Now that the latest trailer of "Assassin's Creed" has been released, let's talk game adaptations in general... What do you think works and doesn't work with today's gaming adaptations (also of course in past game adaptations and those expected) What are your opinions on those you've seen (sceenplay wise), Do they manage to convey the feel of the adapted games onto the screen? Why? Why not? discuss! With regards to "Assassin's Creed", we're still on the fence about this adaptation... some parts really look like they mimic the feel of the games very well..others are waayyy too .. adapted (Hollywoodian) for our liking.... Warcraft, we feel, is where they totally missed the ball when it comes to adapting the game but, if you take the game and the franchise out of the storyline itself, it works pretty good as a standalone movie... Generally, whenever it comes to Screen Adaptations from books/games/..., we are pretty sceptic as we feel a lot of the original idea gets lost in the filmmaking process. Strangely, we find that when the original content creator is involved they tend to go a bit overboard with what they want to see on the screen (I.E. EVERYTHING they can't fit in the game/book) and therefor they do TOO MUCH, in the end losing the integrity of the original content. That's just us though..how about you? https://youtu.be/4haJD6W136c
Screenwriting : Game/Gaming franchise adaptations (I.E. by Evelien And Dorien Twins
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Nobody expects the spanish inquisition!
I don't have a great barometer for these films as I haven't played many video games in YEARS. However, I'll agree that for the most part, the films have not worked for me. I do like Michael Fassbender so we'll see on this one.
Im guessing these IPs have a ton of marketing goals to nail, plus they have to serve two audiences- gamers and movie audiences. I hear CBS TV has put into production "Candy Crush" . Spielberg was trying to make "Halo" but couldnt crack the crossover.
Dan MaxXx, I'm not familiar with the game much beyond what I've seen in short internet ads but to me all the protagonists of this series (apparently there is a new one in each game?), are all Caucasian, or at least Euro centric, but one. Am I wrong? This is what I'm looking at: http://www.celebsclothing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/tumblr_n9j...
Allen The game has different versions but the original assassin creed, the story Hero is Syrian,
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I love playing Assassin's Creed. I think with Video Game adaptations everyone "sees" their hero/heroine as themselves when they play the game. So when you do a game adaptation you've got to cross that hurdle first.
We love the game too. Very good point about crossing the hurdle, Desiree
I think Assassin's Creed might be a little "out there" as far as ideas go... But you've got two options, you can stay in the time period of the film or you can do it Matrix style with the simulation. I think staying in the time period would be more likable to me. I miss time period movies.
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Yup. Most games have a "1st person POV" where you are the player. Movies are told thru eyes of 3rd person (Our Protagonist). "Hardcore Henry" tried the 1st person POV and failed. Spielberg wanted the Chief (Hero) of "Halo" to be an Actor.
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interesting observation, Desiree! We didn't think about that at first glance :) @DMax; in our personal opinion, the 1POV isn't the only thing that make "Hardcore Henry" fail... that movie was just.. yeah... special #DiplomacyCaps
I think sometimes what will work for a video game won't work for a movie. Master Chief was mentioned and that's an excellent example. What makes the Chief cool is his mystery , his silence. For a movie you need something to latch on to. Maybe it's just me but it seems like they always make too many changes to the characters and they just never get it right. Super Mario Bros. (the movie) should have been animated IMO. But I think we can have video game movies that aren't based on a specific video game property but have a huge influence by video games. Scott Pilgrim is the one that's sticking out in my head right now. On a side note, I always thought Assassins Creed's story in the games was pretty stupid. So I'm skipping it.
I think it really depends on the game that you are adapting. If we look back to the adaptations that were made in the 90's, you would see that they come from the Nintendo's 8-bit and 16-bit platform (i.e. Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon). With that in mind, those games had a very limited story to being with. The most you could really squeeze out them was the character names, not even much of a personality. This in turn would actually give the writer almost complete freedom to do whatever. Fast forward to now, and we see games are now way more complex in all aspects. The game is already similar to a movie if you consider Assassins Creed, so recreating the very first game, for example, would be a waste of time in a sense. The appeal to already established fans would be high at first, but disappointment would set in later when the actual movie would be released and screened. The nice thing about Assassins Creed, is that every game follows a different character in a different storyline. So it doesn't really betray the original story, or fans. I think it's about how the writer goes about explaining the concepts that the game typically covers, coupled with a legitimate obstacle that will make it something worth watching.
Well the thing is with Super Mario there was the cartoon, which kept true to the art style as opposed to the live action movie. They did need to add a lot to the characters but it wasn't as jarring. Then there was also Zelda the cartoon which took a similar tact. I guess you could do that with Assassins Creed, but the story always seemed to try to please everyone and everything. There was the sci-fi aspects, the historical, then the guy who had the memories, then the actual character that was running around where ever. it always seemed like a big sloppy mess, that could have used some editing. If I was writing the movie (or game) I'd just keep the historical bit, and make it a quest for something like the ark of the covenant or some other uber artifact.
As VR becomes more prevalent these adaptations will be able to 'feel' much more authentic to most games. Until then, what typically sets the 'good' from the bad is the writers understanding of the hows and whys of transmedia storytelling. In other words, video games serve a certain purpose in storytelling that should not try to be replicated in a screen-viewing experience. Studios that take these on, do so for the IP recognition but the marketing rarely conveys that viewers should not expect the gamer's ride, because then that dilutes the appeal of the IP. In the end it all boils down to story, if it's a good one, well told, then the fact that it is not like playing the game won't even come up.