On Licenses That Should Be Made Into Games 143
Ant writes "GameSpy has an article discussing their favorite ideas for licenses that should be made into games, but haven't made the transition yet." The piece, thankfully, notes that we "often get slammed with hideously inappropriate or just badly implemented and misbegotten licensed creations", but also argues: "For every Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Superman for the N64, we'll occasionally get a Tron 2.0, or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", before picking The Road Warrior, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Ender's Game, among others, as licenses they'd like to see made into games. Which licenses do you think could survive the transition to games intact?
Ender's Game a Game? (Score:5, Interesting)
1. The initall battle seens at battle school never really were about the battle but about Ender being tested to see just how much they could push him before he broke. ie Could they push him more than the enemy could and of course we find out (at least I think so) that "we" pushed him much harder than any space-faring alien race could, and it made much about our nature and what we will do achieve them
2. I was thinking about the space seens but I tell you, they were always abstract in the book , and I think the closest thing I can think of, is HomeWorld2, again a game that's already been made and made well
anyway, would care to hear your thoughs
Re:Ender's Game a Game? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Ender's Game a Game? (Score:1)
Re:Ender's Game a Game? (Score:2)
Re:Ender's Game a Game? (Score:1)
I think the battle room could make a great game, a First/3rd person team shooter. You get ejected into the room and float around in Zero G. You only get to push off walls and what-not.
You'd have the flash suits and the 'stars' and everything from the game. (You could even have a '
Re:Ender's Game a Game? (Score:3, Interesting)
Maps... (Score:2)
Otherworld or Well of Souls (Score:3, Interesting)
it would probably be too expensive to make it into a stand-alone game, but not as a multiplayer game.
in a similar vein would be Chalker's Well of Souls series. 1500, if memory serves, worlds to explore? i'd pay $20 a month for each of those.
Re:Otherworld or Well of Souls (Score:1)
(I of course know what you actually meant)
Re:Otherworld or Well of Souls (Score:2)
Re:Otherworld or Well of Souls (Score:2)
Re:Otherworld or Well of Souls (Score:2)
Dune (Score:5, Interesting)
I still think the best Dune game so far was the first, made by Cryo back in 1991. The CD version was particularly nice, but now Cryo is dead so I guess it's about time someone gave it another shot. The new Sci-Fi channel mini-series have been drawing attention to the "Duniverse" so it seems like a good time to get something like this off the ground.
Re:Dune (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Dune (Score:2)
Re:Dune (Score:2)
With an action or realtime strategie game you need a few keypoints but everything that was in the movie or wasn't in the movie is pure gravy. That being said Dune 1 and Dune 2 are amazing and the newer battlefield dune was good. There are some rpgs for the snes I enjoyed despite not being a big rpg fan
Re:Dune (Score:2)
honestly (Score:3, Insightful)
Unfortunately you are in the minority (Score:5, Interesting)
90% of all videogames launching new properties are commercial failures. This is well above the overall failure rate of 78%. The sad truth is that most gamers stick with familiar themes and simple concepts. The quirky, unusual, original games you and I like (over 20 of the PS2 games on my shelf sold under 100,000 units) just do not pay the bills.
Therefore it behooves us to think about how to make games that we can enjoy but which will also speak to the mass market. My personal opinion is that the real inventiveness is best served in gameplay mechanics and control. Use the licensed theme as a base to build from. The game market is coming close to maturity. It grew and grew through the 80s and early 90s and now it's near a plateau in terms of userbase. One sign of this is the gamer's average age increasing year on year.
Right now there are plenty of relatively new gamers for whom simple action-shooter, driving and hack-slash gameplay is appealing. They'll quickly grow into more sophisticated play concepts, just as today's hardcore gamers did in years past. The people who figure out how to keep that large pool of gamers interested will be the people who succeed in the industry.
Re:Unfortunately you are in the minority (Score:1)
I am always looking for good games. What PS2 titles would you recommend I buy? I already have Onimusha et al, Hitman 2 (fantastic!), and a few old school favorites like Metal Gear et al and Robotech. I'd really appreciate your recommendations!
