Transferring Video Games to Film: A Qualitative Examination of the Enduring Struggle to Adapt Video Games to Film

Transferring Video Games to Film

A Qualitative Examination of the Enduring Struggle to Adapt Video Games to Film

Evan Regan

MacEwan University

BCSC203: Final Research Paper Assignment

Professor: Lucille Mazo, PhD

December 10th, 2021

Abstract

This research paper will take a qualitative approach to determine where exactly the disconnect is between the storytellers in the film industry and their counterparts in the video game industry, in an effort to determine why video game stories have been so difficult to successfully translate into live-action mediums. It will examine the history of storytelling in video games, including how the shift from 2D to 3D animation techniques caused an increase in demand for deeper and more engaging storytelling in video games, how video game designers began using techniques from filmmaking to assist in crafting those stories, and what methods have been subsequently used by filmmakers to attempt to capture the success of video games on film. It will also examine the difficulty video games have had in being accepted as examples of art and literature, and how that has affected both the video-game-filmmaking process as well as audience perceptions of those films. These approaches will be examined through analysis of written theses from multiple universities on the subject of video game storytelling, a few examples of video game movies and TV shows, as well as articles published by Amhurst College, the New York Film Academy, and MIT. The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of whether the issues with adapting video games to film stem from a disunion of ideas between video game writers and their peers in the film industry, an inability for live-action media to capture what makes a video game special, or a misunderstanding by film studios about what video game fans want to see in a film adaptation.

Introduction

Purpose:

The purpose of this research is to attempt to identify the disparity in understanding between film narrative and video game narrative which has made the adaptation of the latter into the former a mostly-unsuccessful venture up to this point. This paper will examine the Parasocial relationships between viewers and video game narratives as well as the film counterparts to those narratives. The videogame-film pairings that will be focused on are Warcraft, Sonic the Hedgehog, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and the Netflix series Arcane. 

Problem:

The problem faced is that despite the quality of storytelling that has been spearheading the video game industry's success for over 25 years, the adaptation of these stories into successful films has been a mostly failed venture across numerous attempts in that same span. These adaptations continue to be made and continue to fail both financially and critically. This struggle has been consistent since before films were even attempting to adapt video game narratives, instead taking the characters and writing a movie loosely-based on their video game context. The Super Mario Bros. Adaptation from 1993, Street Fighter from 1994, and Mortal Kombat from 1995 all took this approach, but are considered to be cult B-Movies at best. The first attempt at a direct adaptation of a video game narrative was Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001, but it was also met with dismal reviews and poor reception.

This trend has persisted since 2001 and the content of the subject matter, the genre of the film, and the game itself don’t seem to have much bearing on their success. Not only do fresh audiences not respond to these films, but fans of the games they are based on regularly respond negatively to their impressions of these adaptations. This means that it is not just a difficulty in convincing new audiences to give video game narratives a chance, but a disconnect in the creation of the movies themselves that creates a disparity between the original subject matter and the final product released in cinemas.

Main Question:

Where is the disconnect between the creators of video game cinema and the fans of those games? 

Sub-Questions:

What is missing from these many film adaptations that is present in their video game counterparts? Is there a consistent problem with all failed adaptations, and if so, is there an identifiable solution? What aspects have helped the few successful adaptations of video game narratives to break this mold and reach a new audience through a different medium? 

Significance:

While this paper may not fully solve the issue of adapting interactive narrative into successful film narrative, it nonetheless stands apart from the majority of research done on the subject of either film or television. Plenty of inquiries have been done into film narratives and video game narratives separately, but there are few, if any, that have ventured to look at the attempt to translate one into the other. 

Limitations: 

This paper is limited by a lack of previous data collected on this subject. Other limitations include a lack of access to the individuals who helped make the movies and games being examined here, as well as original documents such as the games’ scripts and code. There is also no way to fundamentally prove that any solution identified by this research would be functional in practice without personally adapting a narrative from game to film, and given time and budgetary constraints, that isn’t possible to accomplish prior to this writing. 

