Cinematics Are Killing Gameplay?

Howard Brown writes "David Rodriguez is a Lead Game Designer at High Voltage Software. His latest article on Buzzscope discusses videogaming's overabundance of cinematics, and how their misuse is taking us further and further away from what videogaming is all about." From the article: "I made it perhaps three virtual feet before managing to trigger another cinematic. Silently biting back a curse I again attempted to button through it, but those rat-bastard developers were bound and determined to have me watch their cinematic magic. Idly tapping the button, as if hoping that somehow the rules would change, I sat and listened as some NPC taught me all about targeting."

Comments

I think hes off base.

[xtieburn]

He never actually says which game hes talking about.

Personally im having a hard time thinking of any game with really impressive cinematics that has turned out to be a terrible. Nor can I think of a game where the game is really good but completely destroyed by cinematics. I mean the cinematics arnt even done by the same team as the people who make the gameplay and even the most non linear worlds such as Final Fantasy 7 managed to pull off being good with cinematics. (The lack of skipping was an issue but not with the cinematics themselves.)

I just dont see cinematics as a way of judging a game whether its good or bad. Nor do I see the cinematics as damaging a game.

If a game is bad its not because of some movies. If anything the movies are the only saving grace.

(I do take his point about being forced in to situations when youd have to have your brain replaced with a small carrot to actually do the things in the movie shown to you. That isnt a cinematics problem thats a plot problem. If the plot for getting you in to the situation was spot on then you wouldnt give a crap about the cinematic being there. Indeed I enjoy watching the cinematics of a game with a decent story.)