[Terramax]

Perhaps then video footage of people playing games would be suited too.

The DS and Wii are prime examples. Visually showing someone controlling the 'fate' of the character or the game itself.

[Fop]

That's even worse People playing games look like zombies even though they are often concentrating very hard.

[Terramax]

Depends how it's shown. Watch the ads for the Wii. And I can tell you now when my family play the Wii, they jumb about, shout, smile, laugh, stick their tongues out, frown, etc more than the people on those adverts.

[Fop]

So Wii Sports is what's great about games? Because that's pretty much the only game that has that effect.

[Kivie]

OK, how about this. We'll keep the 10 categories roughly as they are, and come up with specific clips that would do well to demonstrate each one, and then, where there is more than one possibility for a category, we could poll the forum-goers for their favourite, hence turning the movie into a montage of the most memorable moments, or 'crème de la crème', as 'decided' by the Adventure Gamers community.

Or I could just give up.

(I think I'd need to do it that way because there are lots of reputable games I haven't played, like the already-mentioned Ico, Shenmue and Metal Gear.)

I don't think it would be a good idea to show the player in any video footage, unless it were only briefly.

As for FPSs: I don't have much experience with them, but on the PC, am I right in saying that the standard interface is to use WASD for character movement and use the mouse to move the camera? Because I've managed to get used to that with non-FPS games that have used that interface.

[Terramax]

Just thought I'd ask, why are you creating this video? Is it for something like school/ college/ Uni?

Is it just to show friends and family who don't play games and you're trying to make them interested?

Is there a particular demographic of people you want to show to?

How good will the editing of this piece be? Are you trying to make something that would imitate what you would likely see on television or some kind of documentory (again, for educational purposes) or is this just for some fun and you're going to stick elements together quick quickly and not so elegantly?

[Kivie]

It's just for fun. I don't have a target audience in mind, and I wasn't intending for it to be documentary-style, although I suppose if I invested more time in it I could indeed make it into a fully narrated documentary. I don't think the editing needs to be anything fancier than simply putting the clips next to each other in the desired order with the desired titles to mark each section. Some cross-fades might be necessary; a lower-third to introduce a game would also be good.

[TiAgUh]

Originally Posted by Kivie

Or I could just give up.

NO!
My girlfriend and I often talk about what we (me and her) consider to be Art
..and its kinda difficult to explain, when it comes to games, why i think some of them can be.

Maybe your masterpiece there would help me show her why.

*sorry for my bad english*

[MdaG]

I like the idea of a film about the finer side of gaming. You've got my moral support

[Ninja Dodo]

If only there were a way to do an interactive montage of several games...

One other problem is that much depth and meaning is built up gradually and watching something out of context might not carry quite so much weight, or be misunderstood entirely.

Still:

I'm going to agree with Terramax and TiAgUh on Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Beautiful, subtle, yet epic games.
Also my first reaction to "I don't have a PS2" was: What are you doing?! Go and buy one right now! Even just to play these two games. Totally. Worth it.

I think you should definitely include the space-bending magnificence that is Portal. Rather than making your own clips though I would recommend just showing the original trailer in its entirety: Mindblowing.

Bioshock deserves a definite mention, but it's tricky to think of a moment that is both meaningful out of context and not a huge spoiler. The intro sequence might work though. If you DON'T mind some huge ENORMOUS spoilers, this article makes a good argument for Bioshock as art.

I've recently been playing Call of Duty 4 and while it's arguably your basic war-time shooter its setting and atmosphere create a bizarre sense of being inside the news... The way it plays with varying perspectives is interesting. Two moments stand out:

Spoiler:

Being escorted to your own execution through a city taken over by militia.

The explosion, the crash, and waking up...

More random moments etc:

- Making trees bloom in Okami, watching cherry blossom fall like snow.

- Poking holes in witness-testimony as Phoenix Wright.

- Alyx and Dog, Barney, Eli et all in Half Life 2 and the Episodes. Still stands as some of the best character work in a game in my opinion. In fact the first 15 minutes or so of HL2, entering City 17 would not be a bad choice for a clip.

- Saving lives as a surgeon in Trauma Center: Under the Knife

- Anything from Grim Fandango. Though since the gameplay is not really that exciting to look at, probably go with the cinematics.

- Insult sword fighting in Monkey Island 1.

There are others I can think of: Little Big Adventure, Outcast, parts of Vampire Bloodlines... but not so easily presented in short bursts...

[Kivie]

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

One other problem is that much depth and meaning is built up gradually and watching something out of context might not carry quite so much weight, or be misunderstood entirely.

Yes, that's a good point. There is also the problem of spoiling the story. Perhaps there should be a narration of the game's general premise/plot before the clip begins, so that it makes sense.

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

Also my first reaction to "I don't have a PS2" was: What are you doing?! Go and buy one right now! Even just to play these two games. Totally. Worth it.

Just for those two games? Well, I suppose PS2s are pretty cheap now, so it's a fairly safe bet that it would be worth it!

Thank you for the other suggestions, I shall have to collate all of this somehow and do some searching for clips... Although if I did get a PS2, I have a way of capturing video directly.

Thanks for the support, TiAgUh and MdaG. But if this ever gets done at all, it'll be ages away yet.

[Ninja Dodo]

Just those two, yes. That said if you did get one there are other games I would also recommend*, but Ico and Colossus are the reason I bought it.

* - Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Okami and We Love Katamari