-JEFF: We insert. -(COIN RATTLING)
Ah, something's happening.
Okay. Hey, I'm going. Wow.
And now I did it. Goodbye. Goodbye.
(CHUCKLES) I'm unexpectedly doing very well.
Oh! I failed miserably.
Pac-Man was one of the last things that I played way back
in the Johnson Administration, possibly.
And I was just told I'm a button masher,
which means you don't know anything about games, so you just...
So you just keep mashing up those buttons,
and... and not knowing what you're doing, really.
That's kind of... That's me in a nutshell.
(RETRO ARCADE GAME MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: But times have been a-changing, and gaming has evolved.
(GROANS)
-(THEME MUSIC PLAYING) -(GRUNTS)
A hundred and twenty-five million users around the world.
Three hundred million dollars in revenue last month alone.
REPORTER: A teenager from Pennsylvania becomes a millionaire in three days,
winning the first-ever Fortnite Solo Championship,
collecting the grand prize, three million dollars.
-(MUSIC PLAYING) -Hey. (LAUGHS)
So, please, come with me... By the way, I'm Jeff Goldblum.
...as I discover a brave new digital world
that's turned into a cultural phenomenon.
We are, um, at a sports arena.
(CROWD CHEERING)
What are we gonna see?
(MUSIC PLAYING)
We could be here for the Super Bowl.
We could be here to see The Rolling Stones or Ariana Grande.
But it's none of those things.
We're here for a certain kind of sporting event.
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
In fact, until a little bit ago, I didn't even know
this was a sporting event.
Well, this is something called eSports. It's the ultimate manifestation of gaming,
a billion-dollar industry which reaches over 400 million viewers.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Welcome to the CORSAIR DreamHack Masters Dallas Finals!
JEFF: This is, from what they tell me, an eSports tournament
of a game called Counter-Strike,
where 16 elite gaming teams from across the globe
go head to head in a shoot-'em-up.
(CHEERING)
JEFF: We don't know why they're fighting each other.
There's not a good guy or a bad guy.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
JEFF: To help indoctrinate me, I'm gonna meet
one of the European legends of eSports, the crack squad
that make up the team from France, Vitality.
Right? Vitality. That's what we want, Vital...
-(KEYBOARD TAPPING) -(MOUSE CLICKING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(WHISPERS) They're practicing.
(VITALITY MEMBER CHUCKLING)
Hi, guys. I don't wanna interrupt you, because this is the big day.
-NATHAN: Right. -JEFF: Because what I think you're doing
is warming up, right?
We are currently looking at what our opponents are doing in the game.
Most of the best teams in the world
-are here, so... -JEFF: Oh.
It's like the tape. It's like in football. You look at the tape.
-Exactly. Yes. -The tape of the opponent. Yeah.
By the way, you get any money if you win this, or is it...
-Uh, the first prize is 100k. -(ALEX MUTTERS)
Um, the room is spinning. Did you just say 100,000 dollars?
-DAN: Yes. -JEFF: Wow.
MATTHIEU: Sorry, Jeff. The guys need
-to eat something before the game. -(STUTTERING)
Good managing. Well, good luck. I hope I'll see you in the winner's circle.
Okay. How about "Vitality" on three.
-Ready? Don't you do this? Ready? -(CHUCKLES)
-All right. -On... on three, Vitality.
-One, two, three. -ALL: Vitality.
-Whoo! -Yeah, less than a hundred percent vital,
but still.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
(SINGING IN FRENCH)
Let's go. Let's get out of their hair.
ANNOUNCER: Put your hands together for Vitality!
That's our team. That's our team.
JEFF: Our friends from Vitality
are about to go three rounds with the Brazilian team, FURIA.
The creme de la creme of Europe taking on the might of Latin America.
Looks like a quaint European village has turned out into a combat zone.
-GAMER: One... -(MAN EXCLAIMS, CHUCKLES)
-(CROWD GASPS) -And they're moderating it
as if it's a sporting event.
-(EXPLOSION) -JEFF: Uh...
(CROWD CHEERING)
And they're applauding.
-(CROWD GASPS) -This is something else.
