It’s funny how two video games based off classic Simpsons gags making fun of licensed movie games came out around the same time last year, Kevin Costner’s Waterworld and My Dinner with Andre, and how both are quality beyond being just mere gag games. Waterworld is more intentionally a gag game, but the creator, streamer Macaw45, is an actual fan of Waterworld and not only manages to extend a couple of second long gag into a fleshed out arcade game but infuses it with a loving attention to detail and easter eggs to the film. My Dinner with Andre is similar, taking a short gag and also making a quality game with it, but I think it goes one step further by really tying into what the original film was about.
I just recently finished watching the original film for the first time, playing the game thanks to Nerdietalk’s review is what finally pushed me to watch it. Having seen the movie really gives a clearer understanding of how well this ten minute game manages to capture the spirit of the film but shifting it in a different, yet similar direction. Wally and Andre are veterans of the stage both in the film and in real life, a major focus of the movie and the conversations Wally and Andre have is Andre’s disillusionment with modern theatre and the alienation of capitalist Western society and how he tries to persuade Wally to be more perceptive of the world around him. In the game Wally and Andre are changed to be game developers; this could be construed as being on the nose at first blush, but it recontextualizes the themes and discussions of the film in a new light. The modern video game industry is rife with problems akin to what drove Andre away from theatre in the film which the game version expresses; how commercialized and alienating the corporate AAA industry is, how the industry degrades and predates on those who have passion for expressing their craft in the medium, how hard it can be to struggle as an indie dev, similar to how Wally struggled to get his plays performed or getting acting gigs etc. The game ends on a much clear-cut and tidier bow at the end than the movie did, but it still fits with how the movie ends with Wally gaining a better appreciation and awareness of his life and the world around him.
Overall way better than a game based on a classic Simpsons gag deserves to be and a genuine solid video game adaptation of a movie. Check it out.
I just recently finished watching the original film for the first time, playing the game thanks to Nerdietalk’s review is what finally pushed me to watch it. Having seen the movie really gives a clearer understanding of how well this ten minute game manages to capture the spirit of the film but shifting it in a different, yet similar direction. Wally and Andre are veterans of the stage both in the film and in real life, a major focus of the movie and the conversations Wally and Andre have is Andre’s disillusionment with modern theatre and the alienation of capitalist Western society and how he tries to persuade Wally to be more perceptive of the world around him. In the game Wally and Andre are changed to be game developers; this could be construed as being on the nose at first blush, but it recontextualizes the themes and discussions of the film in a new light. The modern video game industry is rife with problems akin to what drove Andre away from theatre in the film which the game version expresses; how commercialized and alienating the corporate AAA industry is, how the industry degrades and predates on those who have passion for expressing their craft in the medium, how hard it can be to struggle as an indie dev, similar to how Wally struggled to get his plays performed or getting acting gigs etc. The game ends on a much clear-cut and tidier bow at the end than the movie did, but it still fits with how the movie ends with Wally gaining a better appreciation and awareness of his life and the world around him.
Overall way better than a game based on a classic Simpsons gag deserves to be and a genuine solid video game adaptation of a movie. Check it out.