Finally, this paper is limited by the sample size used, in this case 3 films and 1 Netflix series. There are over 40 film adaptations of video games, and over 10 adaptations into series. This sample size attempts to cover the breadth of success seen by these adaptations, but by no means represents every adaptation that has been released. This sample size was chosen due to time limitations, and to avoid redundancy.

Definitions of Terms:

Adaptation:

something that is adapted, especially a movie, book, play, etc., that is changed so that it can be presented in another form (Mirriam-Webster, n.d.)

in this case we will be examining Western adaptations only (Regan 2021, personal communication)

Cinematic: 

of, relating to, suggestive of, or suitable for motion pictures or the filming of motion pictures (Mirriam-Webster, n.d.)

in video games, refers to a non-player-controlled sequence of narrative, delivered through cinema techniques, which communicates a part of the story (Regan 2021, personal communication)

Classic:

accepted or deserving to be accepted as one of the best or most important of its kind (Oxford, n.d.)

Easter Egg:

a hidden message or feature in a video game, film, comic book, etc. that is not necessary or related to the main content, but adds to the entertainment (Oxford, n.d.)

Fanbase:

the fans of a particular team, group, or person collectively; esp. long-term, dedicated supporters, sometimes perceived as being drawn from, or consisting of, a distinct social group (Oxford, n.d.)

Game Mechanics:

the pre-designed tools with which a player interacts with a video game world; movement, abilities, interaction with objects and characters, etc., (Regan 2021, personal communication)

Green Light:

permission for a project, etc. to start or continue (Oxford, n.d.)

In-Game: 

done or happening when someone is playing a computer game (Cambridge, n.d.)

Narrative:

a description of events, especially in a novel; a story (Oxford, n.d.)

Successful:

the correct or desired result of an attempt (Mirriam-Webster, n.d.)

 a successful adaptation will be determined by the total profit earned by the film, the amount of positive critical or fan reception, the release of a sequel to the film, or any combination therein (Regan 2021, personal communication)

Summary:

This research will attempt to identify the persistent difficulty filmmakers have had in adapting video game narratives to film. The goal is to provide a deeper understanding of what to avoid when translating these stories across narratives and where the focus could shift to find success in the future. There is little in the way of first-hand data about the process of making these adaptations, and therefore much of the evidence available will be anecdotal. There is also a distinct lack of other research in this particular area. The narratives of film and video games have been researched extensively, but there has been little study regarding the struggle to reshape those narratives from one medium to the other. It is also impossible to confirm any conclusions these results tell us without the researcher adapting a video game narrative into a film themselves, or closely advising someone else doing so, which is not possible with research done at this scale.

Literature Review: 

This research uses a mix of academic writing to direct its theoretical approach and framework as well as three films and one Netflix series as its sample selections. 

Academia: 

The Meaning and Relevance of Video Game Literacy: 

This thesis posits the idea that video games hold an important cultural position as a tool for learning and social interaction. Bourgonjon argues that approaching videos games through a literary angle cannot be done in the same way as one would approach a novel or essay. Instead, he states that the decision-making element of video games rejects any approach to examine them as a text alone, and that the way in which video games encourage or discourage certain actions, and how players respond, is an essential part of the literary experience, and as such must be examined alongside the textual and visual elements that would normally be considered. (Bourgonjon, 2014)

“Play comprises not just the technical abilities to install or launch a video game, nor the eye-to-hand coordination needed to navigate an avatar through the virtual world, but most importantly also entails interpreting what happens during the game and mastering the grammar and practices of the semiotic domain.” (Bouronjon, 2014)

Also mentioned is the existence of certain video game “conventions” which for experienced players are almost background noise, expected and so common as to go unnoticed, but for new or inexperienced players could be confusing or unclear. “Inexperienced players may lack a sufficiently developed frame of reference to recognize and interpret these codes and may fail to filter out what is important and as a result new players can become overwhelmed.” (Bourgonjon, 2014)

Video Games: Their Effect on Society and How We Must Modernize Our Pedagogy for Students of the Digital Age: 

This examines how videos games have become a tool alongside being a form of entertainment, contributing to learning, art, psychology, medicine, economics, and so on, and how modern educators have struggled to incorporate games into their teaching processes, despite young students having interacted with videos games from a young enough age that it has affected the ways in which they learn. (Baker, 2014)

