The video game reboot of the 1983 film "WarGames" will allow players to choose video feeds that will determine the game's story.
According to The Verge, "Her Story" creator, acclaimed British video game designer and director Sam Barlow, collaborated with video studio Eko and with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to create a video game reboot of the 1983 film "WarGames." Like his previous game, "WarGames" will be an interactive form of storytelling.
"WarGames" will focus on the topic of hacking. Unlike the 1983 film that centered on a high-school student, David Lightman (Matthew Broderick), who unknowingly hacked a U.S. military supercomputer and accidentally, almost starting a World War III, the upcoming game will focus on a group of young hackers who are trying to find ways to use their skills to help society.
Players' main form of interaction in the series is by watching. Players will be able to see the daily lives of the characters through multiple feeds playing simultaneously. They will also meet the hacker protagonist, Kelly (Jess Nurse), who is part of a hacktivist collective. While in most interactive stories and games players have the ability to decide what will happen in the story of the characters by making an explicit choice, in "WarGames" how the story will unfold will depend on the video feeds players will choose to watch. The upcoming game will track what videos players will watch and tailor the rest of the story from then on.
According to The Verge, Barlow said that the reason the game was designed that way was that he wanted the players to feel as if they are one of the hackers. Moreover, he wanted to broaden the audience of interactive stories.
"WarGames" is set to release sometime in 2018. It will be released as a set of episodes with predetermined lengths. According to Polygon, the upcoming game will be available on the official Eko website, the Eko mobile app and on platforms to be announced. Players can watch the trailer of "WarGames" here.
