Though they have the same title, a film director and a game director can have two very different jobs. As a film director almost always guides the a team into making an product that is ultimately their vision, a game director’s job could simply be to make sure a game gets completed, their vision secondary to the “mission.”
This isn’t always the case, especially now with game directors turning into recognizable superstars. Game directors are becoming known as visionaries in the same sense as their film counterparts, so what if their film counterparts started making games, too?
It would be a way different experience for them, for sure, but there are a certain selection of film directors that may be well qualified to make the transition smoothly. Without an extensive knowledge of how games are made, they would need help, but the right team could crystallize certain signature directorial styles into great games. Here’s a few that would be perfect for a crossover.
1. Michael Bay
Famous for: Transformers Series, Bad Boys I and II
Maybe one of the most reviled directors in Hollywood, Michael Bay has never let his bad reputation stop him from making over-the-top action pieces that move fast and eventually explode. Say what you want about the quality of his films – people like to watch them, and his bombastic, in your face approach to movies might actually play very well in the AAA sphere of game design.
2. Steven Soderbergh
Famous for: Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, Magic Mike
Soderbergh is a meticulous and thorough filmmaker, willing to play multiple roles behind the camera to get the look and feel he wants. It shows in his movies, which use every avenue a film can communicate with viewers – dialogue, staging, sound design, etc. – to convey a multi-dimensional message though his work. He may be pretty well suited for game design because of it, and he could find Kojima-like ways to meld the game you watch and the game you play into a unique new experience.
3. Nicolas Winding Refn
Famous for: Bronson, Drive, Only God Forgives
Refn is very much a fan of characters who are forced outside of their comfort zone that have to change somehow because of it. As stories and characterization becomes more and more of a focus in games, Refn could really make his mark in the revitalized adventure game market, where technical superiority often comes second to great art direction and narrative design.
4. John Woo
Famous for: Hard Boiled, Mission: Impossible II, Face/Off
One of the most renowned action directors in the world, Woo takes his cues from the Hong Kong style of gritty action drama. He’s actually already directed a game – Stranglehold – as a sequel to his most famous movie, Hard Boiled. In it was exactly to sort of great John Woo-style shenanigans we’d hope to see, like sliding on food carts and down railings while unleashing a barrage of bullets into nameless thugs. With a more capable team behind him (*cough* Platinum *cough*), Woo could really wow the industry in his hypothetical cross over.
5. Guillermo Del Toro
Famous for: Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy
The cruel irony of discussing how well-suited Guillermo Del Toro is for directing a great interactive experience is that his great attempt to do so in Silent Hills was abruptly cancelled. It’s not just the gory and bloody horror he’s capable of designing that makes him such a beloved filmmaker, but his overall sense of imagination and world building. Look no further than the monster designs in Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth to see his vivid mind work wonders. What he could do without the constraint of practical effects would be stunning.
6. John McTiernan
Famous for: Die Hard, Predator, Hunt for Red October
McTiernan’s best movies follow a similar theme, action and tension in a constrained space. Die Hard was a movie about a man with nothing particularly special about him sneaking through a couple floors of a skyscraper to stop terrorists. Predator was about a man who had plenty of special things about him being outclassed by an alien deep in the jungle. These could be the basis for the next great action platformer or third person shooter, and McTiernan could make us the Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
7. Paul Thomas Anderson
Famous for: Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights
Another director that is heavily invested in characters, a PTA game would surely be in depth, slow paced, and dialogue heavy. That said, a point and click puzzle adventure game in the vein of old LucasArts games would be a great reimagining of the classic formula.
8. Paul W. S. Anderson
Famous for: Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Death Race
Maybe the exact opposite of the other Paul Anderson, W.S.’s games would be colorful, campy, and violent. His most famous works are movies inspired by games, so it’s only appropriate that he’d try the other side of things. I can’t imagine the game’s story being all that in depth, but the action would be heavy handed and outlandish. Wouldn’t it be ironic if someone went on to make a lackluster movie about his game, as well?
9. Peter Jackson
Famous for: The Hobbit Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Frighteners
It’s really easy to imagine what sort of game Peter Jackson would make, because plenty of games exist that have tried their best to ape the mood and tone of Peter Jackson’s most famous movies. I wouldn’t want to see Jackson direct the next Skyrim. I’d prefer he take his grungy, indie, shock media roots in his fist and make a video game as wacky and gruesome as Dead Alive or Meet the Feebles.
10. Pierre Morel
Famous for: Taken, The Gunman, District B13
Pierre Morel has a great sense of space when it comes to his action movies. District B13 was a parkour heavy movie before the mechanic was in every video game imaginable, and he never failed to make the stunts inspire awe. Then there’s Taken, one of the most memeable movies in modern cinema, that pretty much is a video game. Morel may be more qualified to make a game than he may know.
11. The Russo Brothers
Famous for: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Arrested Development, You, Me, and Dupree
A very diverse filmography unified by one key factor: pretty excellent direction. The Russos can probably make something from any genre good, as proven by their out of nowhere call up to direct arguably the best superhero movie of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. They could turn video game genre norms on their head as well, giving straight forward action games a smarter script and more artful presentation, or a relatively passive adventure game some much needed narrative edge.
12. Christopher Nolan
Famous for: The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar
Nolan’s appreciation for practical effects and old school filming techniques could really elevate games on as far as presentation goes. Games are very much inspired by movies, sure, but how many games have that truly “cinematic” appeal? He may find working in an all digital medium to be a bit cumbersome, though. He is famous for his reverence of practical movie effects – real car chases, real plane crashes, etc. No matter how comely a set of assets look, they still don’t replace the real thing.
Which film director would you want to see direct a game? Leave your favorites in the comments below, or tweet us @CurseGamepedia.