Video games have come a long way in just about every aspect of development, but really, the ability for a piece of software to tell a story might be the most impressive improvement. Early console and PC games needed little more than a single, successful mechanic to grab audience attention, but the bar has been significantly raised thanks to some of today’s most experienced creators. Quantic Dream, the studio behind the recently released Beyond: Two Souls, is one of the few companies willing to put a game’s narrative in front of all other aspects of the game. It’s allowed for what many people see as truly “emotional” products, but co-founder Guillaume de Fondaumière had some strong words when asked if the medium was even in the same league as Hollywood.
“Of course not. Simply because, Hollywood has been around a hundred or something years, they have a far more attractive industry, so far, for these kinds of talents. More so than in the video game industry,” he said in a new interview with Gameranx. “And I believe we have our own talents; fantastic game designers, fantastic… a lot of things. But the true writing talents, the true musical talents, the true acting talents… they are in Hollywood.”
Will we ever reach parity with films? That’s yet to be seen, but we can at least celebrate the continued strides being made in modern video games.