Books you believe would make awesome video games...

well ...

http://www.playdar.co.uk/feature/books-that-could-be-games-maybe.php

Don Quixote. It would be an adventure game à la Grim Fandango. 

@Hailinel said:

The Xanth novels range between cheesy and stupid and are littered with bad puns and pantie jokes. Naturally, they'd be excellent fodder for an adventure game in the old Lucasarts or Sierra style.

I could definitely go for this, but the earlier ones with Bink. As the series increases in number, it stops feeling like an adventure and starts reading like a list of puns (which, considering he includes reader-submitted puns, is essentially what it's turned into).

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

@Yanngc33 said:

The Road, all you do is walk down a road, dialogue trees appear where you have to lie to your son to make the future look brighter.

Dude yes!

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. You play as lisbeth as your investigate a murder while also surpressing your own past.

Ever since I read Tommorow When the War Began in the late 90's I've always wanted a game based on it.

EDIT: Although after having checked out the trailer for the movie adaptations from 2010 that I just found out about I'm not so sure I would want a video game. That movie didn't seem at all as the books. It looked like any Hollywood action movie. I don't want the game to be a Call of Duty clone.

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

Twilight?

@Obsidian said:

Twilight?

Press X to Sparkle. Press Square to Angst.

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

Then how did you not mention any XBLA, PSN, or PC stuff?

Twilight

@Hailinel said:

The Xanth novels range between cheesy and stupid and are littered with bad puns and pantie jokes. Naturally, they'd be excellent fodder for an adventure game in the old Lucasarts or Sierra style.

Also, Battle Royale would make for a fine survival game.

Wish Granted!

*clap*

Companions of Xanth

Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy ( only if telltale made it ), you play as Arther Dent and you must use your whits, muscle and above all, your towel to survive, and discover the question to the answer, 42.

@Icicle7x3 said:

@Hailinel said:

The Xanth novels range between cheesy and stupid and are littered with bad puns and pantie jokes. Naturally, they'd be excellent fodder for an adventure game in the old Lucasarts or Sierra style.

Also, Battle Royale would make for a fine survival game.

Wish Granted!

*clap*

Companions of Xanth

My head just exploded!

Strange choice, but out of all the books I've read, I would like a really good game based on Pendragon by D. J. MacHale or Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Those could make for some interesting video game experiences.

Old Man's War would be pretty good. It's got a lot of sci-fi action that would suit a first or third person shooter. And of course, Old Man's War was heavily influenced by Starship Troopers and The Forever War, so those two would also fit.

John Christopher's Tripods trilogy: The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire. While ostensibly a young adult series, these books nevertheless crafted one of the most intriguing and delightful sci-fi universes I've ever seen. They'd probably be best adapted as RPG/adventure games of some sort, since there's a fair bit of exploration and interaction with NPCs, but not much fighting.

Robert Thurston's seminal Jade Phoenix trilogy: Way of the Clans, Bloodname, and Falcon Guard. This trio of BattleTech novels gave us real insight into the Clans and humanized them for an audience used to the perspective of the Inner Sphere. Way of the Clans is itself a bildungsroman which resembles Ender's Game in taking readers through the training and maturation of a young Aidan Pryde. Obviously, turning these into games would be pretty easy, because the combat would already basically be that of MechWarrior games, with an additional layer of adventure and RPG elements to wrap it around and deliver the characterization and growth that's needed to bring us from the fresh eyes of a sibko cadet all the way to the bloody war torn battlefields of Tukayyid, fighting for Terra, the shining jewel of the universe. Maybe even some basic melee fighting mechanics, since you'll have to enter the Circle of Equals against opponents.

The Walking Dead is another one that comes to mind but they've already started developing a game adaptation. This is one I'm really looking forward to because the bleakness of The Walking Dead comes from the constant danger of death. This death can come for anyone at anytime, because all it takes is a bite. This is something that's unfortunately been neglected in every zombie video game I've ever played, because a bite does nothing. You get bitten in Left 4 Dead or Dead Island or Dead Rising and it's just a bit of health that you've lost, because you're miraculously immune in all of those games. In The Walking Dead, a bite means you've been infected and you're going to turn into a zombie in a short while. This specter of grim mortality is what's so disturbing and stressful about the world of TWD, and something I hope they portray in the video game.

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

Then how did you not mention any XBLA, PSN, or PC stuff?

He is a cynic, you are wasting your time.

