I've been playing games since I was a kid and I struggled for many years with people who thought online games were silly and action games made you violent. I considered this a chance to show a few insight into what gaming can really involve - passion, friendship and experiences you cannot get in the real world. ~ Ben Dressler
Let us face it, the gamer way of life is one thing that not many people have an understanding of. /AFK The Movie examines the life of a video gamer told to give up the one thing he has ever loved: World of Warcraft.
To individuals who do not play video games, that's referred to as quitting. For hard-core gamers and MMORPG players worldwide, that's known as "Euthanasia."
The movie examines what life is like moving away from the keyboard, to cut off the thing you love doing, simply because you realize that it controls all that you do. But, what is the fine line between adoring video games and being obsessed with them? Does it really make a difference and should we even care?
The subject matter of /AFK The Movie covers World of Warcraft and online gaming. But you do not need to know the difference between Horde and Alliance in order to connect with the movie. We are all hooked on something, be it cell phones, websites, video games, or chocolates (or a dangerous combination of all 4). Step "away from your mobile phone" for 1 day and see how you react. Is a cellular phone that much different than a video game? Why is one an addiction and the other is simply a habit?
I spoke with Ben Dressler, the filmmaker who made /Afk come to life.
What was the task like making the movie, and from his own point of view, what message was it trying to communicate to gamers and people telling so-called "addicts" they have to stop:
JHS: What inspired you to make the script? Did you feel as if you wanted to write something which can speak "for all WOW players?"
Two things. First of all, the feeling that no person had ever accomplished this before. I think it's really uncommon that you have a concept that's kinda different and not really available. When I first saw Memento I was just so amazed that after many years of filmmaking, a person could still come up with something so imaginative. And even though we're not the first one to combine real live action and video game video clips, I don't know of any motion picture who achieved it to the level that we did.
Second, I wanted to make a stand for video gaming. I have been playing games since I was a kid and I struggled for a long time with individuals who considered online games were silly and action games made you chaotic. I regarded this an opportunity to present a few insight into what gaming really can be about - passion, companionship and experiences you can't get in real life.
JHS: In your opinion, why do people feel the need to put down the "gamer" lifestyle?
I honestly believe that they just don't know better. The lead character in /afk says at some point: "It's not just me sitting in front of a coloured window." But that's exactly what individuals see every time they see someone "game." They don't see what you think, feel or experience as you play. I've had so many individuals that watched me play WoW and considered it was really uninteresting. But when I allow them to play for an hour or so, they would buy the game themselves. Thankfully, people who have gaming experience will grow into important positions like in journalism or politics. So eventually that tendency to look down on gamers will diminish from society, I am pretty optimistic on that.
JHS: You mentioned you basically had no budget because you could not make some money from the movie, What kind of constraints did that have on you as a moviemaker?
Since I knew there wouldn't be a budget from the beginning, I could focus on producing a script that would work with very few characters and locations. We had five days of shooting for a 25 minute motion picture that has a really small crew. And since I did not like to rush the actors too much, there was very little time left for the camera and lighting department. We also could not afford to buy a lot of props so we had to work with what we got in our houses. The room of the main character is actually made of geek items from ten people combined.
It pretty much came down to pulling lots of favors and using to the best what was already there. I'm sure if you choose to work with that constraint, it'll easily result in new, innovative ways of telling your story. Although I recently read that German filmmakers particularly get into Hollywood mainly because they can make low-cost movies that look like really expensive movies. Well, that's flattering, isn't it?
JHS: What would you tell individuals who deal with individuals asking them to "quit video games."
It's really not easy to provide a general answer to that one mainly because it depends on the circumstances. Generally I would recommend to try and make those people know very well what gaming means to you. Find out why they think games are brainless and show that you understand them also and take their concerns sincerely. Don't just plunge to retaliation mode. When I was in college, I used to speak with my mom and dad about the games I was looking forward to play and what I found interesting about them. In most cases I could make them relate to that in some way.
JHS: Based on the lack of success of a few major motion pictures, it seams very difficult to take the concept of a video game and turn it into a film - with very few movies striving to "get into" the life of BEING a gamer. What was your experience in this matter?
I believe there are two kinds of game movies... Adaptations and Sci-Fi movies. Adaptations tend to be awful OR just solid action movies with the game's name in the title... And so yeah, there is little films about real gamers - to be honest I can't name a single one. And I'm quite in wonder about that!
But it's challenging, and I do think that the individuals who make it must know video games as completely as films....My point is that to really learn from Video Games as a medium, filmmakers need to understand how a game tells its story, what things can be translated and what things can not.
JHS: What does WOW provide that no other game on the face of the earth offers?
In all honesty - there are a number of video games on earth I have not played yet! However, I think that WoW did and does a terrific job at making hardcore gaming accessible to many individuals. In EverQuest days, MMORPGs were such an exclusive genre that even the majority of gamers did not know or like. These days you will raid with individuals who would not even look at themselves a true gamer. And yeah, maybe that's a piece of pioneer work that no other game can do again.
