Digital Convergence in the Video Game World

The Video Game Industry is an ever-growing industry as graphics improve and story-lines become much denser than the standard, "There's a bad guy out there and I have to defeat him." With the growth of the industry, we see a convergence, or a growing "connectedness" of two mediums, in which video games and movies are slowly combining. There have been movies made about video games (but this is nothing new), and movies made into video games, but now we're seeing a different type of convergence. Video games are slowly turning into a personal movie for the player, in which they travel through beautiful plot lines and amazing action filled scenes in which they have the ability to contribute, adding their own personal spin to the story-line. Award-winning script writers are taking part in the industry to offer their work, and to get in on a piece of the action. Video game trailers are now resembling those often seen throughout Hollywood. But one question is, when did this whole transition start? What game caused the move towards total convergence? Did it start with the game that moved away from the traditional, "saving of the princess" story-line?  It's difficult to pinpoint.

Gamers have different reactions to this whole change. Many don't want to be associated with deepened story-lines, and think it's a waste of their time. Other gamers love it since they can feel as if they are really immersed in the game since the story-line is that much better. All-in-all with change you're going to have the lovers and haters. What matters here is the proportion of both. The majority seems to favor the change. It'll surely be interesting to see how this all progresses with next-gen graphics and an ever-changing industry.