What books would make for a great game?

[Forobryt]

The Dictionary.....You play as Samuel Johnson and must go around and collect all the words. Would be a wet dream for completionists.


ok seriously Dresden Files would be an interesting one, free roam detective sandbox in Chicago.
Night Angel Trilogy would end up being some kind of crappy Assassins creed clone unless they really tried hard though.

The world from the Clockwork Century books also seems like it might be an interesting one to play in.

 

[sweetylnumb]

Imperial Guard Omnibus. You have several games in one story line campaign. First you have the Catachans on a deathworld. The next your a raw recruit from a Agriworld, where his regiment is sent TO THE WRONG PLANET! His entire company dies when they make a mad dash to the nearby Imperial guard trenches in a ork siege after their shuttle just got shot down by a hundred rockets, that has lasted for more than a decade, and then have the challenge of lasting more then 24 hours to earn better gear and probe he earned his wheelbarrow for his brass balls all guardsmen are given. And finally with the same squad that took the last guy in you are sent to the SEWERS of the city to clear out feral orks and destroy the sewers entirely.

If that doesn't sound awesome then what is?

Heck, this or Malus Darkblade. I just want another decent war-hammer game that isn't Dawn of war (one -.-) or space marine.
I mean yeah the space marine fighting was great, but theres so much more! what about a stealth action game where you get to play an Elder scout or something.

 

[Thomas Barnsley]

The Dictionary.....You play as Samuel Johnson and must go around and collect all the words. Would be a wet dream for completionists.

I thought you wrote 'Samuel Jackson', as in Samuel L. Jackson, and I was SUPER keen. I can just imagine running around as SLJ, blowing up baddies and retrieving their words. Awesome.

 

[SweetShark]

Yes, for sure LMS: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter.

Why is it raining Skittles in that picture...?

It seems someone blowed his bag which had the most Skittles with him.
THE BASTARDS!!

 

[omegaweopon]

Redwall. Large battles, heavy bosses, large sweeping settings, multiple races, and conflicts spanning far and wide. Imagine playing a humble field mice from the Abbey of Redwall, or playing one of the hares of the Long Patrol, or even a badger lor from Salamandastron. Surely I can't be the only one who has thought it would make a great game adaptation. All the elements for it are there.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

You would play as a simple human Hitchhiker, one of the few random chumps who miraculously (and possibly unwillingly) managed to be off-planet when Earth was destroyed. It's now your job to find a way to survive using only that little guide and anyone willing to give you a lift.

From there, you can do what you want. Travel across the galaxy, encounter strange civilizations, take odd jobs, try not to starve or lose your towel. However, the galaxy is a dangerous place for a simple human on their own. You would have to study the guide so you can avoid any nasty surprises and you would probably have to stay clear of the Vogons.

I'm not sure what the overall point of the game would be but it would be worth it just to be able to experience some of that galaxy in a open adventure.

Not only has it already been done, it's been done by Douglas Adams himself. I don't think any developer can top that in 2013.

 

[Vern5]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

You would play as a simple human Hitchhiker, one of the few random chumps who miraculously (and possibly unwillingly) managed to be off-planet when Earth was destroyed. It's now your job to find a way to survive using only that little guide and anyone willing to give you a lift.

From there, you can do what you want. Travel across the galaxy, encounter strange civilizations, take odd jobs, try not to starve or lose your towel. However, the galaxy is a dangerous place for a simple human on their own. You would have to study the guide so you can avoid any nasty surprises and you would probably have to stay clear of the Vogons.

I'm not sure what the overall point of the game would be but it would be worth it just to be able to experience some of that galaxy in a open adventure.

Not only has it already been done, it's been done by Douglas Adams himself. I don't think any developer can top that in 2013.

Really? So no one could possibly design a game that uses the same elements of the setting presented in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to a greater effect than a game that was created in the 1980s? The old amiga game is just a retread of the original story with interactive elements. I'm talking about not following the journey of Arthur Dent and just exploring the rest of the galaxy that was mentioned but never really used in-story.

 

[saintdane05]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

You would play as a simple human Hitchhiker, one of the few random chumps who miraculously (and possibly unwillingly) managed to be off-planet when Earth was destroyed. It's now your job to find a way to survive using only that little guide and anyone willing to give you a lift.

From there, you can do what you want. Travel across the galaxy, encounter strange civilizations, take odd jobs, try not to starve or lose your towel. However, the galaxy is a dangerous place for a simple human on their own. You would have to study the guide so you can avoid any nasty surprises and you would probably have to stay clear of the Vogons.

I'm not sure what the overall point of the game would be but it would be worth it just to be able to experience some of that galaxy in a open adventure.

There was a Hitchhiker's game. Old school Zork style.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml
Good luck getting the Babel Fish.

OT: I would love one based off Warriors. You know, that book that is kind of like Watership Down but with cats.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

You would play as a simple human Hitchhiker, one of the few random chumps who miraculously (and possibly unwillingly) managed to be off-planet when Earth was destroyed. It's now your job to find a way to survive using only that little guide and anyone willing to give you a lift.

From there, you can do what you want. Travel across the galaxy, encounter strange civilizations, take odd jobs, try not to starve or lose your towel. However, the galaxy is a dangerous place for a simple human on their own. You would have to study the guide so you can avoid any nasty surprises and you would probably have to stay clear of the Vogons.

I'm not sure what the overall point of the game would be but it would be worth it just to be able to experience some of that galaxy in a open adventure.

