie ruining)
Compare the grace, deftness, power and subtlety that Wall-E has to Kojima's awkward heavy handed lumbering and poorly written "philosophical" games and you see the huge gap between the two mediums. In two hours, and almost no dialogue the Writers and directors at Pixar say far more than Kojima can in twenty hours of cutscenes, or however many cutscenes are in the entire MGS series put together (what would you guess fourty hours of cut scenes? Thirty?). Kojima tells us far less about our world, the problems we face as a society, the responsibility we bear as individuals, he fails to make us look at ourselves in the context of what he's telling us, or making us care about his subject matter. He crams hours of philosophy text books into his games without ever making us care about his actual message. Yet in two hours a little robot that says maybe three words in the entire movie (though he does repeat them) can draw us in emotionally, show us the folly of making consumerism our religion and salvation, the dangers our planet faces, our own apathy towards it, and how we fit into the picture. And does so without ever slapping us in the face and saying "LISTEN TO ME!!!" and then ranting for an hour about the message, it never becomes overly preachy or trite. Rather we are finessed into looking at how we think and feel about the topics presented, and it's often times done without a word, or very few words. Less is definately more. Kojima couldn't do that if his life depended on it.
(no more spoilers)
ICO and Shadow of the collossus have the direction necessary, but there themes and messages are incredibly shallow by comparison to what other mediums do. Games like the MGS series are so awkward, poorly written, and lumbering, absolutely devoid of finesse, or subtlety, that they lack power or the ability to make one introspective, reflective. I hope some day videogames can have that. Have both the emotional power, the keen eye for small cues, and the grand scope of theme and message thoughtfully and artfully presented. And honestly I think someday it will get there. There will be games where the main character is highly animated and interactive with his surroundings, seemingly alive rather than a static hero waiting for the player to input a command. A game that thoughtfully is able to deliver a message through the actions of the player, the nuances of the characters and the stage itself rather than lengthy awkward cutscenes. I think someday the writing will get better than GTA4. I only hope that when it happens gamers will take note.
In Conclusion, watching Wall-E made me realize just how big the gap is between the two mediums as far as narrative goes. I hope game designers eventually work out how to make a game that can be artful, powerful, and fun without being clumsy and awkward like a teenager tripping over his own rapidly growing limbs.
Go see Wall-E now. If you don't like it, it's your own damn fault.
You can find me on facebook as Markus Van Rijn, if you friend me just mention you're from VGchartz and who you are here.
