Filmmaker Verbinski gets into gaming

  • By Polybren, GameSpot
  • Posted Mar 11, 2008 4:53 pm PT

In his D.I.C.E. conference keynote address, Gore Verbinski urged developers to break out of the homogenized mainstream and try something new, saying that they "have the obligation to make the suits s*** themselves." Now the Pirates of the Caribbean director will get the chance to put his money...

In his D.I.C.E. conference keynote address, Gore Verbinski urged developers to break out of the homogenized mainstream and try something new, saying that they "have the obligation to make the suits s*** themselves."

Now the Pirates of the Caribbean director will get the chance to put his money where his potty mouth is, as The Los Angeles Times (registration required) is reporting that Verbinski is getting into game development himself. Verbinski told the paper that he's been thinking of entering the game world for a little over a year, saying that the project he's currently formulating is "a little bit out there."

"Although I really enjoy Halo and BioShock, I'm not interested in jumping in to compete with those guys," Verbinski said. "I want to come in from a completely different direction. I've had a tremendous experience in the film industry, taking knocks and figuring out how to navigate that world. Before I assume I know how to navigate this one, I want to observe."

Verbinski said he was not only interested in creating new genres, but that he wanted to explore the different aspects that make the game medium unique as well. For example, he said he was interested in new approaches to narrative, and would like to see a game that evoked strong emotions instead of simple excitement. However, he also said he'd like to explore gaming with no narrative at all, since the interactive nature of games means the developer doesn't necessarily have to impose a story on the audience.

Finally, he addressed the Disney adaptations of his blockbuster pirate-themed trilogy, saying he wasn't happy with the end product.

"I do think that model for producing games is broken," Verbinski said. "I think it's kind of a merchandising model rather than an art-form model. So I don't blame the people internally at Disney. I just think things have to change because it's diminishing the brand of gaming overall when you're producing stuff just to make a shelf date."

As for what he would have done differently, Verbinski said he would have liked a massively multiplayer social networking game that would let the players shape the game's world and story. He likened the trilogy's fan base to that of the Star Trek franchise, and expressed regret that the game didn't respect the fans as much as they deserved.

46 Comments

  • oli54321

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 6:13 pm PT

    Well he sure is ambitious >_

  • teknicz

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 7:33 pm PT

    A pirate MMORPG would own.

  • excelR83

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 5:07 pm PT

    Sounds awesome. I loved the Pirates trilogy, Gore is obviously a creative and talented guy. I've been waiting to hear an announcement like this from a major director, and he seems like a great choice. Let's see what he does with this opportunity. @ ivanfred: How would he be like Tom Clancy? Tom Clancy writes books that are adapted into games, Gore is looking to use games as his initial medium. Maybe I missed something about Tom Clancy.

  • Serious06

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 7:03 am PT

    stick to movies

  • Tylendal

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 11:41 pm PT

    Saying he understands that he needs to learn. Saying that he wants to observe before he starts. Showing a clear understanding that movie-license games almost never turn out well.

    This guy sounds like he has potential.

  • jazilla

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    Best of luck dude. Hopefully the stories in your video games won't have as many holes in them as your movies do.

  • ThatManYouKnow

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:30 am PT

    I think he's sincere at least.

  • Dantes_Monkey

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:35 am PT

    well pirates of the Caribbean was very poor so i am not exactly over the moon. but in the world of video games the man is still innocent 'til proven guilty

  • JackfnBurton

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:29 am PT

    I think comparing Pirates of the Carribbean (the actual franchise or the fans themselves) to Star Trek is a bit of a stretch but new ideas are never a bad thing. More power to him I say. Let the guy take a stab at it before you bag on him. After all, passing judgment from an armchair is easy. Making movies - good or bad ones- is not.

  • willripyouanew1

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:00 am PT

    Stick to movies dude!

  • D3j1k0

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:29 am PT

    Subliminal messages! PotC=PC!!