Re:Unfortunately you are in the minority (Score:3, Insightful)
GoldenEye is certainly the only one that's universally loved that I can think of off-hand.
And honestly, I don't know how well that one sold.
It being a licensed property, its success didn't result in Rare/Nintendo being able to parlay that into a sequel for themselves, or leave them with a franchise they could sell/lease.
Examples of wildly successful original properties on the other hand, are plentiful. And all of them left their respective deve
One license that should really be made into a game (Score:5, Funny)
Re:One license that should really be made into a g (Score:2, Funny)
Hmm, I can imagine it now...
Grand Theft Auto, but you just copy cars, rather than stealing them. And if you crash them or change them and then drive them around, you have to let other people copy the changed ones!
And the police would be replaced by... err... SCO! And they would be going round trying to extract money from everyone, claiming they 'Cars' eveyone is using are theirs, and they have to licence them! And the boss in the big mansion would be Darl!
Yea, it would be GREAT![/moo
Re:One license that should really be made into a g (Score:2)
Re:One license that should really be made into a g (Score:2)
As Gabe and Tycho put it... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:As Gabe and Tycho put it... (Score:2)
Re:As Gabe and Tycho put it... (Score:1, Insightful)
You say after not only agreeing with the previous post while adding no new ideas, but literally quoting him.
Running Man (Score:4, Interesting)
That said, it would probably have done much better as a 2d platformer in the days of the NES.
--
Evan
Been there, done that... (Score:1)
http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=219
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Running Man (Score:1)
Re:Running Man (Score:3, Informative)
For those who didnt play it, imagine Running Man crossed with Robotron - with rather (for the time) gory graphics, complete with an over the top host.
"BINGO! TOTAL CARNAGE! IIII-LOVE-IT! YEAAA!"
Has someone mentioned Slashdot yet? (Score:3, Funny)
Disney's Gummi Bears & the real Lone Wolf (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, how about a Lone Wolf game not based on LWAC, but on the real Lone Wolf [magnamund.org]? Make it a Zelda-style game or an RPG, and you're golden. Use memory card data from previous games in the series to keep track of your character's encounters, skillset, and items, just like the character sheets that were used to keep track of your character between volumes in the game book series. God, I miss those books. They got me through so many boring days in elementary school.
Lone Wolf (Score:1)
I'm probably insane (Score:2, Funny)
Road Warrior has already been done, sort of (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, there's more to the Road Warrior than just driving around, but that should be a large part of it. Done right, it could be pretty cool :)
For all you know... (Score:2)
Re:Road Warrior has already been done, sort of (Score:2)
Lots of cartoon shows... (Score:1, Interesting)
Stargate SG-1 (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:1)
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:1)
The Sims: Mosquito Coast (Score:2)
Nutshell movie-theater:
An inventor makes a machine that can make ice (genius!) but no one stateside appreciated his invention. So he buys a plot of land in the jungle. Packs up his family and moves em there to start a civilization based around his ice machine. Airconditioning the jungle per say. Tells his family that the united states is no longer, destroyed by nuclear war with the Russians. To do a bit of Castaw
well (Score:3, Interesting)
That and I would actually like to see a game based off Underworld. It shows potential for a good FPS game, some tactical elements, open story... Of course people would probably bork it up...
Re:well (Score:2)
Of course the 'story' from it would probably make a better game then it did a movie...you really had to look for the story in that movie.
I did like the movie, but they focused too much on the action and kind of let the story become passive...letting the action tell the story, ugg!
Re:well (Score:1)
Red Dragon (Score:2, Insightful)
Seth Able is sitting on a gold mine.. if he still owns the rights to it.
Re:Red Dragon (Score:2)
Re:Red Dragon (Score:2)
How the hell would that work?
road warrior game (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:road warrior game (Score:1)
I would love to see... (Score:2, Funny)
Shut up, Donny! (Score:1)
Look at the classic film - (Score:1)
An well-developed adaptation of the movie could take the horror genre to new heights..
