http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2011/12/storytelling-in-video-games-how-cutscenes-get-it-done/

I found it interesting during our class discussion that some people felt videogame cut scenes were often too long, and that like bugs or lag, they can detract from the operator’s diegetic experience.  This article defends cut scenes as an important mechanism for advancing narrative, but also describes them as essential to the “single-player experience.”  The author, Justin DiCozo, notes the frustrations of players who feel cut scenes usurp their control over the videogame, as well as how many modern game developers have played with the cut scene mechanism to make it more interactive.  I found this relevant because it relates to the tension in the “operator-machine relationship” that Galloway describes in his book.  In Galloway’s view, cut scenes are the machine’s chance to control the game, almost completely ignoring the operator.  As DiCozo notes, some games rely more heavily on cut scenes than others.  How important, then, is the aspect of “control” to the operator’s gaming experience, and at what point do cut scenes blur the lines between games and movies?