Joseph-Gordon Levitt recently appeared on the internet talk show Hot Ones to promote his upcoming movie Power. Celebrities like Brie Larson have appeared on Hot Ones to talk about a wide range of topics, from video games to lifestyle choices.
While Joseph-Gordon Levitt is most known for his roles in Hollywood movies, he gave hefty praise to the video game industry while on Hot Ones. Around halfway through the show, Joseph-Gordon Levitt says that he believes video games will be the future of storytelling.
Many fans of video games will say that one of their favorite aspects of the medium is the stories it's able to tell. Video games are unique in that they have the ability to allow players a sense of agency over not only the action, but oftentimes the story. Joseph-Gordon Levitt alluded to this sentiment on a recent episode of Hot Ones, when asked what immersive technology could do for the TV and film industry.
When asked what immersive technology could do for the future of storytelling in film, Levitt responded, “The future of storytelling, it's going to be video games. I don't think it's going to be filmmakers who figure out how to do that. But [video games] feel like kind of the most groundbreaking storytelling.” Many members of the video game sphere would say the same, with plenty of incredibly immersive games and stories gripping players each and every year. As the industry gets older, the people who make games grow and evolve along with the technology.
Levitt goes on to say that the version of storytelling that games provide and can provide in the features is “in a whole different realm than anything we’ve seen before.” While Levitt himself is not known for working in the video game industry, he has been associated with it a few times. Levitt and his company HitRecord have partnered with Ubisoft twice in the past. Once during E3 2018 for Beyond Good and Evil 2 and again more recently with HitRecord’s partnership with Watch Dogs Legion.
However, HitRecord’s partnership was met with criticism when it was first revealed, with many calling the move exploitative towards the musicians involved. For those unaware, musicians using HitRecord would collaborate to make music for Watch Dogs Legion with a chance of Ubisoft buying the songs they created. However, those musicians who submitted songs that weren’t picked would get nothing for their efforts. Regardless, Levitt still seems to have a lot of faith in what video games can deliver to the world.