Re:Look at the classic film - (Score:2)
How about a video game based on the The Shining? THAT would take the horror genre to new heights, man. That's the only horror movie I actually like. Everything else just makes be laugh.
Zombies (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Zombies (Score:2)
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors (Score:1)
One of the best action/sci-fi animated series ever, no question about it. Could be turned into a great game - or an awesome movie!
Veggie Tales (Score:1)
zerg (Score:1, Insightful)
Anything without "Dragon Ball" in the title (Score:3, Insightful)
At least with Superman 64, Superman fans were willing to admit that the game sucked.
Re:Anything without "Dragon Ball" in the title (Score:1)
Neverwhere or... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Neverwhere or... (Score:2)
Well, there are Discworld games already ...
Re:Neverwhere or... (Score:2)
That said, I think the WORLD of the Discworld Books could make an amazing game. If someone set out to c
Starship Troopers (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Starship Troopers (Score:2, Interesting)
Did that game never come out? I know someone was working on it back in 98. It was going to be the most polygon intensive game ever.
Maybe that's why it didn't come out.
Re:Starship Troopers (Score:2)
That said, I do agree that a MMORPG (maybe too hard, as there was really only one 'side' that
Re:Starship Troopers (Score:2)
But, the new FPS game [msn.co.uk] looks great!
Re:Starship Troopers (Score:2, Interesting)
They've had SST maps for years that embody what a good SST game would be: Fast, Fun, and Lots and LOTS of killing.
That being said, yea, I would want a good SST game. Especially since there are SOOO many ways the story can be taken (and that's just from the guy who watched the movie).
I would like to see a MMO FPS/Hack&Slash. People playing as the troopers (low HP, but good weapons) would be FPS, while people playing bugs (high HP, but pretty
Ghostbusters (Score:1)
Re:Ghostbusters (Score:1)
Re:Ghostbusters (Score:2)
I'd like to see Ghostbusters done and done well. It would make a good PS2/Xbox/Gamecube game as a third-person
Re:Ghostbusters (Score:1)
as the linked pages says:
Re:Ghostbusters (Score:2)
If it featured all the classic elements from both movies, it would seriously ROCK.
SPACE BALLS THE VIDEO GAME! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:SPACE BALLS THE VIDEO GAME! (Score:1)
World of Tiers (Score:1)
I've always wanted to play on the World of Tiers [pjfarmer.com] with Kickaha the Trickster.
Deadwood. (Score:2)
You're the founder of a town in the wild American west just before the peak of the gold rush. Like the HBO show, you'd play the role of a bad guy. You're objective is to make a whole bunch of money before 1) the town revolts agaisnt you 2) the local budding government gets a whiff that you're town is worth paying attention to (taxable). Of course you can kill people who oppose you (but do it quietly) and you can bribe officials, so you just need to not screw up.
It'd be a cross between a RT
Road Warrior = MMO (Score:1)
Why, the Big-O of course (Score:2)
But best of all... GIANT ROBOT FIGHTING! Giant Robot Fighting that feels heavy and real! Look at how they designed Big O's
akira, FLCL (Score:1)
- akira2: you play an evolving human with superpowers you can't control unless you
can get special power-ups(downs?) to control your powers. you gain control of each power
(telekenesis, control of inanimate objects, morphing, fire, etc.) by completing each level.
you have to avoid the army, the rebels and the return of Tetsuo as the final,
unpredictable, completely random Boss.
- FLCL: great music dominates this action packed shooter a
GPL a video game? (Score:3, Funny)
That's not what's meant by a license that should be made into a game? That's unclear wording....
Lexx (Score:2, Interesting)
Simple, a pen and paper game based on... (Score:2)
That 'verse is simply aching to turned into a tabletop pen and paper RPG. Nothing would bring me more joy then to see that ill-fated series turned into something that could be played at the periodic gaming sessions my friends and I hold.
