6 Books We Wish They’d Adapt Into Video Games
A few years ago, some guy made a fake, early ’90s Nintendo Entertainment System-style video of gameplay of a video game based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It unfortunately wasn’t real, but it brought attention to a harsh truth: there are precious few video games based on classic novels. I mean, there are video game versions of movies and TV shows, but no books! Here are some free suggestions on how to make books a little more interactive, video game designers.
The Goldfinch (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
The Goldfinch (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
By Donna Tartt
In Stock Online
Paperback $22.99
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
This Pulitzer Prize-winner is so detailed covers so much time that there are just so many characters. The novel is just begging for the Mario Kart treatment. We’d all have hours of fun squaring off as our favorite Goldfinch characters—whether it’s a main player like Theo or Hobie, or briefly appearing but important characters like Tom Cable, Mr. Bracegirdle, the girls Boris sells cocaine to (Katie and Them), and the goldfinch from the Fabritius painting that figures prominently in the book.
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
This Pulitzer Prize-winner is so detailed covers so much time that there are just so many characters. The novel is just begging for the Mario Kart treatment. We’d all have hours of fun squaring off as our favorite Goldfinch characters—whether it’s a main player like Theo or Hobie, or briefly appearing but important characters like Tom Cable, Mr. Bracegirdle, the girls Boris sells cocaine to (Katie and Them), and the goldfinch from the Fabritius painting that figures prominently in the book.
Silas Marner
Silas Marner
By George Eliot
In Stock Online
Paperback $4.95
Silas Marner, by George Eliot
In this rhythmic game inspired by Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, the player controls the bitter miser onscreen, having him move pieces of gold from one side of a table to another as he counts them. But he must do so in perfect rhythm and not get distracted by the cries of the abandoned baby in his care or he loses.
Silas Marner, by George Eliot
In this rhythmic game inspired by Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, the player controls the bitter miser onscreen, having him move pieces of gold from one side of a table to another as he counts them. But he must do so in perfect rhythm and not get distracted by the cries of the abandoned baby in his care or he loses.
Moby-Dick (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
Moby-Dick (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
By
Herman Melville
Introduction
Carl F. Hovde
Paperback $11.95
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Like many party games available for the Nintendo Wii, Moby-Dick is actually a series of fun, quick, “mini-games.” In one game, the player can steer the mighty Pequod through treacherous waters. In another, they can try to harpoon a whale before the 400-hour timer runs out. Or the player can just stay in calm water and contemplate man’s true nature.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Like many party games available for the Nintendo Wii, Moby-Dick is actually a series of fun, quick, “mini-games.” In one game, the player can steer the mighty Pequod through treacherous waters. In another, they can try to harpoon a whale before the 400-hour timer runs out. Or the player can just stay in calm water and contemplate man’s true nature.
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
In Stock Online
Paperback $13.00
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
This could be one of those Facebook games with lots of bright colors and sparkly objects that hypnotize the brain into wasting away the hours. In this puzzle game, the player is “Georgie” and has to pick as many bright orange and glitter covered pieces of barley as possible. It sounds easy but it’s hard to do when Curley keeps jumping in to stop you, not to mention the soft rabbits and puppies running around the edge of the screen.
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
This could be one of those Facebook games with lots of bright colors and sparkly objects that hypnotize the brain into wasting away the hours. In this puzzle game, the player is “Georgie” and has to pick as many bright orange and glitter covered pieces of barley as possible. It sounds easy but it’s hard to do when Curley keeps jumping in to stop you, not to mention the soft rabbits and puppies running around the edge of the screen.
Nicholas Nickleby (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
Nicholas Nickleby (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
By
Charles Dickens
Introduction
Jill Muller
Illustrator
Phiz
Paperback $9.95
Nicholas Nickleby, by Charles Dickens
Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. allows players to select virtually any player from Nintendo’s archive of classic games…and then make them fight each other to the death with karate moves and swords. (Finally, you can see once and for all if Mario could take Pac-Man in a fight!) In terms of having a huge reserve of characters, the literary equivalent is Charles Dickens’ epic novel Nicholas Nickleby and in its virtual city full of Victorian English people, which includes seemingly everyone Nicholas Nickleby deals with across a few decades. With this game, you could see who is the mightiest in battle—can Nicholas defeat his nefarious Uncle Ralph in a bout? What about housekeeper Peg Sliderskew vs. the mysterious “Man Next Door”? Or even Mr. Pluck against Mr. Pyke?
Nicholas Nickleby, by Charles Dickens
Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. allows players to select virtually any player from Nintendo’s archive of classic games…and then make them fight each other to the death with karate moves and swords. (Finally, you can see once and for all if Mario could take Pac-Man in a fight!) In terms of having a huge reserve of characters, the literary equivalent is Charles Dickens’ epic novel Nicholas Nickleby and in its virtual city full of Victorian English people, which includes seemingly everyone Nicholas Nickleby deals with across a few decades. With this game, you could see who is the mightiest in battle—can Nicholas defeat his nefarious Uncle Ralph in a bout? What about housekeeper Peg Sliderskew vs. the mysterious “Man Next Door”? Or even Mr. Pluck against Mr. Pyke?
Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome
By
Edith Wharton
Introduction
Elizabeth Ammons
Noted by
Elizabeth Ammons
In Stock Online
Paperback $11.00
Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton
Video games are way too concerned with things like “action” and “stuff happening.” But imagine how revolutionary an Ethan Frome game could be. Finally, a video game that is both vaguely sad and almost entirely uneventful! Tasks that must be completed in the Ethan Frome game include: “Maintaining the Failing Family Farm Even Though You Have No Desire to Do So,” “Trying to Sell Some Lumber,” “Being Quiet While Your Terminally Ill Wife Sleeps,” “Walking Mattie Home From the Dance While Stifling Romantic Feelings,” “Trying to Repair the Pickle Dish,” and finally, “Sledding.” That last level sounds fun, but try as you might, guilt will displace any fun and the player will inevitably crash and leave on-screen Ethan with a permanent limp.
What book do you think should be adapted into a video game?
Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton
Video games are way too concerned with things like “action” and “stuff happening.” But imagine how revolutionary an Ethan Frome game could be. Finally, a video game that is both vaguely sad and almost entirely uneventful! Tasks that must be completed in the Ethan Frome game include: “Maintaining the Failing Family Farm Even Though You Have No Desire to Do So,” “Trying to Sell Some Lumber,” “Being Quiet While Your Terminally Ill Wife Sleeps,” “Walking Mattie Home From the Dance While Stifling Romantic Feelings,” “Trying to Repair the Pickle Dish,” and finally, “Sledding.” That last level sounds fun, but try as you might, guilt will displace any fun and the player will inevitably crash and leave on-screen Ethan with a permanent limp.
What book do you think should be adapted into a video game?