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Joystiq exclusive: Chasing Ghosts film review and trailer
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Exclusive_Chasing_Ghosts_trailer_and_review/'; Video games have been through ups and downs, but the one constant is that there is always someone better than you at the game you're playing. Unless you were one of the guys in this film. These players were at the top of their game during the arcade craze, and Chasing Ghosts takes a look not only at the heyday of those players, but also finds them in the present day, and in the process you see how their brief stints as a "video game rock stars" affected their lives.Get our review after the break, and be sure to check for interviews with director Lincoln Ruchti and producer Michael Verrechia.%Gallery-4023%
WoW Moviewatch: Exploring the World of Warcraft
I am a great fan of documentaries. They show us a detached viewpoint on a topic that often brings new insight into the subject matter. This documentary, created by Tim Little, is no exception. As he says it's aimed at a non-gamer audience, so it takes the game from release until today, including a couple player interviews, and explains the WoW experience for those who don't play. It's like looking at a history of your family, only it's the World of Warcraft family rather than a flesh and blood familial bond.I appreciated the footage of the global release of The Burning Crusade. When I picked up my copy there were only 19 of us standing outside the store. It's great to see the throngs of gamers and to imagine what it must have been like to be there with them. Thanks Tim for sharing this project with us. I hope you got an A.Previously on Moviewatch...
10 MPH: Coast to Coast on a Segway in 100 days (and 3 years)
There's nothing like heading out coast-to-coast. Beat, and otherwise anti-establishment poets have glamorized the open road for years. In fact, the idea has inspired rollerbladers, runners, lawn mowers (really, look it up), and now... a Segway. 10 MPH is dubbed a "comical documentary" following two dudes who quit their jobs to Segway (is that a verb?) from Seattle to Boston in 100 days. 100 days you say? The project was launched almost 3 years ago! Although we typically avoid any films which rely on the use of "zany" in the promotional materials, this films won the Best Documentary prize at the auspicious East Lansing Film Festival. So really, how bad could it be?
Joystiq review: The King of Kong (film)
Truth is stranger than fiction. And while it needs to be threaded by a capable hand, even Donkey Kong can be woven into a compelling canvas that examines the comically-profound idiosyncrasies that drive human competition. The King of Kong, director Seth Gordon's first feature, is a remarkable film that documents the little-seen niche of competitive gaming, as waged on '80s-era, coin-op arcade machines. "That ape is very, very cunning, and he will do what he needs to, to stop you," warns a Funspot regular, squeezed into a t-shirt emblazoned with a geeky kung fu joke. The same could be said of Billy Mitchell, the film's antagonist, a blown-dry Machismo americanus and heir to the Rickey's World Famous [Hot] Sauce empire. Mitchell (above), whose 3-letter high score handle (typically one's initials) is U-S-A (notice the Liberty tie?), is stiff and threatening, at least to the mild-mannered circle he maintains a firm grip on. He regards his "Video Game Player of the [20th] Century" title as a symbol of patriotic heroism. Speaking of symbols, Mitchell's wife's cleavage is paraded on screen like a tangible manifestation of his ballooned ego, which is predictably deflated by Gordon's touching narrative of the first true challenger of the Donkey Kong high score; a score set by Mitchell more than two decades ago.
WoW Moviewatch: "Level Up"
Here's a nine-minute mini-documentary on MMORPGs in general, with a focus on WoW. It attempts to investigate possibilities of addiction, effects on socialization, and the feeling most of us are familiar with that sometimes WoW is more work than play. This is perhaps not a piece that asks any new questions, but it's a nice summary at any rate. As far as addiction goes, I have to agree with Gamesfirst.com Editor in Chief Shawn Rider that talking about WoW and other MMOs in terms of addiction is generally "a way of hyperbolizing the situation to make it sound much more dramatic than it actually is." [thanks, Dave]
Columbine game blocked from receiving Slamdance special jury prize
When Slamdance festival director Peter Baxter removed Super Columbine Massacre RPG as a finalist in the festival's Guerrila Gamemaker Competition, he probably thought it would be the last time he would have to block the game from consideration for an award. As it so happened, though, Baxter found himself in a similar position last Friday night, when he reportedly stopped the game from receiving a special jury prize from the judges for the film documentary category. As detailed on Slamdance attendee Patrick Dugan's blog and confirmed by SCMRPG creator Danny Ledonne in an interview with Joystiq, the whole thing began on Tuesday, when Slamdance documentary juror Brian Flemming paused to watch an unofficial demo of the game put on by Ledonne on a laptop just outside the official game competition tent. Flemming, director of "The God Who Wasn't There," had heard about the controversy surrounding the game, and was intrigued enough by the demo to mention the game to his two fellow documentary jurors.
