Although many of us are hoping for a new John Carpenter movie, what few expected was a video game from the legendary director.But that is what we get with John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, a video game with the spirit of an absolutely crazy B-movie that has us on the edge of our seats. Because if there is one thing Carpenter specializes in, it is taking something that seems cheap and absurd and turning it into something tremendously interesting.
Now, while it may seem that Carpenter is the first film director to make the leap into video games, that is not the case. Many others have done so before him. And today we are going to talk about that. Directors who have made video games, or at least have been involved in their production. Some of them are surprising because they are not the kind of people you would say have any interest in the medium. But that’s life. It surprises you when you least expect it. Sometimes, discovering that your favorite director has a video game.
Clive Barker
Writer and film director known especially for the Hellraiser series, but also for the incredible Books of Blood, he is one of the great horror authors of his generation. And he has been very involved with video games. Giving his name and being very involved in four of them, two of which are based on his movie and novel Nightbreed, the two most interesting are undoubtedly Clive Barker’s Undying and Clive Barker’s Jericho. The first is a fascinating first-person horror shooter that caused absolute fascination in its time, turning it into a cult gem, and the second is a clumsy but interesting game that deserves recognition. Additionally, he is involved in the production of the first video game of his most famous franchise, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, which promises to bring us all the sex, gore, and BDSM we expect from Hellraiser.
Steven Spielberg
If a name doesn’t seem to fit with video games, it’s Spielberg’s, but the reality is that there was a time when he had a great interest in what could come from them. So much so that he was involved in three revolutionary projects. The first of these was Medal of Honor, the legendary first-person shooter franchise with which he wanted to create the most realistic experience possible of World War II. The second was Boom Blox, a series of physics-based puzzle games for Wii where he served as a designer. And the most ambitious of all, LMNO, an action-adventure game that aimed to revolutionize video game narrative, but that we would never get to see. And given that Spielberg himself has declared himself a hardcore gamer, we have no doubt it would have been revolutionary.
JJ Abrams
One of the people who is easiest to imagine playing video games and getting involved in them is JJ Abrams. And although he hasn’t done it directly, his studio, Bad Robot Productions, has ventured into video game production. The first game they produced was the modest Action Movie FX for iOS, with their first major game being Weird West: a very strange immersive sim set in the West by Raphaël Colantonio, the creator of Dishonored. Since then, they have been involved in the disappointing Moonbreaker and Silent Hill: Ascension, the latter considered the worst Silent Hill in history, and they are currently working on 4:Loop: the new game from the creator of Left 4 Dead. This demonstrates that Abrams’ interest in video games is diverse and far from fleeting.
Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s foray into video games was brief, yet impactful. In 2015, at one of his highest peaks of popularity, 2K approached him to take charge of the My Career mode of the video game NBA 2K16. Directing, writing, and producing it, the result was a mode much more focused on the story, seeking to replicate the real evolution of a basketball player from high school to professional competition. Although the result was spectacular, it was heavily criticized for being a very restrictive mode, as 2K fans were looking for something different from Lee’s artistic experience. This led NBA2K to never experiment with something similar again. And neither did Spike Lee.
Vin Diesel
The least surprising on the list is Vin Diesel because it is well documented that he is not only a fan of video games but also an avid player of Dungeons & Dragons. He is also the founder of a video game studio called Tigon Studios.Co-developers of the absolutely spectacular The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and the less spectacular but equally interesting Wheelman, they are a recognized studio that years later made other lesser-known games related to Vin Diesel franchises. He has currently lent his appearance, his voice, and is even a developer on Ark 2, so it seems that Vin Diesel remains very involved in video game development, despite everything.
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is the most tragic story here, because despite his efforts to make a video game, he has never been able to achieve it. Not completely. Together with Hideo Kojima, he created P.T, the demo for Silent Hills, the ninth installment of Silent Hill that Konami would cancel after firing Kojima. And while Del Toro would appear in both installments of Death Stranding as a character, he claims he will never be involved in the development of a video game again. Or at least not for now. Who knows what the future holds for him, even though he has stated that he does not want to make any video games in the future. But what seems evident is that the crossover between film and video games exists and is prolific. And it is not going to end anytime soon.
