13 ms·

How they filmed The Last of Us arcade scene

231 points by celso 4y ago

no_butterscotch 4y ago
> Another fun fact. It is quite expensive to license some games to show in TV/Movies. > We had some pinball machines and arcade games not make the cut because they were too expensive to license, or the IP owner wasn't licensing that particular game for that use at that particular time. We had a Ms Pac-Man that wouldnt clear because they were not allowing a license at that time. > ...New titles from the 90s were all mostly too expensive to license or use > ...Some licenses only allowed for showing the game in the deep background, or couldn't feature game play, but only attract modes (Street Fighter II for example). "New titles from the 90s" Can anyone on here explain why these IP owners would want to keep their product OUT of these shows? Why would they want to require an agreement/or-money for licensing out when it is free advertising for some old ass IP that could get second life?
- joezydeco 4y ago
  For some of the cases, it's just not worth the time and effort, even for that "old ass IP". If HBO/Warner/Discovery shows up asking to use your title and it takes a lawyer 20-40 hours to iron it out at $200/hr, what's the return? Is someone really going to buy a copy of Ms Pac because they saw it in the background of a zombie show? Some of the IP should have been a slam dunk. I'm surprised Williams/Midway was a hassle since Warner Interactive now owns most of those titles. For things like pinball with licensed titles, that's a huge mess. If you want a Bally Addams Family pin in your show you not only need to contact the slot machine company that owns the Bally pinball IP but you need to contact Paramount Studios, Anjelica Huston's agent, and the estate of the now deceased Raul Julia. Good luck with that.
  - KingMachiavelli 4y ago
    The real question is why do you even need a license? I thought it was well established that you can show copyrighted images/text and trademarked images/text in context - i.e you can show beer and signage of real companies that exist in real life. I really don't understand the value in our currently level of IP law... like you said it often costs more paying lawyers to review contracts than the actual contract is worth.
    - cosmotic 4y ago
      It might just be as simple as a defensive/precautionary maneuver to convert a slam dunk case into a triviality that could be decided in a default judgment. If you can get there blessing even if you don't need it, it's that much less risk.
    - supermatt 4y ago
      You wouldn’t need a license, is the bottom line. It’s CLEARLY fair use to passively display arcade games in a fictional arcade setting, without infringing on the intent of the IP. Unfortunately, in this litigation-happy world we are becoming increasingly risk-averse. There was an article recently on how music is now “co-written” by the influences for that piece, as well as the influences for those influence pieces, etc - just to preempt these kind of legal challenges. It’s fucked up, and it needs to change.
      - actionfromafar 4y ago
        Wasn't it like this forever? Why otherwise all fake brands for cereal, beer and whatnot in movies?
        deleted 4y ago
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        deleted 4y ago
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        supermatt 4y ago
        Someone else responded to you - but they seem to have now deleted it. Those fake brands are either as placeholders for product placement, or the art directors just wanted to have some more fun/control :) Some products - like beer, cigarettes, etc - likely need to be changed due to advertising restrictions on alcohol/tobacco/etc
        joezydeco 4y ago
        There's a myriad of shows where company trademarks are blanked out or modified to something else. Seinfeld is full of this. And I've seen countless shows where actors are using MacBooks or iMacs and the Apple logo on the case is taped over or modified with a different shape. It's not a placeholder for product advertising. Either Apple said no, or wanted some other control over the show's content and oversight on the Mac and the producers refused.
  - boomboomsubban 4y ago
    >? Is someone really going to buy a copy of Ms Pac because they saw it in the background of a zombie show? I bet Steam could release a deal called "Games featured in the hit show The Last of Us" and it'd sell well. The videogame version of an OST.
    - b112 4y ago
      They could! But was this an inked deal when negotiating? Or even mentioned? And now you have made it more complex, because "Games featured" with only Ms Pacman sucks, so you need to get a variety of stakeholders on board, so more meetings, etc. And who codes the pinball games? Engines exist, but...
  - dfxm12 4y ago
