2. Respect The Audience
Film-makers need to learn to respect their core audience fans of the video games. Thats not to say that they shouldnt make their films accessible for people who havent played the game obviously they should. However, video gamers will feature heavily in their target demographic; if they cant sell a Mass Effect film to Mass Effect players, what hope do they have of selling it to the wider cinema audience? Its hard to find a harsher group of critics, though, as video gamers will eagerly await any new release with cynicism, often posting several times a week about newly emergent details of a film which they claim they have no interest in seeing. Those who haven't boycotted the movie (because they dislike the casting decisions, or the marketing decisions, or the director/scriptwriter/production massage therapist) upon returning from the cinema, immediately post details to a forum public waiting with bated breath to pounce upon the smallest inconsistency between the film and the game. But does it really matter if, for example, a planet which in the video game is presented as being isolated in space has other planets around it in the film? Its a small detail, after all. And my answer is: yes, it absolutely does matter if the film is supposed to fit in with the canon of the games. In this case the film has a responsibility to follow the established lore, because if something jars with what the you already know it becomes impossible to immerse yourself fully in the world youre jolted back on the other side of the wall between the imagined reality of the film and actual reality. No longer concentrating on the story, you find yourself thinking Oh, they got that detail wrong, which is just another reminder that production took place and that this story isnt actually happening. Its almost like seeing Michael Corleone levitate briefly in the Godfather : Part Two although it might only last for a few seconds, youve completely broken the rules of the universe you went to great care to set up in an earlier work. If you change these small details, gamers will become hysterical, so its well worth hiring someone to monitor the consistency between the game and the film. And maybe, just maybe, fans should be less demanding, too. However, the majority of directors wisely choose not to try to fit a film in amongst the established lore of the game, but instead adapt the game directly onto the big screen. Theres nothing wrong with this, and I actually feel its a wiser path for film-makers to follow, for reasons I will explain in more depth later. Suffice to say the small inconsistencies between the game and the film cease to matter, because the viewers are now going into the experience fresh and are free to focus on the other, bigger mistakes the film-maker might make.