Why Making A Good Video Game Movie Adaptation is So Difficult

Super Mario Brothers and Silent Hill were quick to be panned, along with the likes of Doom and the less-than-mediocre Resident Evil films. So, why the trend? Is it because video games lack the interesting narrative that films often need? Not exactly; if movies like Before Sunrise can gain success, then it isn't beyond a Legend of Zelda film to make its mark. But there's something different about video game adaptations and book adaptations; while literature evokes directed imagination, video games are about controlled experience. Movies are about entertainment interpretation. That's why adaptations fail so often. See, when you're playing a video game, your role is crucial to the ongoing narrative; that's your investment to the medium. You make your own choices, have a specific skill level, and ultimately drive the entire system. In essence, video games are popular for their reliance on singular interaction between a subject (or low number of subjects) and the story of the game itself. You control the movements, the decisions, and the effort of your characters. In a film, you give that responsibility to the actors. Try to see it like this: have you ever played a video game for an extensive amount of time, become exceptional at it, and then have to watch someone else (a novice) play the same game? What happens? You try to take back control to set things right within the confines of the game (or you laugh at the ineptitude of the player and continue to watch with bated breath). Often times, you might say, "Here, let me show you," and you snatch the controller away and bypass the level with ease. You maintain the role of the hero, or protagonist. How often have you sat in a movie theater, completely stunned at a character's actions thinking that you would never have done something so stupid? Probably fairly often, as it's become quite the stereotype in the horror genre. The difference between video games and cinema is that movies expect those failures of the characters and progress with them. Video games (more often than not) make you try again until you make the right decisions, or hit the right button, or succeed in some way to progress the story. Ultimately, you not beating a level restricts you from continuing the set story. A movie's plot is complete by the time it makes it to theaters, no matter what the characters do on screen. In a video game, your interaction progresses the medium. It is not the same with movies. But you already knew that. That doesn't answer the question of why it's so difficult to adapt the medium. Consider that most video games that would warrant a movie adaptation fall into three categories or genres: adventure, sci-fi, and horror. No one is asking for a Call of Duty film, because war movies are a dime a dozen. No one is begging for a Sims movie, because it would become merely a family or teenage dramadey. The games we want to see converted are games like Gears of War, Half-Life, Halo, Legend of Zelda, and, well, Silent Hill and Resident Evil. So, why aren't they? Well, if it's not an issue with story, it's an issue with characters. While it's fun to play the muscled-up, cigar-smoking definitive badass, it's not always as much fun to watch them. Gears of War is a fairly original plot, with plenty of action, gore, and emotion. You wouldn't like the game nearly as much if you didn't feel something for the characters. So, that has to translate to film. What you'll get, though, in order to get the characters right, are probably going to be the wrestlers or "action faces" everyone complains about. You'll get Vin Diesel, The Rock, Jason Statham...you're pretty much casting The Expendables but in a more complicated plot. And when you level up the plot, you level up the relationships. The stakes. The acting. In the video game world, you'd love to be The Rock. But in a movie, you're just stuck watching. Of course, not all characters are the same. Gordon Freeman is very much a different character than Mario. But, in a lot of ways, video game characters are made to meet specific stereotypes to further the excitement of game play. Video games work more in the extreme than the subtle; something that films will often reverse. You're less likely to see a super-nerd take on an army of alien or monster invaders in a movie and take it seriously (this usually happens in children's films). There are exceptions, but ultimately they're the Qs in the Bond universe or Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day. The heavy fighting is left to Daniel Craig or Will Smith. And because of the look and nature of those actors, their films are able to hold a particular merit that a movie starring a Gordon Freeman may not. Video games often put their characters into one extreme or the other and are able to get away with it. Movies, however, don't get off scott free. So, why hasn't The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time been adapted, yet? Well, let's look at the narrative and character issues. To begin, you have a story not unlike that of Star Wars:A young, parent-less boy is beckoned upon by a princess (with a dual identity that we later find out - Luke's sister/Shiek) to save the universe from a dark lord who plans to use a mystical relic/the Force to have total power/rule with the Empire. That, along with the element that the protagonist has absolutely no way with words (and probably wouldn't go over well if he spoke too much), leads to a project many studios wouldn't be willing to put money on. You can sell it as Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings, but it's unlikely to win over any studio execs. There would be some major changes. A great movie adaptation from a video game is not out of the question. It's very possible. But it's important to understand the elements that work with the narrative that are absent from the video game, and it's important to realize that role-playing and watching are two very different things.

 
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Contributor

Cameron Carpenter is an aspiring screenwriter, current film and journalism student, and self-diagnosed cinephile, which only sounds bad in certain circles. Devoted fan of comics, movies, theater, Jesus Christ, Sidney Lumet, and Peter O'Toole, he sometimes spends too much time on his Scribd and comicbookmovie.com, but doesn't think you're one to judge, devoted reader. You can follow him on Twitter to watch him talk to people you didn't know exist. Oh, and Daredevil is quite the big deal around here (my head).