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Books Media Entertainment Games

Games And Books Getting Along 47

Posted by Zonk from the so-happy-together dept.
The Guardian and Wired are taking a look at the connections between books and games this week. The Guardian's Games Blog has a look at games in literature. Wired, on the other side of the coin, has a look at books written in gaming worlds. From the Wired article: "Sam Fisher is, of course, the hero of the Splinter Cell video game. I've spent countless hours using my Xbox controller to sneak him past armed guards, scale walls and club enemies unconscious. But I didn't know much about his personal life until I wandered into an airport bookstore recently and encountered Splinter Cell -- the novel. That's right: the novel. In the last few years, publishers have taken a cue from the booming world of fan fiction and have begun commissioning novels based on famous games. It's now such a successful cottage industry that when you wander into any Barnes & Noble, there are shelves groaning under the weight of books written from Resident Evil, Halo, Tomb Raider and MechWarrior."
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Games And Books Getting Along More

Games And Books Getting Along

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  • I've seen plenty of books based in game world, but I've always avoided them like the plague. It always seemed like another money making scheme from game publishers.
    • True that, but games spawned some damn fine comics [doomworld.com] aswell...

      (runs for cover)
      • You utter, utter bastard! Well... not you, Lisandro, so much as the evil bastards who foisted that steaming pile of dung upon an unsuspecting world.

        That was the most atrocious piece of comic doggerel I've ever seen. It was written so badly that I started to feel more sympathy for the demons than the psychopathic character.

        "Hell on Earth" is reading that bilge. If I was more litigious I'd want to sue the authors for mental damage, pain and suffering. And still I can't express just how bad that was. It... has
      • Oh my... I think this is truly the pinnacle of Western literature...

        For those too lazy to click, here's an excerpt from the continuous raving monologue of the marine as he kills everything in sight:

        Who do you suppose left all that radioactive waste down there? And why? Why?

        Now I'm radioactive. That can't be good.

        Why can't we find a way to safely dispose of radioactive waste and protect the environment? Even if I personally stop this alien invasion, what kind of planet will we be leaving to our children? And

    • >It always seemed like another money making scheme from game publishers.

      Well of course! Almost anything a business does is a money making scheme!

  • Actually (Score:4, Informative)

    by nhstar ( 452291 ) on Monday September 12, 2005 @04:30PM (#13541299)
    Sorry, but actually, the "MechWarrior" books were out before the game... although it was under the Battletech umbrella.

    Sorry, just had to.
    • Not only that, but the current MechWarrior books have much more to do with the MechWarrior: Dark Age table game than they do with the video games...
    • This isn't quite correct. The Mechwarrior books (and before that, the Battletech books) were all written following the BOARD game...

      Many fantasy books were based, some loosely some specifically, on board games and RPGs long before computer versions were common.

      A lot of thought goes into a role playing game. An entire universe is created before the characters.

      People with an interest in that universe (who regularly "played" in it) would talk about their adventures they had experienced, appropriately decorated
    • Being a long time Battletech player Id agree... except for... ahem ....The Crescent Hawks Inception, which was released in 10 BC or so

  • Gaming Literature (Score:3, Interesting)

    by tavaryn ( 594586 ) on Monday September 12, 2005 @04:43PM (#13541411)
    My instincts tell me that game-based books will eventually go the way of the Magic: The Gathering books - they'll find their target audience in only the most hardcore of hardcore fans. (Of course, that might not be a bad thing.)
    • Well there are also Forgotten Realms book - they came out after the P&P game but before the games like Baldur's Gates and Neverwinter Nights, Warcraft's, Starcraft's. I just hope they'll never release a Mario Bross one :)
      • I just hope they'll never release a Mario Bross one :)
        On the bright side, they could never hope to reach the level of suckitude that is the Super Mario Bros. movie.

        • Re:Gaming Literature (Score:4, Funny)

          by KevinKnSC ( 744603 ) on Monday September 12, 2005 @06:43PM (#13542426)
          You're ignoring the possibility of a novelization of said movie.
          • This is because the human brain is programmed with filters so we don't go worrying about absurd things all the time.

            For example, when we step out of bed in the morning, we do not consider we may have been magically teleported into 'walking on the ceiling' land, and are about to fall eight feet to the ceiling.

            Or when when we sit down in front of the TV, we do not consider that may not be our TV at all, but a giant maneating ferret posing as our TV waiting for us to sit down.

