Animation and the video game industry -- OUAN405

In recent years video games have become more and more cinematic, relying on well designed and voiced characters, powerful story arcs, and - because of increasing importance of cut-scenes - good animation. Games like Heavy Rain, atmospheric, emotional and engaging stories, particularly need to be backed up by good character animation, not only in the cut-scenes, but during gameplay, in which the story actually effects the way the characters move and look. Because of this I think we will see skilled 3D animators moving into the games industry more, especially since the wider games industry looks like it will be heading towards games with more engaging and filmic stories. In more recent years Beyond: Two Souls, a game which used cinema motion capture technology to create realistic character animations, became the latest in a long line of games to feature Hollywood actors lending not only their voices, but this time their faces and actions. Willem Defoe and Ellen Page, who play the two main characters have spoken about how it was the script that engaged them and made them want to get involved, signalling that perhaps as video games begin to utilise better and better scripts, and as bigger and bigger names sign on to write, direct or act, the gaming industry will become a new home for high-quality animation.