"Takayuki, if you want to develop movie rights, I can help you. You know, this is definitely my area of expertise. I have an excellent film production team, and you have some of the hottest IPs right now. If you're willing to collaborate, we will absolutely be the perfect match," Tukairev eagerly pitched his film company over the phone.
Since their deeper cooperation began, the relationship between Gamestar Electronic Entertainment and Tukairev's company had been very smooth, particularly in terms of film-game adaptations, special effects production, and even advertising shoots.
Gamestar Electronic Entertainment occasionally thought about making some film works, and one of their spin-off projects, Zombie World War, based on Resident Evil, was already underway under Tukairev's direction.
The mere release of a teaser for Zombie World War had already drawn massive attention from players. It had received excellent ratings in online surveys, and players were eager to spend money to see it in theaters.
With a fanbase of gamers already in place, the film was virtually guaranteed to not lose money. Based on the script he had seen and the ideas provided by Takayuki, Tukairev was confident this would be a blockbuster.
After this success, Tukairev began focusing more on other Gamestar Electronic Entertainment titles.
...
Any of their spin-off series, such as Castlevania or Contra, could definitely attract a lot of players.
If he could persuade Takayuki to allow adaptations of Mario, Final Fantasy, and other iconic franchises into films, he imagined he would be smiling ear to ear.
Unfortunately, Takayuki had always been conservative and cautious when it came to licensing his games for film adaptations. However, if Tukairev was interested in adapting games into films, Takayuki was happy to offer his help.
Having seen countless failed adaptations of games into films in his previous life, Takayuki had no interest in tarnishing his reputation by producing subpar films.
But recently, Takayuki had approached Tukairev, asking for help in finding affordable but capable actors and director interns for a new project.
Upon hearing these requests, Tukairev immediately thought Takayuki was planning to go solo and handle the game-to-film adaptations on his own.
This made Tukairev anxious, as he hoped to persuade Takayuki to let him handle the entire process of game-to-film adaptations.
He was confident he was more professional in the film industry, and Takayuki had often said that "specialized skills should remain within their own domain," and that he wouldn't easily venture into other industries unless necessary.
Hearing Tukairev's self-praise, Takayuki realized that Tukairev had misunderstood.
"Tukairev, sorry if I wasn't clear earlier. I'm not looking to do any game-to-film adaptation business on my own. Professional matters should be handled by professionals, and that's what I've always believed. I'm asking you for actors, directors, and writers, not for making movies, but for making games."
"Ah? Making games?"
Upon hearing Takayuki's honest explanation, Tukairev let out a sigh of relief.
However, the idea of using directors and actors for game development still surprised him.
In Tukairev's view, the only link between video games and film was the simple game-to-film adaptation, or vice versa.
After all, he had never seen a game with cinematic storytelling.
Most of the games Gamestar Electronic Entertainment had developed so far focused primarily on gameplay.
It was only with recent works like Resident Evil and Metroid that had begun to show some hints of cinematic storytelling, though they didn't fully achieve it.
Takayuki, on the other hand, believed that the true cinematic storytelling in games was exemplified by works like Uncharted and the later Metal Gear games. He wanted to create a complete cinematic narrative game, something that he could fully express with this new Metal Gear project.
"Ah, I see now. Takayuki, you're aiming to create a live-action game, right? You should have said so earlier. This is simple. I'll give you a list right now with some of the actors I recommend. They're excellent, and they'll definitely accept modest compensation if I arrange it for you," Tukairev said, eager to help.
Takayuki shook his head. "No, I'm not looking to make a live-action game. What I want to do is use new technologies, like motion capture, combined with cinematic techniques, to create a unique game. I can't explain it fully right now, but you'll see it once we develop it."
"Oh... I understand... Well, that's fine," Tukairev said, a little unsure about game development but still more focused on the partnership with Takayuki and the many popular IPs he owned.
He was confident that with just one of these IPs, if the adaptation quality wasn't too bad, it could easily grab a piece of the film market.
Since Takayuki wasn't focused on production for now, Tukairev felt there was no reason to worry. He believed that if Takayuki truly wanted help with game-to-film adaptations, he would definitely be the first choice given their relationship.
"What kind of actors and directors do you need, and how long will you need them? I can get them for you," Tukairev asked eagerly.
Takayuki paused for a moment before responding, "I hope that these people can become my long-term employees to assist with future game development."
Tukairev was momentarily stunned. "Long-term employees? Takayuki, I thought you just needed a director and actors for a game project? I thought..."
Takayuki replied, "I want to create an entirely new game development system, the cinematic storytelling system I mentioned. It requires professionals in filmmaking and a strong grasp of game development, so I'm not looking for well-known directors or actors. Such people would never give up their established positions to explore a new and unknown industry. What I need are capable individuals who are still constrained by their current status. Do you understand?"
"Honestly, you've got me a bit confused, but I think I get it," Tukairev said, pondering for a moment. "Actually, I might have a few recommendations that match your criteria."