【Esther Moser】
The Esther Moserclassic line "Would you like to play a game?" takes on a whole new meaning in a WarGamesreboot conceived by Sam Barlow.
The Her Storycreator describes the reboot -- officially titled #WarGames-- as an "experimental interactive series." He's developing it with the blessing of rights-holder MGM Studios for Eko, a video storytelling platform that gives viewers a measure of control in shaping the stories they sit down to watch.
SEE ALSO: 'Last Jedi' star played the best Pokémon Go prank on director Rian JohnsonBarlow's experience with Her Storymakes him a great fit for this kind of concept. The 2015 mobile game invites players to investigate a mystery by searching through a police database of live-action interview clips.
You play by entering search terms -- under a strict set of limitations -- into a user interface that resembles a clunky PC desktop from the '90s. A story starts to take shape as you uncover an increasing array of clips, using the information gleaned from each one to inform subsequent searches.
Notably, Her Storydoesn't have an explicit "all is revealed" moment. There's a way to "complete" the game, but even then, the answers aren't ever spelled out for you. The mystery at the heart of the story is somewhat open to interpretation; as with most things in life, there's no clean wrap-up.
All of which is to say: It's exciting to see Barlow's name connected to an "experimental interactive series" based on a sci-fi classic from the late days of the Cold War. The creative force that shaped Her Storycould do great things with a concept like "WarGames, but for the era of Trump."
The series will launch on Eko sometime in 2018, and the debut trailer (above) makes it clear that this story will hinge in some way on real world events. There are many questions still to be answered, but Barlow offered a sense of what to expect in a Twitter thread announcing the news.
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For those who might need a quick refresher: WarGamesis a 1983 film starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays a young hacker who inadvertently breaks into a U.S. military supercomputer that predicts the outcome of nuclear war scenarios.
Broderick's David Lightman, thinking he's found a computer game, tries to play by running a simulation. Unfortunately for him, the supercomputer misinterprets the scenario as an actual nuclear threat and acts to mobilize the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
It's probably safe to assume the story will change somewhat for #WarGames, especially given Barlow's "YA Homeland" and "Teen Blacklist" characterizations.
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