What novel should they make into a game?

[Ashcrexl]

i dont get you guys and your game adaptations. i honestly cant see any book working as a game as they would need to significantly alter the story structure and add gameplay elements and i usually feel the novel works fine as a novel. though obviously i've been proven wrong before, but i just can't name any novel to be a game.

 

[Julianking93]

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Yeah, it's called "Shogun: Total War" and guess what, there's two!

Forgot to mention I hate strategy games >.>

 

[jcox2820]

David Weber's universe is a great setting for all kinds of stuff.

A really, really awesome RTS could be made about Thrawn's life as told in Timothy Zahn's books. It would be multi-factioned, story driven, and actually cast the player as a real character, unlike most RTS's.

I would play both of those, Especially the... Well no. Thrawn is my fucking hero, and David Weber is my favorite Sci-Fi author.

Seriously, Thrawn is basically is the all seeing, all knowing commander that we have been playing *for years* in RTS games. That's like, the core of his character. We have never actually assumed the role of a character before in an RTS game (that I can think of), and this not only present an opportunity to do just that, but also make it rational to control multiple factions, stay true to source material, and have widely varying scenarios through out the game.

Plus, it's Star Wars, so it's garunteed to make a ton of money. Someone go make this.

 

[Apollo45]

Peter Hamilton's Commonwealth Universe (or his Confederation Universe, for that matter) would both make excellent MMOs. It'd be difficult to do a single player game following the books, simply due to the approx. 150 characters in each series, but it could be done, and would still probably be awesome.

 

[Spade Lead]

Seriously, Thrawn is basically is the all seeing, all knowing commander that we have been playing *for years* in RTS games. That's like, the core of his character. We have never actually assumed the role of a character before in an RTS game (that I can think of), and this not only present an opportunity to do just that, but also make it rational to control multiple factions, stay true to source material, and have widely varying scenarios through out the game.

Plus, it's Star Wars, so it's garunteed to make a ton of money. Someone go make this.

Yeah, I meant if I had to choose between buying only one or eating, I would starve at that point. I would probably play Thrawn first, but a Sins of a Solar Empire style 4x involving the Honor-verse would be incredible...

 

[Aetera]

Ooh, Watership Down would be amazing to play! I can see it kind of being like Oregon Trail. That would be fun.

Hhm. To continue with the childhood books nostalgia theme, a Redwall game would be interesting.

 

[Spade Lead]

Any book from the Worldwar or TL-191 series by Harry Turtledove.

By World War, do you mean the North vs South or the Alien Invasion World War series. Personally, the United States verse Confederacy World War series would be great.

 

[irrelevant83]

Or maybe something based on the Chronicles of Amber [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_Amber]? Multiverses always offer a lot of possibilities.

Why bother making a whole game out of that series when you could just take 10 hits of acid?

Speaking of multiverses. Castle Perilous would make a good game. Although, so few have heard of this series cause of various periods it's been out of print (back in print now and available as an e-book). It's about an incredibly huge castle that was magically created by imprisoning a demon in the form of the castle. So the demon is the castle. Portals open to 144,000 different worlds. Some worlds based on magic and some on science. Magic doesn't work in science worlds and your iPod won't work in magic worlds.

It'd make a good metroidvania game where you have to explore to unlock new abilities in your characters which would allow you to solve the games puzzles and access new areas. It'd also make pretty good old-school point and click adventure.

 

[kevinsux909]

Any book from the Worldwar or TL-191 series by Harry Turtledove.

By World War, do you mean the North vs South or the Alien Invasion World War series. Personally, the United States verse Confederacy World War series would be great.

I basically meant either, worldwar always makes me think of the alien series, so I say TL-191 for the North vs. South

 

[irrelevant83]

i dont get you guys and your game adaptations. i honestly cant see any book working as a game as they would need to significantly alter the story structure and add gameplay elements and i usually feel the novel works fine as a novel. though obviously i've been proven wrong before, but i just can't name any novel to be a game.

I see your point. Trying to adapt a novel into a game would be incredibly clunky, but only if you're trying to retell the story of the novel in the video game format. If you're just borrowing the setting, then you could easily make a good game. Westeros is a great setting for a strategy game. Drizzt would also make a great video game character, but you'd need to create a new story just for that game. As battle heavy as the Drizzt books are, his body count is nowhere near the 30,000+ deaths you find in your average video game.

 

[revolutionaification]

green eggs and ham obviously

This has actually happened. As a kid I remember having an interactive story-type thing that most definitely also qualified as a game. It was the best thing in the world at the time.

A game set in the Discworld universe by Terry Pratchett or the Xanth universe by Piers Anthony would be awesome in my opinion. Both are quite expansive worlds with plenty of opportunities for interesting gameplay. The satirical nature of either series would lend it's self well to a Fable like game.

This has also happened, I've got the game sitting next to me right now. Discworld Noir, a point-and-click detective story. Heck, it's even similar to Fable. 1996 Fable that is. What? They're both point-and-click! I believe there's actually more than one, but I'm far too tired at the moment to try and hunt them down (read: Google's throwing a hissy-fit for me).

And OT: Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. That world just seems to hold a lot of potential for a semi-open world game, allowing you freedom to wander as you please mostly, but with an overall guide that prevented you from straying too far from your goals.

 

[Orange Lazarus]

Catch 22. Imagine a military flight sim type game where you spend the entire time trying to find ways to get out of the missions/quests you're given.

 

[PinkiePyro]

I think the redwall series could lend their lore quite well into an rpg series or even a MMO
not gonna happen though as the Author hates computers

World War Z.

start crossing your fingers then as there is a world war Z movie that started production this month (brad pitt is playing the part of Max Brooks)
could get picked up as a game as well
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/

 

[Treaos Serrare]

Dune(yeah they have made some for it before but they were shite) it could start with Dune, or go Prequel and hit up the Machine crusade, Butlerian Jihad, and Battle of corrinth for a really awesome space FPS/RPG.
if they go with dune proper it would be a little GTA meets red faction4.

if they did children thru God emperor it would be a mix of ME and DA.

The Wheel of time Series as a whole would make awesome games(hurry the eff up with the last book dammnit)

Sphere would be cool but more mass effecty than anything else

Oh a proper pirate game, Mad Morgan is an awesome book and would be a kick ass game( and i will fucking murder the dev team if they cast johnny depp as the va for morgan)

 

[Shakomaru]

The chronicles of ancient darkness series could make a nice rpg

 

[HerrBobo]

Metro 2033, oh wait.

That has to be the best novel to game conversion thus far.

Word has it they are making Metro 2034 into a game too.

Metro: Last Light isn't Metro 2034 afaik. I still want that book to be translated (2034). Metro 2033 was an amazing game and book.

You know, I looked it up, and you're right. I hope they translate 2034 soon.

 

[irrelevant83]

Chronicles of Prydain, which most of you probably know for The Black Cauldron movie based off the first two books. They're children's books and therefore very short. There's also scenes that could be drawn out into long levels. Like when Taran is escaping from a cell through a labyrinth of tunnels. Boom! That's a level.

You might have to change a few things here and there to make the story fit with the game, but not too much. If you need to pad things to make it longer, then you can switch perspectives. Gurgi sometimes is off by himself and the book doesn't explain in detail what he was up to.

I think this would work best like a platformer type game like Jak & Daxter.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

They should make my novel into a game! (Oh wait, I'm already doing that)

But in all reality, I think the deltora quest books would be interesting as a game...

 

[BanthaFodder]

The Time Machine Did It.
honestly, it's one of the funniest books I've ever read

 

[covellite]

A Mass Effect-like Dune game would be amazing.

This.