Gore Verbinski's awkward interview about videogames

Those hopeful about Hollywood A-listers bringing their talents to videogames will probably not be thrilled at "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski's interview in the L.A. Times today, which did not exactly demonstrate a deep understanding of the medium.

The interview was conducted last month at D.I.C.E., where some of you may remember Verbinski insulted Disney Interactive Studios' "Pirates of the Caribbean" tie-in movies from last summer.

Verbinski told the Times hasn't played videogames for a while, but got back into it recently and has jumped into titles like "Halo 3," "Bioshock" and "Beautiful Katamari." Now he says he's working on a top secret videogame project that is "a little bit out there."

It's very cool, of course, to see someone as experienced and talented as Verbinski taking an interest in videogames. At the very least, he has the prestige to get something innovative and interesting done.

But some of his answers to LA Times questions reveal he still has plenty to learn about videogames:

-"I'm interested in exploring an emotional response to a game, which I haven't really seen. I've seen the visceral adrenaline response, but I haven't really played a game where I feel . . . tremendous loss."

If you think videogames haven't created "emotional responses," you haven't played many of them. "Bioshock" has a strong emotional pull. "Kane and Lynch' ends with a very disturbing emotional conflict. And of course the most intense example in recent memory is "Shadow of the Colossus," which very specifically creates a sense of "tremendous loss."

-[The Times asks Verbinski what he thinks of "Beautiful Katamari."] "I liked the fact that you weren't a character. You were an object that became a character in a way."

Ummm, you definitely are a character in "Beautiful Katamari." You' re the Prince of All Cosmos, trying to roll up items to create stars that your father, the King of all Cosmos, has destroyed.

-[Verbinski says he wasn't happy with the "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" game. The Times then asks "What gave would you have liked to see?"] "A MMOG [massively multi-player online game] where you can dress up as a pirate. You can have a social network where you meet other pirates, and maybe three days in, you meet Jack Sparrow. Maybe you have to sell your soul to the devil to get to this level or that. Let the players write and create it. Let them evolve it. There's something very trekkies about the core "Pirates of the Caribbean" fan base, and I respect  that core fan base. I think it's a shame we couldn't produce a game that respected them as well."

You mean like "Pirates of the Caribbean Online?" That game had problems, but you get to design your own pirates, meet other pirates, and occasionally meet Jack Sparrow. It sounds a lot like the videogame Verbinski is saying he wishes Disney had made. Except they actually did.