JEFF: The first match is over.
I'm gonna see somebody who can tell me more about all of this.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-Hi, Frankie. Frankie Ward. -Hello. Hello.
My God. Look, and you watch the game and you broadcast to who... whom?
To sometimes billions of people around the world.
A lot of our audience watch us on a platform called Twitch.
-Oh, Twitch. -So, like YouTube, but live.
-They'll be watching this. However... -JEFF: Wait a minute.
-JEFF: This is still Vitality and FUR... -FRANKIE: It's still Vitality and FURIA.
-JEFF: Oh, right. -FRANKIE: So, what we can see
right now is ALEX is the last player standing on Vitality.
He's trying to defend the bomb plant. It's now a one-v-one between arT and ALEX.
ALEX is very low on health. He's only got 27 HP, but he has got a USP,
which is a bit more accurate than the gun that arT has.
So, Vitality are in a very, very desperate situation right now.
-So this is an upset? -This is definitely an upset.
If... if Vitality loses, I... I'm a little bit to blame, possibly.
-(LAUGHS) -Now, but I think I pestered them
a little, may have thrown them off their game.
FRANKIE: If FURIA win this second map, then that's it.
And I have to run out there and do an interview
-with one of the players from that team. -Oh.
-And they could win anytime? -We should go to the stage.
(CHEERING)
There she goes. She's actually running. Quick sticks. Quick sticks.
MAN: Vitality needs something immediately
to try and keep themselves in the tournament.
COMMENTATOR: ALEX is the last one left, then.
Well, that's gonna be all over, 16-8, as FURIA takes down Vitality
and make their way to the semi-final here at the...
JEFF: Uh-oh.
What happened? What happened? I missed it.
-FEMALE VOICE: It's over. -It's over?
-Who won? -FEMALE VOICE: They won. Vitality lost.
Vitality lost.
We'd better hightail it out of here. They're gonna be after me.
(CROWD CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
I... I was overwhelmed with so many sights and sounds, and ideas.
This business of war play and weaponry. (IMITATING GUNFIRE)
I did find it strongly provocative.
And it did kind of shock me in that way.
-(CAMERA SHUTTERS) -JEFF: Well, at this point, I think
it's a good time for a little history lesson
so we can all get up to speed.
1958, and it all began with this.
Tennis for Two, it was called.
It was the brainchild, as it turns out, of a nuclear physicist
who was on a personal mission
to get the average Joe interested in the dull, old computer.
It was a decade later that we had games that we could play at home,
including the hyperbolically entitled Chase.
And then in the '70s, it got a little more exciting
when I vaguely remember Pong and Space Invaders.
And then came the '80s,
when a Japanese company that started out as a manufacturer of playing cards,
Nintendo, got into video games.
Ever since then, the big-name companies have been on a technological arms race
to compete for even bigger and better and more immersive games.
And then you add the Internet to that, and live streaming, and virtual reality,
and that, my friends, is how we get to where we are today.
JEFF: Look, I'm all for, you know, passion,
but I'll be a ring-tailed monkey if I understand
why somebody would wanna play video games for hours and hours and hours.
I know that people get wildly immersed in them,
so there must be some craft in...
in constructing the darn things, right?
-(LAUGHS) -JEFF: So let's take a visit and see
if we can meet a couple of these creative types
who can, um, let us in on some of the tricks of the trade.
-(DOORBELL RINGS) -(IMITATING DOORBELL)
It's beautiful, right?
-Hey. -Look at you!
(LAUGHS)
ADAM: Welcome to Moonwalk Audio.
This is something. Hey, this is something.
Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't drink you in.
JEFF: This is Alex, and this is Adam,
and they're the auditory artists who comprise Moonwalk Audio.
I love your tattooing.
ADAM: It's part of our work uniform.
JEFF: They've created the sound design on over 600 video games.
Of course, they're focused on what you hear, not on what you see.
That's the important part to them.
ADAM: We wanna show you something that we've been working on,
called Wonka's World of Candy.
I'm not made for this stuff. I think my brain is...
What if I did that? Ah!
-I got something! -You got one! That's awesome.
