Novel Ideas
Posted by
Nechrol
on
Once upon a time, before talkie boxes, flashing screens and The Matrix us humans used to find our escapism in tales of giants, far off lands and burly men kicking monsters’ teeth in. A time finally came when some bright spark decided that their story was so good they wanted to jot it down and pass it off to all their friends at the local bar. This became known as The Story of Gilgamesh and was penned (or etched in stone with a sharp rock) around 2000bc.
So yeah, the written word has been around awhile and in your time you may have picked one up or at the very least read a games manual on the toilet. Yet for all its longevity we don’t feel its repercussions in the games industry that much.
Go on, try and name one game that was made from a novel— graphic novels, comics and manga don’t count. And I’m not talking about a film that was based on a book that they then created a game from. The only game I can recall to my knowledge would be Enslaved: Odyssey to the West… that’s about it though.
What I’m talking about is someone going into an office with a 600-page tome, flinging it on the desk (the sheer weight bringing said desk crashing to the floor) and saying ‘We’re making this—don’t ask me why—just do it.’
The man whose desk you’ve just destroyed would not be too impressed.
1. You just broke his desk and that was a present.
2. It’s far too long and he can’t get a copy on his Kindle no matter how hard he slams it against the little display.
3. You just made him break his Kindle.
Graphic novels can be easier to interpret, and I’m not saying that it’s because the story, scenery, whatever isn’t as rich, it’s just easier to get through. The visuals, characters are all there, it’s like a blue print or those not so easy to use instructions from Ikea. In this day and age however our average attention span has degraded so much that… what was I saying?
It’s short; we look at and read tons of rubbish on the web. However if our brains see a paragraph or something that is not an amusing image with some white Impact text denoting an amusing phrase, we switch off. I don’t think I’d be too wrong in saying that at most the AVERAGE tech savvy tweenager reads is their twitter and Tumbler feeds throughout the day. Though they have a small reprieve either writing depressing poetry or partaking in furious Twilight related discussions because EDWARD’S BETTER—HE SPARKLES!!!11
I’m careening off point though.
Films get a nod from games, Hollywood usually churning out one right before a major movie graces our screen. It’s more of a way to cash in then it is to create anything innovative or that will stand the test of time. From games that take their roots from well established franchises; ala Lord of the Rings, games of value have been made. This is mainly due to the fact they had free reign in some aspects and were treading on well worn ground.
Take the LOTR MMORPG which came out a few years back. Obviously the game was and still is very popular with people. However imagine if before WoW and the boom of that side of gaming someone went to the developer and told them they planned on creating a game people play online…set in a world based on a several thousand word fantasy novel written during WW2. They probably would have laughed so hard they’d have coughed up a lung. Yes there may have been a fan base but they were basement dwelling men on the wrong side of 30…right? Then the films hit and they churned out a few sub-par games to cash in. Then WoW came along and it seemed like they’d better jump on this ship before it sailed.
The whole prospect comes across as daunting. It’s hard enough trying to elucidate and boil down a novel to a screenplay. In some fans mind it’ll always pale in comparison and miss details out so you don’t die of malnutrition sitting through the thing. They are in the process of a adapting a John Grisham novel for the Wii where you stand in a courtroom gesticulating wildly at the defendant until a little bar fills up causing an epic outburst.
In terms of putting the plans down from a novel it’s kind of like you have the blueprint. If you’ve been blindfolded, had cotton stuffed in your ears and the blueprint is now a tiger wielding a chainsaw. It’s tricky is what I’m getting at. The one aspect we have on our side at least is time. I’m not saying we have to spend a decade making the game but we have the scope and platform available to make something awesome. There are so many interesting concepts out there it’s baffling.
In a strange reversal of fortune games companies have now taken a backwards approach. Games now have a flourishing array of fiction revolving around their world. Taking a cue from Forgotten Realms and Warhammer amongst others, companies have chosen the pen to expand their universe. Fable and Halo to name but two.
I think it’s a great way to build on the experience we’ve had in-game and transpose it into a new media. We’re being told a tale that takes place in a world we know but are able to let it evolve within our mind sacs. Everyone’s experience and imagining will be different giving a truly unique understanding.
However working our way round and getting used to the idea that looking to this time old medium for inspiration is not a bad thing. You see, the problem with games these days is that they all look and feel the same; they’re mired in ‘sameness’ like the bankers of Wall street in the 80’s. All sleek looking, polished, homogenized packages that on the inside are devoid of any substance and survive on cocaine. Throw two stones in the FPS section of your local game store and chances are you’d hit two indistinguishable games. The real gems, the ones that stick in your mind are those that brought something, an experience. Whether that was in design, storytelling or gameplay, there were elements that set it apart.
Don’t get me wrong, novels are certainly out there to plug a hole of creativity in the market, they’re there to expand it… Perhaps someday, our industry will give this other medium a chance, and create a worthwhile adaptation.