It wasn’t that long ago that Activision announced they’d struck a deal with Brett Ratner to develop movies based on their video games –– and that he wants to direct a Guitar Hero film. Now the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction as Electronic Arts just announced that they’ve struck a three video game deal with Zack Snyder.

We caught up with Zack at last night’s Watchmen event to find out the details. As it turns out, he’s a late-night gaming addict, even in the middle of trying to finish a huge Hollywood movie.

This summer at Comic-Con you said that you weren’t very happy with the Watchmen game that’s in development. Has that changed?

We have a game now that I think awesome. I think it was really just about those first fits and starts, where you’re talking about making a Watchmen game and how that was going to be. For me, it became about embracing the concept and allowing that to become the game. The work was to create a subversive concept that equals the movie, or the graphic novel. I think that we came around to that.

Have you been involved with the game?

As much as I can be, I certainly look at everything and will give input like, “Well, this could be better” or “This happens” and so on. It’s not like completely mine, I wouldn’t say. We’ve definitely had a lot of contact with them and I’ve given a lot of notes.

So the Electronic Arts deal, is that for original games?

Yeah, it’s orignal stuf that I’m going to develop for them. So basically, I have three titles that I will hopefully make with them.

Do you have anything in mind?

Yeah, I’ve got some things… for me, I really want to kind of blow it out to where I can do a video game, and start to develop a movie along the same lines. That way we don’t have like a short-lead game, but like a real game that has a real movie with it. One that really goes all the way.

Do you game yourself?

Oh definitely. I’m on the Xbox 360, and I just finished Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Wow, that just came out. Even with your schedule you have that much time to game?

Well, I got it early and I just went home and played. Debbie (his wife) would come out at like two o’clock in the morning and say “Are you kidding me?!” And I mean, she was asleep so it seemed like a good time.

Is this a good thing for video games? Has Zack Snyder been good for movies? It’s hard to argue that 300 didn’t have an impact on the world of filmmaking, especially since it contributed to the notion that you can create an entire film in green screen, never needing to build actual sets and go on location, which is basically what video games are all about. But, what does that mean to Snyder? So far, he’s directed a remake of Dawn of the Dead, a graphic novel adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300, and his third feature will take him down that road again with Watchmen… but can he tell an original story?

One positive thing is that he’s embracing the notion that video games can’t be created overnight, which is frequently the Hollywood approach to things. “Oh, we have this movie coming out in six months, it looks like it might do well, let’s slap a game together.” As a result, you just end up with a crappy game that has the movie titled glued on the box, instead of an immersive, quality gaming experience.

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the beta for the upcoming game LittleBigPlanet, which has long been in development for Sony’s PlayStation 3. It’s a gorgeous game, with narration and tutorials provided by British comedian/actor Stephen Fry, and truly puts you into another world. It hasn’t been in development forever, but it has been a couple of years, and is the perfect example of what a little additional lead time can do for a game. It wouldn’t be surprising if they announced a children’s show on a movie based on this property, especially given Sony’s entertainment arm.

Hopefully whatever Snyder ends up producing for EA will follow a similar development path, which means more time and effort in developing the story and gameplay, rather than rushing something out with amazing visuals. This summer at Comic-Con Snyder said that video games can’t just be an afterthought. Let’s hope he follows through on that promise.

Kevin Kelly, a contributor to Joystiq, io9, Cinematical, Film School Rejects and countless other weblogs, will be weighing in on the intersection between film and video games every Thursday here on SpoutBlog. Please ask him personal questions, shower him with flattery and/or rip apart his argument in the comments. Game on.