Planet Earth coming to Discovery HD Theater in March
Discovery Channel is bringing its 11-part natural history series, Planet Earth, from the BBC to the U.S. Premiering on March 25, the series promises to bring viewers into some of the hardest to observe regions of our planet using unprecedented high definition production techniques. Hopefully you're not completely tired of checking out animal behaviors and stunning landscapes in high def because when this simulcasts on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater, viewers will be able to observe them via new innovations like the Cineflex heligimble, a powerful camera lens attached to a helicopter observing animals from long range. From the good people who brought you Blue Planet, the series is narrated by Sigourney Weaver and will run from the 25th until April 22.
Halo 3 documentary broken down into itty, bitty pieces
89 of 'em to be exact. That's really making the Et tu, Brute? documentary last a little while longer, and moves things up to a whole new level of fanaticism. It also proves that Halo fans are hardcore, and are probably going through Bungie's trash bins on a nightly basis. Let us know if you find anything good, but if you find Frankie's chewed gum ... spare us the dental records. Check out all of the photo-remnants from the chop-job on YouNEWB.com, and try to find new tidbits about the upcoming Halo 3. At the very least, you've got all new desktops for your computer, and at the worst, you've wasted 15 minutes of your life. Blame us or love us, it's your call. [Thanks, Billy Bob]
Gamer Generation on Discovery HD
There's a couple showings left of Discovery HD's Gamer Generation special coming up, so set your TiVo Series 3 and your generic DVRs to record, and see what insight this latest documentary has to offer about gamers that hasn't already been said.Depending on where you live, and if your satellite/cable provider carries the Discovery HD Theater channel, there are two more showings today, and again on Saturday, January 13th. TV listings are showing it as "Part One," so hopefully this will be an ongoing series or special, but right now information about this, and a frustrating amount of HD programming, is hard to come by.Let us know if you happened to catch it, and what you thought about it. That is, if you are able to find it ... just like The A-Team.
Videogame doc seeks "Players"
WorldofWar has what sounds like a press release from something called "Players: the Movie." Apparently a documentary crew is putting together a film about hardcore gamers, and they've sent out the call for a few willing souls (especially players of WoW and other "hardcore" games like Halo and... The Sims?) to be profiled.The movie's website is as bare as they come, and the casting call doesn't really sound as if they've done their homework too much on this one-- they want people with "unique life stories" and "dynamic personalities." I always thought part of documentary filmmaking was finding those yourself, but hey what do I know. If you think your story is unique enough and, more likely, you think it would be awesome to be in a videogame documentary, they want a name, phone, pic, and a "brief explanation of yourself and your love of gaming" sent to playerscasting@yahoo.com.Just think, it could be your ticket to fame and fortune as a WoW player. Then again, it could be your ticket to a warped profile and humiliation. Either way, a great time!
Halo 3: deconstructing 'Et Tu Brute'
"If you're not a helpless Halo nerd, turn back NOW!" So begins this nearly half-hour-long analysis of the 7-minute Halo 3 ViDoc released on Xbox Live Marketplace and across the internet last week. Secrets exposed? Spoilers unraveled? Not quite. Just loads and loads of speculation. It's sorta like watching a DVD with the director's commentary on -- minus the director.
Bungie talks Halo 3 documentary, Brutes
Posting on NeoGAF, Bungie mouthpiece Frankie denied rumors that Brutes will be playable in Halo 3, and he did so again in Bungie's most recent weekly update. Writing from a coffee shop (the only spot in town with power), Frankie explained that the Brutes' role will be enhanced in the third Halo; specifically, Brutes will be made "more exciting, clever, graphically impressive, terrifying, numerous and angrier" -- but absolutely not playable.Frankie also confirmed that a documentary video will hit Xbox Live this week, ostensibly focusing on Halo 3's Campaign mode. And, in an effort not to deny potential Xbox 360 owners, Bungie promised to make the video available for all to see -- not that the alternative is even conceivable (hint: it's called 'YouTube').