    Is someone really going to buy a copy of Ms Pac because they saw it in the background of a zombie show? Do you think the obvious answer is no? Kate Bush's resurgence during the Stranger Things run was so recent...
- 0cf8612b2e1e 4y ago
  It is now morally repugnant to not chase every possible dollar? Unless the brand is directly associated with the big evil of a film, I too am at a loss. Reeses Pieces sales famously had an enormous boost after being featured in the movie ET. Other candy companies had refused to be featured in the film. From a different angle, if a character is seen drinking a Coke Cola, is the film paying for that shot or Coke Cola?
  - b112 4y ago
    From a different angle, if a character is seen drinking a Coke Cola, is the film paying for that shot or Coke Cola? As I understand it, yes! Otherwise, it is a made up brand, with the goal of no freebies. And consider, if this wasn't done, who gets to pick the brand. The actor? Are they already affiliated, and thus, getting kickbacks essentially? Did a writer, the director, props guy, get cash on the side? So, it is fake generics, or paid brands...
- izacus 4y ago
  > Why would they want to require an agreement/or-money for licensing out when it is free advertising for some old ass IP that could get second life? It's because it is "old ass" and has low value - the corporation gets forever monopoly on the IP basically for free. To work out the licensing deal, some appratchik needs to talk to legal and several people need to be dragged into meetings and write reports and write marketing papers and contracts and all the other ceremonies that go with DoingThings(tm) at a corporation. And if noone gets promoted or mentioned in the next performance meeting, it ain't happening. It's not like there's any downside for them to keep the IP locked down and inaccessible forever.
  - willis936 4y ago
    I love that we have a system in place that people with complete disdain for art are in complete control of it. Art is better without love. /s
behnamoh 4y ago
TIL that old-style forums still exist. This brought back memories from 2010s. I don't know what to think about forums anymore though; they definitely do seem to be a thing of the past (esp. when users are hidden behind made-up names and portfolio pictures). Somehow, the comment sections of tiktok videos feels more authentic and alive than dedicated forums.
- cm2187 4y ago
  It's funny because I felt that way with usenet when it progressively got replaced by web based forums...
HlessClaudesman 4y ago
“If in the first act you have hung a Mortal Kombat II poster on the wall, then in the following one it should be played. Otherwise don't put it there.” - Anton Chekhov
- imbnwa 4y ago
  Can sorta tell how old the writers are (or out of touch). In 2003, when the virus outbreak occurred, Tekken Tag Tournament, maybe Soul Calibur, was what you'd find in an arcade, not Mortal Kombat II, game was _ancient_ by that point.
  - King-Aaron 4y ago
    Eh, smaller privately run arcades often use older machines if that's all they can afford.
  - dharmab 4y ago
    I remember in the early 2000s mall arcades in smaller cities and towns were dying and many had old machines. In my town the most popular arcades are almost entirely 80s and 90s machines, many out of order. One is in business mostly as an attraction for the bar on the upper floor.
    - rograndom 4y ago
      And I don't remember ANY virus outbreak and downfall of society in the early 2000's either. This show is so unrealistic.
      - dylan604 4y ago
        they only missed by a couple of decades
  - rahkiin 4y ago
    They replied on a comment about this. They were not able to get licenses on anything post 2000
vehementi 4y ago
They've apparently disabled signup on the forum due to the hug -- anyone actually a member there able to grab and rehost the various cool pictures that are only thumbnails to non-members?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
dezgeg 4y ago
Great stuff, thanks for posting in HN!
wilsynet 4y ago
The first comment was that’s not what an arcade looks like. But they are wrong, some arcades did look like that.
King-Aaron 4y ago
I've had quite a lot of experience with filming around CRT's, and it's impressive how well they achieved these OLED screen replacements in this episode because while watching I was so drawn into the scene that I didn't even have the thought occur of 'how did they manage that without mad amounts of flickering'
- Medox 4y ago
  Not sure for CRT's but TFT flickering can also be edited out afterwards, as seen here after ~22:40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrlU73VcHw&t=1359s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrlU73VcHw&t=1359s
secretsatan 4y ago
Pretty unrealistic Ellie could pull off a fatality despite not knowing how to use a joystick earlier
- b112 4y ago
