5. Plot
And now, the primary dilemma facing the aspiring film-maker (who by now must feel stressed and quite ready to quit the whole business), is what to base the film on? Do you follow the events of a video game, simply changing the medium? Or do you stage a new video game in the universe of an existing game, using a story which has only been fleetingly mentioned in the game mythology? Or even create the loosest of adaptations, taking elements and character ideas from the game series and writing an entirely new story? Its not an easy question to answer, and I dont claim to be able to offer a definitive solution. I would propose, however, that adapting the events of a video game to a film is probably the easiest route, as you run into fewer of the lore-related problems mentioned earlier if you try to tell a different story in the same universe. Creating an extremely loose adaptation will probably fail to inspire fans, although if you build a film strong enough to stand on its own merits (or starring Milla Jovovich) its entirely possible theyll accept it.
Final Thoughts
Finally, is it all really worth the hassle? Should our imaginary film director (who at this point may best be described as borderline suicidal) take all the trouble and effort to produce something that will almost definitely be a commercial failure? Something that will in all probability antagonise the very people they were trying to please, and be used as the punchline in jokes by film critics? Is it worth it? Yes, it is. A good game-to-film adaptation is the Holy Grail of Hollywood; everyone knows it must be possible, that it exists in theory theyre just waiting for the first one to appear. Once it does, the floodgates will open (as they did for Super-Hero movies some years back), and youll be a celebrated pioneer, much like James Cameron with Avatar. We just need someone prepared to do it right. Please. What do you think? Share your thoughts below.