Saturday, May 8, 2010
Silent Hill 3 HD: Brookhaven Hospital
The best (and worst) of Brookhaven Hospital.
Although not as big of a mind-fuck as the Church, the Hospital still contains some classic and downright disturbing scenes. Like when you enter the room to see the "thing" trapped in the locker struggling to get free. That room has no other purpose than to serve as disturbing scenery and give the environment depth.
As gamers, we're used to everything having some sort of functional purpose in the game. If we see a room with nothing in it but a locker with something trapped in it... naturally we think there must be some sort of puzzle behind it, or that you have to find some sort of key or that when you exit the room, something different will be waiting for you. Silent Hill completely flies in the face of such logic, which gives a sense of "realness" to the world (after all, not EVERYTHING you see in real life has a functional purpose). So while I'm sure there are a few players out there who thought to themselves "Wait, there's nothing to actually DO in this room?", the rest of us enjoyed the terrifying and disturbing details that make this series great.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Silent Hill 3 HD: Hospital Store Room
For anyone who hasn't experienced one of the most disturbing moments of Silent Hill 3 in high definition... here's your chance. This scene epitomizes why the third entry in the Silent Hill series is far and away the most frightening with its surreal, reality-altering sense of dread, panic and confusion.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Silent Hill 3 HD: The Return Home
Heather returns home to discover the unfortunate fate of her father, Harry Mason.
Silent Hill 3 HD is a series that relives the memorable moments and classic cut scenes from the game, brought to life in beautifully remastered, fully re-rendered 1080p. Although this game was not originally designed with high definition in mind, it still manages to look incredible and is something that every fan of the series should be able to enjoy and appreciate.
Youtube compresses 1080p videos quite heavily, so unfortunately most of the higher texture detail is lost in the Youtube version.
The Setup
All sequences were captured from the PC version of Silent Hill 3. The resolution was set to 1920x1080 with 16x anisotropic filtering and 16x AA (forced through elaborate means, as anti aliasing was tough to get working for some reason). The “rendering resolution” setting was also manually set to 1920x1080 through the .INI file; having this option set to any of the default settings (1024x1024, 2048x2048, etc.) caused my method of forced anti aliasing to stop working for some reason.
Field of View
The game does not support resolutions with 16:9 aspect ratios, but through the aid of a FOV hack tool I was able to adjust the game’s FOV (field of view) to compensate. As a result, slightly more of the scenes are visible due to the increased field of view. An example of this is when Heather first finds Harry, and the camera shows his body for the first time. In normal resolutions, the game will only show the lower half of Harry’s face, leaving everyone to wonder about his appearance (obviously intentional by the developers to torture fans of the original Silent Hill game). However, with an increased field of view, his face is now fully visible. The conversion to 16:9 aspect ratio was not perfect, as this scene is an example of how it is unfortunately not a 100% faithful reproduction of the original cinematography and direction of the game. The trade-off for being able to render the game in true 1920x1080 is a slightly wider FOV that shows more of the frame, which is not entirely a bad thing.Subtitles
The game’s built-in subtitles do not scale very well to 1080p resolution. The alternative was to simply turn them off and re-add them myself. This would work fine for chronological sequences such as this cut scene, however there are other entries in this series that will contain various pieces of gameplay footage cut from different parts of the game. These scenes all involve a variety of on-screen text that cannot be disabled (e.g. “The lock is broken, the door won’t open”), and thus would become inconsistent if other subtitles were re-rendered to a higher quality resolution. It’s for this reason that I decided to leave in the noticeably lower-quality subtitles for this particular sequence of the game, but overall it’s not a huge loss.
Noise Filter
The noise filter (the thing that makes the game look “fuzzy” and “distorted”) was another option that I weighed carefully when making these episodes. When turned off, the game looks much sharper and more crisp, and the contrast levels really make the colors pop and stand out. From a purely visual standpoint, having the noise filter turned off gives the game a much more impressive presentation. However, I feel that it is, in many ways, the heart and soul behind the game’s visuals. The implementation of the noise filter for the PC version of Silent Hill 2 was abysmal, and as a result looked and “felt” much better without it. In this case, the filter effect is executed properly, so I felt that it should be left on to preserve the nature of the storytelling.
Ultimately, although there were some trade-offs, I feel as though this is the highest-quality presentation of Silent Hill 3 you will find anywhere. I wanted to preserve the integrity of the game’s visuals by not adding any unnecessary filters or effects to “enhance” the quality of the cinematics. The only re-mastering done to the footage was simple brightness/contrast tweaks to highlight some of the more dramatically lit moments. The scene where Heather returns from the roof to find Douglas is a perfect example of a scene with fewer light sources and harder shadows that end up looking fantastic with a simple adjustment in contrast.