  Wha? I recall learning things like this in 5, 10 minutes of play. Joysticks are intuitive.
  - secretsatan 4y ago
    I still have trouble.. I'm assuming they found some magazines somewhere that detail the moves so I'll give them that
  - rollulus 4y ago
    Are you saying that you intuitively learned within such a short time of playing that e.g. pressing “←, →, ↓, В” or “→, →, ↑, ↑, Z” during the brief “Finish him!” makes Reptile perform a fatality? I find it hard to see the intuition here.
    - bees_buzz 4y ago
      The creators talk about this in the companion podcast - the idea was that literature/media from these games still exists (which we can see as Ellie has the poster), and the only way you found out about fatalities anyway was via gaming publications/urban legends. Just like in the real world, nobody really learned these combos by trial and error.
      - b112 4y ago
        Just like in the real world, nobody really learned these combos by trial and error Good grief. There was no internet of course, and no gaming magazines in my home town. People read instructions on the machine, and also, tried different things. Everyone I ever met ever, learned such gaming combos, with their friends, by trial and error. Yes, that is how it was done.
low_tech_love 4y ago
Interesting, apparently they made their own CRT ”shader” from scratch. I wonder why not use one of the amazing ones available in something like RetroArch?
- exitb 4y ago
  The show is one of the biggest recent TV releases, it seems like it might be in no one's interest to save money making it.
  - willis936 4y ago
    Yes but some filters in RetroArch are academic-level simulations. CRT-Royale comes to mind. Plenty of levers are exposed to simulate a specific CRT model commonly used in Mk2 cabs. Recreating that level of quality from scratch would be significantly more time and effort.
    - the_doctah 4y ago
      And yet the OP's point stands.
      - willis936 4y ago
        And yet my point stands.
baby 4y ago
Somewhat related, but anyone has noticed hard brigading and moderation to squash bad opinions about the show on Reddit? It sounds genius actually, if you produce content which success heavily relies on public opinion, why not hire a few PR companies to alternate the reality in reddit, youtube, etc. Of course this is just speculation, but as a fan of the games I noticed a lot of weirdness around the reactions. The show obv has some real budget and time constraints, which has meant so far that you don’t really see zombies (which sucks for a zombie show) and some epic scenes from the game have been either totally removed or botched. My opinion: if they remake this show as much as the game, then it’ll eventually become great. A CGI show might make much more sense though (and seeing how good Gantz:O was, or Arcane, it’s totally doable with today’s tech). I hated the third episode because it did nothing to the story, but now I realize that the off episodes (3 and 7) are actually the best ones because at least I have no expectation.
- scld 4y ago
  Why would they make the show about zombies if the game wasn't really about zombies?
- yokoprime 4y ago
  Lots of feeling and few examples of manipulation. Using Occam’s razor, I think it’s more likely people are actually reacting positive to the show, rather than HBO paying some entity to brigade. The risk of being caught is high and it would cause an enormous scandal. I personally like the show, and I’m glad it’s not just another zombie show, I’m pretty fed up with those.
- rahoulb 4y ago
  I like that it doesn’t have many zombies. We’ve all seen loads of them and their rarity means it’s a genuine scare when they appear. (I’ve not played the game though but I’m going to get it now)
  - selykg 4y ago
    Warning, there are a lot more zombies in the game than the show (still not like an insane number, just more). It's different in a way really. The stakes in the game are lower, you can heal yourself and all that, so having a bunch of zombies isn't really death. You can also start at a checkpoint if you die. But in the show the characters can't just heal, and the stakes are low if they can just fight them off easily and or evade them. So by making the zombies scarcer in some ways in the show, but they make those encounters extremely deadly in the show to advance the story. They play a role to telling the story, but are not the point of the story. Also, the game is an action game, so, naturally, zombies are more plentiful or it wouldn't really be an action game so much.
e12e 4y ago
> Nope! we didnt trash anything at all. No arcade games were harmed in the making of this show. Phew! :)
danbruc 4y ago
