There are plenty of spin offs and tie ins but not adaptations (save for Lego) for some reason. Obviously this isn’t the case for the reverse.

  • NateNate60@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    This is my guess.

    A game is different from a film because you can make decisions in a video game. It is observing the consequences of those decisions which makes a video game interesting. But it can also be interesting to see what would have happened if slightly different decisions were made, or if they were made in a slightly different context. That’s why people replay games. A film based on a video game is essentially just a replay of the game that you are watching, where the characters make slightly different decisions.

    A film presents a single narrative. When attempting to adapt it into a game, designers must consider where choices can be introduced, and what consequences those choices are allowed to have on the narrative. They are constrained by the source material in this regard, because the player already expects that their choices must progress the plot in a manner similar to what was presented in the film. So it’s much harder to design choices which are meaningful to the player. A film that presents only one narrative inherently constrains the amount of artistic freedom available.

    When a game is designed based on a film (or equivalently, a book) that doesn’t have to be faithful to a specific plotline, but merely uses the systems, settings, and thematics of the source material, the much more available artistic freedom allows for more interesting plots to be written and more meaningful gameplay.

    • Lojcs@piefed.socialOPEnglish
      2·
      4 days ago

      I don’t think games need to have interesting choices, and unless you include moment to moment choices that determine if you get a game over, lots of games don’t present the player with any story freedom at all.

      I think putting the player in the character’s shoes could make any story more immersive, even if you can’t meaningfully change the narrative.

      A hurdle seems to be that big ip comes with the expectation of a big game, which would stretch the story unreasonably. I do agree that a game adaptation has to change things simply because even the shortest games are longer than movies, but I’m afraid too much creative freedom would lead to the same kind of designed-around-gameplay stories that exist in original games