I caught this on PC Gamer and am worried that this could create a very nasty trend. Imagine a world where movie trailers are presented as custom levels for games. Well I guess that it would create an easy way to make sure that all of the art assets are ready for the inevitable movie tie-in game...
Sorry I'm rambling. I guess I should put this into context. So for those of you that haven't heard and have been living under a rock...with like...more rocks in your ears....or maybe a rock for a head...Portal 2 is out. Don't worry its a great game or so my sources say. But it contains a rather unsettling, unrelated Easter egg (This isn't the original PC Gamer video. Apparently I couldn't link to that one because PC Gamer probably copy protected their content....or something):
This is a teaser for J.J. Abrams's new movie Super 8. Its a fully rendered level using the Source Engine that was included inside the extras menu of Portal 2. To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about this. It reminds me of all the product tie-ins and in-game advertising that EA, MS, and various other developers have endorsed in the past. It makes me wonder how big the Pandora's box is that Valve has just opened up. This isn't to say that I'm not interested in Super 8 (in point of fact the initial descriptions and the actual video trailer look pretty cool), but that I think that this sets a very dangerous precedent for the nature of advertising in games. I mean we have billboards already in racing games and games where if I drink Dr. Pepper I can unlock more boxers, but imagine going through a level designed to look like an upcoming film. The whole thing takes pan-media events to a whole new level. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on it. Am I being paranoid and over reacting? Or does this worry some of you as well?
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