Another fun fact. It is quite expensive to license some games to show in TV/Movies. What is the logic or justification here? It would never have occurred to me that you have to license games if you are filming in an arcade. Do you have to get a license if you film someone playing on a PlayStation? Playing a board game? Playing with LEGO bricks? Making coffee with a Bialetti? Standing next to a car with trademarked design elements? Is there somewhere some legal clause like you can play with your Game Boy but you can not film it without explicit permission? Is it because in the case of games - or software in general - you are not truly buying it but only getting a license to use it? Do I need a license to film someone using a browser or Photoshop? I mean, I can see that you have to license the music in a film if you make deliberate artistic decision and it really contributes to the scene, but what about some random music playing on a radio in the background? What about the radio in the background of a documentary film?
- deleted 4y ago
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- sbuccini 4y ago
  If I had to guess, it has to do with trademark protection. I went down this rabbit hole when trying to figure out why certain famous buildings were missing from the Spider-Man video game: https://stevenbuccini.com/why-1wtc-isnt-in-spiderman https://stevenbuccini.com/why-1wtc-isnt-in-spiderman
- Karliss 4y ago
  In addition to trademark laws mentioned by other comment. There is also problem of different countries having different laws for product placement. Overall that may result in situation where unless you have a written agreement (and someone is paying to make such agreement) it's safer and simpler to just hide the brands or avoid using a product. Plenty of examples with brands hidden with a masking tape and similar. As for random music playing in background, where I live there was a period where you technically needed a special license if you had radio playing in any place of business. Don't even need to film it. I think they later loosened or clarified it so that it only applies to when it can be heard by customers (like a hair salon or restaurant) but not when it's only for employees in an office or a warehouse. > What about the radio in the background of a documentary film? Copyright and trademark laws complex with a bunch of exceptions for specific cases without which they would be completely impractical. News reporting is usually excluded, whether that also includes Documentaries is not obvious, might vary between countries.
davb 4y ago
It’s amazing how much work went into making it look like an abandoned 2003 arcade, even down to the team worrying about the color of the legs of a machine that might give it away as a more recent release. Then HBO stuff a Papermate Inkjoy RT pen in Sarah’s hand right in the first episode. The Inkjoy brand didn’t appear until around 2012 (and the retractable one was a little later). I’m assuming it was a product placement thing but it was quite in your face. https://productplacementblog.com/tv-series/inkjoy-gel-pen-in-the-last-of-us-s01e01-when-youre-lost-in-the-darkness-2023/ https://productplacementblog.com/tv-series/inkjoy-gel-pen-in...
- differentView 4y ago
  In the video game, the outbreak was in 2013. Maybe the product placement deal was made with that in mind before they changed the outbreak in the TV show to 2003.
  - davb 4y ago
    That’s a great point. Even if it’s not the real reason, it’s plausible and better than “we took one of the brands currently popular products”, especially when they’ve tried so hard (within reason) to get everything else just right.
  - alwayseasy 4y ago
    That's it. 100%
- hotpotamus 4y ago
  I played (and greatly enjoyed) the games, but haven't seen the show, so I don't know how big this arcade scene is, but sometimes it amazes me how much work goes into constructing sets for large TV/Movie productions. I dabble in arcade restoration, so I'm aware of how much of a time and money suck it can be, and to think about how much work would go into just this one scene of one episode shows how easy it is for them to spend millions of dollars per episode on a big show these days.
  - 4y ago
andrewmartin1 4y ago
[flagged]
arrowsmith 4y ago
Link to watch the actual scene: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5lmAsCi7Asw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5lmAsCi7Asw
mgkimsal 4y ago
a bit OT, but I've noticed over the past 20+ years that almost every movie/tv show that shows someone playing video games will play the same 40 year old sounds. I'm always hearing the arcade Defender shooting and thrusting sounds, and occasionally Atari 2600 Pacman sounds. Are these just 'public domain'? Why don't we hear more 'real' video game/arcade sounds?
- raldi 4y ago
  Probably in 1980, someone got licenses from all the game producers to include them in a royalty-free album that became an essential item for the sound department at every production company, and soon after, game companies stopped being willing to sign such deals.

