Hollywood's Helping Hand
Editorial that looks at some of the games which have Hollywood's glitterati attached to them, and how their involvement may be a double-edged sword
It’s a double-edged sword because it could leave companies feeling that the only way to imbue credibility to their game’s story is by having a ‘Hollywoodian’ pen it. In turn this may not give the chance to those already in the industry who would be in a position of familiarity with all the other aspects of the development process. So yeh, they’re my concerns on the matter.
There’s also the more recent celebrity/game hybrid with Jack Black in Brutal Legend. I think that this kind of celebrity involvement in a game is something that on the whole is positive. The man in question is passionate about both games and music and in turn this had a positive effect on the game. We also can’t fail to mention the studio: Double Fine that dealt with its production who gained critical acclaim from Psychonauts. It was a marriage that worked.
In retrospect of the whole celebrity involvement quandary I believe that it’s like Schrodinger’s cat mixed with one of the puzzles where you have to move the stick with the ring on it through the wire maze. It shouldn’t be regarded as an elixir that cures a games problems but something that will reflect positively in the games production to be the best it can be.
You need the skill and foresight to figure out if having Hollywood involved will actually help and you’re not just doing it with the hope of enticing people. It’s the more thought out equivalent of using a female teen car wash service to rope in the saps. Yes, it may look nice from afar but when you’re up close, sat in your car with an erection and gazing through soapy glass at a burly man who appeared as if from nowhere you can’t help but thinking: ‘it looked like a good idea’.
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