A unique gaming concept that puts you in full control of a murder mystery feature film.
The idea of a movie / game hybrid has been around for ages, but all the attempts to do it that I know of have gone for a ‘choose your path’ style of game, that gives you limited options and very little freedom.
Contradiction is different. It uses a matrix of short video clips, all designed to be stitched together seamlessly without breaks as you play, giving you the freedom to choose where to go, what to do, who to talk to and what to ask. Like a game, you control the action – but like a movie, you’re also watching a real drama, full of scandals, affairs, power struggles and murder.
Before I explain the game, watch the teaser video below, which features a character from the story called Ryan Rand (see below). Ryan is played by John Guilor, actor and voice over artist who recently featured in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode, Day Of The Doctor. It was shot by Iain Cash, of Cash Productions.
My goal is to get great actors to portray believable characters, so you can genuinely invest in them and buy into the drama, as you would a good movie. The game features at least seven speaking roles, which means the main cost of this will be paying the actors. Hiring known actors would push the budget far beyond what the game could feasibly expect to make from sales, but known actors aren’t always good actors and the same is true the other way around. There are many great actors in the UK, often working in theatre, who simply enjoy acting and are willing to take on interesting roles. Obviously I’m hoping to find as many great actors as possible!
We’re going to shoot this entirely on location. Post-production effects can be used to minimise the need for props and sets, such as altering or removing existing signs, replacing house numbers or removing unwanted elements, including buildings, from scenes.
Rewards include signed DVDs, production blog access, digital releases and even a executive producer role.The story is already written and scripted. It has also been implemented into a text-only version of the game, which is already designed and coded as an HTML5 web app. Although it works pretty well in this format, the game would benefit greatly from being coded natively for the iPad, allowing things like fades between scenes, better interface response and better overall stability. This cost has been included in the budget.
From the moment the project is financed the plan is to begin auditions for actors, which should take around two to four weeks. Locations will also be pinned down, permissions sought and all the boring stuff like risk assessments sorted out. By week five or six, we should be ready to start filming. Shooting may take seven or eight days to complete, but almost certainly not on consecutive days. In all it may take two to three weeks to get it all done. On completion of principal photography, the footage will be edited, the game engine finalised, the music composed and foley recorded before the game is ready for distribution. In total we’re hoping the project will take about three months to complete. During that time I’ll be keeping everyone updated daily with what’s happening.
Contradiction is a new approach to combining a video game with live action video, in a way that I hope will be as playable as it is atmospheric and engaging. The main reason for seeking funding is to be able to pay for professional actors and crew, which is vital if it’s going to work as well as I’m hoping. I’m expecting to contribute up to double the amount I’m asking for on Kickstarter and I’ve already spent over a year working on the game myself, both on the story and the technical side. Kickstarter funding will guarantee the quality of actors and crew I’m hoping to use. So your help will be very much appreciated!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-mystery-movie
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Here's some Tim Follin music, just cause.
Silver Surfer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J0H5ah1G7A
Solstice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypNPxwnppU0
Plok:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-UkEsnjNRU