A Spirited Perfect Ten

flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
JediMasterMatt said:
Vidya game nerd-down at the OK Corral here on Spirit's resting place.

I have a bit of insight into the world of video games and Star Wars, so I'll chime in with a few thoughts. I have friends in LucasFilm, friends that use to work for LucasArts, and friends that work for various parts of EA.

The venom to the pay-to-play system I feel is being inadvertently being attributed to Star Wars Battlefront. It's become the poster child for something that started long before its release. Expansion packs, deluxe editions, exclusive editions, DLC content have been part of the video game distribution timeline since the dawn of online gaming. Once the ability to "give you more content" after the game released became possible (with online connectivity and modifiable local storage - like hard drives), the opportunity to "sell you more" became a realistic objective. Star Wars Battlefront isn't doing anything new in this regards.

What I think the real underlying venom with Battlefront is the perception that what is being launched isn't a "complete" game. While I can certainly understand some of where those thoughts come from (limited maps, limited modes, etc.), I don't see anything completely different here than what was in previous Battlefront titles or more precisely - the Call of Duty/Battlefield franchise model that the new game is tapping into. The one real difference is the lack of any viable single player experience.

Something that everyone needs to factor into any "current generation" title release is the complexity of what goes into a modern title. The video game industry wasn't ready for 3D HD graphics back when the PS3/XBox360 launched and they aren't in a much better place with the XBone/PS4 either. The reach of game developers has always exceeded the technological grasp. Development tools are just now making life a bit easier for those that make current gen games; but, regardless of what tools are created - making a 3D world at HD resolutions takes significantly more man hours than anything that has come before.
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Meh... Pc titles like farcry and halflife2 were doing environments in resolutions 1080 and higher back in 2004... That's xbox ps2 era. I think the free roam model has stressed the development time because of the sheer scale people are building out... And how much art is needed now... And there has been great advances in the particle systems etc (one of the angles that really helped put battlefield on the map)... But even those concepts are a decade old now.

I think game scale has surged... As well as environmental details... But hanging this on "hd"?? Come on
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
So... Since we're kind of on the topic of video games, I entirely missed the Kickstarter campaign by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman for Dragon's Lair the Movie. The fundraiser actually failed and was canceled, but they're going to be hosting a new one on Indiegogo starting December 1st. I hope it's a success the second time around

I already posted this in the appropriate forum for non-Disney movies, but thought it might get a little more attention here. The failed ended Kickstarter is here-
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/donbluth/dragons-lair-the-movie/

Bluth did used to work for Disney, in the 1970's. He and Goldman left Disney in the early 80's and took several of their animators with them to make their own animated movies. I have wonderful memories of Secret of NIMH, Land Before Time, An American Tale and All Dogs Go To Heaven. Even their more ridiculous and less popular films were still a ton of fun and had stunning animation.

It's a long shot, but perhaps success for a fundraiser like this could give a kick in the pants to animation again, particularly hand drawn. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have other movies in the pipeline past Dragon's Lair as well.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
It's a long shot, but perhaps success for a fundraiser like this could give a kick in the pants to animation again, particularly hand drawn. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have other movies in the pipeline past Dragon's Lair as well.
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Remember, the kickstarter was only to fund the 'promo' so to speak to try to create a solid pitch with. I think it was a cool idea in that it helps gauge interest a bit, as well as use OPM (other people's money).. but its a bit of a circus novelty vs getting actual studio funding... for projects like full length films.
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I still thought it was worth mentioning. Don Bluth's movies were a huge part of my childhood (and many other people's), i'd love to see a new one. Anything that increases the potential chance of that happening is worth looking into IMHO. Even if it's a slim chance.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
the.dreamfinder said:
Shiny toys like Lucasfilm and Marvel are Iger's attempts to distract folks from TWDC's serious structural problems. These issues will not go away.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disneys-cable-channels-see-steep-844007
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Shrinking is obviously bad... but its also part of an industry trend that is not specific to Disney. Let's be real here, these are not channels people are buying individually, and most are part of basic packages so its not even like saying people are passing them over.

You can't use the argument they should be growing.. when they are part of a base package and the # of households isn't going to be growing significantly.. its a matter of ensuring penetration.. not necessarily absolute growth. So fixating on shrinking subscribers directly isn't a knock on Disney.. but a knock on Disney's reliance on the cable monopolies for the majority of its distribution and a sizable portion of revenues. The topic needs to be how Disney and other major networks are eyeing the future of distribution and how they plan on monetizing it... and asking if Disney is ahead of, or behind the industry in this manner.

