Hi guys I am thinking about making a video game documentary soon about one or more of the following things and I just wanted to know what the the lovely people who accomodate this forum had to say about it. I was thinking of the following things..... 1.Video game collections/experiences 2.Social, online and MMO gaming (What I did my university dissertation on!) 3.The fighting video game scene tournaments and the like Thanks in advance!
I've you've already had experience with option 2 I'd suggest that because you have a head start and would have a plan in mind. Not to mention I've never really seen any doc's about MMO gaming etc (Any exist I should watch?). Was your Uni course film and tv production or something related? The writing a thesis would suggest to something more written based (perhaps Psychology?) but im curious.
You're best bet is to choose the option you love most, that way you'll be way more enthusiastic with your videos
I did a programming course I think regardless of what course you do here in the UK you end it with a written piece , there was a documentary on the BBC a while back with someone addicted to playing games online it was really interesting stuff I really like them all! I guess I need to find people to interview gaming rooms to check out going to arcades and all that jazz
Do #1 (collecting) IMO the others have become the go-to subject for cheap easy shots at the industry and gaming communities in general, so it wont be taken seriously
The most interesting documentaries are those that offer some insight. There are some very hardcore collectors and arcade veterans in England and London in particular, so you have a great array of resources. For tournaments and competitive arcade gaming, go to the Casino arcade or ask some people at arcade-otaku and shmups.com if they want to participate in your project. I know some must be right around the corner. If you film collectors, make sure that they are not some posers or weirdos with average collections who just seek the attention. This would certainly harm the final film's reputation among your target audience: people who see gaming as part of their life. What we don't need is yet another short clip that shows us some LAN events, some scenes from World of Warcraft and some dude who has a box full of Super Nintendo games that he talks about like a dork. I've seen too many of those on regular TV. The great documentaries always featured something really exclusive, like interviews with people from the industry who haven't spoken in front of the camera too often. There are many great programming legends in Europe, maybe you can track down one or more who could add to your content. What I have in mind when I say all these things are excellent documentaries like the Shmup Documentary by French GameOne and to a certain extent also "Chasing Ghosts".
Cor blimey! Thanks a lot for the feedback I have a lot to think about and research before I jump in , I live in London so I will try and see if I can contact any of the hard core collectors. It would be fantastic to interview people in the industry and people in this forum. I will check out those documentaries ave thanks for the heads up!
IMO the collectors option is not very interesting unless you can get access to someone who has a lot of unique things, like a journey into ASSEMbler's collection :biggrin-new: Otherwise it's just some guy saying "I have a lot of video games. Some of them cost me a lot of money." Yaaaawwwn....
Now that'd be more interesting, and it reminded me of the magazine article on these forums from several years ago which mentioned stuff some people have that they can't talk about in fear of getting sued. These things would be good topics for a documentary, but probably too hard to do in practice.
