CẬP NHẬT VIDEO HOT HẰNG NGÀY

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's face it, the gamer way of life is something that not many people fully understand. /AFK The Movie looks at the life of a video gamer asked to give up the one thing he's ever loved: World of Warcraft.

To the people who do not play video games, that is referred to as quitting. For hard-core gamers and MMORPG players around the world, that's called "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 topic of /AFK The Movie covers World of Warcraft and also online gaming. But you don't have to know the difference between Horde and Alliance for you to connect with the film. We are all hooked on something, whether it's cell phones, internet sites, video games, or chocolate (or a dangerous combination of all 4). Step "away from your cell phone" for a day and see how you act in response. Is a mobile phone that much different than a video game? Exactly why is one an addiction and the other one is just 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 motivated you to make the script? Did you feel like you liked to write something which could possibly speak "for all WOW players?"

Two things. First of all, the feeling that no one had ever done this in the past. I believe it is truly rare that you have a concept that is kind of different and not actually on the market. When I first saw Memento I was so amazed that after decades of filmmaking, an individual could still think of something so inventive. Although we were not the first one to merge real live action and video game footage, I don't know of any film who achieved it to the extent 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 own opinion, why do individuals feel the need to put down the "gamer" way of life?

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 funds because you couldn't gain off the film, What kind of constraints did that put on you as a moviemaker?

Since I knew there wouldn't be a budget from the start, I could concentrate on producing a script that would work with few characters as well as locations. We had five days of shooting for a twenty-five minute motion picture with a very small crew. And since I did not like to rush the actors very much, there was short amount of time left for the camera and lighting team. We also could not afford to buy lots of props so we needed to work with what we got in our homes. The bedroom of the main character is basically made of geek things from 10 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 say to those who deal with individuals telling them to "quit video games."

It really is not easy to provide a general answer to that one because it depends on the situations. Generally I would recommend to try and make those individuals understand what gaming means to you. Know why they think games are brainless and show that you understand them also and take their concerns seriously. Don't just switch to retaliation mode. When I was in school, 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 somehow.

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 2 types of game movies... Adaptations and Sci-Fi films. Adaptations are almost always awful OR just solid action movies with the game's name in the title... And so yeah, there's almost no movies about real gamers - to be honest I cannot name a single one. And I'm pretty in wonder about that!

But it's difficult, and I think that the people who make it must know video games as completely as movies....My point is that to really learn from Video Games as a medium, filmmakers have to understand how a game tells its story, what can be translated and what 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.