It doesn't seem like Disney is behind anyone on this front as far as major networks AFAIK... no one has proposed a model that will work at the scale of ESPN, USA Networks, Discovery, etc outside of the cable model while generating the same kind of revenue.
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
Meh... Pc titles like farcry and halflife2 were doing environments in resolutions 1080 and higher back in 2004... That's xbox ps2 era. I think the free roam model has stressed the development time because of the sheer scale people are building out... And how much art is needed now... And there has been great advances in the particle systems etc (one of the angles that really helped put battlefield on the map)... But even those concepts are a decade old now.

I think game scale has surged... As well as environmental details... But hanging this on "hd"?? Come on
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xbox barely cranked 720p at 30fps.
but yeah, games were pushing the 1080p way before than most people expect. (specially console gamers)

As for particle systems, pretty sure that the game that added a lot of good looking particle systems, were the BATMAN series (smoke, water..etc..)
 
Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
So... Since we're kind of on the topic of video games, I entirely missed the Kickstarter campaign by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman for Dragon's Lair the Movie. The fundraiser actually failed and was canceled, but they're going to be hosting a new one on Indiegogo starting December 1st. I hope it's a success the second time around

I already posted this in the appropriate forum for non-Disney movies, but thought it might get a little more attention here. The failed ended Kickstarter is here-
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/donbluth/dragons-lair-the-movie/

Bluth did used to work for Disney, in the 1970's. He and Goldman left Disney in the early 80's and took several of their animators with them to make their own animated movies. I have wonderful memories of Secret of NIMH, Land Before Time, An American Tale and All Dogs Go To Heaven. Even their more ridiculous and less popular films were still a ton of fun and had stunning animation.

It's a long shot, but perhaps success for a fundraiser like this could give a kick in the pants to animation again, particularly hand drawn. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have other movies in the pipeline past Dragon's Lair as well.
Click to expand...
I honestly think that the dragon lair thing failed because they didn't spread the news or attempted to get it to be come viral.

The new Swat Katz project for example, got beyond its goal in the first days once it went viral.
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
Cesar R M said:
I honestly think that the dragon lair thing failed because they didn't spread the news or attempted to get it to be come viral.

The new Swat Katz project for example, got beyond its goal in the first days once it went viral.
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Yeah, I didn't even know about it until today (after it already failed). And i'm a huge Don Bluth fan. Could stand more press, hopefully they can get the word out more effectively in time for the second attempt. I think the interest in those movies is definitely there (even today), very nostalgic.
 
DDLand

DDLand

Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder said:
Shiny toys like Lucasfilm and Marvel are Iger's attempts to distract folks from TWDC's serious structural problems. These issues will not go away.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disneys-cable-channels-see-steep-844007
Click to expand...
I have to admit that I disagree with your Marvel and Lucasfilm point. If I'm Disney and I'm seeing a change in the cable environment, which is my primary business, of course I do everything in my power to strengthen and defend it. At the same time, I would also be looking for ways to strengthen my other core businesses and lessen the effects that damage could have. Those two portfolios bring strength to Interactive, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products, and Studio Entertainment. All the businesses that Disney should be trying to grow if they want to lessen the blow a softening cable market could have on the company. It's true that Star Wars Land, Episode VII, and Captain America Civil War aren't going to individually be able to offset ESPN's troubles, but each of those components will be part of a grander scheme to ensure The Walt Disney Company's longterm health.

More than just toys, these are key ingredients to making sure Disney is healthy longterm. Needless to say DCP will sell more toys because of those acquisitions though...
 
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
Bluth did used to work for Disney, in the 1970's.
Click to expand...

His time with Disney actually goes back to the 1950s working on Sleeping Beauty*, and then rising to the ranks of directing animator before eventually calling it quits (with a group of other Disney animators with him).

His Dragon's Lair campaign has moved to indiegogo.

*he talks about the making of the movie on the 2008 DVD/Blu-ray release.
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
Well, Good Dinosaur was no where near as good as Inside Out. It seemed to be all over the place with the story with random stuff going on. I know in the past I said it would be good for Dinoland but I'd much rather have an original concept now. Zootopia looks great though :)
 
TalkingHead

TalkingHead

Well-Known Member
Did Disney promote Good Dinosaur in the parks at all? This really seems like the first Pixar movie that was -- maybe justifiably -- dumped into theaters.

I read that some people didn't think the character designs meshed with the realistic environments, which I thought was a problem in the trailers.

Separate subject. I take it that this isn't good. Story about ESPN's shrinking subscriber numbers: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-is-losing-espn-subscribers-by-the-millions-2015-11-26
 
Cody5294

Cody5294

Well-Known Member
Mike S said:
Well, Good Dinosaur was no where near as good as Inside Out. It seemed to be all over the place with the story with random stuff going on. I know in the past I said it would be good for Dinoland but I'd much rather have an original concept now. Zootopia looks great though :)
Click to expand...
I guess I'm in the minority because I liked the Good Dinosaur more than Inside Out. It definitely hit me harder emotionally than Inside Out
 

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