Future Silent Hill projects include a “Memorable Moments” series, where I give a detailed breakdown of some of the most subtle, overlooked scenes of the Silent Hill franchise. I’ll analyze the brilliance behind the masterfully-crafted and yet simple moments that truly make these games the most terrifying and nerve-racking experience in any medium of entertainment. As always, if there are any suggestions for future entries, I’d love to hear any ideas. If there is enough demand, I have no trouble making it.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Homage to Greatness: Oblivion
Prior to playing the PC game "Oblivion" I had never had any desire to play any previous game in the Elder Scrolls series. To be honest, those games just aren't really my style. I may play games like FFXI and Zelda, but even I have my "nerd" limit.
I went through a phase right after building a $4,000 computer where I absolutely had to own and play every new PC game out there that had cutting-edge graphics. You know, the kind of games that you can only play at max settings with a $4,000 PC. The idea of being one of the select few in the world able to experience the finest graphics in gaming was appealing enough to make me read up on this game called "Oblivion". Upon seeing the screenshots, there was one thing that captured my imagination completely: the draw distance. Now for those who aren't entirely familiar with technical terms, "draw distance" is basically how far into the distance a game will allow you to see before it either uses fog to fade it out, or just makes distant objects disappear entirely. It typically requires far too much computer power for the average game to let the player see any more than a quarter mile into the distance, so most games are structured around indoor areas and, if there are outdoor areas that allow the player to see into the distance, the background graphics are usually just "cutouts" used to appease the eye. Oblivion, however, presented a bold and exciting promise: any mountain, building, or path that can be seen, can be accessed. Not just through loading screens after you travel a certain distance towards something, but a real-time world where everything was truly as you saw it. It's something that anyone but the most hardcore gamer would say "big deal" to, but to me, it was "Holy hell, this is unbelievable".
So I played it. Much to my shock, it pushed my fully custom PC system to the absolute limit. Some areas would slow down so much it bordered on unplayable. But that didn't stop me from loving it. As far as the story goes, it seemed decent. I say "seemed" because, I must admit, I never got the chance to finish the game. In fact, although I played it for months, I'd say I only progressed 1/4 of the way through the actual story of the game. So from the little that I was able to see, the story seemed compelling enough. But that's where the concept and perception of this game splits. You could easily play through the entire story of the game, and have an opinion about it. However, you can also experience the game in entirely different ways due to the endless things to do outside of the main story-driven mission. I came upon a boat docked near the river where I paid money to rest for the night, only to wake up and find myself in the middle of the ocean as the boat had been taken over by thieves. Or another time when I met a strange man behind a church who swore that people were trying to kill him, and paid me very well to follow certain people and spy on them. None of these things had anything to do with the main story of you saving the world. Most games include these types of "side quests" as they're known, but Oblivion is so packed with them, you could spend months simply talking to people in towns and going on these quests without ever paying any attention to saving the world. This is why you don't "play" games like this, you "experience" them.
But aside from its greatness, there were a couple things that I'm sure bothered everyone. For one, every item that you see in peoples' homes, in shops, and in castles can be stolen. Not only that, you can actually see the monetary value of an item just by walking near it. This forces the player to get the urge to steal (I know it did for me at least), especially seeing some rare treasure in someone's home, knowing that you could swipe it and, if you get away with it, could instantly be rich. But I understand that this, like the abundance of side-quests, is also the game's way of letting you play however realistic you want, and that it's "realistic" to be able to steal for money, just as in real life. It only bugs me that certain items and scenes can only be accessed through stealing and other illegal means, as I hate knowing that I'm missing out on parts of the game simply because I'm trying to play a "moral" character. This also applies to other things. There is an entire portion of the game dedicated to those who take pleasure in running around killing random people (which is an urge people typically get when playing an open-ended game such as this). The "Dark Brotherhood" is somewhat of a "cult" that you can join and take part in tons of missions and quests all in the name of bloody murder. This leaves players like me with an "incomplete" feeling, as I'll never get to experience those things unless I go back and start going on rampages. And that's just not how I decided to play; I wanted to be the "good guy" (you are, after all, entrusted with saving the world).
Another minor annoyance can be the small cast of voice actors (anyone who's played the game knows exactly what I'm talking about). There are only about 5 variations in the voices of the characters, meaning chances are, out of the next 10 people you talk to, 3 or 4 of them will sound exactly the same. This wouldn't be so bad if the game weren't filled with hundreds of characters. But ultimately it's no big deal.
First-person combat with swords and bows is probably about as good as it can be. Which is still not superb, but once you get used to it, it's decently implemented. The soundtrack for the game is amazing, as the music for simply walking around outside mirrors the awe-inspiring visual experience. In many cases you'll find the music hit just the right note when you come over the hill during sunrise and have the orange glow of the wide open valley below come into view. Sure it's just a random coincidence of audio and visuals, but it definitely stays with you.
And that's what this game is so great at. Staying with you. Most people that play games are interested in doing just that- playing a game. But some have been searching for a game that gives them a chance to live a fully imaginary life that thus far hasn't been possible given the limits of choices presented by video games. Sure, "living an imaginary life" sounds like the epitome of nerdism, but I'd like to think "imaginary" and "imagination" should not be viewed so different from each other. If you have an imagination, and the courage to use it, Oblivion is the experience for you (though many reading this have most likely already played it). It's still an absolutely stunning technical achievement with an enormous world and endless possibilities. I can't wait until the day comes when I can finish it, and dive back into that world. Until then, many aspects of it have yet to be topped in gaming, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before they are.
