10 Things You Won't Believe Inspired Iconic Video Games
Anything can inspire the creation of a game but this list takes it to another level.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Some of the greatest literary works and cinematic masterpieces influenced the creation of the most iconic games. George Orwell's classic,1984, inspired Metal Gear V: The Phantom Pain. Stephen King's masterpiece, The Mist, inspired Halo.
The creators of Prince of Persia stated that the story was heavily based on the style and tone of 1,001 Days And Nights. Both stories revolve around Arabian mythology so it's easy to see how Prince of Persia drew its influence.
The PS2 masterpiece, Silent Hill 2, was instigated by Fyodor Dostoevsky's work, Crime & Punishment. At first, that motivation behind the game isn't clear. Silent Hill is set in a ghostly town. Crime + Punishment revolves around an impoverished killer who convinces himself that he is above the law. Although the stories aren't the same, Silent Hill 2 was inspired by the novel's themes, characters, and relationships. Although the two stories don't seem to have a lot in common, you can understand how one inspired the other.
Some games, on the other hand, were inspired by the DUMBEST things. On this list, we will be looking at games that were inspired by a sailor, a hat, pizza, a retail landlord, and aliens.
10. Five Nights At Freddy's Was Inspired By A Kid's Game About Beavers
In 2014, Scott Cawthon released a very simple horror game that revolves around a night guard surviving five nights while being hunted by evil animatronics. (Okay, it doesn’t sound simple when I put it like that but the game is pretty short.)
Five Nights was an instant hit and spawned sequels, novels, spin-offs, merchandise, and a VR game on the way. This is astounding considering Cawthon was so poor while making Five Nights that he couldn’t afford game testers and so, had his kids play the game to find glitches and bugs.
Despite the fact Five Nights is one of the most iconic horror game series, Cawthon had no experience making horror. Ten years earlier, he was working on Christian-themed animations like A Christmas Journey and The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Everything changed when he developed the game, Chipper and Sons Lumber Co., in 2007. This game’s lead character was meant to be a cute little beaver but he was criticised for looking like a creepy animatronic. Although the developer was devastated by the game’s failure, he took the “creepy animatronic idea” and ran with it for Five Nights at Freddy’s.