Friday, 6 July 2018

Week 7 - Forefront Friday: Death Stranding

Death Stranding (TBA) is an upcoming video game that was first revealed at E3 in 2016. I cite this as an example of the forefront because of its prioritisation of narrative over gameplay in a climate where story driven games are being seen as less viable by larger game studios such as EA games for example.

Death Stranding is a unique case because it has generated an enormous amount of interest without revealing any information about how it will actually play. Because of this, I feel it serves as a great example of video games subverting the medium and challenging what we expect from them. With the casting of high profile actor Norman Reedus as the leading role, I believe Death Stranding is blurring the lines between video games and film. When asked whether there would be a blending between the two mediums, the games director Hideo Kojima responded:

“The process is almost the same. The only difference nowadays is if they are interactive or not. When it comes to the fact of controlling, being able to adjust the camera, I think that will keep changing and this will be an element that will increasingly be combined and maybe the line between these two mediums will disappear.”

Kojima is somewhat infamous for having lengthy cutscenes in his games and I am expecting Death Stranding to be no exception. However it looks like this game will be pushing the boundaries as to what it means to be a cinematic gaming experience. The emphasis on narrative could mean that the game will be unlike anything ever released. Either way I find this to be a very interesting title that could catch the attention of filmmakers eager to experiment with the way visual stories are told.

In terms of my major project development, I am eager to place an emphasis on the story aspect of my game environment, as I believe my skills as an artist will reflect how clearly the story is conveyed through the imagery. If Death Stranding proves to be successful there could be a greater demand for story driven games and my focus as an artist could be directed towards creating similar projects.

KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (TBA) Death Stranding. [DISC, DOWNLOAD] Playstation 4. San Mateo: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

MAKUCH, P. (2017) EA Talks About Closing Visceral And Single-Player Games. [Online] Available from: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-talks-about-closing-visceral-and-single-player-/1100-6454535/ [Accessed: 14/06/2018]

SHANLEY, P. (2018) 'Death Stranding': Hideo Kojima on Taking a "Different Approach to Single-Player Games" [Online] Available from: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/death-stranding-hideo-kojima-casting-lea-seydoux-lindsay-wagner-1119548 [Accessed: 14/06/2018]

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