What an experience.
I went through a phase right after building a $4,000 computer where I absolutely had to own and play every new PC game out there that had cutting-edge graphics. You know, the kind of games that you can only play at max settings with a $4,000 PC. The idea of being one of the select few in the world able to experience the finest graphics in gaming was appealing enough to make me read up on this game called "Oblivion". Upon seeing the screenshots, there was one thing that captured my imagination completely: the draw distance. Now for those who aren't entirely familiar with technical terms, "draw distance" is basically how far into the distance a game will allow you to see before it either uses fog to fade it out, or just makes distant objects disappear entirely. It typically requires far too much computer power for the average game to let the player see any more than a quarter mile into the distance, so most games are structured around indoor areas and, if there are outdoor areas that allow the player to see into the distance, the background graphics are usually just "cutouts" used to appease the eye. Oblivion, however, presented a bold and exciting promise: any mountain, building, or path that can be seen, can be accessed. Not just through loading screens after you travel a certain distance towards something, but a real-time world where everything was truly as you saw it. It's something that anyone but the most hardcore gamer would say "big deal" to, but to me, it was "Holy hell, this is unbelievable".
So I played it. Much to my shock, it pushed my fully custom PC system to the absolute limit. Some areas would slow down so much it bordered on unplayable. But that didn't stop me from loving it. As far as the story goes, it seemed decent. I say "seemed" because, I must admit, I never got the chance to finish the game. In fact, although I played it for months, I'd say I only progressed 1/4 of the way through the actual story of the game. So from the little that I was able to see, the story seemed compelling enough. But that's where the concept and perception of this game splits. You could easily play through the entire story of the game, and have an opinion about it. However, you can also experience the game in entirely different ways due to the endless things to do outside of the main story-driven mission. I came upon a boat docked near the river where I paid money to rest for the night, only to wake up and find myself in the middle of the ocean as the boat had been taken over by thieves. Or another time when I met a strange man behind a church who swore that people were trying to kill him, and paid me very well to follow certain people and spy on them. None of these things had anything to do with the main story of you saving the world. Most games include these types of "side quests" as they're known, but Oblivion is so packed with them, you could spend months simply talking to people in towns and going on these quests without ever paying any attention to saving the world. This is why you don't "play" games like this, you "experience" them.
But aside from its greatness, there were a couple things that I'm sure bothered everyone. For one, every item that you see in peoples' homes, in shops, and in castles can be stolen. Not only that, you can actually see the monetary value of an item just by walking near it. This forces the player to get the urge to steal (I know it did for me at least), especially seeing some rare treasure in someone's home, knowing that you could swipe it and, if you get away with it, could instantly be rich. But I understand that this, like the abundance of side-quests, is also the game's way of letting you play however realistic you want, and that it's "realistic" to be able to steal for money, just as in real life. It only bugs me that certain items and scenes can only be accessed through stealing and other illegal means, as I hate knowing that I'm missing out on parts of the game simply because I'm trying to play a "moral" character. This also applies to other things. There is an entire portion of the game dedicated to those who take pleasure in running around killing random people (which is an urge people typically get when playing an open-ended game such as this). The "Dark Brotherhood" is somewhat of a "cult" that you can join and take part in tons of missions and quests all in the name of bloody murder. This leaves players like me with an "incomplete" feeling, as I'll never get to experience those things unless I go back and start going on rampages. And that's just not how I decided to play; I wanted to be the "good guy" (you are, after all, entrusted with saving the world).
Another minor annoyance can be the small cast of voice actors (anyone who's played the game knows exactly what I'm talking about). There are only about 5 variations in the voices of the characters, meaning chances are, out of the next 10 people you talk to, 3 or 4 of them will sound exactly the same. This wouldn't be so bad if the game weren't filled with hundreds of characters. But ultimately it's no big deal.
First-person combat with swords and bows is probably about as good as it can be. Which is still not superb, but once you get used to it, it's decently implemented. The soundtrack for the game is amazing, as the music for simply walking around outside mirrors the awe-inspiring visual experience. In many cases you'll find the music hit just the right note when you come over the hill during sunrise and have the orange glow of the wide open valley below come into view. Sure it's just a random coincidence of audio and visuals, but it definitely stays with you.
And that's what this game is so great at. Staying with you. Most people that play games are interested in doing just that- playing a game. But some have been searching for a game that gives them a chance to live a fully imaginary life that thus far hasn't been possible given the limits of choices presented by video games. Sure, "living an imaginary life" sounds like the epitome of nerdism, but I'd like to think "imaginary" and "imagination" should not be viewed so different from each other. If you have an imagination, and the courage to use it, Oblivion is the experience for you (though many reading this have most likely already played it). It's still an absolutely stunning technical achievement with an enormous world and endless possibilities. I can't wait until the day comes when I can finish it, and dive back into that world. Until then, many aspects of it have yet to be topped in gaming, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before they are.
