There have been a few movies made into games and fewer games made into movies but what about a new game/film released at the same time. I suppose The Chronicles of Riddick fits the bill, but hear me out.

The film starts with a 10 -15 minute intro sequence at the end of which the main character has a choice of two paths. For argument sake let’s say he takes the left path and on goes the film. The game starts with the same sequence as the movie (either using the film footage or made within the game engine) but the player takes the right path.

When I first thought about this I was specifically thinking of a first person shooter but I suppose there’s no reason why it couldn’t be another genre. There seems to be a few other options:
1.Instead of playing the same character as the film you play a different character. Perhaps during the film you catch glimpses of the game character and vice versa.
2.The path can be a physical or metaphorical choice.
3.If there are two characters then perhaps they could meet at the end.

Neither seeing the film or playing the game would spoil the other and with the correct balance may in fact encourage the viewer or player to see the other. Although in all likelihood the player will always watch the film.

I was thinking that the film and game were released at the same time. Instead of making a film, then a game of the film, make both together, interlinking the storyline and action.

Perhaps if you could take it one step further and link the game completely to the film. For example to complete the game/mission you need information only available from the film. Of course players should be warned before they buy the game and of course there’s nothing stopping people posting the information on websites but does that matter?

Even better would be a tie-in with a weekly series, something like 24 where the storyline is the same for the full season rather than like Star Trek which has a different storyline every week.

This may mean you could incorporate a detailed storyline and character building into the game via the TV series.

This post links to an idea I had about releasing games in episodes instead of in one big chunk. Here’s the article:
Episodes not Levels

What do you think?