{"id":21461,"date":"2026-01-07T15:37:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T14:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/from-final-boss-battles-to-the-dangers-of-open-world-bloat-tv-and-film-can-learn-a-lot-from-video-games\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T15:37:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T14:37:35","slug":"from-final-boss-battles-to-the-dangers-of-open-world-bloat-tv-and-film-can-learn-a-lot-from-video-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/from-final-boss-battles-to-the-dangers-of-open-world-bloat-tv-and-film-can-learn-a-lot-from-video-games\/","title":{"rendered":"From final boss battles to the dangers of open-world bloat, TV and film can learn a lot from video games"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this week\u2019s newsletter: Stranger Things\u2019 climactic showdown is the latest pop culture spectacle to feel like its been ported straight from a console. The industries\u2019 reciprocally influential relationship can be to everyone\u2019s gain<\/p>\n

\u2022 Don\u2019t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It had begun to feel like an endurance test by the end, but nonetheless, like the sucker I am, I watched the Stranger Things finale last week. And spoiler warning<\/strong>: I\u2019m going to talk about it in general terms in this newsletter. Because approximately 80% of the final season comprised twentysomething \u201cteenagers\u201d explaining things to each other while using random 1980s objects to illustrate convoluted plans and plot points, my expectations were not high. After an interminable hour, finally, something fun happens, as the not-kids arm themselves with machine guns and molotovs and face off against a monstrously gigantic demon-crab. Aha, I thought \u2013 the final boss battle!<\/p>\n

The fight was like something out of Monster Hunter, all scale and spectacle with a touch of desperation. For a very long time, video games sought to imitate cinema. Now cinema (and TV) often feels like a video game. The structure of Stranger Things\u2019 final season reminded me a lot of Resident Evil: long periods of walking slowly through corridors, with characters exchanging plot information aloud on their way to the action, and occasional explosions of gunfire, screeching monsters or car chases. Those long periods of relative inaction are much more tolerable when you\u2019ve got a controller in your hands. I am all for TV and film embracing the excitement, spectacle and dynamism of video games, but do they have to embrace the unnecessary side-quests and open-world bloat, too?<\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a>
\nIn this week\u2019s newsletter: Stranger Things\u2019 climactic showdown is the latest pop culture spectacle to feel like its been ported straight from a console. The industries\u2019 reciprocally influential relationship can be to everyone\u2019s gain
\n\u2022 Don\u2019t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here
\nIt had begun to feel like an endurance test by the end, but nonetheless, like the sucker I am, I watched the Stranger Things finale last week. And spoiler warning: I\u2019m going to talk about it in general terms in this newsletter. Because approximately 80% of the final season comprised twentysomething \u201cteenagers\u201d explaining things to each other while using random 1980s objects to illustrate convoluted plans and plot points, my expectations were not high. After an interminable hour, finally, something fun happens, as the not-kids arm themselves with machine guns and molotovs and face off against a monstrously gigantic demon-crab. Aha, I thought \u2013 the final boss battle!
\nThe fight was like something out of Monster Hunter, all scale and spectacle with a touch of desperation. For a very long time, video games sought to imitate cinema. Now cinema (and TV) often feels like a video game. The structure of Stranger Things\u2019 final season reminded me a lot of Resident Evil: long periods of walking slowly through corridors, with characters exchanging plot information aloud on their way to the action, and occasional explosions of gunfire, screeching monsters or car chases. Those long periods of relative inaction are much more tolerable when you\u2019ve got a controller in your hands. I am all for TV and film embracing the excitement, spectacle and dynamism of video games, but do they have to embrace the unnecessary side-quests and open-world bloat, too? Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this week\u2019s newsletter: Stranger Things\u2019 climactic showdown is the latest pop culture spectacle to feel like its been ported straight from a console. The industries\u2019 reciprocally influential relationship can be to everyone\u2019s gain \u2022 Don\u2019t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here It had begun to feel like an endurance test …<\/p>\n

From final boss battles to the dangers of open-world bloat, TV and film can learn a lot from video games<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":21462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21461"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}