What an experience.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
"The Incident" : Zelda 2008
Around the turn of the new year a website appeared that went largely unnoticed by most of the world, but was quickly thrown into a relatively small spotlight among fans of the Legend of Zelda game series. This was www.zelda2008.com, and though its intention was largely unknown, its purpose was entirely fulfilled without most ever knowing.
A few months ago, no more than a couple of weeks after its release, I had written what amounted to little more than an apology to fans who felt the site was meant to steal 15 minutes of fame by posing as an officially licensed project from Nintendo. Before long, I did away with the apology speech, and forgot about my creation, having lost the desire to explain my intentions. But with the recent creation of this blog, I suppose now would be the time.
I created Zelda2008.com with one goal: make people think. Unsatisfied with Twilight Princess and afraid of the traditional and ungroundbreaking approach the series has progressively taken since Ocarina of Time, I thought I would share my ideas with others. I've always had the idea of a truly realistic Zelda game. One could argue into the ground whether or not this would be the right direction for the series, but I'm glad that so many got as in-depth with that discussion as they did. So while I don't necessarily believe that the next Zelda game should be "gritty and realistic", I do believe that the possibilities are worth thinking about.
A few years ago, with 3D modeling being a hobby of mine, I made a fairly realistic 3D rendering of Link. Then to practice more inorganic modeling, I tinkered around with recreating other various environments from the series- the Temple of Time, Master Sword, etc. And yes, I used these to create the backgrounds for the Zelda 2008 website. The reaction to the art itself was surprisingly negative. But I should've seen that coming, as I too would be brutally railing on any art that was of less-than-groundbreaking quality that I felt was trying to pass itself off as "official Nintendo-quality work". People nailed everything from the "cheap looking Triforce" to the "amateur layout", even criticizing the fonts used. It was said that the site could've been designed by anyone with even beginner 3D and Photoshop skills. Well congratulations, you were all able to spot the difference between the quality of work befitting an official industry-shattering announcement from Nintendo and someone who threw together 4 year old half-finished renderings in 10 minutes.
I knew that the overwhelming majority of people would see it as some kind of announcement of a new Zelda title. And, in turn, I assumed that most would easily see that it was "fake" and see it only as "fan art". But while some did just that, most ripped it apart as a cry for attention by someone needlessly trying to stir up controversy by spreading lies. If there is one thing that I have always despised in regards to the internet, it is how easily people can spread rumors and intentionally give false information to better their own imaginary digital reputation. I simply wanted people to think, and after the third day the site was posted and after reading the feedback across all the forums, I almost felt as if I had to defend my work by continuing it. So as some already know, I kept it going, leaving more hints that only fans would truly get (for the record, the Hyrulian text in one of the graphics translates to "Experience the Challenge of Endless Adventure", a reference to the original NES game box that a couple people actually managed to translate and understand). But eventually, I stopped caring, for whatever reason. So I left it alone. And alone it has been, for a few months now.
Whatever your reaction, I hope it made you think. I'm glad people discussed the possibilities, even if they had been already talked about in the past. Personally I feel the series needs to change, as the traditional Zelda style, while it still "works", doesn't further the groundbreaking notion of "Zelda" that was established by the first NES game and Ocarina of Time. I feel Nintendo is more than capable of doing this, it will all come down to who makes the decision to actually do it.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Live-action version of "Akira" making progress
After being in the negotiation and planning phase for years, it seems that the live-action version of the animated film "Akira" is finally getting ready to come to life. As a true fan of the saga as a whole, this is honestly a day that part of me wished would never come.
Why "AKIRA" isn't right for Hollywood
Anyone who has ever been a fan of ANYTHING before having it touched by Hollywood knows exactly where the rest of this article is going. Ninety percent of the film industry of today consists of ideas taken from previous sources- novels, comics, remakes, video games- anything that's already been made and saves studios the trouble of having to actually put forth any effort during the creative process is automatically considered before anything (God forbid) original. Because original ideas are too risky. Take a comic and turn it into a video game and you've already got an established fan base, 80% of your script, 99% of your story, and a 100% chance at profit since the production value wasn't very high to begin with compared to that of built-from-the-ground-up films. Even those movies that debut at #3 on the weekend boxoffice list and drop completely out of sight the following week make money. Not much, but it's profit, and in today's world, that's really all that matters.
"AKIRA" will make money. It already has a story that's not just an animated movie, but an insanely in-depth comic series which will be where they draw most of their ideas from. Not only is it great source material, but it has nothing short of a mythical reputation among the Anime community. Even if you have no idea what anime is, chances are, you've seen some small bit of Akira somewhere. Ever seen Michael Jackson's music video for "Scream", or the commercial for Absolut Vodka that's still in circulation? Or how about the entire Kanye West video for "Stronger"? If not, a quick Youtube visit will remind you that you most likely have indeed seen some part of this legendary film and didn't even know it. It's widely accepted as the greatest anime film ever made, and the most influential (I'll get into that later). So why shouldn't Hollywood take a shot at it? The established fan base alone is enormous, and we all know that the movie studios will only accept a "hip, stylish, modern re-telling" of the story that appeals to everyone, not just fans of the comic/anime. And that, as usual, is where the film industry will fail us as viewers.