 “Today, 99% of boys under 18 and 94% of girls under 18 report that they regularly play video games. By the age of 21, the average young person has played video games for approximately 10,000 hours – what many people consider the amount of practice hours needed to become an expert at something.” (Baker, 2014. pg. 35)

Baker goes on to suggest that video games have a potent influence on the way young students learn. Given the widespread and significant experience young people have in learning from video games, Baker suggests that games themselves are a tool for instruction that is going unused. “Good video games, ones that succeed in pushing their player 36 into a state of flow, teach students how to learn. The learning process might be a subconscious one, but the process is occurring.” (Baker, 2014. pg. 35-36)

The relevance here is that, in the sample size used for this research, video game adaptations frequently perceive the tools employed by video game designers to teach players about what the game wants from them and mistake them as essential elements of the game, or the things that make the game “unique.” (Regan 2021, personal communication).

Looking At the Relationship Between Video Games and Movies:

This article describes the evolution of video game storytelling, from the early days of 8-bit artwork and sprites to the emergence of cutscenes, and how video game designers began to incorporate filmmaking techniques into their games to facilitate their storytelling process. It goes on to suggest that, due to the popularity of video games, more and more movie studios will attempt to adapt them to the big screen going forward.

The relevance here is primarily the long-standing connection between film and video games, specifically how filmmaking has influenced the primary ways in which video games convey their narratives. Because of this established connection, the difficulty films have in recreating their own techniques, simply displayed in a digital medium, is unusual. (NYFA, 2016)

A History of the Video Game Narrative:

An even deeper dive into the history of video game storytelling, this article from Amhurst College details how and why video games went from a focus on high scores and fast-paced challenges to being centered around narrative design. It breaks down when exactly stories became a primary focus of game designers and how that was tackled by an industry that was made up primarily of programmers and software designers, and when it became commonplace for professional writers to join the ranks of a game development studio to pursue deeper and more satisfying storytelling. (Buckler, 2012)

 “[There] are the interesting cases of games that tout narrative as a gameplay feature. Recent examples include noir-like Heavy Rain, a critically acclaimed adventure game wherein you interact with different scenes and every decision affects the outcome of the overall narrative, and Alan Wake, a third-person horror game written by a novelist about a novelist experiencing his own horror novel. Critics have drawn comparisons between the two for their attempts to marry narrative and gameplay in an intimate and inseparable fashion.” (Buckler, 2012)

Game Design as Narrative Architecture:

An article written and published by MIT scholar Harry Jenkins that focuses less on the history of video game storytelling and more on the theory of stories in games: which stories are appropriate, and the disparity between those who argue all games should have stories and those who believe that story is secondary to form. It also goes in depth in the various types on in-game storytelling that go beyond the written narrative, such as environmental storytelling, spatial storytelling, and the difference between embedded and organic narratives. (Jenkins, 2004)

“The application of film theory to games can seem heavy-handed and literal minded, often failing to recognize the profound differences between the two media. Yet, at the same time, there is a tremendous amount that game designers and critics could learn through making meaningful comparisons with other storytelling media. One gets rid of narrative as a framework for thinking about games only at one's own risk.” (Jenkins, 2004).

Video Games as an Art Form:

This essay by Michael Robles discusses the difficulty in placing video games in the realm of art forms alongside film, music, books, etc. He argues that many games do not qualify as art but are instead capitalizations on popular culture, but that in no way should exclude those games that do strive for a higher form of the medium from being considered in the same realm as arthouse films. Where the struggle lies is that these games rely heavily on technological innovation to achieve more creative endeavors outside of the templates set forth by video games that simply focus on high scores or exciting action.

