There’s been no shortage of topics to cover this week. Guardians of the Galaxy continues to perform brilliantly, and Eric Switzer got the chance to sit down with the cinematics director to talk about bringing the game to life through its cutscenes.
Other than that, gaming’s obsession with NFTs only grows stronger, but Stacey Henley’s not quite convinced that they’re here to stay - thankfully. Oh, and Cian Maher wrote a 3,000+ word theory about Pokemon Legends: Arceus, so strap in.
Guardians Of The Galaxy's Cinematics Director Darryl Purdy On Making A Movie Inside A Video Game
Eric sat down with cinematics director for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Darryl Purdy this week, as part of TheGamer Podcast. Purdy talked us through the process of directing cutscenes that both pull on our heartstrings and make us laugh, and how he worked with the actors to pull it off. He compares working on the game’s cinematics to working in film production, as he was essentially creating an animated movie within the game.
There's Nothing Sacred About The Movie Theater Experience Anymore
On the subject of films, Eric also wrote a piece on returning to the cinema this week. As you’ve no doubt been completely unable to avoid, celebrities really really want us to watch all of the latest releases on the big screen, even if they are available on HBO Max at the same time. Despite their claims to the contrary, Eric argues that improvements to the home cinema experience mean that theatres no longer have a monopoly on that sacred, “magical” feeling of watching a new film. So maybe actors and directors should lay off shaming us into going back, especially during the pandemic.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus - The Ultimate Theory
Buckle up, we have a 3,000 word Pokemon Legends: Arceus theory here. Cian has recently been replaying Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and has come away convinced that the upcoming spin-off will actually be related to the Gen 4 remakes - Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. There’s no real way to condense this for the sake of the roundup, so please, read it for yourself. There is no greater authority on Gen 4 theories right now, trust us.
Gaming NFTs Will Never Work
NFTs are pretty grim. Aesthetically, morally, and environmentally, they’re not great. But even though crypto bros seem to be outnumbered by their critics, the gaming industry can’t get enough of them, and is hedging their bets on ugly JPEGs being the future. Stacey argues that this is a pretty daft move, however, as there just isn’t enough of a desire among fans to “own” an in-game asset - a gun, character, or anything - that everyone gets a copy of for no additional cost. Sure, you get the clout of owning the “original”, but is that worth thousands of dollars? Probably not.
Chris Pratt Is Ruining Everything I Ever Loved
Jade King actually wrote this before Chris Pratt was trending on Twitter for that Instagram post - the timing was just impeccable. Pratt has been far from the most popular Chris this week, awkward social media activity aside, as it was revealed that he’s lending his voice to Garfield in an upcoming movie. Jade puts forward that Pratt is a bad choice, actually, and should probably stop getting all of these iconic roles thrown his way. She does concede that he was a good choice to play Star-Lord, however, since they both ruin everything.