All films that have been based on video games and comics have failed in the eyes of the fans. Most times miserably. And as I said, the excuse of the movie studios is always the same: they have to dumb everything down for people who know nothing about the particular comic/video game, and update the story/characters/script/soundtrack/themes to appeal to the general movie-going audience. I cannot fault them for this, as I am not the unrealistic type to believe that movies such as this have to be 100% faithful to the original content. Don't get me wrong, that is what I would definitely PREFER to see, but I've come to terms with the fact that this just isn't how the industry works, as unfortunate for us fans as it may be. Thus will be the case for Akira. The following will be an in-depth look at the many aspects that make the "Akira" saga what it is, and how they will most likely be altered for the live-action version of the film.
Story
Strip away the characters, dialog, soundtrack and visuals and you have a creation that is, at its heart, more deep, complex, and meaningful than even more attentive viewers of the original animated film can initially grasp. At the end of watching the original film, you may not be able to fully explain what just happened and why, but deep down you'll feel that it was something powerful... whatever it was. Yes, the most challenging aspect of the live-action film will definitely be the reshaping of the story to "make sense" to most people. This is why I doubt they will use the structure of the animated film, because that structure is entirely different from the comic (considered to be the only "complete" telling of the story). I have even heard talk of a two-part saga that would involve two films, which, strangely enough, would work perfectly. In the animated version, the movie ends with Tetsuo's power destroying the city, but in the comics that event takes place in the middle of the story. This would be the perfect ending for the first film, with a dazzling special-effects barrage of the kind of awe-inspiring destruction seen in the anime being the perfect climax for a big-budget, live-action, CGI-soaked film. So the split-point is there, should they go the two-part route. And even a multi-part film (not "sequels") is, in itself, a huge and unique event. Every film story that is released in multiple parts gets a lot of press, and is always built as an "epic motion picture journey" because of the way they're broken up. This could work very well in its favor, no doubt.
But then there's the story itself. Structure aside, there are MANY underlying themes and aspects of the story that stray very far from the sci-fi elements that you know will be the focus of the live-action film. These are things that will undoubtedly be removed from the new film simply because they will be seen as things that the average sci-fi moviegoer "simply doesn't care to see". Take politics for example. The politics of Neo-Tokyo are extremely interesting (to me at least) and really give the city itself depth and a true "soul", even when it's not directly affecting the main characters. The decaying state of politics in the city and how they relate to the incidents surrounding "World War III", as well as the current state of affairs with the project known as "AKIRA", sets up a political chessboard that sadly many casual viewers simply wouldn't be interested in playing on. Then there is the power of Akira itself. Where it comes from, what it is, and how it relates not to the cliche idea of "psychic powers", but rather to a much deeper tracing to perhaps the origins of life itself and "consciousness" as a whole; these are the things that become somewhat lost even in the animated version.
A hundred other factors could be easily named in this section alone, but what it all comes down to is that this is not a story like Batman or Resident Evil that can be broken down into common themes and relatable conflicts. Not without doing it an extreme injustice and completely straying away from every subtle detail that makes "Akira" what it is. "Man vs himself" could not even begin to categorize the complexity of this story. The science, politics, inner struggles, religious tones, philosophical aspects, and overall dark nature of the comic almost ensures that Hollywood has but a single choice when handling this film. Complex aspects must be removed, more common explanations must be put in place of the things that truly made you think and reflect in the comic and animated versions. In the end, I think fans such as myself fear that it will be a Silent Hill effect: people will walk away talking about certain scenes, but have absolutely no desire to experience the original source material. It will not make them think, it will hand-feed them sci-fi action and special effects and will amount to nothing more than a dim chapter in the storytelling evolution of this otherwise timeless story.
Characters/Cast
This isn't where I offer my casting suggestions for the characters; I try to stay away from getting my hopes up with "what if". What I think will happen with the characters is what usually happens with most remakes and adaptations, which is they are given scattered lines here and there from the source material and made to be more stereotypical in their roles. My hope is that they will try to retain the emotional flaws of the characters. Kaneda is a teenager living in a world far beyond his years, as are most of the main characters. The young characters in the story have all grown up in a world littered with terrible violence, gang culture, and extreme political unrest. The actors in the live-action version will most likely be in their 20's, but it would have been interesting to see these shocking events through the eyes of young adults forced to grow up faster than anyone rightfully should.
