Bob Dunn | Game On: High-profile casting not the answer to selling video games – Berkshire Eagle

By Bob Dunn

Gaming appears to be learning the wrong lesson from Hollywood, and it’s a trend that doesn’t bode well. Recently, there’s been a big push to feature recognizable film and television actors in video games; not only is it distracting, but it demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding about what’s appealing about games in the first place.

I mean, I get it. Games are expensive to produce. Larger, more elaborate, mass-market games require the paid efforts of hundreds of people, as well as expensive software and other technology to craft the experiences we sometimes take for granted.

There are dozens of quality games released every year, but because they typically cost about $60, players are sometimes wary of making that kind of investment in a new, untested franchise.

One way to draw attention to a new franchise and to rise above the din, is to prominently put a well-known actor in a featured role within those games.

But, games, for all their cinematic presentation and blockbuster budgets, are a completely different medium than television and film, and don’t benefit from that type of casting in the same way.

Film is passive entertainment. You sit and watch a story as it’s told to you; you don’t have any impact on how that story is told, only how you interpret it.

Gaming is active entertainment. Even in very linear games, the player has agency over how that line gets followed. The pace and sometimes the order of events and the story’s conclusion are the result of a player’s input.

As such, it’s important that the player is invested in that character. Even if the game features a fully fleshed-out character and not one the player creates and inhabits themselves, that player needs to be able to relate to them in order to truly be involved in the game.

Dropping in an instantly recognizable actor, potentially distracts a player from that involvement.

The most blatant recent example of high-profile casting spectacularly backfiring is Death Stranding, which featured “The Walking Dead’s” Norman Reedus as its main character.

We’ve covered the litany of problems with that game, but its biggest one is that it never lets you forget you’re controlling Reedus.

Not helping matters, is that Reedus’s typically wooden performance isn’t nearly strong enough to create a character separate from his brooding, reluctant-savior persona.

Another recent example is from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which features “Shameless'” Cameron Monaghan in the lead role as Cal Kestis.

While perhaps not as instantly recognizable as Reedus, I know at least one friend who is a fan of “Shameless” and can only see Monaghan’s character whenever he plays that game, lightsaber notwithstanding.

My issue of Monaghan’s casting is less about his recognizability and more about a lack of suitability for the job.

Voice and film acting are two totally different disciplines and being skilled at one, doesn’t guarantee being skilled at the other.

Like Reedus, Monaghan delivers a dull and unconvincing performance, that somehow makes a kick-ass Jedi Knight, the least interesting character in a game about kick-ass Jedi Knights.

By contrast, voice actor Misty Lee, absolutely crushed it in her small role as The Ninth Sister and delivered a chill-inducing performance that conveyed rage, pain and anguish.

The rest of the cast give solid performances in that game and, honestly, outclass Monaghan throughout, which makes his casting all the more questionable. Why take work away from any one of hundreds of talented voice and motion-capture actors and give it to a lesser-known television actor without the same level of skill in that arena?

It’s not like the game’s profile was elevated by Monaghan’s involvement. I mean, no one bought it because he’s in it.

A game that people may buy because of its casting is the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, due sometime this year, and featuring Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand, not as the player’s character.

While Reeves’ appearance has raised the game’s profile, developer CD Projekt RED wisely mitigated the distraction factor of his involvement by using him for a scripted, side character.

Look, I love Keanu as much as anyone, (remind me to tell you about the sublime genius of “Point Break” sometime) but having an immersive game experience while knowing I was inhabiting his avatar, seems unlikely at best.

Film actors appearing in video games is nothing new. Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, Ellen Page, Rami Malek, Martin Sheen, Sean Bean, Terry Crews and Mark Hamill are among many who have lent their voices and/or likenesses to various video game characters over the years.

In some cases, actors reprise roles they’d played on film, in others, they were specifically cast for their roles.

But, it’s the disturbing trend toward making a game’s casting a selling point that concerns me.

Getting a recognizable actor into your game may raise interest in it in the short term, but, there doesn’t always seem to be much interest in asking the question, will this performance add anything to the game?

And, if you’re not adding anything, you’re taking something away.

Game on.

Bob Dunn is The Eagle’s courts reporter. When he’s not hanging around the courthouse, he can usually be found playing “Destiny 2.” You can reach Bob via email at bdunn@berkshireeagle.com and at @BobDunn413 on Twitter.