Let us face it, the gamer way of life is one thing that not many people have an understanding of. /AFK The Movie examines the life of a video gamer told to give up the one thing he has ever loved: World of Warcraft.
To individuals who do not play video games, that's referred to as quitting. For hard-core gamers and MMORPG players worldwide, that's known as "Euthanasia."
The movie examines what life is like moving away from the keyboard, to cut off the thing you love doing, simply because you realize that it controls all that you do. But, what is the fine line between adoring video games and being obsessed with them? Does it really make a difference and should we even care?
The subject matter of /AFK The Movie covers World of Warcraft and online gaming. But you do not need to know the difference between Horde and Alliance in order to connect with the movie. We are all hooked on something, be it cell phones, websites, video games, or chocolates (or a dangerous combination of all 4). Step "away from your mobile phone" for 1 day and see how you react. Is a cellular phone that much different than a video game? Why is one an addiction and the other is simply a habit?
I spoke with Ben Dressler, the filmmaker who made /Afk come to life.
What was the task like making the movie, and from his own point of view, what message was it trying to communicate to gamers and people telling so-called "addicts" they have to stop:
JHS: What inspired you to make the script? Did you feel as if you wanted to write something which can speak "for all WOW players?"
Two things. First of all, the feeling that no person had ever accomplished this before. I think it's really uncommon that you have a concept that's kinda different and not really available. When I first saw Memento I was just so amazed that after many years of filmmaking, a person could still come up with something so imaginative. And even though we're not the first one to combine real live action and video game video clips, I don't know of any motion picture who achieved it to the level that we did.
Second, I wanted to make a stand for video gaming. I have been playing games since I was a kid and I struggled for a long time with individuals who considered online games were silly and action games made you chaotic. I regarded this an opportunity to present a few insight into what gaming really can be about - passion, companionship and experiences you can't get in real life.
JHS: In your opinion, why do people feel the need to put down the "gamer" lifestyle?
I honestly believe that they just don't know better. The lead character in /afk says at some point: "It's not just me sitting in front of a coloured window." But that's exactly what individuals see every time they see someone "game." They don't see what you think, feel or experience as you play. I've had so many individuals that watched me play WoW and considered it was really uninteresting. But when I allow them to play for an hour or so, they would buy the game themselves. Thankfully, people who have gaming experience will grow into important positions like in journalism or politics. So eventually that tendency to look down on gamers will diminish from society, I am pretty optimistic on that.
JHS: You mentioned you basically had no budget because you could not make some money from the movie, What kind of constraints did that have on you as a moviemaker?
Since I knew there wouldn't be a budget from the beginning, I could focus on producing a script that would work with very few characters and locations. We had five days of shooting for a 25 minute motion picture that has a really small crew. And since I did not like to rush the actors too much, there was very little time left for the camera and lighting department. We also could not afford to buy a lot of props so we had to work with what we got in our houses. The room of the main character is actually made of geek items from ten people combined.
It pretty much came down to pulling lots of favors and using to the best what was already there. I'm sure if you choose to work with that constraint, it'll easily result in new, innovative ways of telling your story. Although I recently read that German filmmakers particularly get into Hollywood mainly because they can make low-cost movies that look like really expensive movies. Well, that's flattering, isn't it?
JHS: What would you tell individuals who deal with individuals asking them to "quit video games."
It's really not easy to provide a general answer to that one mainly because it depends on the circumstances. Generally I would recommend to try and make those people know very well what gaming means to you. Find out why they think games are brainless and show that you understand them also and take their concerns sincerely. Don't just plunge to retaliation mode. When I was in college, I used to speak with my mom and dad about the games I was looking forward to play and what I found interesting about them. In most cases I could make them relate to that in some way.
JHS: Based on the lack of success of a few major motion pictures, it seams very difficult to take the concept of a video game and turn it into a film - with very few movies striving to "get into" the life of BEING a gamer. What was your experience in this matter?
I believe there are two kinds of game movies... Adaptations and Sci-Fi movies. Adaptations tend to be awful OR just solid action movies with the game's name in the title... And so yeah, there is little films about real gamers - to be honest I can't name a single one. And I'm quite in wonder about that!
But it's challenging, and I do think that the individuals who make it must know video games as completely as films....My point is that to really learn from Video Games as a medium, filmmakers need to understand how a game tells its story, what things can be translated and what things can not.
JHS: What does WOW provide that no other game on the face of the earth offers?
In all honesty - there are a number of video games on earth I have not played yet! However, I think that WoW did and does a terrific job at making hardcore gaming accessible to many individuals. In EverQuest days, MMORPGs were such an exclusive genre that even the majority of gamers did not know or like. These days you will raid with individuals who would not even look at themselves a true gamer. And yeah, maybe that's a piece of pioneer work that no other game can do again.
About the Author:
If you want a unique video game show which brings Holywood and video game industry together, then The Jace Hall Show is the right one for you. It presents movies like World of Warcraft movie as well as the discussion of World of Warcraft fans.
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