What Other Video Game Franchises Would You Like To See Adapted To T.V?

[Personamanx]

The games with not a lot of meat would work the best for TV and film. That would give a lot of creative freedom. Look at Castlevania. There isn't much of a plot there beyond kill Dracula and Warren Ellis managed to craft two good seasons out of it. Use what's present in the games as a starting point and craft their own story from there.

I can understand the benefits of expansion on minimal narrative, it can have some pretty solid results*. But it is also how movies like the JCVD "Street Fighter" and "Super Mario Bros." films came into fruition. It can go both ways.

*I remember when Namco/Bandai had the ShiftyLook website for a while a few years. I think their webcomics were some of the best examples of taking a minimalist game narrative, and making some solid serialized stories out of them. They even ended up adapting the Wonder MoMo comic into a short lived anime. Good stuff.

[Immortal Weapon]

I can understand the benefits of expansion on minimal narrative, it can have some pretty solid results*. But it is also how movies like the JCVD "Street Fighter" and "Super Mario Bros." films came into fruition. It can go both ways.

*I remember when Namco/Bandai had the ShiftyLook website for a while a few years. I think their webcomics were some of the best examples of taking a minimalist game narrative, and making some solid serialized stories out of them. They even ended up adapting the Wonder MoMo comic into a short lived anime. Good stuff.

The problem with the Super Mario Bros movie is that it had too many cooks in the kitchen. The creative direction kept changing as they were filming it and there was no oversight by Nintendo. A mistake that's not being repeated by the upcoming CG film by Illumination.

I enjoyed Street Fighter. It was a crap movie but it was so bad it's good. Street Fighter II the animated movie is an anime classic. It's still a great watch.

[Tuck]

I don't think the story structure of most video games adapt well to serialized storytelling. You're usually presented with an overabundance of story, that's hard to cut into satisfactory chunks or there's just not a lot of meat to work with in the first place. That, and in any game the interactive nature of the medium plays a huge part in enjoyment. Taking that away from a narrative designed around it is a huge handicap.

Ideally I think the best adaptations of a game into TV of film would be that of a side-story taking place in the game's world. Adapting the events of the original Mass Effect trilogy would be difficult for numerous reasons, telling a new story using the familiar settings/alien races of the series might be easier to do well.

I have to agree with this.

I would think the best candidates for adaptation would be pretty straightforward narrative games like Uncharted. But as a movie or television show, Uncharted would be middling.

[Conn Seanery]

Fallout, Uncharted (film potentially coming, I know), Bioshock, Last of Us.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Uncharted or Tomb raider would work better as a movie. A tv show could work but you're better off doing a new plot suited to TV. A serialized anthology approach could work as Nate and crew spend each season going after an artifact.

Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive could work as a Buffy/Angel style show.

[Immortal Weapon]

I have to agree with this.

I would think the best candidates for adaptation would be pretty straightforward narrative games like Uncharted. But as a movie or television show, Uncharted would be middling.

I don't agree. The problem I have with adapting straight forward narrative games is it would make the movie feel redundant. The recent Tomb Raider film was the reboot game in movie form. If I want to relive the experience I'll replay the game. No need to waste time and money on a cliff notes version.

[Tuck]

I don't agree. The problem I have with adapting straight forward narrative games is it would make the movie feel redundant. The recent Tomb Raider film was the reboot game in movie form. If I want to relive the experience I'll replay the game. No need to waste time and money on a cliff notes version.

I think adaptations are a waste of time (I guess they make money), but with games where the player's input is integral to the narratice experience, the entire structure of the narrative needs to be redone. Hell, what does Bioshock's reveal even mean translated into a TV show or a movie?

(I didn't add the other Naughty Dog biggie, The Last of Us because the switching PCs is part of that experience.)

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I think adaptations are a waste of time (I guess they make money), but with games where the player's input is integral to the narratice experience, the entire structure of the narrative needs to be redone. Hell, what does Bioshock's reveal even mean translated into a TV show or a movie?

(I didn't add the other Naughty Dog biggie, The Last of Us because the switching PCs is part of that experience.)

I think Bioshock infinite gets around that because Booker and Elizabeth aren't ciphers nor do your choices really matter.

[Immortal Weapon]

I think adaptations are a waste of time (I guess they make money), but with games where the player's input is integral to the narratice experience, the entire structure of the narrative needs to be redone. Hell, what does Bioshock's reveal even mean translated into a TV show or a movie?

(I didn't add the other Naughty Dog biggie, The Last of Us because the switching PCs is part of that experience.)

I don't know, I think the Last of Us can work as a movie. I've seen people describe Logan being like LoU.

[Tuck]

I think Bioshock infinite gets around that because Booker and Elizabeth aren't ciphers nor do your choices really matter.

I don't know that it's crucial to the narrative, but the token choices you make that don't mean anything (The choker pendant, the coin toss) are a storytelling device in Infinite. Plus the Bioshock games are built around environmental storytelling.

[Tuck]

Heh, just remembered this.

[Charmed]

I would love a story set on Gran Pulse before the events of Final Fantasy XIII.

Hell, I'd love to see an adaption of what would have been Final Fantasy Versus XIII with the old Noctis and Stella. It looked like they were going for a Romeo & Juliet thing, which was a bit more interesting than what the game ended up giving me.

[ChrisIII]

The Tomb Raider movie was pretty much a majorly watered down (The game is extremely gory and deals with supernatural elements, the movie however is PG-13 and there's really nothing supernatural at all) and condensed version of the game (with some elements of the second) and really didn't have Lara's character evolve in the same way-part of the game is Lara pretty much starting off fairly weak and more bookish but eventually she hones her survival skills and pretty much (and over the course of the other two games) becomes the Lara we all know; the movie pretty much started with her doing boxing and biking. While Lara's bandaged body, more bow and arrow fighting style and some sequences certainly closely resembled the game (such as the scene with the rusted plane), it really didn't feel the same otherwise.

[Midvillian1322]

I'd love an army of two Show. Half of the first two games charm was the relationship between Rios and Salem. Plus they look bad ass and would a nice visual to sell. I was so irked with how they ruined the characters in Armt of two 3. The games is better in a technical view but story and character was boo boo

[Agent Z]

Forgot to add: Infamous and Prototype.