            Or when we talk about possible

  • Lets not forget the classics like the Doom books. I just picked up a copy of the first one last weekend after losing my original. Knee Deep in the Dead [amazon.com], Hell on Earth [amazon.com], Infernal Sky [amazon.com], and Endgame [amazon.com]

  • Splinter Cell books? (Score:3, Funny)

    by hunterx11 ( 778171 ) <hunterx11@NOSpAm.gmail.com> on Monday September 12, 2005 @04:49PM (#13541472) Homepage Journal
    Wouldn't you rather just read an actual Tom Clancy novel?
    • I can't for the life of me find the link now but I've read somewhere that he has little respect for video games as an entertainment medium. In general, he is not involved in the production of any of the franchises which bear his name (video games, novels, movies) in any capacity except to give the final 'okay' before they hit the masses. (The exception being the movies which he had no control over at all with the possible exception of 'The Sum of All Fears'.)

      Of course, this doesn't apply to the novels he h
  • Oh fer chrissakes.... How long have D&D novels been on sale? There were Zork novels in the 80s, one by George Alec Effinger, which I still have....

  • Not terribly new... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cei ( 107343 ) on Monday September 12, 2005 @04:58PM (#13541548) Homepage Journal
    Books written in game settings? Ok, not exactly video games, but Infocom had novels set in Planetfall/Stationfall, Wishbringer/Enchanter, and Zork between 1988 and 1991. Adding graphics (though, perhaps still not exactly a video game, to purists), I've always heard a lot of good things about the Myst novels (1995-1997).
    • I remember reading the first Myst book and enjoying it, but it wasn't quite good enough that I actively tried to read the sequels. If I ever see them while in between books, I might pick them up.
  • Would anyone like to make some recommendations for game-based books? It'd be interesting to see which books people would recommend from various genres (Sci-Fi, Fantasy etc.). Also, an idea of the book's writing style would be useful - i.e whether it's aimed at younger, teen, or adult, readers.
    • "The Fall of Reach," the first Halo book, was a good read. It reminded me of Ender's Game in a lot of good ways. The backstory it provides was enough to get me to spark my interest original Halo single player campaign again.

      There's a good deal of violence in the book, so I'd recommend it for kids able to handle a "Mature" video game rating. If you're unsure, read it yourself first. It's not that long.
      • I agree with Fall. It actually made me re-play the original Halo single player campaign as well. It added a great deal more perspective, especially in terms of the "suspension of disbelief" that comes with all FPS. Why is it Master Chief can wipe out entire armies and the NPC marines are mostly cannon fodder? The Fall really addressed that issue in a way that the game didn't touch. I actually appreciated Fall so much I'm still hoping Halo 3 is a prequel!
      • I thought all three of the Halo books were well done (considering the source), though I'd agree that Fall of Reach was the best. It set the game up rather nicely. The second book, based on the actual gameplay, was probably the weakest (but still good) because it was forced to follow the already-scripted game. hmmm... now I have the urge to go read Reach again.
    • I've always been a big fan of Games Workshop's Warhammer universes (fantasy and 40k). I've read novels from both genres and haven't been disappointed in one yet. But I haven't read 'em all, so there may be some craptastic stuff under the license. Those tend to be aimed at adult reader, both universes are fairly dark.

      I also really enjoyed all the Shadowrun novels. They tend to be a bit lighter than some of the Warhammer stuff and are easy reads.

  • More interesting by far (Score:3, Interesting)

    by screwballicus ( 313964 ) on Monday September 12, 2005 @05:05PM (#13541615)
    More interesting by far than this old marketing ploy of taking a popular brand from one saleable medium (games) and transplanting it into another market (books), is the phenomenon which is occuring within gaming itself with regard to story-telling. The most interesting convergence of recent years between literary story-telling and gameworld story-telling occurred not in literature but in games themselves. I consider one fascinating example of that to be the creation of the Planescape: Torment Novelisation [wischik.com].

    Not a book written based on the gameworld. Not a book written in imitation of the game's story. There was a Torment novel. It was absolutely atrocious [amazon.com]. What's more interesting is the novelisation of the game's text. What's more interesting is the quality of writing that comes through even when the medium changes. What's more interesting is that the game's text doesn't need to be rewritten to be considered a cohesive piece of storytelling.

    Game writing has come of age over the last decade (although some would argue we're merely rediscovering what text adventures had already managed to create in the '70s and '80s). What's significant is the transplantation of narratives which stand on their own as cohesive storylines with coherent character development into gameworlds where gameplay itself does not by nature necessitate high quality narrative story-telling.

