Her Story creator leading new interactive series based on 1983's WarGames

WarGames is a movie from 1983 about a young hacker almost starting World War 3. #WarGames, however, is a new interactive series said to reimagine the '80s film and is being headed up by Sam Barlow, creator of FMV masterclass Her Story.

The #Wargames series is being made in collaboration with Eko, best known for its proprietary live-action medium "that allows viewers to shape the stories they watch." You can sample Eko's methods in this series about awkward moments.

Where FMV project Otis invites viewers to tailor their viewing experience and Her Story focuses on assembling your own solutions, Eko's projects seem to invite viewers to participate directly. However, it's not yet clear how viewers will interact with #WarGames.

“With ‘#WarGames’ I was thrilled to take the questions raised by the original movie and ask them again in a world where technology has fundamentally changed our lives," Barlow said. "To do that interactively felt like a perfect marriage of form and content. I am excited to introduce viewers to the new hacker protagonist, Kelly, who represents the breadth of modern hacker culture and its humanity."

#WarGames is a story of hacking and espionage, so its effectiveness will likely hinge on how it subverts viewer expectation—and in some cases, participation. We'll find out if it does when it debuts in 2018.

Barlow is also working on a new game: Telling Lies, a "spiritual follow-up" to Her Story. A release date for Telling Lies has not yet been announced.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.