It’s been easy and more than a little fun laughing at the idea of a Halo anime. But the truth is I’m on the fence, because the results could go either way. I’m willing to concede that the games have always given the sensation that there’s a strong narrative potential to the series, which perhaps gets drowned out along the way toward making a game – no I haven’t read any of the books.

The announcement mimics The Animatrix, with several studios producing separate shorts that explore the elasticity of the franchise. There’s a very high probability that this will flush out better story ideas than the games have managed to. And in that sense, the project carries some merit for adding more depth to the franchise, to a degree we might not have previously thought possible. Sure it could be all blam! blam! sans the substance – but I doubt it. It’s more likely that these animated shorts will raise the bar on some elements the games haven’t found the ideal means of offering.

What surprises me is that I’m not so much bothered by the corporate cash in nearly so much as the lack of imagination behind the announcement. Is an anime production an absolute evolutionary stage now? And does it still make sense to grow a brand through other mediums, or should the videogame industry prove how innovative its products are by finding ways to pull other mediums into itself more?

It’s a complex question that certainly deserves an answer. But since I don’t have one, I’ll simply blame EA. I know it’s not trendy to do that anymore now that they are so innovative and on the edge – but I’m not forcing you to keep reading.

The essential preoccupation of EA’s “IP cubed” program is to assault multiple mediums with a fresh IP from the outset, rather than the tradition hoops that Halo has progressed through – Games -> Books -> Film etc. This has a great deal to do with convincing us that these are epic and expansive new worlds being developed, rather than paper thin concepts stretched needlessly into multiple products prior to any reaction from an audience. It also has a lot to do with rising licensing fees for already established franchises and EA working to cut out the middleman. It also just plain sucks for the industry that it is considered innovative in anyway to cram a product through as many channels as possible as quickly as possible.

And as for the results thus far?

Dead Space: Downfall is an easy contender for one of the worst animations I’ve ever watched. Regardless of how you might feel about the game, the movie proceeds to exploit every opportunity to resist the advantages inherent in making one to begin with. The animation style strips away any fear the creature designs might have instilled, while the narrative introduces a loose religious system that never ties together within the time it takes to sum up what the game reveals during ten minutes of gameplay – namely that shit went wrong and everybody died. That the movie also taps every cliché imaginable with a cast of characters so generic that the audience is apt to lend zero sympathy when they all die ties the entire experience together into 74 minutes of my life I’m never getting back.

So I died a little inside when it was revealed that Dante’s Inferno would be getting its own treatment, and by Production I.G no less. And that’s a hard thing for me to write, because Production I.G has produced some of the most beautiful and compelling work I have ever seen. I understand everyone needs to eat, but their portfolio of work justifies the continued existence of the medium. And that EA knows this makes the entire affair more about buying credibility rather than adding anything to either medium with the project. I suppose I’m putting forward the idea that they really haven’t changed so much. They talk a great deal more for the sake of headlines, but they still reveal how little thought goes into decisions on a regular basis.

Believe it or not, I’m not completely negative. While I don’t believe this will represent a perfect solution, I can think of two recent examples where animation has been used separately from a videogame, in a way meant to directly empower the game experience – assuming we concern ourselves with games for the games.

The first is the five part series of shorts put together to accompany Heavenly Sword, which employ a minimalistic animation style in contrast to the cinematic presentation of the game, never overshadowing the actual game and accompanying it as an unlockable reward. What the shorts offer is both background and creation myth that is there as wanted by the player - offering character motivations without directly attempting to define characters that will there after be defined by the player’s actions and experience.

The other is the shorts created for Infinite Space. Not only is it a unique hybrid between two animation studios, but it has the curious effect of instilling the exact aesthetic sensibilities that make the game anticipated. Watching these video segments makes me nostalgic for Galaxy Express, conveying the exact space opera sensibility the series seems to be aiming for. Ultimately it offers a more traditional means of understanding and entering into a videogame that is attempting to offer something more than standard fare.

Or so goes my two cents.

But take all of this with a grain of salt. I might just be bitter that Mirror’s Edge never made it to anime land… along with a script rewrite.