I just happened to run across a two-minute ad for soon-to-be-released video game that was so akin to a movie trailer that it made me pause and wonder, “Is gaming the future of film?”
That might be why I found an essay the Telegraph published last week by Tim Martin so intriguing. In it, Martin speculates on a future in which gaming and literature intersect. It’s actually not such a strange notion, as he points out that a recent poll of American teens found that “97 per cent of the consumers of the future now play video games.” Ergo, it might make at least a little sense that “with book sales falling, it may not be long before prose writers jump ship for a medium that offers some of the most exciting possibilities of the new century.”
The idea isn’t altogether new, as authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Ayn Rand have found their tales woven into the fabric of games, but Martin’s primarily argument is that the very structure of the genre is changing. Plotlines are no longer linear, as gamers find themselves immersed in universes that include twists, turns and minor interactions with characters that create unique and inimitable experiences. This means the underlying stories of games must be constructed with greater depth or, as he puts it, move to the “fleshing out a malleable and dynamic world.” As a result, Martin concludes, gaming might just be “where at least some of the great writers of tomorrow will make their names.”
Definitely an interesting read.
Tags: gaming, literature, trends