Video game documentary premiering at Sundance
A documentary detailing the 1982 World Video Game Championships will be hitting the screens at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It's called Chasing Ghosts or Rulers of the Galaxy depending on which source you read (Variety calls it Chasing Ghosts, but the Sundance site calls it Rulers of the Galaxy. They probably had to change the title since a film called Chasing Ghosts was released last year starring Michael Madsen) and is directed by Lincoln Ruchti ... perfect for an Xbox Live Marketplace download, right?The movie focuses on the championships held at the Twin Galaxies Arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa, which was declared the "Video Game Capital of the World" in 1982 by the mayor of Ottumwa, and then later made official by the governor at a special ceremony in 1983. So, if you've been wondering where the capital is, now you know. Start planning your trip now. It also stars top video gamers like Billy Mitchell and Darren Olsen, and contains plenty of retro-gaming action.Twin Galaxies opened in 1981 after founder Walter Day toured over 100 arcades in four months, recording high scores on all the video games, and then brought them to his arcade as the "Twin Galaxies National Scoreboard." Although the arcade closed down in 1984 (wow, video game capital of the world doesn't hold much staying power, does it?) they still track high scores. Check out their Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records published in 1997. In today's day and age they live on the web, where you can search to your heart's content on their site. For instance, we just found out that Donald Hayes set the current official high score of 589,350 for Frogger in 2005. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.We'll be checking the flick out at Sundance and talking to cast & crew, so look for that in January.
TiVo Alert: History of video games on CNBC
CNBC, not a network typically associated with two-hour documentaries on video games, will be airing a two-hour documentary on video games Wednesday, November 15th, "just two days before the scheduled release of Sony's highly anticipated PlayStation 3" -- and four days before the scheduled release of Nintendo's highly anticipated Wii (there, we said it for you). So, what does the Consumer News and Business Channel have to say about video games in Game On! The Unauthorized History of Video Games? We're expecting the usual history lesson (Tennis for Two, Spacewar, Yo! Noid ... the classics) combined with lots of big numbers, regaling viewers with tall tales of how video games outsell movies (not really true ... box office only, folks). They do promise that "the program also includes riveting stories about the corporate power struggles that won (and lost) billions and how a single blunder helped destroy Atari's $2 billion-a-year-empire." So, maybe you'll learn something or, more importantly, maybe someone who doesn't know anything about video games (beyond MSFT and SNE) may catch the show on Wednesday, November 15th at 9 PM and 12 AM ET -- or even the rebroadcast on Sunday, November 19th at 9PM and 12AM ET -- and reconsider video games. They do outsell movies, y'know.
Interview with 8 BIT's indie documentarian
Justin Strawhand is the co-director, producer, and editor of 8 BIT, a new independant documentary about the burgeoning video game art and music scene. Our colleagues at sister-site DV Guru had a chance to talk with Strawhand about the project's inception, the production, and their plans to get the film shown.The film premiered at New York's Museum of Modern Art last Saturday but, lucky for you, they're having another screening tomorrow night at MoMA that doesn't appear to be sold out yet, you just have to buy your tickets at the museum. Can't make it? Strawhand says, "We're getting many many requests to show in art museums / universities as well, so whatever happens, I think that our film will have some legs and hopefully the people who want to see it will be able to." Yeah, we're hoping so too.If you have no chance of attending, but just want to get your hopes up, we've embedded the trailer after the break.
Bungie behind the scenes nifty as always
Bungie says their behind the scenes look at the making of the Halo 3 trailer is a "nifty counterpoint" to that IGN documentary from last week. I guess when you're working on the world's most anticipated video game, and offering glimpses of next-gen Master Chief like hits off a crackpipe, "nifty" just seems like the word to use. If your beat up laptop (like mine) sucks at handling 720p video, don't worry. This niftyness is coming to Xbox Live Marketplace in the near future.[Thanks Nitin]
WoW Documentary DVD Now Available
Looks like with all the other folks making documentaries about WoW, Blizzard decided there was too much action there to not get in on it themselves. Now available from the official shop is the official WoW Behind the Scenes DVD. it features commentaries by the devs, re-mastered WoW cinematics, and some other goodies.I'm a sucker for any gaming documentaries, and this one I'm sure will contain some interesting stuff, but the real bonus is that it's only ten bucks, so it can't be that bad a purchase. Or you can just wait for all the cool stuff to show up on YouTube...
WoW Moviewatch: Gamers - Profiles in WoW
Gamerfilms.com has put a preview online of their new documentary Gamers: Profiles in WoW. From the looks of it, it seems the film is made up of interviews with various gamers at Blizzcon. Could be interesting, as long it's not just a long series of talking heads. A series about the Talking Heads would be cool, though...
Blast from the British gaming industry's past
Nothing beats a good dose of nostalgia, and this BBC 2 documentary from the mid-eighties is certainly a joy to behold twenty years on. It focuses on Imagine Software and Ocean Software and their struggles to create innovative titles on a platform which has been pushed to the limits, in a market flooded with hundreds of developers and beset by piracy.For those who watch this video and wish they were back in the heyday of the bedroom coder, we hear you; casual games seem to be the way forward for indie developers, until a working time machine hits the shelves.
