Videogame movies that WOULDN'T work.

[Christina Webber]

Any open world, sandbox RPG like Skyrim wouldn't really work since you'd need a linear plot and a very defined, fixed protagonist. It would necessarily go against the "be anyone, do anything" theme of the game.

I Think a game like skyrim would actually work if you pick one of the main questlines to do, with other bits of the game mixed in. It would definitely be difficult to pick what works but it could be done.

As far as what wouldn't work: things people mentioned like Tetris. I personally think games like Killshot wouldn't make good movies cause they're just shooting based games, but obviously people try (ie the Halo movie).

 

[Reaper195]

Mass Effect. For me, anything but a female Shepard that fucks Garrus would just make my blood boil. Also, the Uncharted and Last of Us games. They're enough like movies. Why do we need shortened versions?

 

[Longstreet]

Any movie created by Uwe Boll of course.

You can probably make a movie out of any game, but whether or not it'll suck is a completely different story

 

[COMaestro]

The Unfinished Swan. Nothing but white screen until some black ink is thrown out to define the space. Don't think two hours of watching that would be very entertaining.

 

[Fijiman]

Minecraft the Movie would probably be terribly boring.

 

[Captain Billy]

Bioshock; namely, the first one. Any kind of spinoff set in Rapture might work pretty well, actually, but a decent movie adaptation of the first game's story would be impossible, as the entire point of the story is the player's interaction.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

A movie on Sonic... the Hedgehog.

I just can't see a live action movie happening anytime soon or, ever really. Would Sonic be in CGI or a puppet? What would be the movie's plot or story? Would the other characters relating to Sonic be involved and would this movie be rated PG or PG-13?

He may run very fast, but I can't see where the movie would progress towards. Would the plot involve them saving forest critters or something more?
Even if there are existing Sonic movies (which I haven't heard of) .. I am talking about a real life filmed movie that goes on the big screen in theaters near everyone. If it was somehow pulled off... I would be immensely impressed.

Maybe a meta thing ala Wreck it Ralph only starring Sonic? Or we go the Roger Rabbit way and make a movie starring Sonic and Mario trying to adapt to the changing landscape of videogaming by putting up a Call of Duty-esque shooter with the other Nintendo pets?

 

[KingmanHighborn]

Katamari would be a very confusing, creepy movie to watch. At least for US audiences

 

[eberg]

For a game that would truly never ever work you'd need to resort to something like Tetris or Breakout.

Oh contraire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA

 

[Absolutionis]

make a movie starring Sonic and Mario trying to adapt to the changing landscape of videogaming

That's pretty much the story of modern Sonic games. Your suggestion could be a documentary.

 

[ckam]

I think there was a fake trailer for a Minesweeper movie once. It didn't sell the idea really well. Then again, it wasn't supposed to.

 

[Alex West]

Stanley Parable.

'nuff said.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

For a game that would truly never ever work you'd need to resort to something like Tetris or Breakout.

Oh contraire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA

Pacific Rim meets Rollerball, only it's blocks instead of mechas and Tetris instead of... Rollerball?

 

[Mikejames]

You know, even looking at games with great writing like Telltale's Walking Dead, I have a hard time imagining a film adaption with the same level of impact.

And the Silent Hill series has already shown difficulties in trying to bring subtle atmosphere to a non-interactive format. (Though the sequel film does make me respect the first film's attempt to do so more...)

Mass Effect. For me, anything but a female Shepard that fucks Garrus would just make my blood boil.

I haven't heard any news on that adaption in a long while...

While I admit I'd probably still watch it, hearing about an attempt at a canon Shepard makes me all sorts of wary.

 

[legend of duty]

Half Life. A silent protagonist just doesn't seem like it would work too well for movies. And if he talked, shit would be hitting the fan.Not to mention Hollywood would make him out to be a stereotypical TV scientist that somehow knows eight languages and has doctorates in political science,physics, neurobiology, chemistry, and philosophy all before he turns 28.

 

[Story]

I want to say the Stanley Parable, but I'm sure that can be tweaked to comment on the limitations of movies since obviously you can't do a commentary on video games with a movie (or can you hmm?)

Stranger Than Fiction did the exact same hocus pocus in 2006, and it was already boring and gimmicky then.

Damn, you are absolutely right. I disliked that movie too.
In my humble option though I think Stanley does it better, at least the concept doesn't fall apart with that game the way it does in Stranger Than Fiction.

 

[XMark]

Basically, any game series whose claim to fame was that playing the game was like being in (insert name of popular movie here). Making a movie of a game that was trying to be like a movie is like taking a photocopy of a photocopy.

Max Payne was a game that was supposed to be like playing an action movie. The Max Payne movie sucked because a movie that's like a game that's like an action movie isn't anything special.

I'm not too optimistic about an Uncharted movie either, because that would just be a movie that's like a game that's like Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone.

I'm not sure if the Kane and Lynch movie will ever actually get finished, but when it comes out I think I'll just go and watch Heat again instead

The best you can hope for with adapting a game like that is a passably good imitation of the original source material (example: Prince of Persia, which is basically just "decent Arabian Nights-style adventure movie with a couple of characters and the time dagger thingy from the game based on other Arabian Nights-style adventure movies").

 

[Sean Renaud]

I don't know if there are many video games tha tsomeone would try to base a movie ON rather than around that wouldn't work. Though that depends on how closely your trying to hold to the story itself, as someone pointed out Bioshock is largely about the player's input (considering you didn't really have any choices.)

 

[Pescetarian]

"Spec Ops: The Line: The Movie"