Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#31

Post by ocdtrekkie » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:26 PM UTC

lihes wrote: post #2

It's very simple: those two are not the same media. A movie, a book are made to tell a story. A video game is made for playing, not for telling a story. They should stop adapting video games, it's pointless.

I think books are suitably different mediums but get cross adapted just fine. I don't think the suggestion that they're "for storytelling" holds weight, many games have very linear stories you play through with little flexibility.

And books often are even harder to translate the story aspects for because they usually take place over much longer time spans than movies or video games. Many movies made from books seem to have character relationships that seem like they should have taken much longer to develop because of it.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#32

Post by umjames » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

justinsaccount wrote: post #17

"The Last of Us" would be a blockbuster.

I don't want that story to be ruined by directors/producers/writers taking creative liberties.

Some things just shouldn't be live-action movies. Look at all the anime movie failures. They were perfectly fine in their original animated format. No need for live action, except to keep people in the movie industry employed.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#33

Post by ocdtrekkie » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:28 PM UTC

ebbv wrote: post #14

This is an easy answer I’m sure I’ve given on here before; when you adapt a book to a movie you have an excess of story and character development. You boil it down to its essential ingredients. Sometimes it still turns out bad but this is why book adaptations are far more successful than video hames. Video games get away with a lot less plot and character development because of their interactive nature and because th…

If this were the case, Warcraft would've knocked it out of the park. It's lore covers many hundreds of hours of gameplay content and a decent number of full books.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#34

Post by jandrese » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:29 PM UTC

ebbv wrote: post #14

This is an easy answer I’m sure I’ve given on here before; when you adapt a book to a movie you have an excess of story and character development. You boil it down to its essential ingredients. Sometimes it still turns out bad but this is why book adaptations are far more successful than video hames. Video games get away with a lot less plot and character development because of their interactive nature and because th…

It depends. RPGs have a lot more character development than action games. Something like Mass Effect would be pretty straightforward to adopt into a movie (biggest question: Man or Woman Shepard?). If you're trying to adapt Space Invaders then yeah, the scriptwriter has their work cut out for them.

Could be worse, you could be adopting classic boardgames. The Battleship movie was gloriously dumb. Monopoly would come across as a critique of capitalism. Actually, the Clue movie was a lot of fun.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#35

Post by jandrese » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:30 PM UTC

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #33

ebbv wrote: post #14

This is an easy answer I’m sure I’ve given on here before; when you adapt a book to a movie you have an excess of story and character development. You boil it down to its essential ingredients. Sometimes it still turns out bad but this is why book adaptations are far more successful than video hames. Video games get away with a lot less plot and character development because of their interactive nature and because th…

If this were the case, Warcraft would've knocked it out of the park. It's lore covers many hundreds of hours of gameplay content and a decent number of full books.

Again, having lots of content doesn't necessarily mean it is good.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#36

Post by squozzer » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:30 PM UTC

The only thing worse than a video game based on a movie is a movie based on a video game.

Maybe if someone makes a movie based on Zork - basically 3 hours of Star Wars "crawl"?

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#37

Post by adpirz » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:30 PM UTC

I still have hope. It took many decades before we entered the golden age of comic book movies, and while I don't think the wait will be as long, I think we're still not quite there yet with video games. What makes a good video game movie is what makes any movie good: when the creative team behind the endeavor believes in it and is tied to the source material. Read some of Nolan's early interviews before Batman Begins comes out and you'll get a sense of that.

I would love to see a Bioshock movie done right, or honestly a proper Metal Gear film. But if the filmmakers don't relate to the material or see it as more than just another narrative engine, we'll get the dime-a-dozen action flicks that try to hype up a few moments without capturing what makes so many VG experiences special.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#38

Post by ebbv » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:33 PM UTC

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #33

ebbv wrote: post #14

This is an easy answer I’m sure I’ve given on here before; when you adapt a book to a movie you have an excess of story and character development. You boil it down to its essential ingredients. Sometimes it still turns out bad but this is why book adaptations are far more successful than video hames. Video games get away with a lot less plot and character development because of their interactive nature and because th…

If this were the case, Warcraft would've knocked it out of the park. It's lore covers many hundreds of hours of gameplay content and a decent number of full books.

1) Lore != character development or plot

2) See the part about grading games on a curve.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#39

Post by jerf » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:33 PM UTC

dfxm12 wrote: post #26

Mostly because videogame plot lines aren't as good as we give them credit for. Videogames are great at being interactive diversions, but their stories leave a lot to be desired and are really just thin background dressing for the real reason we play videogames: for the gameplay. The most successful videogame movies tend towards genre films like Mortal Kombat (the film) and Resident Evil (the series). Of course, let's…

The video games that do have a decent plot often have a plot that just can't be squeezed into a movie. I've seen some decent anime conversions of some video games, which were arguably interactive anime anyhow (i.e., Persona 4), but at roughly 8 hours (call it 24 20 minute episodes by the time you're done with commercials, opening, and closing) and still feeling a bit squeezed at times, that's not going to be a movie any time soon. From a more western perspective, good luck getting Planescape: Torment into a movie format.

I supposed if Hollywood had some confidence about making video game movies they might be very excited about getting a pre-made trilogy, but since their lack of confidence is well-founded in fact I don't see this happening any time soon.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#40

Post by ebbv » Wed, Apr 11, 2018, 6:34 PM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #34

ebbv wrote: post #14

This is an easy answer I’m sure I’ve given on here before; when you adapt a book to a movie you have an excess of story and character development. You boil it down to its essential ingredients. Sometimes it still turns out bad but this is why book adaptations are far more successful than video hames. Video games get away with a lot less plot and character development because of their interactive nature and because th…

It depends. RPGs have a lot more character development than action games. Something like Mass Effect would be pretty straightforward to adopt into a movie (biggest question: Man or Woman Shepard?). If you're trying to adapt Space Invaders then yeah, the scriptwriter has their work cut out for them. Could be worse, you could be adopting classic boardgames. The Battleship movie was gloriously dumb. Monopoly would come…

I loved the Mass Effect games but I disagree it’s an automatic home run. The characters are all very thin and the main character, like most main characters is a vessel for the player to project themselves into and not a compelling protagonist.