Does anyone else do whatever you'd call this?

[neema_t]

Ok, I really don't know what to call this particular practice, but please bear with me while I explain it.

For my birthday this year a friend of mine got me the Band of Brothers on Blu Ray, which I soldiered through (pun oh so incredibly intended) pretty sharpish. Near the end of my viewing of the series, Medal of Honour 2010 was on sale on Steam for next to nothing, so I bought it on a whim. In playing the campaign I felt far more immersed in the plot for having watched most of BoB beforehand (mainly because of the interaction between soldiers as the wars were fairly different), and at times I even felt an emotional attachment to characters in MoH because they mirrored characters from BoB in some respects.

So, with that in mind, when Deus Ex: Human Revolution was just about to come out I made the tactical decision to watch Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner beforehand, timed so that they'd end at midnight so I could go and play DXHR immediately. Once the game got going, it was incredible; the films had set me up almost perfectly for it and it just made a lot more sense than I think it would've done otherwise. I mean, for example, in DXHR there's a lot of anti-aug sentiment amongst a few characters, but if I hadn't watched those films, would I have understood their reasons for that quite as well as I did? I doubt it, so the end result was I already felt like I was in the game world, and so the immersion was much stronger. Also the setting of DXHR clearly drew a lot of inspiration from the two films (Sarif's office really felt like it was lifted from Blade Runner, as did AJ's apartment when compared to Deckard's) so I guess it helped me to imagine what the rest of the world might look like, so it essentially just reinforced the immersion. I'm sure I've made that point by now, though.


So, has anyone else tried that or something like it? And what would you even call it? I might watch The Thing and Alien before I start Dead Space 2.

[Flint]

I might watch The Thing and Alien before I start Dead Space 2.

Aliens might work better there.

[vinraith]

I've gotten in the habit of reading a history book on the period whenever I get into a new historical strategy or wargame.

[Scumbag]

Not sure about things in that way, but the first Shogun Total War convinced me to go watch Ran.

[Nalano]

If I did that, I'd be prompted to compare DXHR to GitS.

Well, more than I already did.

(GitS is my all-time favorite movie)

[Drake Sigar]

I've gotten in the habit of reading a history book on the period whenever I get into a new historical strategy or wargame.

Politicians and anti-gaming media should be forced to read this statement until it's forever burned into their brain.

[Nalano]

Politicians and anti-gaming media should be forced to read

I fear I may have found a flaw in your solution.

To me, it's usually the other way around: If a game is set in a historical time/place that I'm reading or have recently read about, I'll be more inclined to play it than otherwise. The Total War series didn't interest me until I could play as the Marathis, Ottomans and Russians.

[vinraith]

I fear I may have found a flaw in your solution.

To me, it's usually the other way around: If a game is set in a historical time/place that I'm reading or have recently read about, I'll be more inclined to play it than otherwise. The Total War series didn't interest me until I could play as the Marathis, Ottomans and Russians.

I find that games can motivate reading, and reading can motivate games, it just depends on the circumstances. I must admit, though, that I started reading McCullough's 1776 as much to try and figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing in Wars in America as for any other reason. Great read, though.

[Nalano]

I find that games can motivate reading, and reading can motivate games, it just depends on the circumstances.

So long as they're not licensed books. A greater collection of useless dross I have never seen.

[neema_t]

Aliens might work better there.

Oh yeah, that's kind of what I meant, I can never watch Alien without following it up with Aliens, nor can I watch Aliens without first watching Alien so to me they're the same thing.

You guys have also reminded me of another example, but also kind of backwards, which is when I was playing Assassin's Creed 2 I researched a few of the names. I can't remember anything I learned but it was interesting all the same, I think, I can't remember for sure. Of course that is nowhere near as intellectual as actual history, sims and such.

It's late, I should stop talking before the gibberish comes out.

[vinraith]

So long as they're not licensed books. A greater collection of useless dross I have never seen.

Europa Universalis: The Novel. Hmm, no, that probably wouldn't work.

[Oak]

I've gotten in the habit of reading a history book on the period whenever I get into a new historical strategy or wargame.

Yes, this.

So long as they're not licensed books. A greater collection of useless dross I have never seen.

I once read a novel based on Doom 3. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

[outoffeelinsobad]

This is a brilliant idea. What would be a good companion film for Far Cry 2? And I only mean good movies, so don't say Lord of War or Blood Diamond.

[Nalano]

This is a brilliant idea. What would be a good companion film for Far Cry 2? And I only mean good movies, so don't say Lord of War or Blood Diamond.

Lord of War is a good movie (the opening cinematic alone is more evocative than a lot of films I know). Hell, they only recently convicted the guy the movie was based off of.

[sabrage]

good companion film for Far Cry

Apocalypse Now.

[Zetetic]

So, has anyone else tried that or something like it? And what would you even call it? I might watch The Thing and Alien before I start Dead Space 2.

I suppose it's just reading/watching/gaming around a subject - different perspectives on similar issues.

[DigitalSignalX]

So, has anyone else tried that or something like it? And what would you even call it?

You are not alone, I always tend to enjoy a fantasy game more after watching LOTR, or even an episode of Merlin. It also can help if you're in the middle of a game and growing weary of it to take a break and watch something along the same vein. I can remember getting a bit bored with GTA4 and then finding a second wind after watching some brainless car chase movie.. The Transporter or its sequel.

As far as the name of this phenomena, I'm sure there's some psychological term for finding and then transferring narrative inspiration found in one experience to another, but I'll leave it for smarter people to figure out (=

[neema_t]

You are not alone, I always tend to enjoy a fantasy game more after watching LOTR, or even an episode of Merlin. It also can help if you're in the middle of a game and growing weary of it to take a break and watch something along the same vein. I can remember getting a bit bored with GTA4 and then finding a second wind after watching some brainless car chase movie.. The Transporter or its sequel.

As far as the name of this phenomena, I'm sure there's some psychological term for finding and then transferring narrative inspiration found in one experience to another, but I'll leave it for smarter people to figure out (=

I watched Donnie Brasco a while ago and found I had a big craving for GTA IV afterwards, there's literally thousands of films you could use for that game... The Godfather, We Own the Night (that was a really good film by the way), probably Mesrine (I haven't watched that yet, it does sound like something similar), American Gangster, Ronin, probably Heat, Reservoir Dogs (I'm pretty sure police in one GTA game cry out 'I'm gonna be ok-ay!'), the list goes on.

Then of course there's six Star Wars films, enough Star Wars fiction to fill a library and loads of Star Wars games like Dark Forces, KOTOR and such, that could be a good one to get into as long as you watch/read/play them in order. It might take you roughly a year and you might start wearing robes as a result, but it might be worth it.

So I'm glad I'm not the only one who has tried something like this, and if any of you haven't played DXHR yet I suggest you try what I did (if you do ever get it) and see what you think.

[Grizzly]

This is a brilliant idea. What would be a good companion film for Far Cry 2? And I only mean good movies, so don't say Lord of War or Blood Diamond.

Far Cry 2 is based off the book Heart of Darkness.

[riadsala]

I've been rewatching the LotR triology in preparation for finally getting my hands on the War of the Rings boardgame :)

(I woul re-read the books, but I have plenty of other novels on my to-read list as it is).