Not only has it already been done, it's been done by Douglas Adams himself. I don't think any developer can top that in 2013.

Really? So no one could possibly design a game that uses the same elements of the setting presented in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to a greater effect than a game that was created in the 1980s? The old amiga game is just a retread of the original story with interactive elements. I'm talking about not following the journey of Arthur Dent and just exploring the rest of the galaxy that was mentioned but never really used in-story.

Oh. I thought this thread was about books turned into games. HHGTTG is really about the story of Arthur Dent. I'd hate to see it turned into a "universe", destroying all the humor and everything unique about the original. An open game you are suggesting would do exactly that, I fear.

 

[Norithics]

Any of the ones that earned the Newberry Medal. The game can be nothing but button-mashing QTEs to see how long you can go without crying after losing your dog/best friend/alien companion.

 

[ghostrider409895]

Some of the books I have in mind might make sense as a game, but they would be a really odd combination of genres. There are actually a few books that I would just like to see how they would form a game around it.

I liked Going After Cacciato, which could have some interesting sections as the team travels through the Vietnam jungle, and a few fighting sections when the imagine escaping from a prison somewhere (I think it was Iran). However, I would have no idea if the rest of the book would make a game, since it might not be anything more than a story players would play through.

I guess developers were able to figure out a way to make The Series of Unfortunate Events into a game, and if I remember correctly it was kind of fun as a kid. They took some liberties, but they kept the same concept around. Perhaps I should consider not making a book into a game, but rather taking a concept of a book and turning it into a game?

Lastly though, I would really like to see more graphic novels and comics be turned into a game. I know they kind of did that for the 2005 The Punisher game since a lot of the ideas came from Welcome Back Frank, and the Batman Arkham games took a lot of ideas from Batman comics. I would really like to see a Blade videogame, or a Daredevil videogame. Even a non-movie tie in Spider-man game would be great (although Spider-man 2 was really good as is). I just would like to see games take a bit more from comics, rather than just waiting for a new movie to come out in order to make a game. I would really like to see another Hellblazer videogame, even though I know they did do one with Constantine.

 

[Soundwave]

Watership Down. So kids these days can see just how badass bunny rabbits are.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

I think a game based on the The Remaining series would be awesome. Sure, zombie-apocalypse settings are fading, but it'd be a great, great game. Mostly because it's a great series. You could take on the role of a person from a different bunker and, as the in-book motto goes, rescue and rebuild. Try to find human survivors, rebuild the government, and - due to the setting and the type of infection they have with the "zombies" - have to make some tough decisions whether or not you believe people are infected, whether people are a danger even if they aren't infected... it'd be glorious.

 

[LAGG]

Starship Troopers!

And no, the movie-based games don't count!

Tribes doesn't have giant alien monsters so it also doesn't count.
Well, that game would be basically Tribes with giant alien monsters, but that for sure would be awesome!

 

[Yopaz]

The Wheel of Time! They could make an awesome game in that setting.

It was announced that Obsidian would be working on one, but there has been no news on that matter for 3 years so I think this project might be dead. Just like the movie most likely is. Still, I will always be able to enjoy the book (rereading A Memory of Light now).

I believe there is already a game of The Wheel of Time out there

The Wheel of Time game that exists isn't based on any of the books though. Counting text adventure there's two.

OT: Since Wheel of Time has already been mentioned I can't really come up with anything to add right now.

 

[AliasBot]

Riverworld, maybe? A mash-up of survival and from-the-ground-up building, with a built-in respawn system (starting in a completely different area, at that). Would have to have the MC start off knowing a few different languages to be able to progress, but there could still be a language-learning/sign-language/something-else component that could add a bit of a challenge or something. Not sure how to play it, but it has potential.

The Temeraire series could work as either an RTS or a first-person deal (alternating between human-ground and dragon-aerial combat). Probably couldn't have too much in the way of choose-your-path stuff, since it follows (a parallel-universe retelling of) historical events, but maybe some small decisions that affect how your crew and allies treat you and stuff. Plus, dragons.

I have no idea how it would be played, but a game set in the Thursday Next universe would be great, especially an open-world one - just exploring the BookWorld sounds like a fun experience (just have to avoid the mime-fields).

Oh, and honorary mentioned to the Simon Bloom books, which could lend themselves fairly easily to a video game format: get powers over elements of physics, learn how to use them more effectively (and gain more powers from other sciences) as the game progresses. Use the powers to explore the nearby areas and to fend off scienced-up bad guys.

 

[tzimize]

The mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. It would make an even greater movie though. Holy cowbells I'd jizz uncontrollably if it was made into a movie trilogy with a big budget. The magic system is just fantastic.

 

[soren7550]

The Perfect Dark books would make for some good games.

Too bad it seems that the Perfect Dark series is being left to rot. T_T

 

[spartandude]

Ive been saying it before and il be saying it again, have CD Projekt Red team up with Dan Abnett and do a warhammer 40k game based off the inquisition

 

[broca]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It's a story of a soldier in a intergalactic war between humans and aliens, where years he experiences are equal to hundreds of years for people on earth as he travels with lightning speed from one battle to the next. Because of this time difference he experiences the evolutions of the human race and society, warfare and his "enemies" over a time of thousand years.

This background would allow extreme diverse mechanics, settings and enemies (some changes to and new ways of warfare are even described in the book), while the story with it's focus on more mature themes would please fans of bioshock infinite or spec ops: the line.