AGC Day 2: Hollywood and Videogames: A Marriage Made in Hell?

(NOTE: My Treo died, so the next few summaries are stacked on top of each other. Deal.)

After a great lunch and chat with Adran (I ate lunch, we both chatted), it was off to the session "Hollywood and Videogames: A Marriage Made in Hell?" -- which was an interesting panel.

The speakers were impressive -- Moderator Corey Bridges, Executive Producer and Marketing Director of The Multiverse Network; Chris Klug, Creative Director of the Stargate Worlds MMO (Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment); writer's representative Michael I'm-embarrassed-I-forgot-his-last-name; and Lee Sheldon, Indiana University, and writer/producer/designer.

Great, direct semi-diatribe from Sheldon about if you're contributing to the media, youshould be a consumer of the brand:

"Why are you writing for games? Because you couldn't write for movies and TV in
Hollywood, so you thought you'd just try it, but you don't play games?
Bullshit."

I really appreciate that. I got into voice acting because I love games and cartoons. I get so frustrated reading interviews with voice actors who do the game or animation roles for which I'd do violence, and them saying, "Oh, I don't play games".

Mother!

There was also a frank discussion of breaking down the perceived classicism between the creative sides of the Hollywood and game communities -- because "there's not really a divide."

They were really off on the current state of episodic content -- they ostensibly said it's not happening. But think about it. Bethesda's Oblivion. Valve's Half-Life 2. Vivendi's Sam and Max. Sin: Episodes. Bone. Microsoft's weekly Xbox Live Arcade updates. I shall educate them. And they will likely disparage me.

And Sheldon hates cutscenes. He and CliffyB would probably have a great (probably violently agreeant) conversation on the topic.

Oh, and Sheldon mentioned the death of Floyd in Planetfall, one of my all-time favorite games. That took me back.