Sam Barlow and MGM’s New Interactive #WarGames is Fascinating
Let’s begin back a couple years ago. I heard rumblings that someone by the name of Sam Barlow was creating a crazy weird idea for a movie/game that allows the player/viewer to search police interview videos in order to solve a murder. That “game” was called Her Story and I had a blast playing it. And I enjoyed it so much I ran around the internet with my hair on fire until I finally found Sam Barlow, and convinced him to chat with me about his game even before he had launched it.
Well, now, 30 years after the original movie, Wargames was launched (One of the best movies of all time. Which, I watched on Beta, with a top down loader that could have launched a car to outer space if strapped together correctly) to wide acclaim (Matthew Broderick… hello, good to see you sir), the Interactive-Media company, Eko, has released a new take on the movie. Two years ago, Eko announced this new interactive project, and it was initially titled Interlude. But then it was announced that the game(?)/movie(?) would be released under the mantle of #Wargames, as a retelling of the original story from a more modern perspective.
The clever bit? It’s retold from the perspectives of the screens that the hackers are using throughout the story. Oh, and as you change focus among the different hackers, and vantages, of the “game”, it remembers, and changes the story based on those choices. Here, check out the trailer for the project and you’ll see what I mean:
I am only a couple of episodes in, but it is fascinating. Yeah, the acting is pretty cheeseball. But the interactivity, the 3 in 1 video views, the Mr. Robot of it all (which, is a fantastic movie, and really encapsulates my brain more than any other show.) Sam Barlow is an awesome innovator in this space. Maybe I’ll chase him down again and get him to talk about his latest project.
But for now, enjoy it, and you are welcome. Oh, maybe you’d like the link to where you can watch it? Here you go.