By Chris Evans [edited by Lianne Jones]Video games have a torrid history of being made into movies, there have been very few successful adaptations; commercially or critically. This is a problem that has been apparent since one of the first game to film conversions appeared with Mortal Kombat and such like. However, we have seen more success recently with the Resident Evil and Silent Hill films.
One of the key problems with turning a video game into a film is dealing with the fans of the game. Gamers are similar to many other die-hard fans of other entertainment types. You will see fans of a specific film up in arms when a remake is announced; this applies in a similar way with gamers. A large proportion of games which are made into movies have this die hard group of fans, and for them, if anything is slightly different in the film version of their game, well then they will be in uproar.
This was seen with Doom. The games in the series focus on a demonic invasion of Mars by legions from Hell but, the film took a different perspective on the story by introducing human biological engineering and doing away with the darker more evil aspects of the story.
The decision by the film makers to ignore the story and setting of the games meant that their target audience was turned away from the film. It must also be noted that the film wasn’t very good; the inclusion of a first-person sequence where the audience was treated to a view solely of The Rock’s gun barrel was not a good cinematic decision. While it was an attempt to garner the support of the gaming audience, it turned them away as the sequence felt artificial. Likewise for the every day moviegoer, it was something too artificial that altered how the audience interacted with the film.
The issue of interactivity between the audience and the film has long since been a problem when it comes to making a film based on a game. The trouble is that games are all about the interaction between the gamer and what they are playing. Creating this sense of interaction in a film is near impossible, and for this reason many gamers are dismissive of a cinematic interpretation of a game.
Non-gamers can also be dismissive of a film that has been based on a game and they can feel isolated when watching it. Games often come with a story and sense of place that can only be understood when someone is actually playing.
Games which have been transformed into films, such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil, have created a long standing narrative over the series of the games. Looking at the film conversions of these games is interesting; the Resident Evil movies have moved away from the settings of the games with a key sequence in the latest movie taking place in Las Vegas.
This change of setting means that people who are not interested in the games are more likely to pay attention to the movie. In this way the Resident Evil movies have made a conscious effort not to isolate a wider audience.
We have seen through films such as Hitman that not all game to film adaptations are able to avoid isolating their audience. The problem with the Hitman movie was that it failed to deviate away from the games to gain a new audience, and also failed to stay true enough to the franchise to maintain the support of the fans.
Transferring a game into a film is a much more challenging task then creating a movie based on a book. Attempting to create an enjoyable and critically successful film that is based on a game requires great skill from the makers. The different aspects present in a game, be it the story or the interaction with the player, cannot be readily transferred onto the big screen but, despite the difficulties, the number of poorly received game to film adaptations and the heavy criticisms of pretty much every adaption made, the studios continue to churn them out and ready them for the crossfire of comments from both film and game fans alike. There have been a few successes amongst the rubble of bad adaptations so, there is some hope for this type of film and as both industries evolve and develop their relationship, we are more likely to see improvements and more successful ones beginning to appear.
One of the key problems with turning a video game into a film is dealing with the fans of the game. Gamers are similar to many other die-hard fans of other entertainment types. You will see fans of a specific film up in arms when a remake is announced; this applies in a similar way with gamers. A large proportion of games which are made into movies have this die hard group of fans, and for them, if anything is slightly different in the film version of their game, well then they will be in uproar.
This was seen with Doom. The games in the series focus on a demonic invasion of Mars by legions from Hell but, the film took a different perspective on the story by introducing human biological engineering and doing away with the darker more evil aspects of the story.
The decision by the film makers to ignore the story and setting of the games meant that their target audience was turned away from the film. It must also be noted that the film wasn’t very good; the inclusion of a first-person sequence where the audience was treated to a view solely of The Rock’s gun barrel was not a good cinematic decision. While it was an attempt to garner the support of the gaming audience, it turned them away as the sequence felt artificial. Likewise for the every day moviegoer, it was something too artificial that altered how the audience interacted with the film.
The issue of interactivity between the audience and the film has long since been a problem when it comes to making a film based on a game. The trouble is that games are all about the interaction between the gamer and what they are playing. Creating this sense of interaction in a film is near impossible, and for this reason many gamers are dismissive of a cinematic interpretation of a game.
Non-gamers can also be dismissive of a film that has been based on a game and they can feel isolated when watching it. Games often come with a story and sense of place that can only be understood when someone is actually playing.
Games which have been transformed into films, such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil, have created a long standing narrative over the series of the games. Looking at the film conversions of these games is interesting; the Resident Evil movies have moved away from the settings of the games with a key sequence in the latest movie taking place in Las Vegas.
This change of setting means that people who are not interested in the games are more likely to pay attention to the movie. In this way the Resident Evil movies have made a conscious effort not to isolate a wider audience.
We have seen through films such as Hitman that not all game to film adaptations are able to avoid isolating their audience. The problem with the Hitman movie was that it failed to deviate away from the games to gain a new audience, and also failed to stay true enough to the franchise to maintain the support of the fans.
Transferring a game into a film is a much more challenging task then creating a movie based on a book. Attempting to create an enjoyable and critically successful film that is based on a game requires great skill from the makers. The different aspects present in a game, be it the story or the interaction with the player, cannot be readily transferred onto the big screen but, despite the difficulties, the number of poorly received game to film adaptations and the heavy criticisms of pretty much every adaption made, the studios continue to churn them out and ready them for the crossfire of comments from both film and game fans alike. There have been a few successes amongst the rubble of bad adaptations so, there is some hope for this type of film and as both industries evolve and develop their relationship, we are more likely to see improvements and more successful ones beginning to appear.
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