And speaking of emotional flaws, Tetsuo is without a doubt the most crucial aspect of the film as far as characters are concerned. His character is stereotypical in many ways in that he fits the "bullied kid that never really fit in finally gets his chance to get even" role. But beyond that is the absolute brutal mental torture that he endures once he awakens to his power. I can only imagine it feeling like wanting to rip your brain apart while on the floor yelling in a fit of rage and confusion, and I hope that Tetsuo's balancing act of sanity is powerfully conveyed and not made a mockery of. Not only the mental torture, but the physical as well, as the mind loses its grip on reality and begins manifesting all sorts of things within and around Tetsuo. The extreme pain that surely must come with having every nerve and tendon in your arm fused to the cold metal and wires of a self-manifested prosthetic arm made from scrap, along with the unimaginable suffering that must come from the mind losing control of the body in such a terrible and inhuman nature as shown in the film and comic. Without a doubt Tetsuo is the most powerful centerpiece to a live-action adaptation of this story, and while I'm sure most fans will never fully be satisfied by the casting or how he is portrayed, we can only hope that full attention is paid to his character and that he is not made as the scapegoat for the movie studio needing a heartless, careless, lifeless villain.
Soundtrack
Perhaps the most heartbreaking things that I have had to come to terms with as a result of learning of this film's creation is the soundtrack. The "score" for the original animated movie is not a "score" at all, and definitely not contemporary by any means. One could hear it for the first time and hear nothing but noise, strange chanting, and more noise. Much of the music does not even have a "musical" quality to it, meaning much of it is completely devoid of harmonies, chords, and all around basic "listenability". When people ask me about the soundtrack or ask to hear it, I hesitate, only because I know that it is not for everyone. It is not something that can be played for someone and have them say "Wow, that sounds great". But buried beneath the exterior of this music is truly what I believe to be the most powerful force behind the film. It takes a while to hear it. It takes a long time to be able to feel it. But once you tune into the strange chanting and the explosion of percussion hitting you from all angles, you just may begin to see this "score" for what it truly is.
I would love to see the original soundtrack used in the film somehow. But the problem with the soundtrack is that it's not very well mastered. Volume levels, mixing, normalization, peaking- a lot of it would need some touch-up work, which is not impossible. The biggest problem with the soundtrack, however, is that it's too much for most people, in the same way the complex story is too much for most people. So expect to hear electric guitar riffs and a remade orchestrated score (if we're lucky), because I've all but given up hope on anything being reused for the live-action film, with the exception of a possible remake of the "Kaneda" track, which is all I can hope for.
The "Akira" Legacy
Some consider Akira overrated. Some say that simply because it "introduced the West to anime" doesn't make it "the greatest thing ever". People who are bandwagon-haters seem to think that most people only call it the greatest because it's like having "Gone With The Wind" on your top 10 film list- it's only there because it's on everyone else's. Granted, in the hardcore anime world of today, Akira may seem extremely tame, even borderline boring. The action isn't the same action as people flying across the screen with swords clashing, and the characters aren't the same kind of video-game-cutouts of the current animated generation. So I can understand why some, especially those who didn't have Akira as their first anime experience, paint it as overrated, confusing, and dull. But for the rest of us, it's not just about the film's influence. From a technical standpoint, the film is absolutely staggering. Watch the opening scene again and pay close attention to every detail on every piece of furniture in every window of every building, or the sheer number of pieces of debris that those same buildings crumble into at the end. No corner was cut, no texture was drawn flat, nothing in the background was blurred out or drawn plain. Even if the film is not your #1, as it is mine, anyone capable of appreciating great art, deep story, or groundbreaking ideas simply cannot deny the incredible power of Akira.
In Closing
I know that it is unfair to write off any aspect of a film that is so far from release. However, having followed these kinds of films for many years now, I've become accustomed to the routine. You have the "doomsday scenario" group who bash Hollywood and insist it will be crap, then you have those who say "Well [name of person] is doing the [script/effects/direction/producing], they also worked on[name of decent movie], so it could actually turn out well", or "Judging from the initial screenshots and teasers, it actually looks like they could pull this off". And, in short, they never do. They never pull it off, the films always get terrible reviews, and people like myself end up hating Hollywood just a bit more. So I would love to be proven wrong, but I try to be realistic. I firmly believe that if the film stayed 100% true to the source material, had a director and production team that truly "got" the story and poured actual emotion into it and didn't care about dumbing it down for people or making it "hip" for all viewers, then we would have the truly groundbreaking, Oscar-winning two-part epic that the story ultimately deserves. Needless to say, regardless of how bad it is, it will still end up in my collection. It will be interesting to come back to this 2-3 years from now when the first teaser is released, and see if my views have changed. Only time will tell.
Why "AKIRA" isn't right for Hollywood
Anyone who has ever been a fan of ANYTHING before having it touched by Hollywood knows exactly where the rest of this article is going. Ninety percent of the film industry of today consists of ideas taken from previous sources- novels, comics, remakes, video games- anything that's already been made and saves studios the trouble of having to actually put forth any effort during the creative process is automatically considered before anything (God forbid) original. Because original ideas are too risky. Take a comic and turn it into a video game and you've already got an established fan base, 80% of your script, 99% of your story, and a 100% chance at profit since the production value wasn't very high to begin with compared to that of built-from-the-ground-up films. Even those movies that debut at #3 on the weekend boxoffice list and drop completely out of sight the following week make money. Not much, but it's profit, and in today's world, that's really all that matters.
