The actors new frontier = Video Games

I thought it was interesting to bring to attention a new phenomenon sweeping the media landscape. Namely, it is not foreign to us that stage and film actors haven't had the easiest profession to enter. We constantly hear about the high demands of the job, the difficult road to success, and limited places to be hired. It is not an easy lifestyle to live, that's for sure.

But as of the past three or so years, there has been a major breakthrough in the acting world; atleast, in my opinion anyway. After playing LA Noire, I was blown away by the high level of facial recreation ingame, and the immersive world which it forms.

It hadn't hit me until I ended up watching Mad Men a couple months after that it really took me by suprise. I shot out of my chair and screamed at the television screen "oh my god! That's Cole Phelps!"

What I am mainly trying to address here is that no longer do actors have to limit themselves to finding jobs in film sets or the latest drama television show. And with the booming world of the video game industry, it's almost a no-brainer that actors should consider a career in videogame acting.

It is drastically different to voice-acting mind you. Before, actors were only limited to projecting their voices through a digital avatar. There was little recognition to who they were as actors other than the style of their voice. However, we have now reached a point where games value the actors themselves to form their cast. Their face as much as their voice is highly prized. It offers them with not only their name as recognition but also their appearance.

Things to take from this: Actors, to some degree or another, have taken a gigantic leap deeper into inhabiting the world of the game. They can work in a much wider variety of imagined worlds and spaces. They can offer a more crafted and immersive performance for game narratives. And to some extent, it blurs the lines separating television from games. My father walked in on me playing LA Noire and sat down with me, assuming he was watching a 1950s Crime film before five minutes later wondering why maps, health bars, and compasses were hovering around the screen.

I personally hope there will be more LA Noire-type games in the future. I realise there are alot of claims about the facial capturing running-smack-into-the-wall of the Uncanny Valley. But you can only get better by improving. I for one love how this changes the playing-field.

Hopefully not too long until we see Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro etc starring in the latest game titles.