231 points by celso 4y ago

> Another fun fact. It is quite expensive to license some games to show in TV/Movies. > We had some pinball machines and arcade games not make the cut because they were too expensive to license, or the IP owner wasn't licensing that particular game for that use at that particular time. We had a Ms Pac-Man that wouldnt clear because they were not allowing a license at that time. > ...New titles from the 90s were all mostly too expensive to license or use > ...Some licenses only allowed for showing the game in the deep background, or couldn't feature game play, but only attract modes (Street Fighter II for example). "New titles from the 90s" Can anyone on here explain why these IP owners would want to keep their product OUT of these shows? Why would they want to require an agreement/or-money for licensing out when it is free advertising for some old ass IP that could get second life?

joezydeco 4y ago
For some of the cases, it's just not worth the time and effort, even for that "old ass IP". If HBO/Warner/Discovery shows up asking to use your title and it takes a lawyer 20-40 hours to iron it out at $200/hr, what's the return? Is someone really going to buy a copy of Ms Pac because they saw it in the background of a zombie show? Some of the IP should have been a slam dunk. I'm surprised Williams/Midway was a hassle since Warner Interactive now owns most of those titles. For things like pinball with licensed titles, that's a huge mess. If you want a Bally Addams Family pin in your show you not only need to contact the slot machine company that owns the Bally pinball IP but you need to contact Paramount Studios, Anjelica Huston's agent, and the estate of the now deceased Raul Julia. Good luck with that.
- KingMachiavelli 4y ago
  The real question is why do you even need a license? I thought it was well established that you can show copyrighted images/text and trademarked images/text in context - i.e you can show beer and signage of real companies that exist in real life. I really don't understand the value in our currently level of IP law... like you said it often costs more paying lawyers to review contracts than the actual contract is worth.
  - cosmotic 4y ago
    It might just be as simple as a defensive/precautionary maneuver to convert a slam dunk case into a triviality that could be decided in a default judgment. If you can get there blessing even if you don't need it, it's that much less risk.
  - supermatt 4y ago
    You wouldn’t need a license, is the bottom line. It’s CLEARLY fair use to passively display arcade games in a fictional arcade setting, without infringing on the intent of the IP. Unfortunately, in this litigation-happy world we are becoming increasingly risk-averse. There was an article recently on how music is now “co-written” by the influences for that piece, as well as the influences for those influence pieces, etc - just to preempt these kind of legal challenges. It’s fucked up, and it needs to change.
    - actionfromafar 4y ago
      Wasn't it like this forever? Why otherwise all fake brands for cereal, beer and whatnot in movies?
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - supermatt 4y ago
        Someone else responded to you - but they seem to have now deleted it. Those fake brands are either as placeholders for product placement, or the art directors just wanted to have some more fun/control :) Some products - like beer, cigarettes, etc - likely need to be changed due to advertising restrictions on alcohol/tobacco/etc
        joezydeco 4y ago
        There's a myriad of shows where company trademarks are blanked out or modified to something else. Seinfeld is full of this. And I've seen countless shows where actors are using MacBooks or iMacs and the Apple logo on the case is taped over or modified with a different shape. It's not a placeholder for product advertising. Either Apple said no, or wanted some other control over the show's content and oversight on the Mac and the producers refused.
- boomboomsubban 4y ago
  >? Is someone really going to buy a copy of Ms Pac because they saw it in the background of a zombie show? I bet Steam could release a deal called "Games featured in the hit show The Last of Us" and it'd sell well. The videogame version of an OST.
  - b112 4y ago
    They could! But was this an inked deal when negotiating? Or even mentioned? And now you have made it more complex, because "Games featured" with only Ms Pacman sucks, so you need to get a variety of stakeholders on board, so more meetings, etc. And who codes the pinball games? Engines exist, but...
- dfxm12 4y ago
  Is someone really going to buy a copy of Ms Pac because they saw it in the background of a zombie show? Do you think the obvious answer is no? Kate Bush's resurgence during the Stranger Things run was so recent...
0cf8612b2e1e 4y ago
It is now morally repugnant to not chase every possible dollar? Unless the brand is directly associated with the big evil of a film, I too am at a loss. Reeses Pieces sales famously had an enormous boost after being featured in the movie ET. Other candy companies had refused to be featured in the film. From a different angle, if a character is seen drinking a Coke Cola, is the film paying for that shot or Coke Cola?
- b112 4y ago
  From a different angle, if a character is seen drinking a Coke Cola, is the film paying for that shot or Coke Cola? As I understand it, yes! Otherwise, it is a made up brand, with the goal of no freebies. And consider, if this wasn't done, who gets to pick the brand. The actor? Are they already affiliated, and thus, getting kickbacks essentially? Did a writer, the director, props guy, get cash on the side? So, it is fake generics, or paid brands...
izacus 4y ago
> Why would they want to require an agreement/or-money for licensing out when it is free advertising for some old ass IP that could get second life? It's because it is "old ass" and has low value - the corporation gets forever monopoly on the IP basically for free. To work out the licensing deal, some appratchik needs to talk to legal and several people need to be dragged into meetings and write reports and write marketing papers and contracts and all the other ceremonies that go with DoingThings(tm) at a corporation. And if noone gets promoted or mentioned in the next performance meeting, it ain't happening. It's not like there's any downside for them to keep the IP locked down and inaccessible forever.
- willis936 4y ago
  I love that we have a system in place that people with complete disdain for art are in complete control of it. Art is better without love. /s

