When Spider-Man, July 22 -- Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton mentioned that his stunt crew spent hours studying Insomniac's Spider-Man games for inspiration, it sounded like a fun behind-the-scenes anecdote. But really, it pointed to a massive shift in how movies get made.

For decades, game developers looked up to cinema. They obsessively chased filmic lighting, cinematic cutscenes, and Hollywood pacing. Today, the tables have turned: directors and stunt coordinators are actively taking notes from what players pull off with a controller.

Think about what Insomniac achieved with Spider-Man. They created a fluid vocabulary of motion-chaining a high-speed web swing into an aerial flip, a slingshot off a rooftop, and a seamless ...