This Ad Age video talks about how advertisers are now setting their sights on using video game engines to create real-time interactive spots.
Zoic Studios recently created one of said spots for the release of Kill Zone 2 that was broadcasted on the Sony Playstation Network. Playstation viewers were able to manipulate camera angles, view uncomposited layers, and hear commentary - all rendered in real-time.
Technologically speaking, this is huge. How effective is the execution though? Visually, it doesn’t quite do it for me. And I’d imagine that for an audience that spends a lot of time “living” in these virtual worlds, their reaction was probably the same.
That said, this is an early breakthrough. I definitely think there’s potential in the medium. Especially when you think of this stuff coupled with Microsoft’s Project Natal technology. And that includes non-game consumer products. For instance, imagine being able to “get inside” a car and zoom into the dashboard on your HD TV.
It was interesting to hear Zoic co-founder Loni Peristere talk about the creation process. He believes, and I agree, that soon the platforms for creating these experiences will be more in the hands of storytellers than technologists. The technology will be far enough along that creatives can pull from vast digital libraries.
There’s also sure to be ground-level democratized innovation on this platform as the tools become commonplace.