"AKIRA" will make money. It already has a story that's not just an animated movie, but an insanely in-depth comic series which will be where they draw most of their ideas from. Not only is it great source material, but it has nothing short of a mythical reputation among the Anime community. Even if you have no idea what anime is, chances are, you've seen some small bit of Akira somewhere. Ever seen Michael Jackson's music video for "Scream", or the commercial for Absolut Vodka that's still in circulation? Or how about the entire Kanye West video for "Stronger"? If not, a quick Youtube visit will remind you that you most likely have indeed seen some part of this legendary film and didn't even know it. It's widely accepted as the greatest anime film ever made, and the most influential (I'll get into that later). So why shouldn't Hollywood take a shot at it? The established fan base alone is enormous, and we all know that the movie studios will only accept a "hip, stylish, modern re-telling" of the story that appeals to everyone, not just fans of the comic/anime. And that, as usual, is where the film industry will fail us as viewers.
All films that have been based on video games and comics have failed in the eyes of the fans. Most times miserably. And as I said, the excuse of the movie studios is always the same: they have to dumb everything down for people who know nothing about the particular comic/video game, and update the story/characters/script/soundtrack/themes to appeal to the general movie-going audience. I cannot fault them for this, as I am not the unrealistic type to believe that movies such as this have to be 100% faithful to the original content. Don't get me wrong, that is what I would definitely PREFER to see, but I've come to terms with the fact that this just isn't how the industry works, as unfortunate for us fans as it may be. Thus will be the case for Akira. The following will be an in-depth look at the many aspects that make the "Akira" saga what it is, and how they will most likely be altered for the live-action version of the film.
Story
Strip away the characters, dialog, soundtrack and visuals and you have a creation that is, at its heart, more deep, complex, and meaningful than even more attentive viewers of the original animated film can initially grasp. At the end of watching the original film, you may not be able to fully explain what just happened and why, but deep down you'll feel that it was something powerful... whatever it was. Yes, the most challenging aspect of the live-action film will definitely be the reshaping of the story to "make sense" to most people. This is why I doubt they will use the structure of the animated film, because that structure is entirely different from the comic (considered to be the only "complete" telling of the story). I have even heard talk of a two-part saga that would involve two films, which, strangely enough, would work perfectly. In the animated version, the movie ends with Tetsuo's power destroying the city, but in the comics that event takes place in the middle of the story. This would be the perfect ending for the first film, with a dazzling special-effects barrage of the kind of awe-inspiring destruction seen in the anime being the perfect climax for a big-budget, live-action, CGI-soaked film. So the split-point is there, should they go the two-part route. And even a multi-part film (not "sequels") is, in itself, a huge and unique event. Every film story that is released in multiple parts gets a lot of press, and is always built as an "epic motion picture journey" because of the way they're broken up. This could work very well in its favor, no doubt.
But then there's the story itself. Structure aside, there are MANY underlying themes and aspects of the story that stray very far from the sci-fi elements that you know will be the focus of the live-action film. These are things that will undoubtedly be removed from the new film simply because they will be seen as things that the average sci-fi moviegoer "simply doesn't care to see". Take politics for example. The politics of Neo-Tokyo are extremely interesting (to me at least) and really give the city itself depth and a true "soul", even when it's not directly affecting the main characters. The decaying state of politics in the city and how they relate to the incidents surrounding "World War III", as well as the current state of affairs with the project known as "AKIRA", sets up a political chessboard that sadly many casual viewers simply wouldn't be interested in playing on. Then there is the power of Akira itself. Where it comes from, what it is, and how it relates not to the cliche idea of "psychic powers", but rather to a much deeper tracing to perhaps the origins of life itself and "consciousness" as a whole; these are the things that become somewhat lost even in the animated version.
A hundred other factors could be easily named in this section alone, but what it all comes down to is that this is not a story like Batman or Resident Evil that can be broken down into common themes and relatable conflicts. Not without doing it an extreme injustice and completely straying away from every subtle detail that makes "Akira" what it is. "Man vs himself" could not even begin to categorize the complexity of this story. The science, politics, inner struggles, religious tones, philosophical aspects, and overall dark nature of the comic almost ensures that Hollywood has but a single choice when handling this film. Complex aspects must be removed, more common explanations must be put in place of the things that truly made you think and reflect in the comic and animated versions. In the end, I think fans such as myself fear that it will be a Silent Hill effect: people will walk away talking about certain scenes, but have absolutely no desire to experience the original source material. It will not make them think, it will hand-feed them sci-fi action and special effects and will amount to nothing more than a dim chapter in the storytelling evolution of this otherwise timeless story.
Characters/Cast
This isn't where I offer my casting suggestions for the characters; I try to stay away from getting my hopes up with "what if". What I think will happen with the characters is what usually happens with most remakes and adaptations, which is they are given scattered lines here and there from the source material and made to be more stereotypical in their roles. My hope is that they will try to retain the emotional flaws of the characters. Kaneda is a teenager living in a world far beyond his years, as are most of the main characters. The young characters in the story have all grown up in a world littered with terrible violence, gang culture, and extreme political unrest. The actors in the live-action version will most likely be in their 20's, but it would have been interesting to see these shocking events through the eyes of young adults forced to grow up faster than anyone rightfully should.
