Literary Gaming

So I grew up with games. As a kid I remember making my own board games out of sheets of plywood, painting the pathways and scenery on the board straight from my imagination. My grandfather would help me cut the game pieces from wooden dowels and other similar things and I'd paint them different colors and make instructional sheets on index cards. I even went so far as to type up the instruction boolet on my grandmother's typewriter. It came full-tilt with a custom illustrated outer cover made from construction paper, which I cut to the perfect size and stapled to the rest of the booklet. I was pretty crafty. I didn't realize the implications then, but as I sat there typing instructions for my games I was surely writing stories. After all, what good is a game without some sort of plot or goal to reach? Can this be considered literature?

Maybe, maybe not. At least, not at that level. There needs to be something more to it.

Some time later I got sucked into these new games that could be played on our television via something called a "controller". The first games I ever played were Karnov and Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt back when the original 8-bit NES was new. We had two of them - one at our house and one at grandma's. That was it, I'm telling you. It was too cool for words. Over some years these games became more and more intricate, and I have the fondest memories playing games with my brother and our friends and cousins. But for the times when they weren't around, I endlessly enjoyed immersing myself in RPGs. Final Fantasy II and III, Breath of Fire, and Chrono Trigger specifically. Those were really something else. I still recall those games as having some of the best story lines in the genre of Fantasy that I've ever known. Perhaps it was just because I was younger. Still, I think if someone ever takes the initiative to adapt those games into movies they'd be some of the best Sci-Fi films we've seen in a long time. I'd say they may even be up there with The Lord of the Rings, if done properly.

I think people interested in the Fantasy genre owe it to themselves to find a way, if they have not done so already, by which to go through one of those original RPG games and appreciate them for themselves. At some point the boundary between the medium, technology progression, and reality blurs such that you forget about how primitive the games are (compared to today's technology) and simply immerse yourself in the experience. Ultimately it isn't about how realistic we can make things look and sound. The most realistic-looking games in existence are nothing without that which made those old games truly original. There really isn't anything else like them. They are fairly epic stories, involving dozens of characters and sub-plots within the main structure. The stories and characters arc just as they do in books and movies. If you ask me I'd say that they are, in fact, literary experiences. They have that extra "something". The dialog may be simplified, but it is no less effective or emotional.

Paul Thomas Anderson

One of the most prominent aspects of Paul Thomas Anderson's films that I've noticed is his use of longer shots. Most of them are rather stationary, while some move quite a bit, often following one of the characters through an environment of some kind. I watched There Will Be Blood, Punch Drunk Love, and Magnolia. Of the three I think Magnolia is one I could do without. I'm just not into that kind of drama. I felt like I was watching a condensed soap opera and there were times I was questioning the integrity of some scenes and character behavior. I would describe it as overly dramatic. Still, Anderson's signature long shots and expressive camera angles are working to carry the story forward.

He seems to like the idea of stretching out time, only to later condense it or cut out equally large chunks. I felt that this was a good way of making the passage of time more noticeable. Again, his use of longer shots helps support this. At times he focuses in on subtle things, relying on the actors or some other thing to carry the weight of the shot. His cameras take more of a voyeuristic role in a sense. He does it intentionally. I personally like it. It really helps to push the immediacy of what's going on in the story when he does it.