“While video games of the current-generation boast life-like graphical engines that often surpass any visual effects present in movies, it is not the only aspect of games that define them as an artistic medium. Most, if not all video games have music uniquely orchestrated for them and could be analyzed completely on its own as a form of musical art. What differentiates a game from its closest relation, film, and other forms of art is its completely interactive form of narrative. When we are truly part of the “artistic experience” in film or literature we constantly associate meaning to what is presented in the movie or book.” (Robles, 2014)

Embodied Narratives in Video Games: The Stories We Write as We Play:

In this thesis for California State University, Patrick Sichter disassembles the value and importance of player-driven narrative in video games. More accurately, he addresses why it is that players connect so personally to video game narratives, even when those narratives are simplified and more superficial than films in the same genre. Sichter argues that player-agency – the ability to direct the game’s narrative to suit their own mentally-creative narrative, builds a deeper connection with the plot than simply being told a story. However, the most successful games, he says, are those that are designed to achieve both: high-quality of pre-scripted narrative as well as deep and meaningful decisions for the player. (Sichter, 2016)

[Many] of the more limited games (those that railroad players) tell their stories through scripted events where the player does not get to choose his/her reactions, or through cut scenes – short movies in which the player character acts independently from the player. In these sorts of games, player contribution occurs mostly through action. The player is not given control over the character’s dialogue or story choices, but is given control over the character’s movement through physical spaces. This is done as a form of simplification. Choice might be entertaining and desirable, but it is also difficult to program – therefore, most games are designed with only a single story(sic) arc, and a singular sequence of events that are pre-scripted and designed to take the player from one action sequence to the next. (Sichter, 2016. pg. 38)

[Moral] choice systems are becoming increasingly popular in games. These systems represent a basic means of providing players with agency, by providing them with the ability to interact with the game’s story by making moral decisions, and are a positive trend in providing players with more options for their unique embodied narratives. At points in the story, they will often be asked to choose between a “good” option, and an “evil” option, which will affect the shape of the overall story. Although somewhat simplistic, systems such as this allow players to feel more involved, and to take some control over their characters. (Sichter, 2016. pg. 39)

Films:

Warcraft:

Directed by Duncan Jones and released in 2016, this adaptation of Blizzard Entertainment’s classic strategy series features a heavy focus on lore and the history of characters that appear in the game. The Warcraft games, while still successful in North America, were far more popular overseas in Chinese markets. (Custer, 2016) While not a direct translation of any plotlines, the film instead chooses to adapt lore references from within the game into their own narrative. (Jones, 2016)

The film was a critical failure but mostly appeased fans of the game, although it was not enough for Universal Pictures to move forward with their planned sequel. (RottenTomatoes.com, n.d.) The film’s budget of around $160 million USD was recouped via the worldwide market (it had a much more successful run in the Chinese market), eventually grossing over $439 million USD. Its success in the North American market was the main concern, with the total gross coming in at just over $47 million USD. (IMDb.com, 2016) 

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time:

This adaptation of Ubisoft’s classic game series was directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular prince, the movie attempts to adapt the plot of the first game in the series into an action-adventure in the vein of The Mummy. (Newell, 2011)

The film was a failure with critics and audiences alike (RottenTomatoes.com, n.d.), and while it didn’t fall into the category of a “bad” movie, there was simply nothing unique about its presentation or plot. With a budget of $200 million USD (at the time setting the Guinness World Record for the movie expensive video game adaptation ever) the film did manage to make a profit, grossing over $336 million worldwide, but once again failed to capture the North American market, only grossing $90 million USD in the country where the game itself was made and where it saw its largest popularity (IMDb.com, 2010)

Sonic the Hedgehog:

A loose adaptation of the classic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog directed by Jeff Fowler, this movie is based upon one of the games mentioned by Sichter as being mostly "action-focused,” (Sichter, 2016) and therefore the plot was mostly left up to the film’s writers. The source material itself is mostly ignored outside of the main characters and their pre-determined abilities (such as Sonic’s superspeed). Instead, the film pulls Sonic out of his “video game world” and places him in our own reality, allowing for his unusual blue colour and interests (such as an obsession with chili dogs) to play off as comedic effect. (Fowler, 2020)

The film was a success with critics and audiences, receiving favourable reviews from most of its viewers and generating enough acclaim to warrant a greenlit sequel. The film more than made back its $85 million USD budget, grossing just under $149 million in North America alone, and $319 million worldwide. (IMDb.com, 2020)

