A very strange thing happened last year.I'm completely hooked The Last of Us. Why is that strange you ask? Well, up until that point my video game experience was limited to: Nintengs and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics On Wii. I'm not really into video games, so the thought of sitting down to watch his 10-part series based on video games filled me with dread. Still, within three minutes I was hooked. I had to google the differences between the series and the games and absolutely have to find out what happened next for Ellie and Joel.
And I wasn't alone. the last of us It was HBO's second-biggest debut since 2010, drawing more than 40 million viewers in its first two months. Sure, many of them were fans of the original game, but many, like me, had never turned on a game in their lives.
Many see it as a turning point when video game adaptations finally became “good” after years of questionable attempts, and since then, the number of TV shows and movies based on video games has exploded. did.
Last year we gran turismonew season witcher, Dungeons & Dragons: Thieves' Honor and Super Mario Bros. movie. The long-awaited Prime Video series is coming later this week fall out It will debut on April 11thwhile a new movie borderlands The film starring Cate Blanchett is scheduled to be released in August. By 2025, Mine Craft Margot Robbie is reportedly working on a movie. sims movie.
Of course, most of these projects may have been in production before becoming successful. The Last of Us. SWhy did so many production companies bet on successful video game adaptations?
Previously, there were adaptations of highly successful games such as: assassin's creed, resident evil and max payne It was criticized by both critics and fans. For existing fanbases, there is a huge responsibility to adapt the original as faithfully as possible, or risk alienating the original's supporters.
But video game adaptations aren't so easy. Like Ella Purnell, who plays Lucy in the upcoming film adaptation, it's a completely different viewing experience than playing the game. fall out I will explain.
”I think one of the big challenges with adapting a video game is changing the entire format. “You know, it's not as easy as adapting a book or making a biopic about someone's life,” she said. Radio Times. “It takes away from the first-player experience of playing a game and basically creating a story within that world a key element for people to play the game: the ability to choose.”
as the last of us Shows can work extremely well if done right, leveraging an existing fan base while also gaining new viewers.
Successful adaptations are partly about leveraging the original storytelling created within the game. This creates a rich backstory for the filmmakers to work with and expand on.
For non-gamers (myself included), a large part of a video game is the actual playing part, but most games also have “cutscenes” that you can't play and instead watch the story unfold. Become. And it looks like Hollywood is finally incorporating these plots into creating stories, rather than “loosely” adapting them to games or abandoning them altogether.
Even if you're not into gaming, you can still enjoy a quality story filled with drama, suspense, and heart-tugging moments. That's how successful writers were able to draw in players outside of video games.
Hollywood also seems to be working more with people who are genuinely invested in the games they turn into movies. the last of us It was co-written by Neil Druckmann, who co-wrote and directed the original game, and Craig Mazin, who was a huge fan of the original game.prime video's fallout Director Jonathan Nolan said. GQ He approached creating the series as a “fan” and delayed writing the script, as he was previously so obsessed with playing the game. The Dark Knight Rises.
And much of last year's success was due to super mario bros movie (which grossed $1.36 billion worldwide) is credited with the film's collaboration with the game's owner, Nintendo, while staying true to the game's source material.
If video game adaptations continue to stick to the original source material and keep people who genuinely love the games behind the camera, it feels like there really is a limit in terms of how exciting and profitable these adaptations can be. Masu.Well, who will attend the cinema? Sims?