    The reinterpretation of game stories into novels is, by comparison, trivial as a marketing phenomenon. It's not, in Planescape's case, the fact that the game narrative was transplanted into a horrifically bad knockoff novel that is interesting. That kind of merchandising bridging the gap between various media formats is nothing new. What's remarkable is that the horrifically bad knockoff novel can be held up against the quality of the in-game narrative in the present and the latter, the game narrative, as it was written and novelised [wischik.com] stands up and has always has stood up as the far superior narrative of the two.
    • well i'd like to believe that game writing has come to a place where it could be considered good, but all i need to do is pick up the nearest rpg to be proven wrong. game writing is still in its infancy, and untill the game industry gets much needed reform of its focus on flashy graphics and physics and gets back to the core fundamentals of game design are we likely to see any improvement in the writing of games.
    • As a fan of Ultima, Baldur's Gate, and Lucas Art's adventure games, I thought I was familiar with the cream of the crop for video game stories.

      I played through Planescape a month ago, and nothing has compared. I've devoured "Best of" lists looking for something comparable- but nothing comes close.

      I worry that PS:T set the bar so high that I can't enjoy game storylines like I used to anymore.

      Planescape is to videogames what real literature is to Dragonball manga. I just wish more companies would rise to th
  • I'm taking a long time to get through Morrowind because of all the interesting books in the game itself. They serve a game function by granting you skill levels, but nearly all of them are interesting and well-written pieces of micro-fiction. I'd love to have a compilation of all those little stories.
  • There are three books released under the Myst story and intergrate well with the game's storyline. IMHO, they made novels based on video games readable. To be honest, I'm suprized the reporter Clive Thompson didn't mention Myst. It certainly proved that novalization was possiable and rewarding.

    Go to your local book store and look in the Sci-Fi/Fantacy section and look for "The Myst Reader". Instead of three books, they put them all in one huge softcover. Some from of Myst book has always been in stock since
    • I'll second that. The Myst books are fantastic. They make so much of the mysterious stuff from the games make more sense! Not exactly deep material, but that's never kept me from enjoying a good book!
  • Both Halo books, both fantastic, written by Eric Nylund (Sp?). Follows spartans from creation, through to how they get back to Earth from Halo:CE, and why Johnson is still alive. The books are also, by far, better than the game(s), even if the storyline has come into conflict with the game in places.

    As for the book Flood, don't bother, it is written version of Halo:CE, and reads poorley (not written by Eric as I recall). Only worth it for a read for a little more insight into the Halo universe, but thats

  • Easily the oddest example of this phenomenon. It started with Raymond E. Feist writing an acclaimed series of fantasy books [raymondfeistbooks.com]. Sierra felt that the universe that Feist created would be a good basis for an RPG, so it got the license and had him write the plot for Betrayal at Krondor [the-underdogs.org]. Later, Feist decided to write a novelization of the game which was based on his books [raymondfeistbooks.com]. He also did it with the game's sequel [gamespot.com] by writing Krondor: The Assassins [raymondfeistbooks.com]. Probably the most "meta" thing I can think of in video gaming his
  • Another face of this trend that I fully respect is the return to games with somewhat more involving storylines - often delivered through mediums outside of the game. The backstory doesn't have to be necessary, but often sets the feel of the gameworld (assuming it's a good bit of writing instead of garbage). Some of my favorite games - the Quest for Glory series, were very good at this. Not short stories, but more the humorous pamphlets and instruction manuals that seemed to be anything but an actual manu

  • After reading Doom the Novel (Score:3, Funny)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Monday September 12, 2005 @07:24PM (#13542711) Homepage
    I read Doom. The first two books. Where I learned that the Mormon church has a secret army of tanks underneath the Temple to defend themselves against the combined armies of Hell and the IRS.

    After getting that far, "groaning" is certainly the right word I'd used to describe it.
  • Hey, I can remember having books for Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania II back when I was about 12 years old. I thought they were pretty cool at the time, especially the whole CIA aspect for Ninja Gaiden. I'm sure If I went back and looked at them, they'd be crap.
  • Two of the first games I bought in the early 80s were The Hobbit and Elite.

    The Hobbit adventure game of course was based on the book and included the book in the box.

    Elite was an original game however it came with an excellent little novella based on the game by Robert Holdstock.

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