Series:

Arcane: League of Legends:

This Netflix series, written in part by the game League of Legends’ original creators Alex Yee and Christian Linke, takes a similar approach to the Warcraft film discussed earlier, forgoing any plotlines that exist in the game itself in favor of crafting a narrative that surrounds the lore and backstories written for the game’s world. The difference here, aside from being made as a 9-episode series as opposed to a film, is that the creators chose to make this series with 2D and 3D animation as opposed to CG-heavy live action (Yee & Linke, 2021)

The series was a success among both critics and audiences, and was approved for a second season just days after the first season concluded. (RottenTomatoes.com, n.d.). The series remained in Netflix’s top 10 most-viewed series for the entire month of November, averaging 30 million hours viewed each week (top10.netflix.com, 2021)

Methodology:

This research uses primarily qualitative research to examine the response and reception of various video game adaptations into the film medium. However, some quantitative analysis is included, focused on either the budget and box office gross of a particular film, or the viewership numbers of a Netflix series. In this case, qualitative analysis refers to the analysis of public opinions and impressions of video game adaptations, and examines those adaptations under the lens of the parasocial relationship fans of a particular video game develop with that game’s transfer into a new medium.

Design:

First, this research located several academic interpretations of what video game narratives mean and how they interact and impress upon players their value as both literature and experiential narratives. Then, the researcher identified three films and one Netflix series that fit the description of a “video game adaptation” and performed a content analysis with the intention of recognizing the disparity between what literary analysis has described as the main factors that connect players to the narratives of the games they play, and the attempts to adapt those factors into a scripted medium. These factors were split into three groups: adaptations of gameplay mechanics to film, adaptations of gameplay plot to film, and Easter Eggs.

Summary:

This research uses primarily qualitative data collection with some quantitative information mixed in. The researcher accessed a number of literary writings on the subject of video games and narrative, then applied those idea to viewing three films that are considered “video game adaptations” as well as one Netflix series. Data collected was separated into three categories: gameplay mechanics adapted to film, gameplay plot adapted to film, and Easter Eggs.

Results:

The data collected shows that video game film adaptations are often still able to become profitable over time. However, the concerned trend is that these adaptations are all based on games developed in North America, and that were popularized in North America, and yet where these movies struggle most is in the North American market. These findings suggest that video game adaptations struggle to appeal to the fans of the game they are based upon and the markets in which those games themselves found success. Oddly, the adaptation that was the most successful in North America had the lowest worldwide gross of any sample examined. (Figure 1.1)

                       Total Budget (USD)  North American Gross (USD)  Worldwide Gross (USD)

Warcraft 

(Jones, 2016)                 $160,000,000 (est.)              $47,362,290                          $439,048,914

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 

(Newell, 2010) $200,000,000 (est.)                       $90,759,676                           $336,365,676

Sonic the Hedgehog 

(Fowler, 2020) $85,000,000 (est.)                     $148,974,665                            $319,715,683

Figure 1.1 (IMDb.com)

Moving on to qualitative data, the analysis of these four adaptations found a direct correlation between the number of direct references made in the cinematic format to gameplay mechanics led to a lack of positive reception to the film in the market where the game it was adapted from was most popular. Meanwhile, a heavy focus on the lore written by the game’s designers to fill out their game’s world led to the film’s overall success in its most fan-filled markets, but failed to attract any viewers unfamiliar with the source material. However, if that lore is presented in the context of a narrative that isn’t present within the game itself, it succeeds both as an adaptation of fan-favourite material and as an intro to the game’s world for new viewers. (Figure 1.2)

                    References to In-Game Mechanics         References to Game Lore Easter Eggs

Warcraft (Jones, 2016)                      2                                                 10 +                                 4

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time     9                                          3                                2

(Newell, 2010)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Fowler, 2020) 4                                          1                                 8

Arcane Ep 1-3 (Yee & Linke, 2021) 3                                         10+                             7

Arcane Ep 4-6 (Yee & Linke, 2021) 2                                           9                                10+

Arcane Ep 7-9 (Yee & Linke, 2021) 2                                         10+                                10+

