J.J. Abrams Is Finally Jumping into Gaming
Warner Bros. Interactive and Tencent is producing video games alongside a new division in J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot. The division, called Bad Robot Games, is going to work with industry heavyweights to create new gaming experiences. Tencent is going to handle the distribution of Bad Robot games, while Warner Bros. are acting as an investor.
The company hopes to create games on all market levels, from indie games to massive, AAA titles.
“I’m a massive games fan, and increasingly envious of the amazing tools developers get to work with, and the worlds they get to play in,” said Abrams, know for his role in creating the TV series Lost and movies like Cloverfield, 2009’s Star Trek, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “Now we are doubling down on our commitment to the space with a unique co-development approach to game making that allows us to focus on what we do best, and hopefully be a meaningful multiplier to our developer partners.”
Abrams was previously in talks with Valve about a video game project, which he discussed with Polygon. Although he hasn’t said anything more about the project, he gave some insight into what he values in games.
“I think games provide you, the player, with the ability to, in a sense, to go anywhere and do anything,” he said. “So it’s much more aligned with a novel or a TV show because the space is so much larger. What you glean is not going to be defined by a two-hour experience.”
He also claimed that he wanted to focus on providing an emotional connection to the player through world building and character creation.
“Yes, we love spectacle, but ideally when it is connected to the eyes of a character — you know, humanity, the experience of someone or people you love — that’s how you start to feel for a character, ” he said. “I think there are certain ideas that should not be movies and should be games. There are certainly ideas that should definitely be a game and not a movie.
“My point is, we’re not looking to impose our process or our way of thinking or how we do what we do on anything. We’re looking to get involved in the creation of something that is a genre we love and we play ourselves and is not what we do; but that’s the fun of the challenge of it. We’re looking to learn as much as we can about how to make great games and to use our strengths to do that.”Â