GAMES & TECH Videogame Adaptations: The New Trend

WORDS by Sean Romera McCarthy

It struck me, as I watched the third act of Tom Cruise’s latest summer blockbuster, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning: Part One, that the high octane and nail-biting final sequence was one that I had seen years before in a videogame; Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. In almost the exact same fashion as rogue agent Ethan Hunt, the charismatic, globe-trotting treasure seeker, Nathan Drake, had already clambered through a precarious train carriage, dangling miles above the ground in a Tibetan mountainside, all during a snowstorm. Compared to Tom Cruise leaping over some chairs in front of a greenscreen, I couldn’t help but feel Drake had somehow done it better. Thus, as I left the cinema, two questions sprang to mind. Why are videogames surpassing films and TV, and why are Hollywood studios desperate to cash in on, or adapt, the gaming industry?

Videogames have come a long way since iconic arcade staples like Pong and Space Invaders. With the evolution in graphics, writing and acting, along with an unlimited runtime to explore stories and worlds, the games of today have often managed to provide some incredibly engaging adventures to dive into. The Last of Us alone won over two hundred ‘Game of the Year’ awards when it released to critical acclaim in 2013. Since then, other titles like God of War, Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Ghost of Tsushima have followed suit in delivering incredibly original and exciting experiences. This popularity when compared to Hollywood’s business model comes down to a variety of factors.

When someone picks up a controller, they’re no longer just a spectator to the story unfolding on-screen, but an active participant.

The series, on the other hand, can’t help but feel rushed over its roughly eight-hour runtime, cutting out memorable set pieces and focusing on subplots which, although benefiting from added context, aren’t vital to the main story at hand. As such, although it delivers an enjoyable viewing experience, it pales in comparison to the bond brought about by a player and their controller.

Taking The Last of Us as an example, it is one of the few successful adaptations of a videogame, yet nonetheless still falls short to its console predecessor. Traversing through its fourteen-hour story, the player connects to Joel and Ellie over a far longer period. You evade capture, you fight swarms of infected, you absorb the quiet moments between the two protagonists. By the end, when Joel goes through the game’s gripping finale, the player’s actions in pulling the trigger and scrambling against the clock feels earned and intense. You’re on Joel’s side, because, in a weird way, you are Joel.

You can be an all-powerful, unstoppable warrior, a seasoned spec-ops agent battling terrorism, an honorable cowboy riding across a vast and lawless America, or a superhero beating up bad guys and saving the city from crime. In a sense, videogames nestle themselves and feed on the nostalgic nature of ‘makebelieve’, a trait often present and vital to the development of children. Thus, it’s no wonder why it has risen in popularity across the world.

Why Hollywood has decided to adapt or replicate elements from videogames comes down to a growing issue in the film making industry. Originality is rare, and frankly, running out of supply. Not because storytellers have been reduced to scraping the barrel for ideas, but rather, Hollywood and its outof-touch formula has restricted access to originality entirely. Simply put, major studios don’t want to risk it. Why take a chance on a brand-new concept when they can keep pumping out Star Wars, Marvel and Indiana Jones films?

Franchises with established fanbases and an unbeatable guarantee of success (though, ironically, even this guarantee, following shameless cash-grabs, is rapidly slipping away). Videogames are far more liberated when it comes to concepts. That’s why HBO picked up The Last of Us, because it’s fresh and gripping, a welcome change of pace from the never-ending stream of teenage love stories and fantasy epics.

Another glaring factor is the audience consuming the entertainment. After all, gaming is still considered a relatively niche hobby. However, films and TV are universal, and Hollywood is acutely aware of this.

By adapting videogames, they manage to entice the preestablished videogame fanbase, while drawing in a larger portion of the population with no knowledge of the source material. That way it comes off as original to most viewers, jackpot.

Make no mistake, there have certainly been attempts to adapt videogames before. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Assassin’s Creed, and Uncharted are but a few in recent years, all games with fascinating and thrilling worlds, yet each one’s adaptation failed to deliver anything truly exciting. Such endeavours branded games with a pop-culture “curse”, that they can never be successfully translated to another form of media. Yet, it now seems that Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog turned the tables, with The Last of Us finally revealing the goldmine of gaming for all to see.

As the superhero genre withers and slowly fades away from the silver screen and streaming services, the potential of videogames could take centre stage and step into the limelight. Five Nights at Freddy’s is set to release this October, and should adaptations such as these continue to be produced with the same level of passion and care, they’ll undoubtedly transform into the brand-new trend of entertainment.