Xbox 360

I don't think I was the only one that quite didn't completely understand what Peter Jackson was talking about during the conference, so here is yours and mine chance to get it all. Microsoft and XCN did this interview with him and sent it to us, and inside you'll find info about many of his upcoming projects.


The interview took place this week during X06, which takes place in Barcelona.

When did your plans for this announcement start?
The Halo movie was the catalyst that actually made this all happen. Because we’re working on that we’ve been spending a lot of time with Bungie and Microsoft, talking about the movie. But after hours we found ourselves still talking about bringing games and movies together, as a completely separate thing to Halo. We were really talking about the future of interactive entertainment.

What exactly is it you’re working on?
It’s not a game, it’s not a movie, it’s a combination of the two. It won’t be like a traditional game experience, but it also won’t be like watching a DVD where you passively sit back and let it all happen in front of you. It’s going to be an interactive experience, so it’s not just about the characters, the plot and the storyline – and Bungie are obviously helping us a lot with this in the Halo series – but it’s about the technology we use to implement it. The most interesting thing about this for me has been working closely with Microsoft Game Studios and the guys at Bungie to start thinking about the kind of technical system we’re going to create to make this happen.

How will it differ from a traditional movie?
Movies rely on certain things that are actually counter-intuitive to games. Movies rely on a build-up of momentum and a narrative pacing, a process of characterisation and a creation of tension. It’s up to the filmmaker to control those elements closely if the film is to be engaging. The interesting part of this will be continuing to do that if the experience is interactive and thus some control is taken from the director and given to the person having the experience.

Could you give us a concrete example of how this could work?
I don’t really want to do that right now! We’ve talked about it for so long and we’ve got some really interesting ideas, but I don’t want to reveal them until we’re ready to release the content. I know how to make films. There is a structure and a technique, and I’m going to continue to make films because I love doing it. What intrigues me with this is that it offers a new and totally unique way of telling a story. We have so many ideas for stories and this particular medium is possibly a much better way of telling this stories. I’m not going to make these to tie in with films. We’ll either make a film or one of these new experiences.

Will it be along the lines of letting the viewer choose an action for the characters?
That’s some of what we’ve discussed. The trick is for the director to retain a level of control. You can’t just let the player take control of that because then it loses the essence of what makes a movie an emotionally engaging experience. I will say that I think what we’ll end up doing is very different to the kind of things people are thinking of at the moment.

You’re drawing on the Halo universe for the first of your projects. Why Halo?
Because we’re taking a huge step to create this new interactive experience we thought it would be easier, and cooler, to use a universe that already existed. I’m Bungie’s biggest fan and the Halo universe is so compelling and well-designed we thought it would be a perfect place to start. What we’re talking about here is a new way of telling a story, but it’s not related to the Halo film at all.

You’ve also formed a new development studio called WingNut Interactive. Are you already working on games and which platforms are you developing for?
I think it would be a mistake to think of it as a traditional games studio. It’s more of a partnership between us – and when I say us I mean myself, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, who as a team write scripts, develop our stories and produce our films – and Microsoft Game Studios. I’m not thinking about having specific games in development or constraining them to particular platforms. It’s more about exploring how we can create an interactive movie-style story along with the technology Microsoft has with the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. I think we can take that style of storytelling – which is very different from storytelling in games – and make it more interactive. At the moment it’s just myself, Fran and Phillipa sitting down with Microsoft and working out what we need to do to make our desires reality.

What did you involvement with Ubisoft’s King Kong teach you about the games industry?
Well I can’t claim much authorship of the game because I helped with it but I was still working on the film at the time. At the end of the day it is a videogame and it’s certainly not the same kind of thing that I’m talking about now. This is about a new way of telling stories, and the fun is going to be how we figure out that mechanism.

A big thanks to both XCN and Peter Jackson for making this interview possible!

rjpaez
rjpaez
Commented on 2006-09-29 18:24:40
I hope this turns out ok, because it really seems as if he himself has no clue what he's going to do. It seems like him and Bungie got really close, and through late-night (drunken?) talks... they came up with "Wingnut".

Peter: "Yeah, I don't wanna make video games... and I don't wanna make movies... I wanna try something new."

Bungie and MS: "Sure, you made LOTR... so yeah, what are you planing on making?"

Peter: "No clue?"

MS: "Doesn't matter... wanna come to X06 and talk about it?"

Peter: "Umm... well I don't really know what to say, I don't know what I'm doing"

MS: "Doesn't matter man! Your phucking Peter Jackson!"
In reply to
R0oK
R0oK
Commented on 2006-09-29 18:46:19
It does sound like he doesn't really know what they are going to do. However, if they have some really great ideas but it's far from being able to happen, he probably doesn't want to let the cat out of the bag..
In reply to
RC_Master
RC_Master
Commented on 2006-09-29 20:47:45
As long as they keep this Halo game peter is heading faithful to the series, and ultimately, awesome, then it'll be ok.
In reply to
fatefodder
fatefodder
Commented on 2006-09-29 21:24:36
I ... am ... confused.

