I've heard a lot of talk lately about the highly-touted digital
video discs (DVDs) and how they'll wipe out the movie industry.
The proponents of DVDs claim that soon, all movies will come out
in a DVD format. Traditional movie-making is doomed. Or is it?
Well, let's take a look at just what a DVD is anyway. As far as
I can figure out, the DVD is a hybrid between a CD-ROM and a motion
picture. The DVD comes on a disk which is loaded onto a special
DVD player or possibly even a computer. Each DVD will project
the events of a drama onto a view screen for the user. The drama
is interactive in the sense that the user will get to choose alternate
plot paths the story could follow. At various points in the story,
the user will be asked for input about where they would like the
story to go. Typically, this takes the form of the user making
choices for the main character of the story.
For example, let's say our story is a remake of "Frankenstein"
where our main character, Bob Smith, is suddenly surprised by
Frankenstein's monster as he's taking a pee in an outhouse. As
Bob Smith, do you (a) Make a run for it, (b) Attack the monster,
(c) Scream for help, or (d) Finish the pee while singing your
country's national anthem. Once you've entered in your choice,
the screen will display the short-term results of your actions
until the next decision point is reached. Thus, the drama is structured
in a decision-tree format. The user gets to participate in the
shaping of the overall plot.
At this juncture, it's important to point out that interactive
entertainment is not a new idea. Actually, it's been around for
at least a few hundred years. When you think about it, a few people
gathering to play musical instruments and/or sing together for
their own enjoyment is, basically, a form of interactive entertainment.
During the Renaissance, amateur madrigal groups (small vocal ensembles
singing harmony in four to six parts) were extremely popular amongst
the nobility and the wealthier middle class.
More recently, another form of interactive entertainment experienced
a huge boom in the early '80s: role-playing in the form of the
"Dungeons and Dragons®" game. In this game, players
make up characters who exist in a fantasy world. One participant,
known as the Dungeon Master (or Gamemaster) sets up the story
and the world background. The other participants, the Players,
decide what actions their characters take and this interaction
between the Player's characters and the myriad of Non-Player Characters
controlled by the Gamemaster determine the eventual outcome of
the plot.
Finally, one can look to the recent barrage of video games and
CD-ROM games as the next step in the development of interactive
entertainment.
All of these forms, past and present, have enjoyed enormous popularity
but they have never seriously threatened more passive forms of
entertainment. For example, the amateur madrigal groups did not
eliminate the demand for professional singers. As madrigal composers
became more skilled, they created works that were beyond the reach
of most amateur groups. Eventually, a class of virtuosic singers
developed that performed these works for large audiences.
The role-playing fad started by Dungeons and Dragons® certainly
did not oust the demand for fantasy novels. Actually, quite the
reverse seems to have happened. Many companies that produce role-playing
games also produce novels. The novels and the games use the same
world background. Sometimes, consumers can read about heroic exploits
in fantastic lands; other times, they can enact exploits themselves
in the same lands.
Interactive entertainment will never be a serious threat to passive
entertainment. This is because good interactive entertainment
always requires some degree of effort or skill. Just try a few
of the popular video games or CD-ROM games. People often need
steady playing for months before they reach a level of solid competence.
There will always be a time when people want to just sit back
and enjoy a song being performed or a story being told. There
will also be a time when people want to be part of the story or
performance; when they want to play the part of heroes or villains
without actually having to feel the pain or lose the blood. These
forms of entertainment will continue to exist side by side as
long as there is no tremendous change in human nature. Yes, computers
will affect the way we do things. Yes, computers may very well
change the nature of the arts and entertainment field. But, computer-generated
interactive entertainment will never completely replace the kind
of entertainment where you just sit back and enjoy. In fact what
is most likely is that you'll be able to buy a movie on disk with
the straight ahead version or the interactive version. Personally,
I'd still take the straight-ahead version nine times out of ten.
I find that real life provides enough adventures and mental challenges
for me.
More than ever , Stay Happy and Don't Take No Crap.
Happy.