  • denter21

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:21 am PT

    Hahaha... he's comparing The Pirates of the Carribean's fan base to that of Star Trek? Get your head out of your ass. You made 3 movies, DISNEY MOVIES AT THAT. I'm not quite sure how that compares to the most popular Sci-Fi franchise of all time. (next to Star Wars, although some would debate the two are very close)

  • EraDragon

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:18 am PT

    Sounds good and all, but lets not hope he creates a movie-ish game, where the players simply watch the story and get little game play.

  • GonzoGuy

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 6:45 am PT

    At least he doesn't want to reiterate allot of the crap out there. I'm always looking forward to new ideas.

  • Unkoil666

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 6:20 am PT

    I just wished he and Mr. Brett would put out the Daredevils full-length. The Ep was good. Its been what, like, 10 years?! As far as him getting into gaming? I'll reserve my opinions til I see what kinda game he makes. And please don't compare Gore to "Oopsy" Boll. NOONE sucks as bad as that douche.

  • raverrozza

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 6:01 am PT

    oh really and does his directorial style make the suits s**t themselves?? dont be ridiculous.

    that said the more people who genuinely wanna make something really different the better. most wont work but for every hundred that are a joke one stunning revelation might come along so best of luck Vertrashski

  • Pyro77

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 5:43 am PT

    Anyone willing to put their neck on the line to put out something new in the industry OK in my book. I hope its a productive venture.

  • ShadowedMurders

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 5:14 am PT

    If I remember correctly Star Wars Galaxies was supposed to let players "shape" the game universe.

    Look where that game ended up.

  • AncientDozer

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 3:22 am PT

    Gore seems like a good dude. And he may just be putting his money where his mouth is. Only time will tell but he does care about the fans and recognizes their importance. And the way he said it didn't sound like the usual ass-kissing that some producers/developers/PR folks do. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Also, he was pretty honest about saying he'd observe the medium before claiming he knew what it was all about. So it's not like he's claiming he knows what's best and how to do it.

    And he's right. Make those suits crap themselves. I'm tired of wussy crap and people shying around from these. We live in 2008, not the dark ages.

  • sabazios

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:49 am PT

    I sure hope Verbinski'll get more involved than Tom Clancy! His attitude is interesting at any rate.
    As to his movies, I've never seen more than a trailer for the Pirates trilogy, and The Ring fell far short of the original Japanese movie.
    I hope he's heard of developers Quantic Dream (Indigo Prophecy, notably).

  • woosp

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:27 am PT

    he is a crap director that panders for the mainstream and he will do the same for games, a grade A choobie

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 12:43 am PT

    just my opinion, the Pirates movies were so-so, but the Ring was very well made. with regards to his desire to make artsy video games ... not gonna fly. if majority of video gamers share his position, then games like Okami and Ico would sell multi-million copies rather than those FPS games and madden crap.

  • neerajkumar_4

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 11:09 pm PT

    game some good games!!

  • 123mandalore777

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 10:08 pm PT

    yay this is gonna be good mabey they treat games as an art form now
    i like gore cause pirates was awsome. 2 was the best also i hope his games are gory cause sick of still seing an intact body on the ground right afer ive just shot a rocket luancher

  • TrueProphecy22

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 10:00 pm PT

    Eh... the Pirates trilogy got worse as it went along. IMO.

    Sounds like he's going to try and create a disk of minigames all his own little creations.

  • aygol

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 9:41 pm PT

    Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy is one of my top favorites.

  • LordSpleach

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 8:36 pm PT

    Movie Directors really want to get into gaming. Maybe Ebert should think about that.

  • shredicalous

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 8:21 pm PT

    i agree with him totally.

  • teirdome

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 8:18 pm PT

    I think his points are right on. I'd love to see him step in and prevent casual games from preventing any progression of our medium as an art form. With higher profile people like him making all this noise, gaming may become more regarded as an art form by the general public as well.

  • aznkhaos

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 7:43 pm PT

    o this is new, film director making games. At least it isn't based off a movie, becuase those games were real bad. I dnt expect much frm this guy either.