Larry Niven's Known Space / Ringworld (Score:2, Interesting)
However, the books and stories that defined this world have largely petered out - Niven seems to have run out of ideas after three trips to the Ringworld and there can only be so many "Man-Kzin Wars XX"
Slashdot (Score:2)
It would sort of be like duck hunt but with a keyboard instead of a gun
FRIST POST!
By the way, if Lone Wolf is accompanied by a Cub, then he is not longer 'Lone' is he?
SNOW CRASH!!!!! (Score:1)
SLIDERS (Score:1)
How about a "tricked out cars" game (Score:2)
Iain M Banks (Score:1)
Re:gah - just say no to supporting Card! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:gah - just say no to supporting Card! (Score:1)
Card is a Mormon (Score:1, Troll)
And it's not like he's raping toddlers or something. I don't think we have anything to fear from his opinions, so buy as many of his books as you want. I, for one, can separate my opinion of a man from my opinion of his work.
Rob
Having met and talked with Card... (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think his idelogies negate the fiction he has written. Ender's Game and - to a lesser extent - the rest of the Ender-related books he has written are excellent science fiction. They are not the height of literature in the 20th Century, but are extremely enjoyable books that I have read again and again.
Even though I disagree with some of Card's social ideas in the very core of my being.
When I worked in the sci-fi/fantasy bookstore we (fellow employees and the owner) had a long discussion before Card came about his politics. Everyone at the store was liberal and had trouble reconciling Card's fiction with his ideology. If you can get your hands on it, read "Magic Mirror" by Card (do an Amazon or Google search for "Magic Mirror" and "orsonn scott card"). It's a fairy tale, but with very blunt social commentary. The family it concerns has fallen into dispair as the 'King' (dad) works too much, the 'Queen' (mom) isn't with the children enough, the 'Princess' (daughter) is out partying and the 'Prince' (son) is playing videogames. In the end the 'Queen' is in the kitchen (where she 'should be') the 'Prince' has left videogames for more 'appropriate' activities, the 'Princess' had left her goth ways to become a prim-and-propper teen blond (the most controversial change, as two of the women working at the bookstore were quite goth), and (in the only change we all agreed with) the 'King' cut back on work and spent more time with the family. While other books Card has written show some facets of his politics, this seemed to sum them all up in one little package, complete with disgustingly bright illustrations.
So what do to about Card's ideologies? While none of us were perfectly happy with it, we all were able to hold a dual view of Card: pleased with (most of) his writing, and disagreeing with (most of) his political and social views. It's not a very satisfying sollution, but I do think Card is an amazing author (some of his older short story collections are a real treat if all you've read is Ender's Game and Co.) and it would be a shame to miss out on his writings because you disagree with his philosophies.
In a more extreme case (that I hope won't allienate those of you who stuck with me thus far...) I'm able to enjoy "Battlefield Earth" as trashy sci-fi even though L. Ron Hubbard had his head shoved so far up his ass that it came back out his mouth.
The writings of Card that I have enjoyed the most (mainly Ender's Game and Co. and his short story collections) were not religious or social commentaries. While I could enjoy them as fiction (mainly because I got used copies dirt cheap while at the bookstore) I did not care as much for his more commentating endeavors.
I realize this post has been kind of rambling and offtopic, so I'll bring it back home: I think it is entirely possible to enjoy Card's writing and not feel guilty supporting the man, even though I think his views on (among other things) homosexuality are entirely and completely wrong.
-Trillian
Re:Having met and talked with Card... (Score:1)
Re:Having met and talked with Card... (Score:2)
To take it further: how many of us have read, and enjoyed, H.P. Lovecraft's works? An excellent short story writer and magnificent at scaring the hell out of his reader, Lovecraft's fiction was a huge love of mine when I was in high school.
However, H.P. Lovecraft was an avowed anti-Semite, racist and admirer of Adolph Hitler. The stereotypes are in his writing, the beliefs are there, and the man's morals and ethics are clearly poor. We could go on with s
Re:gah - just say no to supporting Card! (Score:1)
They came for the Communists,
and I didn't object -
For I wasn't a Communist;
They came for the Socialists,
and I didn't object -
For I wasn't a Social