The 'Mogulization' Of Gaming

By: William Vitka

Occupy DC organizer Donna Plamondon packs up G8 Summitt protest signs in Thurmont, Md., on Friday, May 18, 2012, after a planned demonstrating along Route 15 never materialized. A lack of numbers seemed to be the major cause of the cancellation. (AP Photo/Timothy Jacobsen) (Timothy Jacobsen)

GameCore is a weekly column by CBSNews.com's William Vitka, Chad Chamberlain and Joey Arak that focuses on gamers and gaming.

I was struck by the Fear.

It was late arriving but all consuming nonetheless.

The sweats broke out during a conversation about rumors of Microsoft hiring Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later, to pen the screenplay for the film adaptation of Bungie's Halo.

Are they serious about making a Halo movie? And if they are, what kind of movie? One true to Halo, or one that will eviscerate it?

Game-to-screen translations are usually poor at best. I don't think I've recovered from Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider freak show. There is no antidote whatsoever for Uwe Boll's repeated cinematic assaults on games I hold dear (Alone In The Dark, House Of The Dead). Does Alex Garland really think he can avoid those tartarean moments of Film Crapeau?

The story, from the rumor mills (Microsoft has made no official announcement, telling me, "In general, we don't comment about rumors or speculation."), is that the company has hired Garland to write the script. After it's completed, Microsoft will sell it to the highest bidder. At that point neither Microsoft nor Bungie will have any say in what kind of film is made. The minds that created and distribute the game will surrender all control.

It goes without saying that Halo is hot property, and what the Hollywood Machine sees in it is the chance to exploit it.

Halo 2 topped 125 million bucks on the first two days of its release alone. To date, the Halo franchise has moved 13 million units. A Southern Belle somewhere is fanning herself saying, "Aw, sir, I do declare!"

Does a Halo movie sound like a good idea to fans? Maybe to some that hope for an entertaining big screen fantasy, but it may be like the Chinese proverb, watch what you wish for. When fantasy becomes a Hollywood reality, it's usually far less attractive than the dream in your twisted little cerebrum.

Games licensed to Tinsel Town have become a mark of shame. By the time they hit the multiplex they are not only deprived of creativity, they are anti-creative.

Look at what's happened to Hollywood. They used to make original movies. Now they make sequels. The mirror image is beginning to infect video games. What was once an inspired enterprise threatens to devolve into a bastardized echo.

For now, the video game industry seems content to cannibalize itself. But I suspect the Age of "Mogulization" is at hand. "Mogulized" because games used to be (and some still are) a creative exercise, even a work of art. But the people who make the games (and the people who play them) matter less and less to the power brokers, the deal makers, greed heads who make nothing themselves but sell the sweat and blood of someone else.