behnamoh 4y ago

TIL that old-style forums still exist. This brought back memories from 2010s. I don't know what to think about forums anymore though; they definitely do seem to be a thing of the past (esp. when users are hidden behind made-up names and portfolio pictures). Somehow, the comment sections of tiktok videos feels more authentic and alive than dedicated forums.

cm2187 4y ago
It's funny because I felt that way with usenet when it progressively got replaced by web based forums...

HlessClaudesman 4y ago

“If in the first act you have hung a Mortal Kombat II poster on the wall, then in the following one it should be played. Otherwise don't put it there.” - Anton Chekhov

imbnwa 4y ago
Can sorta tell how old the writers are (or out of touch). In 2003, when the virus outbreak occurred, Tekken Tag Tournament, maybe Soul Calibur, was what you'd find in an arcade, not Mortal Kombat II, game was _ancient_ by that point.
- King-Aaron 4y ago
  Eh, smaller privately run arcades often use older machines if that's all they can afford.
- dharmab 4y ago
  I remember in the early 2000s mall arcades in smaller cities and towns were dying and many had old machines. In my town the most popular arcades are almost entirely 80s and 90s machines, many out of order. One is in business mostly as an attraction for the bar on the upper floor.
  - rograndom 4y ago
    And I don't remember ANY virus outbreak and downfall of society in the early 2000's either. This show is so unrealistic.
    - dylan604 4y ago
      they only missed by a couple of decades
- rahkiin 4y ago
  They replied on a comment about this. They were not able to get licenses on anything post 2000

vehementi 4y ago

They've apparently disabled signup on the forum due to the hug -- anyone actually a member there able to grab and rehost the various cool pictures that are only thumbnails to non-members?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

dezgeg 4y ago

Great stuff, thanks for posting in HN!

wilsynet 4y ago

The first comment was that’s not what an arcade looks like. But they are wrong, some arcades did look like that.

