Video games are one of the most popular storytelling mediums in modern media. Every year, the video game industry brings out new titles with fresh and unique tales that follow dynamic and interesting characters in a variety of genres. In many cases, these games take place in familiar settings from film or television, while other times the setting is its own unique creation. With the quality of video game storytelling and world-building, the idea that these are simply children’s pastimes is one that no longer holds up.
Adapting the stories from video games to the big screen is popular, and there have been many, many examples of what can go right, and what can go wrong when a game is translated to a different medium. Just like when a novel or book series is updated for the screen, things are lost or changed in order to make things work more smoothly. This doesn’t always work, and the choice of what to keep and change is a difficult one for filmmakers. Certain games are so tailored for their medium that the necessary changes make adapting them especially difficult. We’ve gone over 10 games that might face problems like this in the event that they were brought to the big screen.
10 The Elder Scrolls Series
Bethesda's beloved sandbox RPG features one of the most vibrant settings in all of video games. With years worth of development, the Elder Scroll series is known for its world building and lore. Tamriel boasts a comprehensive timeline, complex social and political themes, and more than enough material to make dozens of stories. So, why would this series be difficult to bring to the big screen?
The Elder Scrolls series is a wide open sandbox, and more than its immersive setting, the game is known for the open-ended way that it can be played. No two play-throughs will ever be quite the same, and each player gets something different from the game, making every story unique. Any film adaptation would struggle to hold true to this spirit, while also addressing the complexity of the setting.
9 Gran Turismo
The Gran Turismo series of racing games refers to itself as "The Real Driving Simulator" and is one of the most prestigious titles in its genre. The series partners with companies such as the FIA to create a unique experience for both game and racing enthusiasts, and even fields innovations in AI as detailed on their own site. One would think that a film based around such a respected series would make sense, but making a video game movie takes more than a popular title.
GT has no storyline, and unlike many racing games it focuses on organized racing, often of the type that is unfamiliar to American audiences. Any typical film adaptation would face the challenge of creating a story that could connect with the audience while staying true to the spirit of innovation that makes Gran Turismo what it is.
8 Grand Theft Auto
Rockstar's controversial crime game is either famous or infamous depending on who you ask, but it cannot be denied that the game has had a major impact. This title takes the hallmarks of crime fiction and elevates them past the point of parody, with the typical Grand Theft Auto character breaking every law possible within the time span of a few minutes.
While crime films are nothing new, even when it comes to parody, GTA is just as defined by its wide open sandbox and player stunts as it is by the over the top glorification of illegal activities. In recent years especially, player action and interaction when online is such a hallmark of the series that a centralized story would make an adaptation difficult to accurately define as GTA. Beyond that, the line between serious crime fiction and parody can get very blurry with this series, and that is a line that many filmmakers may find difficult to play with.
7 Minecraft
Easily one of the most popular games to be classified as a wide-open sandbox, and proof that outstanding graphics are not a requirement for a good game, Minecraft is a title that is something different to every person who plays it. However, while this is a great game, it is also one that would be exceptionally difficult to adapt to film.
Between the visual style, lack of any kind of central story or theme, and the fact that this is a game that hinges entirely on player experience, any filmmaker would have their work cut out for them to develop a proper adaptation of this game. Even as a kid's film, Minecraft's style of complete freedom means that there is no majority demographic to write towards, and that would result in a very uphill battle for audience approval.
6 Contra
This run-and-gun arcade title from 1986 is a classic, and one that seems to have all the hallmarks of a great film. Later titles in the Contra series even manage to write in a solid story line, and this could translate very well on film. Instead of the normal pitfalls of adapting arcade games, the challenges that a Contra film would be up against challenges that have little to do with the source material itself.
The original Contra game, especially according to its US release, lends itself to the sort of macho action film that was popular at the time of its release, but has become less popular with recent audiences. This also means that a film adaptation could easily come off as heavily derivative of other titles, especially if the setting from the U.S. guide book, the Amazon, is used. Making enough updates to make a hypothetical Contra film relevant and fresh while still being itself might not be an impossibility, but it certainly would not be an easy thing to pull off.
5 Mass Effect / Dragon Age
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Bioware's space opera and high fantasy titles share the exact same draw and the exact same challenges. Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age are outstanding stories that are quite cinematic, with memorable characters and well-written stories on par or above anything coming out of a major movie studio today. However, these games also lean heavily into the players' decisions, and that would make adapting them more challenging than might be expected.
From the design and even gender of the protagonist, all the way to the final moments of the game (Mass Effect's controversial ending aside) everything is determined by the player's choices. This includes a lot of important story elements, character relationships, and the state of the setting itself. A film adaptation would have to make certain assumptions relating to those choices, and choosing one way or another could lose a significant portion of the fan base. As a result, brining these stories to the big screen could be a minefield for filmmakers.
4 The Sims
This life simulation game by Maxis is a popular title with an enormous fan base and enough expansions to fill even the most ambitious gamer's shelves with ease. As a virtual doll house, the Sims franchise has numerous ways to play and experience the game. Reuters even covered the possibility of a Sims film as far back as 2007.
Where the challenge would be with The Sims is that there really isn't anything to make a film out of. The franchise is a life simulation game, and the hallmarks of the series are the hallmarks of life in general. Any adaptation, no matter how it approached a story, would have to stretch to make itself a true adaptation rather than just a movie with the franchise's name painted on the poster.
3 Civilization
Sid Meier's Civilization is a massively popular franchise, capturing the attention of strategy gamers for over 30 years. Giving players the option to represent any of a number of different nations from the Stone Age to the modern era and beyond is a formula that has been successful. However, an adaptation of the game to film presents significant complications that no other franchise would have to overcome.
The basic idea at the start of any game of Civilization is a "what if" scenario regarding the very history of the world and its nations. Any of the changes that happens in a typical game would make for an intriguing premise, such as "What if Ghandi was a bloodthirsty, nuclear warmonger?", however these scenarios stack up, and a centralized story surrounding such a thing would be exceedingly difficult to pull off recognizably.
2 Tetris
Simple, enduring, and addictive, Tetris is one of the most successful video games ever produced. Players rotate falling blocks of various shapes to form lines and score points as the pace speeds up the longer the game is played. While Apple TV+ will host the streaming release of a film covering the legal battle over the game in the 80s, a direct adaptation of the game itself would be more of a challenge to create.
Tetris may be addictive, but the game is also extremely simple. There is no plot, and the puzzle gameplay doesn't lend itself to any kind of dramatic interpretation. Injecting a storyline into the game or trying to come up with a narrative explanation for it would complicate the formula that has made the game successful. As plot is added, a prospective film would become less and less a Tetris film.
1 Super Smash Brothers
Nintendo's crossover beat 'em up was an instant hit when it was released in 1999, finally answering the question of who would win in a fight between Mario and Kirby. Over the years even more video game mascots have entered the fray, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man. If a film were made of this game series, it could be the most ambitious crossover in the history of popular cinema.
However, Smash Bros. would first need several other films to not only exist, but for the resulting franchise to be successful enough to justify the creation of the film. Even accounting for characters that appear together on a regular basis, in order to have the original roster there would need to be eight other films first, which is unlikely given the typical performance of even a single video game film at the box office, although with the upcoming Mario film, this is something that may change in the near future.