After the interesting conference that  Max Giovagnoli  supported during the all-Roman event of  Gamerome  –  The City of Videogames , during which he spoke to us about the design and evolution of stories in video games and cinema,  Game Legends  had the opportunity to ask him some questions. With great grace and courtesy, the first  Italian transmedia producer  , defined as ” one of the 30 voices that are changing the way stories are told in the world “, managed to offer us an in-depth analysis of the issues touched on during the conference and beyond, also giving us new ideas to think about.

During the interview, we were able to tackle issues that are close but at the same time very distant from each other so as to cover a wider spectrum of information capable of giving us an objective vision of the direction in which cinema and video games are moving in this now and in the near future:

Game Legends:  How much in your opinion does cinema “today” enter the world of video games and how much the opposite?

Max Giovagnoli:  The hybridizations are more and more frequent and compelling. Game engines used in VFX and cinematics within games have been the biggest challenges of the past five years. The future will instead be decided on interaction and mixed reality.

Game Legends:  To date, as you have already pointed out, 7D or 9D cinema is not yet exploited by large film productions (max 3D), do you think that one day this technology will also take hold in traditional (or just educational) cinema?

Max Giovagnoli:  It will be able to complement, not replace the current methods of use. Movie goers have today and will have in the future also ages and profiles that are not in line with dynamic, pentasensory or interactive cinema. Technological innovation will never be the “killer application” of traditional cinema. Maybe it will be a new media, or a new media ecosystem.

Game Legends:  In the images from the conference you showed us “The Cave”, do you think this type of technology is shaping the future of the two industries?

Max Giovagnoli:  ILM X Media Lab and Magic Leap are exemplary and very effective high-budget cases, but more and more often we will find small or medium-sized studios that will experiment and create applications and tools capable of expanding the market.

Game Legends:  Don’t you think that a strong sense of “alienation” can be created in children who will use these “immersive” technologies?

Max Giovagnoli:  We are studying ways of engagement that can be inclusive or even “educational” by exploiting above all studies of behavioral psychology, natural philosophy and neurology. Obviously not to fight gambling but to create a type of literacy to the medium that can be positive and communitarian from the beginning. For the moment, the experimentation is still limited to some countries, but very promising.

Game Legends:  Strengths and weaknesses of your profession?

Max Giovagnoli:  I am a transmedia producer, a storyteller and an executive producer at the same time. The risk is that of not knowing how to intercept innovative global processes at the right time. The strong point, on the other hand, is the experience and continuous experimentation on multiplatform storytelling forms.

Game Legends:  The most beautiful and exciting project you have ever worked on?

Max Giovagnoli:  The one I’m working on right now. A franchise that will be a TV series, a trilogy of novels, a game and perhaps a social network for fans. A project with an enigmatic title: MU. I can’t tell you more for the moment, but it’s a great challenge already in this pre-production phase.

The work that the well-known Italian producer is doing at the moment is really interesting, exchanging a few words with Max Giovagnoli made us greatly expand our points of view regarding the conception of new technology and the future it is aiming for. We therefore hope to learn more, not only about the “Immersive Experience” and the next technologies but also about Max’s new work, entitled MU, of which we are eager to know the details. The Game Legends editorial  team  thanks Max Giovagnoli for the opportunity given.