King-Aaron 4y ago

I've had quite a lot of experience with filming around CRT's, and it's impressive how well they achieved these OLED screen replacements in this episode because while watching I was so drawn into the scene that I didn't even have the thought occur of 'how did they manage that without mad amounts of flickering'

Medox 4y ago
Not sure for CRT's but TFT flickering can also be edited out afterwards, as seen here after ~22:40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrlU73VcHw&t=1359s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrlU73VcHw&t=1359s

secretsatan 4y ago

Pretty unrealistic Ellie could pull off a fatality despite not knowing how to use a joystick earlier

b112 4y ago
Wha? I recall learning things like this in 5, 10 minutes of play. Joysticks are intuitive.
- secretsatan 4y ago
  I still have trouble.. I'm assuming they found some magazines somewhere that detail the moves so I'll give them that
- rollulus 4y ago
  Are you saying that you intuitively learned within such a short time of playing that e.g. pressing “←, →, ↓, В” or “→, →, ↑, ↑, Z” during the brief “Finish him!” makes Reptile perform a fatality? I find it hard to see the intuition here.
  - bees_buzz 4y ago
    The creators talk about this in the companion podcast - the idea was that literature/media from these games still exists (which we can see as Ellie has the poster), and the only way you found out about fatalities anyway was via gaming publications/urban legends. Just like in the real world, nobody really learned these combos by trial and error.
    - b112 4y ago
      Just like in the real world, nobody really learned these combos by trial and error Good grief. There was no internet of course, and no gaming magazines in my home town. People read instructions on the machine, and also, tried different things. Everyone I ever met ever, learned such gaming combos, with their friends, by trial and error. Yes, that is how it was done.

low_tech_love 4y ago

Interesting, apparently they made their own CRT ”shader” from scratch. I wonder why not use one of the amazing ones available in something like RetroArch?

exitb 4y ago
The show is one of the biggest recent TV releases, it seems like it might be in no one's interest to save money making it.
- willis936 4y ago
  Yes but some filters in RetroArch are academic-level simulations. CRT-Royale comes to mind. Plenty of levers are exposed to simulate a specific CRT model commonly used in Mk2 cabs. Recreating that level of quality from scratch would be significantly more time and effort.
  - the_doctah 4y ago
    And yet the OP's point stands.
    - willis936 4y ago
      And yet my point stands.

baby 4y ago

Somewhat related, but anyone has noticed hard brigading and moderation to squash bad opinions about the show on Reddit? It sounds genius actually, if you produce content which success heavily relies on public opinion, why not hire a few PR companies to alternate the reality in reddit, youtube, etc. Of course this is just speculation, but as a fan of the games I noticed a lot of weirdness around the reactions. The show obv has some real budget and time constraints, which has meant so far that you don’t really see zombies (which sucks for a zombie show) and some epic scenes from the game have been either totally removed or botched. My opinion: if they remake this show as much as the game, then it’ll eventually become great. A CGI show might make much more sense though (and seeing how good Gantz:O was, or Arcane, it’s totally doable with today’s tech). I hated the third episode because it did nothing to the story, but now I realize that the off episodes (3 and 7) are actually the best ones because at least I have no expectation.

scld 4y ago
Why would they make the show about zombies if the game wasn't really about zombies?
yokoprime 4y ago
Lots of feeling and few examples of manipulation. Using Occam’s razor, I think it’s more likely people are actually reacting positive to the show, rather than HBO paying some entity to brigade. The risk of being caught is high and it would cause an enormous scandal. I personally like the show, and I’m glad it’s not just another zombie show, I’m pretty fed up with those.
rahoulb 4y ago
I like that it doesn’t have many zombies. We’ve all seen loads of them and their rarity means it’s a genuine scare when they appear. (I’ve not played the game though but I’m going to get it now)
- selykg 4y ago
  Warning, there are a lot more zombies in the game than the show (still not like an insane number, just more). It's different in a way really. The stakes in the game are lower, you can heal yourself and all that, so having a bunch of zombies isn't really death. You can also start at a checkpoint if you die. But in the show the characters can't just heal, and the stakes are low if they can just fight them off easily and or evade them. So by making the zombies scarcer in some ways in the show, but they make those encounters extremely deadly in the show to advance the story. They play a role to telling the story, but are not the point of the story. Also, the game is an action game, so, naturally, zombies are more plentiful or it wouldn't really be an action game so much.