@W0lfbl1tzers said:

The Bible.

You mean...?

Ender's Game, because it sounds like a game and little kids killing other little kids in space is a win-win gaming experience.

@FancySoapsMan said:

Neuromancer. Sure, there already is a video game named Neuromancer, but it's way too dated to be enjoyable.

I second that.

I've always thought the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan would be a good one to make games out of. The plot's an at least decent one and there's plenty of large battles and dramatic moments that would lend themselves to some great cutscenes. The three main heroes all have incredibly different styles and branching storylines, which could make for great replay value, the One Power/magic is already set up in a way that lends itself to an interesting battle system, and there's definitely moments that you could easily see as being "boss" battles. The problem is the series is way too long and sprawling to be a video game series.

Ringworld :D

That Halo book about Reach might make a good game...

Any Lovecraft story ever.
 
At least you wouldn't have sequels since every game would end with the main character losing sanity.

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

Then how did you not mention any XBLA, PSN, or PC stuff?

I did directly reference XBLA and PC stuff. Fucking hell, It's not even implied like most of my major points in there. I guess concepts such as subtext and allusion are out of your grasp.

@Dagbiker said:

Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy ( only if telltale made it ), you play as Arther Dent and you must use your whits, muscle and above all, your towel to survive, and discover the question to the answer, 42.

Fun factoid here, is that they have a text game of it which is supposed to be penned by Dougless Adams as well. Supposed to be one of the best from what I hear

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

Then how did you not mention any XBLA, PSN, or PC stuff?

I did directly reference XBLA and PC stuff. Fucking hell, It's not even implied like most of my major points in there. I guess concepts such as subtext and allusion are out of your grasp.

You're right. I can read the works of Nietzsche perfectly fine, but the writing of HandsomeDead is far beyond my grasp. If you actually study upon the subject you criticize so heavily, you'd see you're dead wrong about most things. If the subtext of your literary masterpiece is that you have dug around (I can guarantee you haven't), then it was so buried inside a wall of pretentious text it's practically invisible. Linking to Hard Reset is your idea of directly referencing PC stuff?

@Durandir said:

@Jay444111: You just made me order Swan Song. I need that money for food. Thank you so much.

But seriously, I ordered it, and I am probably going to love it.

As for your question: Would be neat to have a game of Malazan Book of the Fallen, in the style of Oblivion. Some guys was looking to make a mod for some game or something from that.

Essentially you would be able to choose a class, country of origin and all that when making a character. Since magic works weird in those books, you would have a lot of chances to make different characters. You should be able to join different military factions, guilds or just be a freelancer. Should also have a more realistic combat model. A mix between Mount and Blade and what I have seen of Demon's Souls would be cool. A persistent world that changes, and you can get married and get kids. If you die you can choose to play as one of your kids. This is something that would never be made, but I think it would be neat.

Dude, if you need to eat you need to eat! Sure it is an awesome book but i don't like the thought of making a guy starve because of buying an awesome book! I feel bad now... :(

A Song of Ice & Fire game adaptions developed by CD-Projekt.

Needs to happen. BioWare don't deserve such a good license (if it ever happened) after Dragon Age II.

@Tennmuerti said:

None.

Games butcher books just as much as movies do. It never ends well. Seeing the Game of Thrones game on Steam personally disgusts me.

I prefer my books to stay books. Games to be games. And movies be movies.

Mixing shit up has so far never produced a compelling result imo.

Counterargument:

Okay, I need to know, where can I get this game? Can it play on windows 7? and where does your avatar come from?

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

Then how did you not mention any XBLA, PSN, or PC stuff?

I did directly reference XBLA and PC stuff. Fucking hell, It's not even implied like most of my major points in there. I guess concepts such as subtext and allusion are out of your grasp.

You're right. I can read the works of Nietzsche perfectly fine, but the writing of HandsomeDead is far beyond my grasp. If you actually study upon the subject you criticize so heavily, you'd see you're dead wrong about most things. If the subtext of your literary masterpiece is that you have dug around (I can guarantee you haven't), then it was so buried inside a wall of pretentious text it's practically invisible. Linking to Hard Reset is your idea of directly referencing PC stuff?

Delta Green!

Harry Potter books. Just roaming around a huge fantastical school.

@Jay444111 said:

@Dagbiker said:

Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy ( only if telltale made it ), you play as Arther Dent and you must use your whits, muscle and above all, your towel to survive, and discover the question to the answer, 42.