ADAM: We're gonna have you make some sounds with us,
and then we're gonna put them in the game and show you what they might look like.
-Okay. -ADAM: Here's a video
of something that we're gonna add some sound to.
Bubbles coming out. There's all kinds of stuff going on.
ADAM: Popping bubbles. You can see we have an Oompa Loompa
coming up to a crank and pulling the lever.
I got you. Um, let me make some sounds...
-ALEX: Great. -...to this particular thing.
-JEFF: Okay. (CHUCKLES) -ADAM: Roll those sleeves up. Yup.
-Okay. Okay. -(SPLASHES)
-ADAM: Lovely. -JEFF: Lovely?
-Got that sizzle on the end. It's good. -ADAM: Yeah.
We're trying to get a really big squish out of this.
(PAPAYA SQUISHES)
(ADAM CHUCKLES)
-ADAM: You did it. Good job. -JEFF: That's enough of that.
-JEFF: God in heaven. -Oh.
JEFF: Now, listen to this. I like that squeak.
-Yes. See? You got it. -(METAL SQUEAKING)
Oompa Loompa, pull the lever.
(METAL THUDS)
-That's a great sound. -Oh, my God. That is a great sound.
-Now I'm gonna blow some bubbles. Ready? -ADAM: Mm-hmm.
-Yeah. -Okay...
-For heaven's sakes. -(ADAM LAUGHS)
ADAM: Sound design in film is not so different
from sound design in video games.
The difference is, is how we use those sounds in the games.
How's it different than movies?
Well, when you watch a movie, it's a very linear experience, right?
But in a video game,
all of that stuff is really player indicated and controlled.
We're building very satisfying sounds here
because you're gonna hear them over and over again.
Sometimes those sounds act as rewards, too.
JEFF: While Alex goes off to, uh, create some of these rewarding sounds,
there's one final touch, uh, which involves me,
-and I get to noodle a little. Watch this. -(PIANO PLAYING)
Yeah. What would it do in the keys?
Okay. That's... that's a good one. That's a pretty easy one.
Now, give me something that's slightly more complex.
-Awesome. Keep that in there. -That's our show. Drive safely.
(LAUGHS) Now, I can add
the rest of the orchestra to that, and we can pop it in the game.
(GAME MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Holy cats. It's cooked? Is it soup yet?
We've got all the sounds in, all the music's in.
I'm all ears and eyes.
-ADAM: All right, so... JEFF: By the way,
did you know that I can wiggle one ear at a time?
ADAM: That's fantastic.
Hey! Here we go.
-I'm gonna see it on the screen, too? -ADAM: Yup. Over there.
-Oh! -And there's your piano playing.
(PIANO PLAYING)
-(WATER BUBBLING) -ALEX: Yeah. Crunch.
-ADAM: Oh, there's the bubbles. -ALEX: Here's your bubbles!
That's me. That's my mouth.
-(MUSIC CHANGES) -Uh-oh. Something big's gonna happen.
ALEX: Oh, splatty-splatters.
Do you recognize that music that you played? Now with full orchestra.
(GAME MUSIC PLAYING)
-There we go. -ALEX: Oh, here's the best part.
-ALEX: This is all you. -JEFF: Barbecue.
(METAL SQUEAKS, THUDS)
There it is. Do you feel rewarded?
But you know what? I don't know why, maybe it's watching the candy,
maybe it's being around your positive attitude,
you've won me over.
-ADAM: (LAUGHS) -That's great. (CHUCKLES) I knew we would.
I think, as with so many things in life, don't you find that...
when you're on the outside,
it's easier to go, "Oh, tut-tut.
"Uh, not really my cup of tea."
But then, you get hands-on, you get closer to the circle of people producing,
and it just, uh, is a different story.
I wonder if I can suggest to us that maybe the next place we go to
is someplace where I can get an even more full-bodied immersion
into the game world.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: So I just got some, uh, hands-on with the nuts and bolts,
but I tell you, I still feel
-quite the stranger in a strange land... -(ROOSTER CROWS)
...around this computer gaming stuff.
Oh, I see some characters now.
Whoa!