e12e 4y ago

> Nope! we didnt trash anything at all. No arcade games were harmed in the making of this show. Phew! :)

danbruc 4y ago

Another fun fact. It is quite expensive to license some games to show in TV/Movies. What is the logic or justification here? It would never have occurred to me that you have to license games if you are filming in an arcade. Do you have to get a license if you film someone playing on a PlayStation? Playing a board game? Playing with LEGO bricks? Making coffee with a Bialetti? Standing next to a car with trademarked design elements? Is there somewhere some legal clause like you can play with your Game Boy but you can not film it without explicit permission? Is it because in the case of games - or software in general - you are not truly buying it but only getting a license to use it? Do I need a license to film someone using a browser or Photoshop? I mean, I can see that you have to license the music in a film if you make deliberate artistic decision and it really contributes to the scene, but what about some random music playing on a radio in the background? What about the radio in the background of a documentary film?

deleted 4y ago
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sbuccini 4y ago
If I had to guess, it has to do with trademark protection. I went down this rabbit hole when trying to figure out why certain famous buildings were missing from the Spider-Man video game: https://stevenbuccini.com/why-1wtc-isnt-in-spiderman https://stevenbuccini.com/why-1wtc-isnt-in-spiderman
Karliss 4y ago
In addition to trademark laws mentioned by other comment. There is also problem of different countries having different laws for product placement. Overall that may result in situation where unless you have a written agreement (and someone is paying to make such agreement) it's safer and simpler to just hide the brands or avoid using a product. Plenty of examples with brands hidden with a masking tape and similar. As for random music playing in background, where I live there was a period where you technically needed a special license if you had radio playing in any place of business. Don't even need to film it. I think they later loosened or clarified it so that it only applies to when it can be heard by customers (like a hair salon or restaurant) but not when it's only for employees in an office or a warehouse. > What about the radio in the background of a documentary film? Copyright and trademark laws complex with a bunch of exceptions for specific cases without which they would be completely impractical. News reporting is usually excluded, whether that also includes Documentaries is not obvious, might vary between countries.

davb 4y ago

It’s amazing how much work went into making it look like an abandoned 2003 arcade, even down to the team worrying about the color of the legs of a machine that might give it away as a more recent release. Then HBO stuff a Papermate Inkjoy RT pen in Sarah’s hand right in the first episode. The Inkjoy brand didn’t appear until around 2012 (and the retractable one was a little later). I’m assuming it was a product placement thing but it was quite in your face. https://productplacementblog.com/tv-series/inkjoy-gel-pen-in-the-last-of-us-s01e01-when-youre-lost-in-the-darkness-2023/ https://productplacementblog.com/tv-series/inkjoy-gel-pen-in...

differentView 4y ago
In the video game, the outbreak was in 2013. Maybe the product placement deal was made with that in mind before they changed the outbreak in the TV show to 2003.
- davb 4y ago
  That’s a great point. Even if it’s not the real reason, it’s plausible and better than “we took one of the brands currently popular products”, especially when they’ve tried so hard (within reason) to get everything else just right.
- alwayseasy 4y ago
  That's it. 100%
hotpotamus 4y ago
I played (and greatly enjoyed) the games, but haven't seen the show, so I don't know how big this arcade scene is, but sometimes it amazes me how much work goes into constructing sets for large TV/Movie productions. I dabble in arcade restoration, so I'm aware of how much of a time and money suck it can be, and to think about how much work would go into just this one scene of one episode shows how easy it is for them to spend millions of dollars per episode on a big show these days.
- 4y ago

andrewmartin1 4y ago

[flagged]

arrowsmith 4y ago

Link to watch the actual scene: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5lmAsCi7Asw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5lmAsCi7Asw

mgkimsal 4y ago

a bit OT, but I've noticed over the past 20+ years that almost every movie/tv show that shows someone playing video games will play the same 40 year old sounds. I'm always hearing the arcade Defender shooting and thrusting sounds, and occasionally Atari 2600 Pacman sounds. Are these just 'public domain'? Why don't we hear more 'real' video game/arcade sounds?

raldi 4y ago
Probably in 1980, someone got licenses from all the game producers to include them in a royalty-free album that became an essential item for the sound department at every production company, and soon after, game companies stopped being willing to sign such deals.