The role of the Videogame Director can be most aptly compared to that of the Film Director.
The visual nature of the medium immediately likens videogames to cinema, but the more fundamental analogue lies within the developmental process of each respective art form. Both interactive media and film rely on assemblages of disparate talent. The realization of a single videogame or a single movie requires the cooperation, and more importantly, the cohesion of tens or even hundreds of individuals each trained in separate and often alien fields.
In film, it became the role of the Director to focus the collaborative effort, and ensure the artistic quality of the final product. As members of Nouvelle Vague asserted, the director should always attempt to channel his/her personal vision into the final product. In a sense, the artistic responsibility was shifted from industry to the individual: In Truffaut's words "there are no bad films, only bad directors." Today, film relies heavily on the artistic vision of the director, at least on a superficial level: the role of the director has been elevated and expanded, in part due to the efforts and ideas of Cahiers Du Cinema.
However, it is easier for a director to leave his/her imprint on a film than on a videogame. While both mediums rely on the collaboration, it is both more extensive and more essential to the production of a videogame. The various facets that contribute to the structural backbone of a videogame are also more disparate. Subsequently, the director of interactive media has a more varied role, and it becomes harder to realize his/her vision in the final product.
For instance, the film director's 'canvas' is less complicated than that of the videogame director. Auteur Theory states that a director should utilize mis en scéne to imprint and perfect his/her particular style. Truffaut and other members of Cahiers charged that the directer be responsible for all visual aspects of the scene, from props, to lighting, to the positioning of the actors themselves. It was often argued that the director should use his camera as the artist does his pen. By arranging the visual aspects of each scene, a director can channel his/her vision both wholly and immediately.
The videogame director, on the other hand, cannot. Because the 'scenes' in a videogame occupy a virtual space, every aspect must be designed. Even the 'actors' in a videogame must be designed. Other visual facets of the medium, such as lighting, the positioning of the actors, and the camera itself, must be programmed. The diversification of responsibility that occurs in the creation of a single 'scene' in a videogame is staggering. The best videogame directors will strive to saturate each area of the development process with their unique vision. In other words they will have to direct in more distinctly disparate areas than a filmmaker: they will direct the animators, they will direct the concept artists, they will direct the programers. Ideally the videogame director will actually be responsible for some of these developmental roles.
While the videogame director should never be required to participate in every tier of the developmental process, he/she should always attempt to preserve and perfect a unique vision in the final product. In this sense the videogame director should utilize mis en scene in the same way that the auteur of film does. The videogame director should strive to personalize each 'scene' through constant involvement in the complex developmental process.
The visual nature of the medium immediately likens videogames to cinema, but the more fundamental analogue lies within the developmental process of each respective art form. Both interactive media and film rely on assemblages of disparate talent. The realization of a single videogame or a single movie requires the cooperation, and more importantly, the cohesion of tens or even hundreds of individuals each trained in separate and often alien fields.
In film, it became the role of the Director to focus the collaborative effort, and ensure the artistic quality of the final product. As members of Nouvelle Vague asserted, the director should always attempt to channel his/her personal vision into the final product. In a sense, the artistic responsibility was shifted from industry to the individual: In Truffaut's words "there are no bad films, only bad directors." Today, film relies heavily on the artistic vision of the director, at least on a superficial level: the role of the director has been elevated and expanded, in part due to the efforts and ideas of Cahiers Du Cinema.
However, it is easier for a director to leave his/her imprint on a film than on a videogame. While both mediums rely on the collaboration, it is both more extensive and more essential to the production of a videogame. The various facets that contribute to the structural backbone of a videogame are also more disparate. Subsequently, the director of interactive media has a more varied role, and it becomes harder to realize his/her vision in the final product.
For instance, the film director's 'canvas' is less complicated than that of the videogame director. Auteur Theory states that a director should utilize mis en scéne to imprint and perfect his/her particular style. Truffaut and other members of Cahiers charged that the directer be responsible for all visual aspects of the scene, from props, to lighting, to the positioning of the actors themselves. It was often argued that the director should use his camera as the artist does his pen. By arranging the visual aspects of each scene, a director can channel his/her vision both wholly and immediately.
The videogame director, on the other hand, cannot. Because the 'scenes' in a videogame occupy a virtual space, every aspect must be designed. Even the 'actors' in a videogame must be designed. Other visual facets of the medium, such as lighting, the positioning of the actors, and the camera itself, must be programmed. The diversification of responsibility that occurs in the creation of a single 'scene' in a videogame is staggering. The best videogame directors will strive to saturate each area of the development process with their unique vision. In other words they will have to direct in more distinctly disparate areas than a filmmaker: they will direct the animators, they will direct the concept artists, they will direct the programers. Ideally the videogame director will actually be responsible for some of these developmental roles.
While the videogame director should never be required to participate in every tier of the developmental process, he/she should always attempt to preserve and perfect a unique vision in the final product. In this sense the videogame director should utilize mis en scene in the same way that the auteur of film does. The videogame director should strive to personalize each 'scene' through constant involvement in the complex developmental process.
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