You have written a best selling book, now you have a choice...

As to whether to give your franchise over to the movie industry, or the video game industry. Which one do you pick?

I am going to list some facts about both industries and what they commonly do when it comes to this.

1, For movies, it seems very common just to drop the author from involvement completely and utterly until the end of the making of the movie. Often times the movie is COMPLETELY different then the book... ala I Robot and the soon to be WWZ thus pissing off the fans and even pissing the original author off. If involved you will be undercut quite a bit by most everyone on set unless your name is Stephen King.

2, There is a chance you can help out a development team in making the world of the game based on your book. However they may or may not listen to you if you are dreaming to big for budget. There is a chance they won't follow the books original story but instead enhance it by creating a companion piece to it if they don't know how to create your original book into a video game. There is also a chance that almost no one will see it or the game being canned as well. Before it even freaking is announced.

Which one would you choose. I would make this a poll but I think people should know fully what they are choosing.

Depends on my book dude.

For my book, a movie. Although truth be said, no movie or game could translate clearly my writting.

i say a movie. o well on that.

Movie. Even with all the caveats you mentioned.

Considering the current story I am writing (yes, I am an aspiring novelist [yes, I think it very unlikely that I will succeed]) I would not sell it to either industry. A little too obtuse for adaptation, methinks.

Why would I write a book? Literature sucks. How am I supposed to interact with it when some impersonal asshole is just dictating words at me?

It really does depend on the kind of story told in the book.

Jay's planning for the future guys.

The one that will get me the most money.

I would give it only to Obsidian or CD Projekt

Depends on the book I would write, the game company that would opt to make the game, and the movie company that opts to make the movie (including actors etc.). Or maybe neither.. sometimes its better to make it and stop and not piss off fans even though you would get way more $$$ by doing 1 of the 2.

@Jay444111 said:

1, For movies, it seems very common just to drop the author from involvement completely and utterly until the end of the making of the movie. Often times the movie is COMPLETELY different then the book... ala I Robot

I'm assuming you mean the Will Smith movie. Its hard to work with the studio when you are dead. Asimov did, however, work on a screenplay for I, Robot in the 70's. So its not like he was against films being made or anything.

Anyway, working with game developers often seems way cooler. We've gotten stuff like Metro 2033, The Witcher, and Shadow Complex that way.

EDIT: More cool ass games that came from books. "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", The Discworld Games, The Hitchhiker's Guide game, and the Krondor series.

Vidja Games. If something like a book ever gets picked up to be made into a game, then chances are pretty good it's by a development house full of fans of it. So they would all have nerd gasms to allow me to be involved in the production of said game and I would of course have final say on many aspects of it.

Movie.  Because if you have a writing credit in any kind of movie, you are automatically given more respect than anyone who writes video games.  Michel Gagne got more attention for being involved in Shadow Planet than Chris Avellone has ever got for pushing the intelligence quotient of games for over a decade.

Give it to HBO and have them make a TV show.

@ExplodeMode said:

Give it to HBO and have them make a TV show.

Yeah, knowing the sort of book I would write, if I had the talent, it would be best as an HBO show.

Too be honest, and maybe this makes me a sell out...but I'm taking whichever route will ultimately be more lucrative and therefore make life (bills and such) easier on my family.

I would definitely follow @ExplodeMode and give my book to a TV show on HBO.

@Zippedbinders said:

@Jay444111 said:

1, For movies, it seems very common just to drop the author from involvement completely and utterly until the end of the making of the movie. Often times the movie is COMPLETELY different then the book... ala I Robot

I'm assuming you mean the Will Smith movie. Its hard to work with the studio when you are dead. Asimov did, however, work on a screenplay for I, Robot in the 70's. So its not like he was against films being made or anything.

Anyway, working with game developers often seems way cooler. We've gotten stuff like Metro 2033, The Witcher, and Shadow Complex that way.

EDIT: More cool ass games that came from books. "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", The Discworld Games, The Hitchhiker's Guide game, and the Krondor series.

