The similarity between movies and games allows you to adapt one to the other with incredible ease: games become films, and games are made from films – unfortunately, not always successful. However, now this happens less and less, and therefore in this material I speculated in what film worlds I would like to be. The choice fell on the iconic “Matrix” by Wachowski, pop “Martian” by Ridley Scott, crazy “Inception” by Christopher Nolan and intoxicating “Pulp Fiction” by Quentin Tarantino. Share your options in the comments – I’m sure that almost every film or book could be made a game, if influential studios had such a desire.
->
->
Some say that games are art, others believe that this is pure commerce, based on a conglomerate of needs and fantasies and designed only to extract money from the gamer. My opinion is not so clear: a well-made product can be considered art, but lately game designers and directors are increasingly giving out something too conceptual. In contemporary art, it is not always clear whether the toilet is not working or the exhibition is called that … “What Men Talk About” from “Quartet I” is not a game, it is life.
In general, my criteria are as follows. The film, which claims to be an art, is always based on a bright and not torn by copy-paste script, skilled actors interested in the project and a director who sculpts a masterpiece in the frame. The same is required by the game: a scenario with a twist or a gameplay feature in games that do not imply a plot, elaborate living characters and mechanics, as well as a lead game designer who can assemble the puzzle.
Nolan could compete with Kojima
Christopher Nolan could have been the new Kojima – this is how I started to work on this article. Someone thinks the director is a genius, and someone is a soulless artisan who abuses techniques to create a “wow effect” from film to film. To my taste, the script part of any of his films is so superior to the plot of the “main game of 2023” The Last of Us Part II that production can be started now. It doesn’t matter what the gameplay will be – I will still go. Because if we make games without the right to choose, then at least surprise, not disappoint.
If you take a closer look at the idea of introducing mind games into game design and pay attention, for example, to the movie “Inception”, you will notice a “cheat” of the system: the director’s work has already presented us with interesting mechanics, all that remains is to come up with new restrictions or abandon them altogether. How many sleep levels will be allowed in the game and how many plot twists will be unlocked for the character in the event that any of them may turn out to be unrealistic? This concept will allow countless virtual models of the universe to be created: “Inception” is … I may have just invented Minecraft, but the idea of an action game with such global mechanics would definitely be viable.
Nolan pondered the idea of creating games based on their films. The gaming industry attracts him, but the director wants to devote himself entirely to cinema. I would like to believe that someday he will still be filled with knowledge and some of his tapes will become available in the form of games for PC and consoles.
The movie “The Martian” is a simple survival game for a couple of hours
From global to local and simple. It’s no secret that the script is often based on unpopular books – they gather dust on the shelves for years until someone decides to fix the flaws in writing and make a film. Or not “virus” the literary saga itself or fanfic about fanfiction, if you know what I mean.
This is how the “Martian” appeared. Andy Weier’s mediocre book, self-published by the writer in 2011, became popular by 2014 and won several literary awards, in my opinion, solely due to the scarcity of choice in the science fiction genre in the 10s of the 21st century. Ridley Scott’s film starring Matt Damon breathed life into history. As for the game, the idea of growing potatoes on Mars could be key … for a little survivor.
GOTY!
The player would have to become a space manager for himself – to allocate resources and wait for help. Easter eggs mixed with the need to use real, practical knowledge from astronomy textbooks would add meaning, taste and complexity to the game. Well, with humor and space tape (or good old blue duct tape), a high-quality game in a genre beloved by many would come out.
The original author himself could have worked on the game based on The Martian. Andy Weier is not only a writer but also a programmer. The author assessed his literary works sensibly, considering them worthless rubbish, although this did not prevent him from agreeing to the proposal of filmmakers to film “The Martian”. At the same time, in his career as a game developer, he has something to brag about: Andy Weier worked at Blizzard and was one of the Warcraft II programmers.
By the way, a VR game was made based on the movie “The Martian”. Unfortunately, the industry is not yet ready for such projects: it is expensive and time-consuming to create them, and a minimum number of gamers have equipment for a comfortable game in virtual reality. I would postpone the exploration of Mars in VR until better times and the corresponding stage of technical progress.
“Matrix” is all bullshit, let’s do it again
The Matrix is an incredible world created by the Wachowski brothers who are now sisters. Perhaps, in this case – even with deer. Films about a digitized world, which can be read like a program code, and can be changed for oneself with just the power of thought, are adored all over the planet. But the games, which were released several, were immediately forgotten – and this is a plus, since none of them differed in quality.
Zero games are great, but not all
One of the most famous Matrix games called The Matrix: Path of Neo was released in 2005. Igromania, at that time the most authoritative Russian-language gaming portal, gave the title 5.5 points out of 10. Then this was not an estimate for an unambiguous “failure of the year”, since journalists still used all available numbers from one to ten, but “five ”In any case made it clear that something went wrong. Although the Wachowskis oversaw the development of Path of Neo and even corrected the script, the ending was changed in the game, as the original events of the final film seemed to the authors “strange for the end of a video game.” Eh, but we could implement self-deletion of files after passing.
Now the next part of “The Matrix” is in production, and if it succeeds, one of the major studios may well allow each of us to play the role of Neo. Moreover, the main idea of the original trilogy is the choice. Matrix 4 is expected to release on December 22, 2023.
“Perfumer” – the story of a luther
The original “The Story of a Murderer” tells the viewer about the orphan Jean-Baptiste Grenouet, who discovered his main talent – an impeccable sense of smell. A game based on the book and movie “Perfumer” could be the most creepy one in existence. It would probably be banned in many countries.
Somewhere on sale PS5 appeared …
It would be a dramatic horror movie for fans of loot and in-game collectibles. Learn all the smells in the world, unlock all the hero’s perks – learn how to mix perfumes so that all NPCs have a head spin.
What would the main character want in the game? The same as in the book and in the film … Preserve a scent that can drive you crazy. And every player could do it as well as Grenouille himself, because in the virtual world you really would have a talent for recognizing smells. It would only remain to fill the test tubes with the incredible scents of life and death, using all those sophisticated methods that Grenouille invented, or inventing several new ones.
“Pulp Fiction” – Detective Tarantino
“Pulp Fiction” is difficult to understand at the first viewing, in any case, it didn’t work out for me. And the second time it seemed that this is a fierce trash comedy, telling about incredible idiots. And yet, the more mature I became, the more vital the characters became and the less idiotic situations turned out to be. I’m soon 30, and my reality says: only the law of the genre slightly adjusts perception, forcing me to focus on “gags” and carnage, but the positions of many characters were close to me at different moments in my life.
Art on “Pulp Fiction” – ready-made covers for games
I would love to see a detective drama based on Pulp Fiction: in it you could compete with Mr. Wolfe in the speed of solving problems, interview frightened customers of the cafe where the heroes came to dine, and reveal how many substances were in Mia’s blood. Perhaps it would have been other things, because who knows how many equally interesting events were not included in Tarantino’s version.
Perhaps not everyone realized how solid this brilliant tape is. Therefore, making a detective game based on it would be worth at least as a reminder: chains of random events can lead to specific consequences. And philosophizing, sitting on the toilet, is possible only if the cannon is not left lying on the table outside the door. I think that a good detective story would come out of Tarantino’s puzzles for the viewer even after watching.
The easiest way to turn a movie into a game and back is to create something of your own in a familiar setting, with indispensable respect for the legacy of the original. There are many examples where a game based on a movie became a masterpiece the film industry. There are failed examples – and the budget of the tape did not always affect the quality. Which MCU would you like to be in?
