Adaptations

I have just today seen Wreck-it Ralph. It was awesome for many different reasons. I do find the time delay from America to England (which speaks the same language) absolutely absurd, but there's not much I can say about that.

What I WILL say is that it has succeeded in a genre that so many films have failed in. I consider it to be the first utterly good adaptation of videogames that the film industry has created.

Films tend to do that. While some studios like to take risks and push the boundaries of what films can accomplish, most like to sit in one place and make safe profits. And it also helps their writers if the story already exists. In order to do this, they disregard originality and adapt a story that already exists.

Books are good for this. They are a medium that can't be seen in motion, so a film is a nice depiction for the people who want the story but can't be bothered with the book. In the case of Da Vinci Code, most people agree this is better.

The same goes for comic books, which helps considering the writers tend to add a little to help translate a small book into a 2 hour movie with often no dramatic narration.

Video games get a little more iffy, since they are already a visual medium where there's not much added. In fact, there's more taken away than added. You will have to lose control over the character, the flexibility in designing the face (if it's not live action, we're just watching a cutscene), 20 hours of gameplay, cool game mechanics, immersion and a large chunk of story. And this will annoy many people.

It's a two way street between video games and films. Films know they can make money with a licenced game, so they make a quick one at minimal cost to replicate the story of the film in a game format. Films tell a more fluid story than a game can portray, and the plot will get interrupted every so often in order to add some padding. We know the story, and the game will likely add nothing new to the film other than padding techniques.

The worst game ever created was a licenced game (either Superman 64 or ET 2600, depending on who you ask), since they're cheep cash-ins on something actually popular.

I would also mention when people try to turn television series into films, but this is just so retarded it's not worth mentioning. I mean, come on! A visual medium being turned into a visual medium that's functionally identical but far shorter? Please... (hint, M Night, hint)

The good adaptations are where they try to be original while still adapting. The Pokemon anime took the basic outline of the pokemon story, but treated it as more an original character in the pokemon world following his own, much more detailed story. We can complain they get the game mechanics wrong, but they're so far away from the story that we can't criticise it for being different.

Wreck-it Ralph just took the characters and concept of arcade videogames, and used it as a jumping point for a story about it being okay to be the bad guy if you're a good guy at heart. The settings are incredibly videogame, and all the characters are nothing but videogame stereotypes, but they go on a story that we can all like for its originality.

Although watching Wreck-it Ralph, I can't help but think a game where it's just SSB with the characters would be fun as friggity friggity froo.