There's a panel with Peter Jackson, Peter Molyneux, and Greg Zuschek on Teamxbox.com where the three discuss their projects and experiences in game stories more in-depth, but it's not 100% informative.

It's about %50 informative in that in it the three--including Jackson, discuss what NOT to do or what cannot be done, or what must be done in other forms of entertainments. The discussion gets close to something for a while but never comes out with a definitive concluding statement. Not an uninteresting watch, though.
In reply to
atomicmoose
atomicmoose
Commented on 2006-09-29 21:26:11
Can you say MMORG... on a console.
In reply to
INDIGO
INDIGO
Commented on 2006-09-30 08:27:29
I think this marks a turning point in the gaming industry. I am beyond stoked.
In reply to
Splicer261
Splicer261
Commented on 2006-09-30 15:23:05
i just remember MGS2 or MGS3 when he talks about blending movies and games..

Because MGS2/MGS3 were pretty much the closest you could get in actually playing out a movie as a game..the cinematic presentations, epic hollywood scoring, dialogues etc..

Maybe it's because kojima is a huge fan of movies and a reviewer, he has this great vision for a director, editing and what not.. Maybe with peter jackson's talent he could provide such awesome directing, editing, scoring and epic feel.

MGS3 even went far as to give us control during cutscenes, but it wasn't as extensive..maybe peter jackson could explore that more for a game..give more control during cutscenes..

but that's just my view, when i read he wants something that is between a game/movie.. MGS2/3 comes to my mind..something similar.
In reply to
QuezcatoL
QuezcatoL
Commented on 2006-09-30 22:53:11
Splicer261,i was more thinking about SHENMUE.

I heard the same thing about that title before it was out,that it was gonna be a new genre,and a mix of a movie/game.
In reply to
Arathornbr
Arathornbr
Commented on 2006-10-03 04:16:21
He will made something like Fahreinheit, I think. ^^'
o/
In reply to
Patreon

$135 of $400 per month

What's up?
  • MrWhite

    MrWhite v-----https://media1 .giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdmlk Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdmlkdG1jYW11cWRuZTg0bmRzamxqaXk2emprdzExNHhq dG1jYW11cWRuZTg0bmRzamxqaXk2emprdzExNHhqb3g3cTJkZSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlf amxqaXk2emprdzExNHhqb3g3cTJkZSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/TlK63ERYSGQsdqG04uc/giphy.gif b3g3cTJkZSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/TlK63ERYSGQsdqG04uc/giphy.gif bnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/TlK63ERYSGQsdqG04uc/giphy.gif aWQmY3Q9Zw/TlK63ERYSGQsdqG04uc/giphy.gif GQsdqG04uc/giphy.gif (2 Days ago)

  • Loakum

    Loakum *takes a sip of grape juice* The Great Awakening is happening…. (6 Weeks ago)

  • gigantor21

    gigantor21 We getting any Tekken 8 demo footage? (> 3 Months ago)

  • dc_coder_84

    dc_coder_84 Playing Half-Life 1 with ray tracing mod on Linux, yay ;) (> 3 Months ago)

  • nostradamus

    nostradamus MS-Bethesda-ABK does have some ring to it. My oh my, (> 3 Months ago)

  • Loakum

    Loakum Sony’s PlayStation Showcase was weaksauce….except for 5 great upcoming games. (> 3 Months ago)

  • Loakum

    Loakum *takes a sip of grape juice* Ah…such a good vintage. (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood Download is now functional again on Gamersyde. Sorry for the past 53 days or so when it wasn't. (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood Another (French) livestream today at 2:30 CEST but you're welcome to drop by and speak English. I will gladly answer in English when I get a chance to catch a breath. :) (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood GSY is getting some nice content at 3 pm CEST with our July podcast and some videos of the Deus Ex Mankind Divided preview build. :) (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood For once we'll be live at 4:30 pm CEST. Blim should not even be tired! (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood More Quantum Break coverage coming in a few hours, 9:00 a.m CEST. (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood We'll have a full review up for Firewatch at 7 pm CET. Videos will only be tomorrow though. (> 3 Months ago)

  • Driftwood

    Driftwood Tonight's livestream will be at 9:15 GMT+1, not GMT+2 as first stated. (> 3 Months ago)

Also on Gamersyde

Our Series X video of Unicorn Overlord

  • Monday, March 25, 2024
  • davton

Rise of the Ronin: Ray tracing analyzed

  • Monday, March 25, 2024
  • Driftwood