Console Lation Prize...

Ok, finally some clarity. Hollywood Reporter reports that Jon Landau, Avatar's producer made a statement on whether the game will be a MMORPG:

"Landau said the game's narrative will not be a strict retelling of the film but instead play out as a nonlinear story that shapes itself to the player's action inside the alien world. Ubisoft's deal does not cover the rights for a massively multiplayer online game, an idea that Cameron has previously spoken about as a way to introduce players to the franchise. Landau said that game is still a possibility."

So retract my last post's statement about it being a MMO game. Thought we could go by what the big guy (James Cameron) himself had already said to BusinessWeek. Bah! MMO is the way to go. Oh well, console lation prize.

Ubisoft to build Avatar: The Game!

Game builders extraordinaire - Ubisoft - will be creating their vision of an Avatar video game to be released concurrently with the scheduled launch of the Digital 3D Avatar movie on Memorial Day 2009! I previously blogged that the game will be released at the same time, but we now have official confirmation.

James Cameron:
"For the movie Avatar we are creating a world rich in character, detail, conflict and cultural depth. It has the raw material for a game that the more demanding gamers of today will want to get their hands on - one that is rich in visuals and ideas, and challenging in play. I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental."

These are words not to be taken lightly. James Cameron has said before that the game will be a MMORPG and that could very well be. Secondly, the movie Avatar is a pure bred 3D movie start to glorious finish - could the video game also be using this technology? I certainly could see Ubisoft licensing this 3D tech for their Tom Clancy FPSs like Ghost Recon? What an awesome concept!

Don't forget that Cameron has hinted at the future of film to include games and further, all those dedicated 'level builders' and 'skin modifiers' that are active in the world. Imagine their talents being applied to film as well. Given that Avatar is mostly CGI (over 60%!), it is logical to assume that perhaps those same level builders would help create those film environments - and get credit for it at the end of a film!

The Avatar experience is really starting to ramp up and it is still only the summer of '07! Stay tuned! You are gonna want to watch for updates on this one...

AVATAR UPDATE: Cameron's Vision and a Video Game?!

BusinessWeek's (BW) cover story for the April 2nd edition is all about 'Motion Capture' or 'Performance Capture' in James Cameron's world. He says that actors convey emotion, not motion thus the terminology.

Also revealed about Avatar during BW's interview is that "The futuristic movie about an ex-Marine will be released in 2009 simultaneously with a massive, multiplayer, video game based on the film." Cameron is really starting to put into action his plans of the last 10 years. Finally the technology that he has been seeking to make his dream projects are becoming reality--or virtually reality. :-)

Cameron's longer term vision takes into account the power of the MMORG and merges it with film. No more camera angle switching - you are IN THE MOVIE, invisible and omnipotent to the scene; you can elect to view the scenes from any angle and you are swept to that position seamlessly. He sees his virtual worlds that are created for film, being re-purposed for gaming. Cameron would like to work with individuals to create lavish fantasy environments for gaming and films, I suppose like hard core gamers use level editors to build new maps to share with their community. Awesome stuff here. If Cameron can achieve half of what he is talking about, the entertainment industry would be spun upside down. He sees this technology taking place certainly years down the road, but not decades. Imagine watching a 3D immersive film and seeing the car or building you created in the background! Some video games just are not successful until they open up level editing to the public; they need that domino effect and quite frankly, the public generated maps and levels are typically better than the originally engineered ones! Now bring scenario that to digital 3D film and you are starting to get it.

But for today's world, Cameron is happy with advances like doing away with dozens of sensors on actors faces and replacing it with a form-fitting device that traces their movements via mini-cameras and software. Actors can don this equipment minutes before a take rather than endure hours in the makeup chair. A lot of money is going to be saved here. In fact, the industry will be able to use a single actor to portray a life, from child to senior without makeup.

Probably the most important contribution for his vision thus far is the 3D digital filming using 'Performance Capture'. Cameron can actually see what the actor is doing as it will roughly appear in the final film ("a reality level equal to an '80s video game") while the end product will be 100% photo-realistic. He will be able to make minute changes not possible before because you would have to wait months to see the visual effects after all the shooting has been done. You don't want to have to call back the cast for re-shoots; and in many cases it is simply impossible with busy actors. Pragmatically and operationally Cameron has come a long way. No wonder the studio jumped at this opportunity after seeing the level of detail Cameron had already put into the planning. The excitement sure is building for Avatar and it will soon be reality.