JEFF: So I think that we need an activity
that could serve as a kind of a bridge. You'll see what I mean.
(EPIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTS)
(SCREAMS)
Could this be my entry into the world of gaming, game playing on the screen?
Since I'm not so familiar with that,
I thought I could get an in by having a real-life experience.
Oh, I've never done anything like this.
Even a Renaissance fair,
I've always avoided them... (STUTTERS) ...aggressively.
-Uh, but what's this? Hello. -MALE VOICE: How's it going?
-Hello. My name be Jeff. -C.W. FOX: Well, back here,
we're out of character, so you're totally fine to talk regular.
JEFF: Is this the... What we call the gazebo of, uh, non-character?
-It can be if you wanna... -May I step, uh, hither?
JEFF: Okay. What's LARP?
So, LARP is improvisational theater mixed with sport.
Who am I... I guess I've got a character, too.
When you take on a character role, you're not yourself anymore,
you're that person, so you have to think like them,
you have to behave like them.
Is there a parallel to... to this real-life, um, game-playing
to video games that you... you know about?
Here, you actually get to feel like you're in the world.
You're fully immersed in it. You're living your characters.
Instead of a keyboard and mouse, we have swords and spears.
-(MEDIEVAL MUSIC PLAYING) -(GOAT BLEATS)
JOHN: We're gonna send assassins after you.
So you need to know what'll happen if you get attacked.
Okay.
-Holy cats! -Um...
These weapons, uh, typically, they're latex.
But we try to emphasize the theater elements
as much as possible. Break arm.
-(GROANS) -So now his arm's disabled
-until someone can mend it. -(GROANS)
The abilities we use in-game are... Some of them are like video games skills,
your character has a list of skills they can do.
-JOHN: Let's have you kill PJ. -Okay. Here we go. (GRUNTS)
-(GROANS) -I've killed you.
JOHN: Yep. So, now you'll say how you wanna kill him.
-Impaling... -Okay.
...like the vampire. Straight through the heart.
-And then, at this point I... -Great. Now role play it.
(GROANS, COUGHS)
In our game, you could have a moment
where you're, like, taunting his dead body.
-Um... (LAUGHS) -(MOCKING SING-SONG)
JOHN: All right, so we still need to kill him.
-If he gets me... Wow! -(GRUNTS)
(WHIMPERING, GROANING)
So, you're gonna RP like you're dying.
-JOHN: And then... -This is where the tears come.
Don't be surprised if tears
-come at this point. -JOHN: Sure.
-Yes. -And then...
(PJ GRUNTS)
-Well, you missed by a mile. -(JOHN LAUGHS)
-PJ: In this case... All right. -JEFF: I'm... I'm glad we're doing it.
In this case, I'll do deathblow. Impale!
(GROANS, IMITATES BLOOD SPLATTERING)
(PIANO PLAYING)
You'll be playing, uh, Lord Darius of White Hall.
Wait a minute. I'm already intoxicated with my own identity.
Watch this. Say, "Hey... hey, Jeff."
Hey, Jeff.
-Hey, Darius. -Yes?
You see that? I didn't even try to do that.
Lord Darius is probably the most hunted person alive.
Oh, now you tell me. How come they're after me? What did I do?
Your character is basically the largest threat to an enemy nation
-called the Nadine Empire. -I hate them already. Nadine.
JOHN: Their emblem is a shrike,
and they want you dead above anyone in the world.
-Really? -You should be incredibly paranoid.
(EPIC MUSIC PLAYING)
C.W. FOX: All right. So, everybody, listen up.
You have been let into the garrison
to serve as escort of Lord Darius into town.
-Are you ready? -JEFF: Every muscle is like
a wound spring. Yes.
Then let's get you in the game.
-C.W. FOX: Move out. -ALL: Yes, sir.
(SOLDIERS CHATTERING)
-C.W. FOX: Need you to move over. -JEFF: Yes. Yes. Thank you. All right.
C.W. FOX: We're sitting ducks out here. Keep moving. Do not let them stop us.
Lord Darius, some of these people
might not even be who that he believes they are.
You should be on the lookout. Be careful.
