Computers and Hollywood: An Interview with Terry Farrell

There are at least two ways to look at every issue, and multimedia developmentis no exception. So, for all of you programmers who are either consideringbuilding your own interactive title or are already engaged in the process, hereis a view of multimedia game development as seen by someone else: the actors.

The following is a candid conversation I had with actress Terry Farrell forWindows NT Magazine. Farrell is the star of thesoon-to-be-released Treasure Quest game from Sirius Publishing, due out March 22at 12:14 a.m. in your time zone. She has appeared in fea-ture films, and sheplays the role of Dax in the popular television show Star Trek: Deep SpaceNine (ST:DS9). In this interview, Farrell provides valuable insight as tohow actors and actresses feel about computer multimedia, the production process,and where the business is headed.

WNTM: Where do you see the entertainment industry heading over thenext few years? Do you think that more actors' time is going to be spent workingon computer games rather than television and film?

Farrell: I'd like to incorporate the two--have a film come out andthen a game to go with it, like [Disney's] Toy Story so that you canplay the [main] part. Set it up so that [actors] are filming the game at thesame time they are doing the film.

WNTM: What's harder and more work? Acting in front of a blue screenfor a game or on a sound stage for a television show?

Farrell: I think it was completely different. Acting in TreasureQuest, I was looking directly in the camera, and I had more fun because I choseto talk to my best friend. Sometimes it's easier working with people because youhave the interaction. In the interactive game, you are assuming that people knowwhat you are talking about without getting any response while you are [acting].

WNTM: What do you think is going to be more profitable over thecoming years: $60 games or television shows?

Farrell: I think it would be games because the industry has changedso much with videos and [games] being available to people. People can do a lotat home now. They don't go to the theater as much anymore--they'd rather waitfor [movies] on video. But they won't wait for a game.

WNTM: From a marketing standpoint, as well as for entertainmentvalue, it is obviously more attractive to the buyer to have known celebritiesplaying major roles. Does that hurt profitability, or does it make the game sellbetter? What factors should developers be considering when building a newmultimedia title?

Farrell: In my case, I think you'd have to weigh the advantage of mebeing on ST:DS9. My built-in audience of Trekkies happen to be very involvedwith computers, so they find my involvement in a computer game interesting. Itwould seem to be a plus that I have a built-in audience that loves computers. Idon't know whether I attract other people to [the game] because they saw me 10years ago in Paper Dolls, but it would certainly seem that there is abuilt-in marketability with the Trek fans.

Otherwise, I would say that the marketing would have to do with what thegame is about: Who you are trying to attract to play it--are you trying toattract young kids to play it, or adults? What group are you aiming it for?

Sometimes I think that unknown [actors and actresses] are more attractivebecause you don't want somebody's celebrity personality attached to thecharacter. You get worried that [the players] are not going to see past thecelebrity to see the character he or she is playing.

WNTM: Do you think that people will move from pickling their brainsin front of the television to pickling their brains in front of a computerscreen?

Farrell: Don't they already?

WNTM: Would you do another [game] or encourage others in yourposition to consider doing one?

Farrell: I had such a great time working with these people--I hopeit's such a big success that we end up doing two of them. It was fun!

I do think it's "to each his own," that some people wouldn't havea good time doing it because it's very fast. It's much like a commercial in theway that every second counts in what you're doing.

WNTM: How long does it take to put it together, start to finish?

Farrell: Four days for principal photography. I know it sounds fast,but I did 10 characters, five monologues each, and then little pop-ups. That's50 setups in four days--an awful lot of hair and makeup changes. It soundsimpossible. The idea for the game came up about a year ago, and we filmed it inSeptember--so about nine months total. It will be out March 22.

WNTM: What do you see that is bad about computer entertainment orbad about where it is headed?

Farrell: Anything that would numb your mind, I suppose, would bebad. If you just play games with no kind of value or consciousness, that wouldbe bad too. Any kind of [draining] of the brain--when you just simply exist infront of a machine that gives you your life--would be bad.

I think that ratings on the games are a very good thing. It's bad if peopleget desensitized to violence, and I think that television and film have alreadydone that, so that would be an argument against violence in games. But I don'tthink that Treasure Quest is a violent game.

I think you have to consider the intelligence of the people playing thegame.

WNTM: Do game/title developers need more of a conscience whendesigning new stuff, or [should they] leave it up to the consumer?

Farrell: Well, then it's my responsibility, too, because as anactress I have to take the responsibility for taking a part where I have tomurder somebody. Is somebody going to get the idea to kill someone from watchingit? I have to make the assumption that the people watching it are intelligentenough to know that I'm playing a character. I certainly have some fans whocan't distinguish between me playing Dax [on ST:DS9] and me being Terry Farrell.

I think that [social conscience] is not only the film/television/game-industry people's responsibility but also the people who buy thegames. If you find Mortal Kombat offensive, why did you buy it for your kid? Ifind it incredible when people blame things on the people who produce them. Ifpeople keep buying the games, they're going to keep making them.

WNTM: From your experiences creating Treasure Quest, what would youlike to tell other developers to do when working on their projects--or not todo?

Farrell: I think we didn't realize how long it was going to takewith how many changes we had. If we would have had more time to do the setups,then that would have been a good idea. I got the scripts right before westarted. To know what you are saying more in advance [of the filming] so you canmake choices and know the scripts better, rather than having to rely on ateleprompter, is important because you have more confidence doing it when youknow exactly what you're saying.

I work like this all the time, but somebody not used to green screen/bluescreen might have trouble adjusting.

WNTM: Anything else you'd like to share about your first multimediaexperience?

Farrell: I can't wait to see it! It's going to be a trip!