Adaptations Part Six: games based on other media
Kind of an oddball category that pulls in ideas from all over.
Some of the works in question…
First: I Have no Mouth and I must Scream was originally a short story by Harlan Ellison. A bleak story that’s ever more relevant today as the main antagonist is an A.I., which isn’t quite called that in the story since it was written in 1967 when computers were barely a thing for most people. However, the military was using them and the rogue supercomputer is AM. Initially, “Allied Mastercomputer” to control one faction’s military in a 1984 style 3-way forever war, but it went rogue and took over the world. Skynet? Matrix, anyone?
The game came out in 1995 with Ellison’s input and was a point-and-click adventure game as was popular at the time. The story’s bleak and sometimes lurid descriptions are visualized and the world expanded on with character’s receiving backstories, thus its seems that the writing was as much work as the animation with this project.
Second, the many games based on James Bond, which are part of the franchise’s expanded universe, though not all are canon. Probably the most famous example is the 1997 game, Goldeneye 007, based inthe 1995 movie. Unlike with Ellison’s story metioned above, this game greatly pares down its source material to deliver an FPS shooter with some puzzle elements. And the classic multiplayer mode where you can play as characters from the movie (or other Bond movies) in settings from this and other franchise movies. This one doesn’t really add to the story, but it was a fun time.
Then, there’s the 2010 game version of Goldeneye 007, which used Daniel Craig’s likeness as he was the on-screen Bond at the time. Also, the story was updated to the 2010s. Redubbed Goldeneye 007: Reloaded and given some enhancements in 2011 for Xbox 360 and PS3 ports. However, the biggest change is that this version of the story follows Daniel Craig’s first Bond film, Casino Royale (itself reimagined from the original) and is set before his second film, Quantum of Solace. Among the changes is that the original ended in the heat of the Caribbean, this one ends in the cold of Siberia!
Third, somewhat related to the previous, but now movie tie-in games. These are essentially PR for a big movie release. Sci-fi and fantasy movies such as Transformers and The Lord of the Rings are perfectly suited for these. Who wouldn’t want to play at their favorite hero in the screen adventure? It’s audience participation in the story. Some games here veer into exxpanded universe territory.
Also, these have been around since the 1980s! The infamous game version of ET has been the subject of memes and ridicule, but realistically, what was to expected from a movie-based game at a time when Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were the norm? Those had bare bones stories and Atari adaptions are the bare bones of their movie counterparts. A relic of a time long gone, but with online emulators you can actually find many of these around.
And finally, Indiana Jones, who’s first game was Atari ”meh…” but as his luck would have it, the movie would be a huge hit and evetually some actually pretty good games arrived. I played Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine back in the early 2000s, but there was many and most, as far as I know, are canon. So Indiana Jones’s journey goes from film to game and back to film severa times if one is to follow his full route.
Is all of this part of brand marketing? Or genuine creativity? Good? Bad? Ugly?
And of course, do you know any others? Drop your thoughts.
Related post: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/transmedia/Film-Adaptations-transposing-I...
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There‘s a new James Bond game that has gotten high praise.
https://ioi.dk/007firstlightgame
This time it‘s not a shooter but a narrative-driven action adventure.
This blends the lines between game, visual novel and interactive movie.
Interesting. I have mainly played the original Goldeneye but have enjoyed playthoughs of the other games on YouTube. First Looks quite interesting as yet another origin story for 007, thus it seems that this story goes with the fan ficiton theory that not only "007" is a code name, but so is "James Bond."
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The best game adaptations like I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream actually deepen the original story by adding character and visualizing themes that prose could only suggest, while others are just interactive marketing. Do you think the rise of streaming has changed how studios approach game adaptations, or are they still mostly treated as afterthoughts?
Samantha Rivera While tie-in games that release along side blockbusters are certainly "interactive marketing" and merch in a clever form, many of the 007 games are new stories. Kind of the like the Star Wars and Halo expanded universes that have plenty of novels. The expanded universe goes into another medium often creating canon content.
Streaming has certainly made its impact as it allows for a ton of content and story threads, some of which where in other mediums before. Games can also add to an expand. For instance, in LOTR, I absolutely loved Minas Tirith and wanted to walk around it. The game allows that. And my next post on this matter will actually go from that point.