Media convergence of video games and films: Narrative, aesthetics and industrial synergy

Abstract

The starting point for defining the relation between film and video games is the well-known thesis that each new medium assumes some formal and contentual characteristics of its predecessors, although the previous medium reconfigures its own and absorbs the properties of the new medium as well. The aim is to present a broader theoretical framework, which would serve as a basis for further exploration of this relation. A multidisciplinary approach will be used based on the concepts of media studies, game studies, film studies and cultural studies. Video games are often based on cinema's thematic, narrative and genre models, while the recursive narrative logic of games is present in films. The use of film language is noticeable in video games, while in movies, it is modified by the aesthetic properties of games. Hollywood industry and the video games industry are synergistic and offer users many ways of consuming products in different media.