The I, robot movie was fucking terrible compared to any single one of those stories from the book.

@Guyzea said:

I'd give it to the book industry, that's right a BOOK based on a BOOK.

you mean that hitchhiker book written by Eoin Colfer?

Who told you about my best selling smut novels?

Probably the movie industry just because it has the potential to make more money there.

Fripplebubby's Book: The Movie: The Game: The Book: The Soundtrack: The Movie

That's the only way I could see this happening.

Movie industry, despite the fact that this is another hilariously biased Jay thread where his posts are tinted by the knowledge he thinks he has.

@Brendan said:

Movie industry, despite the fact that this is another hilariously biased Jay thread where his posts are tinted by the knowledge he thinks he has.

Video game industry, because of Hollywood Accounting.

Movie, easier to get funding.

Get a pay-check and hopefully some pull over who directs the movie. After that, I wouldn't give a shit how they did the movie. If anything I'd be mad if it was a slavish recreation of the book.

Movie and the movie will have a game

@Yanngc33 said:

Movie and the movie will have a game

This. But my god the game will be crappy.

Movie, if only because it would probably make more money.

So.... I am gathering that no one here actually wants to create something great then? Or even have the chance to create a great video game then?

Porno.

I only write books about fucking.

I would personally choose neither, you loos money in both situations unless your book is called Harry Potter.

@Hizang said:

I would personally choose neither, you loos money in both situations unless your book is called Harry Potter.

If you aren't personally investing you wouldn't lose money at all. Your book already sold, there was enough interest to make a franchise out of it, there's only the possibility of royalties (small ones if your movie/game fails)

My answer would be neither, I'd go for a show on HBO.

depends on which of my works we are talking about.

Any of the fantasy or sci-fi would probably be a game. Any of the modern/near-future, thriller stuff I'm working on would most likely be movie fodder, followed by several terrible games based off the movie published by Activation.

HBO or Valve; on the condition there's no day one DLC or rainbow coloured weapon skins or something. I think I'm safe with Valve.

I would move away to the Pacific Northwest to cure my writer's block. Hopefully, my new horror novel will manifest itself in the real world during this time.

I would probably go the video game route. I would actually want the game developer to create their own story in the universe akin to The Witcher series.

I would write 5 of 7 books and negotiate a contract with HBO for a series giving me full creative script control. Then I'd abandon the last 2 books.And when viewership inevitably falls off in season 4 and my series reaches it's early end, I'll convey my hastily-conceived, loose-end-riddled script through pantomime and notebook doodles. Then I'll retire to a stone chateau in Ireland,update my blog with a flowery 'sod off' to all my angry, demanding fansand gorge myself on Guinness and mutton until my arteries congeal and I drop dead at the computer surfing fetishist porn.

For my book, a movie. Although truth be said, no movie or game could translate clearly my writting.

@Jay444111:

I feel like you could have used a movie besides I, Robot, considering the source matter came out in.... I think the 1950s? And I'm pretty sure Asimov died in the 90s... so It's not like he would have had much say anyways.... but yeah, it was pretty bad. The Time Machine also comes to mind

On the other hand, you have movies like Fight Club and No Country for Old Men which I thought were incredible adaptations who may even one upped the original novels.

but to answer your question, I think a movie has a better chance of realizing a novel's vision than a game. I mean, there is the ability to a movie to a 100% correct adaptation to your vision, but a game... has to have choices and room for gameplay, so it will always alter things.

movies fo sho

I'd get a tv series, because they are less likely to cut out huge plot points like they have to do with some books to keep them from being a ridiculous length.

Itd have to be some tv company with a lot of money though because fuck allowing my book to be turned into some cheap shitty tv series!

I have yet to see a game that tells a detailed, emotional or mature story on par with movies or books.

@extremeradical said:

I have yet to see a game that tells a detailed, emotional or mature story on par with movies or books.

Every game this gen says hi. Literally every single one of them.