Figure 1.2 (Regan 2021, personal communication)

Conclusions:

The key takeaway here is that trying to recreate game mechanics in a cinematic format is not a successful formula. The approach taken in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was doomed because the game was not successful on the strength of its story alone, but because of the blending of its story with unique game mechanics such as wall-running and parkours, and the ability to briefly reverse time. (UbiSoft, 2003) The film adaptation attempts to translate these ideas onto the big screen, but in doing so fails to capture the feeling imparted by these mechanics in-game, and neglects the other elements withing the game, such as the lore, that could have translated more easily to a film medium. (Newell, 2010)

Meanwhile, what we see from film adaptations that were successful in the same markets as their source material is that the game’s fanbase is less interested in seeing the gameplay itself translated into a film, but instead want to see an adaptation of the games characters and lore.  As we see with Warcraft, the film tries to avoid directly referencing game mechanics at all. Those included in Figure 1.2 are indirect representations only. They are character actions within the film that are connected to the characters themselves, but that is also how they are represented as mechanics in the game. Unlike Prince of Persia, Warcraft does not present them as direct references to game mechanics. (Jones, 2016)

As for Sonic the Hedgehog, the games on which the film is based contain relatively little narrative beyond Sonic being fast, who his friends are, and who the villain is. As a result, the film has a lot of creative freedom to work with and does so throughout. The only mechanics referenced are Sonic’s speed and Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik, with any other direct references to the game material coming in the form of Easter Eggs. (Fowler, 2020)

Lastly, Arcane manages to weave all of these factors into its plot without ever concerning itself with directly referencing the game it is based upon. As with Sonic, League of Legends is not a plot-focused game, with most of the lore and character development coming from text descriptions of the characters’ backgrounds. (Riot Games, 2009) Arcane pulls all of its plot focus from these lore texts and then wraps them in a narrative that is entirely the creators’ own. Any references to game mechanics are simply Easter Eggs, thrown in as winks to the fanbase in the audience but never detracting from the plot enough to throw off uninitiated viewers. The show undoubtedly benefits from the quality of world-building done by the lore writers of the game (and likely also from those writers having a hand in the show’s production as well), but it succeeds as a video game adaptation by being based on more than just a video game. The influences range from Game of Thrones to Avatar: The Last Airbender, to classic films like Adaptation and even The Godfather. (Yee & Linke, 2021)

The implications of this data are that, for the most part, fans of a video game will be satisfied with an adaptation that respects and focuses on the lore of the game in question. However, to successfully introduce new fans to the game’s world without insisting they play the game itself to become familiarized, there needs to be a focus on not just re-telling the existing lore, but wrapping it in a foundation of previously-successful film narratives through which that lore can be presented in an accessible and engaging manner. There also appears to be a correlation between the number of Easter Eggs included in the film or series and the success the end product sees with viewers. This may have to do with the more game-centric references and nods to the game’s fanbase being understated, allowing for new viewers to watch the film or series without getting hung up on some information they may have missed. This also allows for the game’s fanbase to feel they have a certain amount of “insider knowledge” about the final film product that new viewers are missing, without alienating those new viewers in the process. 

Further Research:

This research only takes into account three video game-adapted films and one series, but there are over 50 video game film adaptations that have been released to date (with more due in 2022) and a half dozen adapted television series as well. To further this research, one could look to examine those other adaptations and look for similar trends regarding representation of game mechanics versus game lore. 

There is also an opportunity here to look at the reverse of this research: the adaptation of a film into a video game tie-in. While less popular in the last decade, there was a time when every major blockbuster was released alongside a companion game that followed along a similar plot to the film. These were also often not successful in their endeavors to adapt these narratives across mediums, and perhaps there are similar trends that could be uncovered upon further research.

Finally, for a researcher with the means, and a much larger time frame in which to conduct their research, they might take this data and attempt to apply it to a film adaptation of a video game that they themselves could help write. This would help confirm if the trends noted in this data are in fact the driving factors behind what makes a successful video game adaptation, or if there is more still that needs to be considered. This is the only foolproof way to determine if this data has any bearing on the overall reception of the films in question

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