  • jakob_187 posted Mar 11, 2008 7:00 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    jakob_187

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 7:00 pm PT (hide)

    Great.... o_o

    A guy that got his fame from remaking a J-horror into an American waste of time and then three movies based on a Disney amusement park ride! I just can't WAIT to see what he'll do next.

    By the way...I'm going to assume that everyone knows this is the same guy that, when he wasn't remaking and copping off other crap, he directed The Mexican with Brad Pitt and THE WEATHER MAN with Nicolas Cage?

    Yeah, look...Gore, Uwe Boll is calling. He wants you to collaborate on a new movie/game idea.

  • masterchief375

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 6:44 pm PT

    Hopefully Verbinski wont end up being the Uwe Boll of video games...

  • IKKF

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 6:35 pm PT

    I like this guy, actually. His studio should be called Gorey Games.

  • noxian

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 6:32 pm PT

    "Look for the George Lucas/Stephen Spielberg collaborations in the past and there are some truly classic adventure games there (like The Dig). "
    ------------
    can you name an example other than an adv game which plays pretty much directly into what ppl from film and writing do anyway. and it wouldn't exactly be an example of creating new genres or breaking the molds Verbinski seems to think he can do.

    if he can do it, good on him, but it has not been a sure fire guarantee of something new and great. in fact, quite to the contrary, in the past a lot of writers and directors have talked big about how they'd take gaming to new heights. in recent years many writers that talked a lot of smack about the medium have jumped on to try to prove they can do what they claim. most failed miserably to do anything but copy whats been done in the industry before. or worse a good number have resulted in titles that're actually inferior. only a few times can i think of it working, and once again all those cases ended up going back to the oldschool adventure genre.

    guess what gets me is visionaries and genre fathers are few and far between no matter what medium you're talking about. and yet a lot of these writers and directors (some of whom i enjoy their novels and movies) for some reason they can jump into this new medium and be such. they'd never think they can suddenly pick up a paintbrush and be a revolutionary painter would they?
    and whats really sad was this years GDC practically affirmed it. a forum where game devs are supposed to talk about what THEY can do better and all that was being said was how guys like Dyack want to copy film makers and writers as if that will instantly make things even better.

  • GodsPoison

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 6:25 pm PT

    hmmn, this intrigues me as i did enjoy the pirates trilogy quite a bit, cant say the same for the games based on said movies but Mybe he can change that. heres to a possible good game, "chugs Rum".

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 6:00 pm PT

    I liked the first Pirates, but Dead Man's chest SUCKED, while At World's End was okay.

  • Taegre

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:58 pm PT

    Nice. Good movie directors often make good game developers. Look for the George Lucas/Stephen Spielberg collaborations in the past and there are some truly classic adventure games there (like The Dig). And Gore Verbinski is nothing short of a visionary, though I admit I never ever ever expected him to be a gamer.

  • Willorme126

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:33 pm PT

    wow somebody's had a little bit too much coffee. calm down Verbinski!

  • tunasandwich395 posted Mar 11, 2008 5:32 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    tunasandwich395

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:32 pm PT (hide)

    Pirates sucked, all three of em'

  • QAAQ

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:26 pm PT

    He compares the Pirates trilogy to Star Treks. I'm not even a trekkie or trekker, but I think there's a huge difference in depth and richness between the two. Lol

  • Mattyrock

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:22 pm PT

    This outta be interesting, could suck but this is pretty intriguing.

  • johnnyv2003

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:21 pm PT

    interesting concepts by Verbinski. I'm glad to see well respected people in other forms of media take notice of the artistic capablities of video games.....play through the Baldurs Gate series and tell me it doesn't have a better storyline than most other fantasy movies out there....of course he started talking about MMO's which loses his credibility about making story driven games....but i'll wait and see what he does before making a judgement

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:20 pm PT

    i wonder what his game will be

  • ivanfred

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:20 pm PT

    Hopefully, Verbinski will be the next Tom Clancy.

  • galerian86

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:15 pm PT

    Well then, let us see he puts money where his mouth is. Even if he is good movie director doesn't translate to a good game director.

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