The $15 Million Movie? How About the $15 Game?

I am sure that some of you probably missed this article about George Lucas talking about how he forsees that the Hollywood Blockbuster will become a thing of the past, stepping aside in favor of $15-million dollar "indie" movies. The article wasn't widely posted or picked up by most of the major news sites (probably because Lucas has lost some clout with the media after the Star Wars prequel's failed to find the same magic their predicessors had), but I found it rather interesting from two different angles: the movie-goer and the independent game developer.

As a movie-goer this statement is a bit shocking at first to hear, as we have been treated to some real visual masterpieces the past few years with so much VFX & budget that it feels as though this sort of treatment has become the norm instead of the rare once or twice a year occurence like it once was. Consumers in essense it seem have come to expect the formula of "production value = great experiance" and sadly these same expectations have brute force rolled themselves into the games market too and have brought in the same problems. We now have two mediums that are producing cookie-cutter products that are increasingly becoming short on originality, uniqueness and most importantly entertainment. We as consumers have seen this so much that the magic of going to the movie or playing a game has become lost and almost muted.

I would love to blame some executive in a suit that has become out of touch with what the market wants for these problems (and I guess to a degree they are to blame) but ultimately the finger has to be pointed at we the consumers. We demand more of the same because it was so great the first time we think that lighting will hit the same spot twice, and then three times and so on and so forth. All the while decreeing that we want new, unique and/or innovative entertainment to partake in either as a viewer or directly influencing the actions of, thus creating a viscous cycle of repetition and ever exceeding expectation. Sure we are hypocrites but thankfully we are also creatures that get bored very easily too and thus sooner or later the current cookie-cutter results that we see in games and films will fail and people will turn ever increasingly to alternatives (aka. independents).

This is why when I see a comment like this coming from George Lucas that says that there's the potential for the system to get bucked I get a smile on my face. Not because I want someone else to fail and think that the system as it is, is fundementally flawed from top to bottom, but because I think that there is a lot of fantastic work from independents that gets overlooked that people will enjoy just as much. This opportunity might not be here today and it might not be here tomorrow but it is on the horizon and as such it is not just hope but a reminder that even though the work you are doing now might not pay off it will some day become something that people will really want to have.