Fun factoid here, is that they have a text game of it which is supposed to be penned by Dougless Adams as well. Supposed to be one of the best from what I hear

Hothead are also developing a new game based on the books.. I would have preferred Telltale too, but I'm still looking forward to it.

No one's made a good Lord of the Rings game yet, so I'll say that.

Footfall

maybe The Black Company

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@SSully said:

@HandsomeDead said:

Is there a book that's just hundreds of pages of 'and then he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he shot a guy and he took cover and reloaded and then he jumped mout of cover and shot a guy then he shot another guy and then he picked up the shotgun and used that to shoot a guy.' That would work.

Your posts depress me, every. single. time.

The truth hurts.

It's not really the truth though. Read through the comments on your most recent blog again, and try to look past the games you see commercials for on TV.

I do. Try rereading my blog and not miss the point.

Then how did you not mention any XBLA, PSN, or PC stuff?

confirmation bias, selecting evidence that fits pre-conceived "truth"

@HandsomeDevil said:

You're right. I can read the works of Nietzsche perfectly fine, but the writing of HandsomeDead is far beyond my grasp. If you actually study upon the subject you criticize so heavily, you'd see you're dead wrong about most things. If the subtext of your literary masterpiece is that you have dug around (I can guarantee you haven't), then it was so buried inside a wall of pretentious text it's practically invisible. Linking to Hard Reset is your idea of directly referencing PC stuff?

Great. You can read Nietzche, but I don't know if you can understand it when you're asking such obvious questions to such an obvious blog. I really kind of enjoy how I get called pretentious by the same people who think my concern is with shooters exclusively.

Rogue Warrior.

owait...

Seriously though, there's some cool ass shit in Rogue Warrior (the book, which is all real). Richard Macinko is a bad-fucking-ass.

World War Z / Morningstar Strain.
 
The Halo books which aren't based on the games (basically, all except The Flood). Reach was completely different, so going through the actual book would be good, as you would go through the entire SPARTAN II Creation process, then through their early missions until First Contact changed the enemies from Insurrectionists to Covenant.

The Dune trilogy prequel thing (Butlerian Jihad, Machine Crusade, Battle for Corrin iirc) was interesting too.

A good open-world Harry Potter would be great, as some amazing things could be done with it.
 
The Mighty Eighth / June 6, 1944 / everything by Gerald Astor. Or at least a movie on his books. They're basically all written from the memories of people who were in WWII. I mean, yeah, you'd jump around characters like the game was on Meth, but it could be amazing if done right.

Like everything, these could be awesome if done right. If we go on previous experience and say that's what they'd be like, then I'd just start crying.

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

You're right. I can read the works of Nietzsche perfectly fine, but the writing of HandsomeDead is far beyond my grasp. If you actually study upon the subject you criticize so heavily, you'd see you're dead wrong about most things. If the subtext of your literary masterpiece is that you have dug around (I can guarantee you haven't), then it was so buried inside a wall of pretentious text it's practically invisible. Linking to Hard Reset is your idea of directly referencing PC stuff?

Great. You can read Nietzche, but I don't know if you can understand it when you're asking such obvious questions to such an obvious blog. I really kind of enjoy how I get called pretentious by the same people who think my concern is with shooters exclusively.

It's kind of hard to think your concern was with anything other than shooters when most of the games you mentioned were in fact shooters. You can't get so caught up on the shooting guys aspect of some games. Yes, you shoot guys in Mass Effect 2. But you also do a lot of other stuff that's way better and is the stuff that makes everybody else cough up $60. So yes, blame us illiterate saps (including the guys who write for this website you clearly have some loyalty to) for enjoying a hobby you so ignorantly call banal.

I'd like a Harry Potter MMO that's based some time after the books. You choose a character and answer questions (used for when you have to get a wand, and when you get sorted), then the game randomly chooses whether you're a muggle or a pure–blood, or whatever. Then you play through your whole time at school, starting with getting your equipment from Diagon Alley and going on the Hogwarts Express, all the way to the end of year 7 when you graduate.

They'll be quests along the way, and if you break school rules (like not being in the main hall when new students enter the server at the start of every month) then you'll have to go to detention, like in the first book where they had to go to the Forbidden Forest.

the dark tower series by stephen king. 'nuff said.

Gentlemen of the Road?

