With the Launch of TWC Games, a Question Looms: Can Horror Make a Run at Gaming?

 As if their movies aren’t making them enough money, movie distribution giants Bob and Harvey Weinstein have recently announced plans to launch a gaming division for their film brand, The Weinstein Company.

The Weinstein Company has been a major film distributor since the early 1990s.

 The gaming branch will be called TWC Games and representatives of the newly formed company have said they are confident about entering the world of video games. In the press release sent out by The Weinstein Company regarding the new division, Bob Weinstein and one of the new execs at TWC Games outlined the plan of attack for the future of the company:

The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today a new initiative in the video game space by launching TWC Games. The TWC Games label will utilize The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films’ strong and recognizable properties, and work with external partners to develop and publish video games for mobile, social, and console platforms. Properties in The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films catalogue include SCREAM, HELLRAISER, HALLOWEEN, SCARY MOVIE, and CHILDREN OF THE CORN, among many others.

TWC CO-CHAIRMAN BOB WEINSTEIN EXPRESSED EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE NEW INITIATIVE. “The video game marketplace is changing at such a rapid rate. With all of the digital platforms, there are so many opportunities to broaden our audience with compelling, high quality, cost-efficient, video game entertainment.”

TWC Games has formed a strategic consultancy with Beefy Media, a video game production company, to foster relationships with publishers and create high quality games. Beefy Media President, Adam Boyes, will work closely with Matthew Signer, TWC Vice President, Production and Creative Affairs, to foster strategic partnerships and oversee all production aspects of the games.

“The Weinstein Company is an incredible entertainment company, and I share their vision for creating very high quality content for the marketplace,” said Boyes. “We plan to combine our extensive video game developer relationships with the impressive catalogue of properties to create and produce content made by gamers for gamers.”

Now, having read that. Are you as nervous as I am?

Well, if you’re a loyal horror fan and avid gamer, you should be. What would you think of a Halloween game? A Scream game? How about Hellraiser?

I'd like to see TWC Games to a better job than this

I was thinking about those very questions a couple of days ago and I came to the conclusion that: I’m not so sure horror can make a run at gaming.

I know what you’re thinking, Resident Evil did it. So did Silent Hill. Both of which proved to be extremely successful franchises; however, two major differences exist between those situations and the ones we’ll be looking at in this case: The games came first and the studios did it right.

The Games Came First

While this may only seem like a minor detail, it makes a whole world of difference. With game-based films like Resident Evil and Silent Hill having much success, it can be noticed that there IS potential out there for horror-based games that have a connection to film; though the most successful cases of this have been where the games came first. So, why exactly does the “chicken and the egg” argument make such a difference in this situation? Creative Freedom.

"Resident Evil" is a video game franchise that has been successful since its beginnings.

For those of you who are familiar with the Resident Evil franchise, you all will not need to be told that the movies are nothing like the game series. That much is obvious. So, if that is a fact, why are the movies still successful?

The answer: the plot is the same, despite the other differences.

Despite the possibly annoying addition of a main character that doesn’t make sense, the plot of the Resident Evil films are pretty accurate to those of the game franchise. That makes it much easier for the filmmakers to have more creative freedom because the audience will be willing to accept more of those changes.

Now, if Hollywood would’ve completely changed the story and only just kept the name Resident Evil, us fans would have probably stormed the gates and raided the studio in a firey. Something as simple as keeping the basic story the same can offer enough freedom to make some other changes in order to Hollywood-ize the game.

Well...look who it is. The annoying main character that doesn't make any sense.

This can only be achieved, in my opinion, if the games come first. If Silent Hill was originally a movie, chances are the game would have been a lot different. What I mean by this is, the game for the Silent Hill movie might not have been good if the film came first. This is because the formula for video game success differs from the formula for movies.

With movies, the audience is asked to only have limited interactivity. All we as movie-goers have to do is sit in a theater and engage our minds (not always even that) while watching an entertaining film. Video games are very different.

Video games, especially with our rapidly growing technology, demand a much larger scale of attention from their target audience. They require a lot more interactivity with the audience. Instead of simply sitting in a theater screening room or sitting in front of a TV, gamers must entertain themselves by actively picking up the controller and playing the game. If a movie is made first and then turned into a game, it runs the risk of not being as fun to play because it was not originally made to be played like a game.

If done right, this could possibly be the best game based off of a horror movie ever.

That is the situation I find the Weinsteins in. Can a video game based on horror franchises like Scream and Halloween be entertaining enough to be truly successful and not damage the films? The only way that can happen is if…

The Studios Did It Right.

This is pretty self-explanatory. In order for the Weinstein’s to make commercial successes out of their horror-based games, both their company and the game developers they hire must put in a lot of hard work and effort to do it right.

The movies that The Weinstein’s have made over the years are not ones I would normally assume would be good video games; but, there is some potential there. The trick is not to get too involved with the movie. It is okay to keep the basic story the same, but do not dip into the movie realm too much.

Take Scream for example. That could potentially be a very interesting game; though, the only way I see it happening is if the developers keep the basic plot but come up with completely original characters unique to the game. Personally, I do not want to play the movie itself. I want something new. That is what I think should be done. The Weinsteins need to work with the developers to offer something new and exciting so the gamers do not feel like they are being cheated.

We already know Billy Loomis is the killer. We don’t need to play a game to figure that out.

The Unknown Future

I can sit here and type my thoughts and speculations about what TWC Games is going to do until my fingers rot off, but in the end it won’t do any good. All we can do is just sit and wait and hope everything works out for the best.

Video games have come a long way and people are getting smarter with their creativity. So, let’s hope something good comes of this. After all, I wouldn’t mind turning on my X-Box and making some prank calls as Ghostface for a little while.