And speaking of emotional flaws, Tetsuo is without a doubt the most crucial aspect of the film as far as characters are concerned. His character is stereotypical in many ways in that he fits the "bullied kid that never really fit in finally gets his chance to get even" role. But beyond that is the absolute brutal mental torture that he endures once he awakens to his power. I can only imagine it feeling like wanting to rip your brain apart while on the floor yelling in a fit of rage and confusion, and I hope that Tetsuo's balancing act of sanity is powerfully conveyed and not made a mockery of. Not only the mental torture, but the physical as well, as the mind loses its grip on reality and begins manifesting all sorts of things within and around Tetsuo. The extreme pain that surely must come with having every nerve and tendon in your arm fused to the cold metal and wires of a self-manifested prosthetic arm made from scrap, along with the unimaginable suffering that must come from the mind losing control of the body in such a terrible and inhuman nature as shown in the film and comic. Without a doubt Tetsuo is the most powerful centerpiece to a live-action adaptation of this story, and while I'm sure most fans will never fully be satisfied by the casting or how he is portrayed, we can only hope that full attention is paid to his character and that he is not made as the scapegoat for the movie studio needing a heartless, careless, lifeless villain.Soundtrack
Perhaps the most heartbreaking things that I have had to come to terms with as a result of learning of this film's creation is the soundtrack. The "score" for the original animated movie is not a "score" at all, and definitely not contemporary by any means. One could hear it for the first time and hear nothing but noise, strange chanting, and more noise. Much of the music does not even have a "musical" quality to it, meaning much of it is completely devoid of harmonies, chords, and all around basic "listenability". When people ask me about the soundtrack or ask to hear it, I hesitate, only because I know that it is not for everyone. It is not something that can be played for someone and have them say "Wow, that sounds great". But buried beneath the exterior of this music is truly what I believe to be the most powerful force behind the film. It takes a while to hear it. It takes a long time to be able to feel it. But once you tune into the strange chanting and the explosion of percussion hitting you from all angles, you just may begin to see this "score" for what it truly is.
I would love to see the original soundtrack used in the film somehow. But the problem with the soundtrack is that it's not very well mastered. Volume levels, mixing, normalization, peaking- a lot of it would need some touch-up work, which is not impossible. The biggest problem with the soundtrack, however, is that it's too much for most people, in the same way the complex story is too much for most people. So expect to hear electric guitar riffs and a remade orchestrated score (if we're lucky), because I've all but given up hope on anything being reused for the live-action film, with the exception of a possible remake of the "Kaneda" track, which is all I can hope for.
The "Akira" Legacy
Some consider Akira overrated. Some say that simply because it "introduced the West to anime" doesn't make it "the greatest thing ever". People who are bandwagon-haters seem to think that most people only call it the greatest because it's like having "Gone With The Wind" on your top 10 film list- it's only there because it's on everyone else's. Granted, in the hardcore anime world of today, Akira may seem extremely tame, even borderline boring. The action isn't the same action as people flying across the screen with swords clashing, and the characters aren't the same kind of video-game-cutouts of the current animated generation. So I can understand why some, especially those who didn't have Akira as their first anime experience, paint it as overrated, confusing, and dull. But for the rest of us, it's not just about the film's influence. From a technical standpoint, the film is absolutely staggering. Watch the opening scene again and pay close attention to every detail on every piece of furniture in every window of every building, or the sheer number of pieces of debris that those same buildings crumble into at the end. No corner was cut, no texture was drawn flat, nothing in the background was blurred out or drawn plain. Even if the film is not your #1, as it is mine, anyone capable of appreciating great art, deep story, or groundbreaking ideas simply cannot deny the incredible power of Akira.
In Closing
I know that it is unfair to write off any aspect of a film that is so far from release. However, having followed these kinds of films for many years now, I've become accustomed to the routine. You have the "doomsday scenario" group who bash Hollywood and insist it will be crap, then you have those who say "Well [name of person] is doing the [script/effects/direction/producing], they also worked on[name of decent movie], so it could actually turn out well", or "Judging from the initial screenshots and teasers, it actually looks like they could pull this off". And, in short, they never do. They never pull it off, the films always get terrible reviews, and people like myself end up hating Hollywood just a bit more. So I would love to be proven wrong, but I try to be realistic. I firmly believe that if the film stayed 100% true to the source material, had a director and production team that truly "got" the story and poured actual emotion into it and didn't care about dumbing it down for people or making it "hip" for all viewers, then we would have the truly groundbreaking, Oscar-winning two-part epic that the story ultimately deserves. Needless to say, regardless of how bad it is, it will still end up in my collection. It will be interesting to come back to this 2-3 years from now when the first teaser is released, and see if my views have changed. Only time will tell.
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