@HandsomeDevil: @HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

You're right. I can read the works of Nietzsche perfectly fine, but the writing of HandsomeDead is far beyond my grasp. If you actually study upon the subject you criticize so heavily, you'd see you're dead wrong about most things. If the subtext of your literary masterpiece is that you have dug around (I can guarantee you haven't), then it was so buried inside a wall of pretentious text it's practically invisible. Linking to Hard Reset is your idea of directly referencing PC stuff?

Great. You can read Nietzche, but I don't know if you can understand it when you're asking such obvious questions to such an obvious blog. I really kind of enjoy how I get called pretentious by the same people who think my concern is with shooters exclusively.

It's kind of hard to think your concern was with anything other than shooters when most of the games you mentioned were in fact shooters. You can't get so caught up on the shooting guys aspect of some games. Yes, you shoot guys in Mass Effect 2. But you also do a lot of other stuff that's way better and is the stuff that makes everybody else cough up $60. So yes, blame us illiterate saps (including the guys who write for this website you clearly have some loyalty to) for enjoying a hobby you so ignorantly call banal.

I'm still sure he's some sort of troll. You're wasting your breath on this. Everyone knows HandsomeDevil is right. This debate is over.

Infinite Jest: The Game[1]

Gravity's Rainbow

Ulysses

The Brother's Karamazov

[1] A game featuring a multitude of characters, places, times and styles in which one must constantly come to terms with his own need and desire to be entertained with expansive scenes at the Enfield Tennis Academy and the Ennet Halfway Home. Control Hal, Mario, Orin, Don, and even James Incandenza himself! Put glass cups on cockroaches, memorize the OED in realtime, avoid the dangerous Les Assassins des Fauteuils Roulants, evade Schitt as you go to smoke a little Bob Hope, defeat the giant baby, find your inner child, run from feral hampsters, play intense tennis matches against The Darkness, try to understand what the fuck is happening in this wraith scene, decipher the mysterious happenings around ETA, discover the secret behind Rodney "The God" Tine and Johnny Gentle, get the sweat on your forehead licked, sell your pee, take the edge off with some Madame Psychosis, survive the Eschaton debacle and ultimately, go after The Entertainment itself!

@Owlright said:

@FancySoapsMan said:

I've always thought the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan would be a good one to make games out of. The plot's an at least decent one and there's plenty of large battles and dramatic moments that would lend themselves to some great cutscenes. The three main heroes all have incredibly different styles and branching storylines, which could make for great replay value, the One Power/magic is already set up in a way that lends itself to an interesting battle system, and there's definitely moments that you could easily see as being "boss" battles. The problem is the series is way too long and sprawling to be a video game series.

I think a game where you play as Artur Hawking conquering the world and the war of 100 years would be an interesting setting . Also a game set during the Age of legends or the war of shadow with Lews Therin would be good as well.

also they made this game in the 90's

@superpow said:

@HandsomeDevil: @HandsomeDevil said:

@HandsomeDead said:

@HandsomeDevil said:

You're right. I can read the works of Nietzsche perfectly fine, but the writing of HandsomeDead is far beyond my grasp. If you actually study upon the subject you criticize so heavily, you'd see you're dead wrong about most things. If the subtext of your literary masterpiece is that you have dug around (I can guarantee you haven't), then it was so buried inside a wall of pretentious text it's practically invisible. Linking to Hard Reset is your idea of directly referencing PC stuff?

Great. You can read Nietzche, but I don't know if you can understand it when you're asking such obvious questions to such an obvious blog. I really kind of enjoy how I get called pretentious by the same people who think my concern is with shooters exclusively.

It's kind of hard to think your concern was with anything other than shooters when most of the games you mentioned were in fact shooters. You can't get so caught up on the shooting guys aspect of some games. Yes, you shoot guys in Mass Effect 2. But you also do a lot of other stuff that's way better and is the stuff that makes everybody else cough up $60. So yes, blame us illiterate saps (including the guys who write for this website you clearly have some loyalty to) for enjoying a hobby you so ignorantly call banal.

I'm still sure he's some sort of troll. You're wasting your breath on this. Everyone knows HandsomeDevil is right. This debate is over.

Nope. I talk a lot about shooters because shooting is the most common gameplay mechanic and it's suffocating the possibilities of games like Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake and Mass Effect 2 and denies genres such as spy fiction from existing in a mainstream format. That is not difficult to deduce. Can either of you two dribblers even read?