-(GRUNTS) -FEMALE VOICE: Protect Lord Darius!
-(INDISTINCT CHATTERING) -Hey. Hey!
I've been hit. I was... I was hit somehow. I don't know.
-You're fine, milord. -Oh, good. I feel fine.
You... you took a scratch, but they tended to you.
It's a flesh wound. Merely a flesh wound.
(SHOUTS) You're nothing!
-Hey! Oh, oh! What the heck happened? -(SOLDIERS EXCLAIM)
Another flesh wound. No.
-C.W. FOX: We're almost there. -JEFF: Really?
-JOHN: The stage is just ahead. -JEFF: Hm.
JEFF: Well, with only two failed assassination attempts,
I've completed, uh, the mission,
-and made it to this theater. -(CROWD APPLAUDS)
JEFF: Maybe I should address my people, uh, at this point.
Hey, I've got something up my sleeve. Wait.
Let me start by saying this.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community.
And while I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I wanna be thoroughly used up when I die...
for the harder I work, the more I live.
-Are you with me? -(CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS)
Well, what now?
-(WOMAN SHRIEKS) -(GRUNTS)
(SOLDIERS EXCLAIM, YELL)
JEFF: Excellent. Thank you so much.
Jeez. Who was that?
Shrike's agents.
-Ay, yi, yi. -JOHN: But, uh...
but not her best, from the looks of it.
For the Shrike!
I think I get the whole appeal of playing, you know.
It's not unlike acting, really.
And, you know, getting immersed in a part.
There's such a power in play and group strategy and activity like this.
So can we say that the... the principals of game playing are universal,
and that the... the way that people get into it here
is the same thing they get out of it with video games?
People play games to experience things,
whether it's something they cannot do or they wanna do,
or just to enjoy interactions with a community.
JEFF: Yeah. Yeah.
All right. Let's... Let's get you out of here.
JEFF: Okay. Come on.
Thank you. Well, hopefully, we'll avoid any assassination attempt on the way out.
JEFF: I get the connection between playing a role and onscreen game play,
but let's hit the pause button for a moment.
(RETRO ARCADE GAME MUSIC PLAYING)
-To fans, they represent a challenge. -INTERVIEWER: How long do you spend
-playing it? -Seven, eight hours.
But to critics, they are a menace.
JEFF: From their inception, video games have been strongly polarizing.
MAN: We're not talking about Pac-Man or Space Invaders anymore.
We're talking about video games that, too often, glorify violence.
MAN 2: The World Health Organization is expected to include Gaming Disorder
on its list of mental health conditions as a part of addictive behaviors.
He was online all the time. Every waking moment.
JEFF: So, at this point,
let's raise some of these bigger questions around gaming.
Now, there have been news reports that say that gaming is creating a generation
that is sleepwalking through life.
But they tell me that there's some recent research
that argues that the brain of gamers is quite alive,
with areas of the brain actually increasing in size.
There are people who worry that staring at the screen
is an isolating and lonesome experience...
-(SCREAMING) -...but there's studies that claim
that players are part of a virtual community
that allows them to connect with people all over the globe
in some kinda shared experience.
And then there's the argument against the glorification
of weaponry and the simulation of violence,
which may actually, in certain situations, they say,
help people to explore risk and morality.
Well, bookmark it there, but, you know, let's... let's continue the conversation.
(GAME MUSIC PLAYING)
What am I doing here? Well, as you know, I love play.
Even if I'm left to my own devices,
sometimes I play rock, paper, and scissors with myself.
One, two, three. Shoot.
Oh. So, anyway. I don't do that. I'm not a total idiot.
But in any case, play and games and technology,
what if they could be used for a purpose...
that's mighty and enlarging?
JEFF: So we got a rendezvous for me with a leading mind
-in the field of virtual reality. -Hi.
-Hi. My name is Jeff. -I'm Gordon.
-You're kidding. -Come here.
Come here immediately.
JEFF: And he claims, in the right hands, gaming technology can change the world.
What's great about games is that they can take you
into new settings, new environments
that you might not naturally find yourself in all the time.
Can we use this technology to enhance our lives
and to enhance the lives of our world and where we're going?
Absolutely. I think there's a lot of questions
that you can understand better with more context.
Right? I can tell you to save the forest. It matters.
But when I put you amongst trees...
-Yeah. -...it's a real different discussion.
That sort of experience is afforded by virtual reality.
It's very immersive.
-GORDON: Yeah. -It's very... it gives you the feeling
-that you're there. -GORDON: Yeah.
-And so it's about virtual spaces. -JEFF: Yeah.
And you can explore scenarios...
-Oh. -...and make them more illustrative.
What is the vision for moving the species
-and moving the world forward? -Yeah.
Perhaps for the younger generation...
-Yeah. -...they need interactivity...
-Yeah. -...to really understand
and contextualize the problems that we're facing.
JEFF: Professor Bellamy directed me through this forest
to a virtual reality experience
which he promised would change how I think about gaming.
I see you in the shadows.
You're giving off something radiant even before you speak.
Something deeply joyous.
-My name is Jeff. -My name is Milica. Nice to meet you.
So have you ever played the role of a tree...
-(GIGGLES) No. -...in your life?
That was the punchline to, like, "Hey, I got a part in the school play."
"What'd they cast you as?" "Well, I'm a tree."
-(CHUCKLES) You know, it was the... -So you've never done it?
Uh, from the start, I had some kind of quality that allowed me to play more...
-more meatier roles, but... -So, today,
you're gonna be the tallest tree in the rainforest.
So, first, I'm gonna ask you to take one seed.
And you will be now planting that seed.
So, the next thing that's... that's gonna happen,
when you put the virtual reality equipment on...
-Yes. -...you will be transported
inside the soil and your body will become a tree.
(WHISPERS) I like it.
(POWER CHARGES)
Okay. So I'm putting it on.
(STUTTERING) Wait a minute.
-JEFF: That's the seed that I planted. -MILICA: That's the seed.
Okay. I hope this isn't playing a trick
and everybody's gonna leave and I'm just gonna be here by my... Whoa!
Oh!
I'm growing. Oh, I see other roots of other... other plants.
Hey, I'm getting near the surface.
Here I come.
(BIRDS CHIRP)
(GASPS) Ah, oh!
Oh, little insects carrying leaves. Oh, fantastic.
Whoa! Hey, I'm growing in a good forest.
Oh! Oh, oh, oh, wow!
Those are my leaves.
(CHUCKLES)
Oh, a colorful parrot.
-Oh! (GROANS) -(PARROT SQUAWKS)
Parrot just almost hit me in the...
Oh, my gosh, the moon.
Look at that.
Oh!
Wow.
Wow, the night breeze.
Oh, no.
-(BIRDS SQUAWKING IN PANIC) -JEFF: Oh!
(COUGHS)
(GROANS) Hot, hot.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, no.
There's the seed that I was.
Oh. Whoa.
Oh, my golly.
Absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing.
I could smell the soil and everything. It was very, very, um, you know,
uh, real.
And then, I didn't know anything was gonna happen like that.
There was a... a fire and I felt the heat.
And getting burned.
Seeing all your friends burned. Ho... horrible.
We, as humans, take care mainly of our personal and immediate problems.
-Yes. -So that was the goal with tree,
to personalize this problem of deforestation.
-Empathize. -Yeah.
So now, I'm giving you this seed as a seed of hope.
Thank you very much.
(BIRDS SINGING)
Ms. Zec, she's given me hope.
She's renewed my hope in mankind, and womankind.
Maybe living in virtual worlds that are nourishing,
useful, engaging, contributive, could do us some good.
I think it's transformed my whole view of the notion of games.
Gaming can be a vehicle for our, uh, advancement.
To the extent that games can be
a realization of the "Wonderful World" aspect of life.
But, uh, you know, while we're here, why not have a little fun, I guess.
That's my final word on... on games.
You know, enjoy yourself. Hey, you know that song?
(SINGING)
It's... Hey, alternate title for the episode. "Enjoy yourself."
Oh, there we go. (CHUCKLES) And cut.
(MUSIC PLAYING)