Literary pursuits -
June 26, 2001 - Chris Jones
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed
within this column are those of the participants and the
moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the
GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive
material afoot.
You're so cute when you try to dominate me.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
Maybe it's just a lot of people bored during summer vacation, but the submission count's gone through the roof lately. Today I got about 60 emails, which doesn't sound like much, but they're nearly all three or four paragraphs, and within striking distance of each other quality-wise. Makes this job a lot harder, both reading everything and picking what's good enough to put up. The curse of prosperity, or something.
Meantime, I just want to reiterate how great everybody's submissions have been, and not to take it personally if you didn't get selected - competition's very tight at the moment.
Onward.
| Bookification |
| Personally, I doubt book renditions of game plots would work out very
well. Why? Simple. Game plots are meant for games, books. They're
designed to be wrapped around infrastructures of dungeons, exploration,
and the like. Rip those things out, and you've got a core story that's
nearly incoherent, and I can't think of any way to fill in the gaps in a
believable fashion.
Think about Vagrant Story. If any game has a story worthy of...
bookification, it's this one, no doubt about it. But the entire game
takes place in one huge dungeon, with snippets of story dropped here and
there. How would you fill the spaces in between without altering and
adding to the plot so much it was really wasn't the game's anymore. I
mean, you're not going to go on for page after page about Ashley hacking
through monsters and opening treasure chests, are you?
Books based on game premises? I can see that--hell, I can read it, too.
Blizzard Entertainment, for instance, has quite a few books based on
their games in their online store. But recreating the game stories
themselves in a book? I just can't see that happening.
I could be wrong, though. Feel free to tear through my shaky little
logic's bowels like the bloodthirsty rabid wolverine of a letter
columnist you are. I'll expect it's intestines on my desk by tomorrow evening.
Seth M-K
|
The thing is, with a lot of games, Vagrant Story included, I've always gotten the impression that there was a lot of backstory invented for the game that we never really got to see. Obviously Xenogears had a huge amount of supporting material that we're just now getting access to, but Vagrant story had a fair amount of stuff that could have been put in - Ashley's history, more detail on supporting characters like Samantha, flashbacks to Mullenkamp. Heck, set it up right, and it's not so much a novelization of the game as it is the story behind the story.
| Prediction: 90+ emails from people asking about this story |
| Hello,
In response to Kaiser's letter, I just wanted to point out that there are novels written about games. Just not in English. For example, there was an official Xenogears novel published by Shonen Jump in Japan. Of course, it was a prequel and Jessie Black was the main character, not Fei-Fong Long... But it still exists. (fear my Xenogears merchandise knowledge!)
Anyway, as for books like that to be published in North American, I don't think so. Books like that would probably be regarded on the same level as movie-to-novels are: they have their niche, but by no means are they best sellers, nor are they considered quality reading. Aside from that, finding an audience would be difficult. For instance, I for one would love to read a Vagrant Story novel, but would a million other people want that as well (considering that Vagrant Story as a game didn't sell that many copies itself)? And would it be worth it to both the game company and the publishing group place that on the market, when there's possibly no way that it would sell decently? It's too risky. Besides, because of the Internet, there are enough fanfiction writers out there that one could find what (s)he wanted for free.
It's a cool idea, but it probably wouldn't fly sadly.
Lea Johnson, who owns too much Xenogears crap and proudly admits it
|
Excellent point - companies aren't going to do this unless they can make money off it, one way or another. Publishing standalone books costs money, probably more than they'd make back from selling a few thousand copies... although big name series like DQ might sell well.
Another approach would be to have short stories as supplemental material, either in a gaming magazine like the above, or, more likely, on tie-in websites, somewhat like Soul Calibur.
| Crono never talked, but did he have an internal dialog? |
| Hello Chris,
Eh, this is one of my DREAM topics. Way back since the
US version of FF2(4) I have been doing just that. I
have always loved writing as well as fantasy, and I
have written novels dramatizing FF2(4), FF3(6), Chrono
Trigger, Secret of Mana, and FF7. Of course, I have
never shown these to anyone, and I only managed to get
about 3/4 of the way through writing the games.
Its great to actually get inside the character's heads
like that, to see what they are REALLY thinking. To
know how Crono felt about fighting Lavos (I always
felt he was a militant Lavos-hater), or if Cloud was
even more messed up in his head than we thought, or
even if the boy in SoM was attracted to the girl.
Also, you need to remember, Parasite Eve, a game I
thoroughly enjoyed (sans pregnant Eve) was based on a
Japanese Novel. So there is some sort of precedent for
this in the US.
The obvious problem for this, is that it sets down a
definitive version of the story. In FF7 for example,
what if you wanted Cloud to love Tifa and the book
showed Cloud loving Aeris explicitly more. It would
take something away from these games, a little of the
magic because it would always be a specific way.
In conclusion (feel free to edit this letter) it would
be great for some of the people (myself for example),
but for others it would destroy the memories and the
very reason they enjoyed those games in the first
place. Simply put: If you don't want it, don't buy it.
SSJPabs
P.S. I would finally truly, superbly enjoy FF8 in
novel form over game form.
P.P.S. Is it just me or have you and Nich been paying
homage to the Cosner legacy of biting sarcasm and
shredding replies lately? I like it! Viva la Drew!
|
Truthfully, this might only be an issue with games that were strongly non-linear. If the important stuff remains more or less constant, then a novelization can just touch on the issues that don't vary in the game, and skip over the other stuff. For instance, don't write about Cloud's date, but describe the emotional conflict in such a way that the reader can interpret it however they want - after all, game and book, it's the fact that he's torn between the two women that gives the story its power.
Still, you're right - even if you could find a writer good enough to do the game justice, people might never accept it because it's not their version, and I don't know that you can ever get around that.
And while I may have been a bit more sarcastic than usual lately, I really don't see why everybody keeps saying this stuff about Nich. Nich has opinions like anybody else, and when he's running the column he states them, as he should, but in general he's one of the most polite, restrained people I've ever met. Besides, as much as I respect Drew, let's keep in mind that the great Allan Milligan started this whole thing off, and at his peak he was more sarcastic (in a good way) than any of his successors will likely ever be.
| Xenogears == 1000 pages? Bit on the low side... |
| Novelizations of games. Actually, this was done in the US during the nes days, I remember a line of books that fleshed out the plots of games like ninja gaiden, castlevania, and blaster master into ~150 page "young adult" novels. I read at least one of them, and remember that it did an admirable job of turning the thin nes plot into something enjoyable for a grade schooler to read.
Unfortunately for this kind of project, game stories have gained a little complexity in the last 10 years. Doing justice to ninja gaiden is about the same challenge level for the writer as doing justice to the average bond film, but something like xenogears is another matter. With the massive depth and breadth of xenogears' plot, a writer would need to have genuine talent, and the patience to write in the thousand-page range. Novelizations of films are known to be short and written for the lowest common denominator of reading ability, so it would be a difficult and unlikely proposition to get serious, high-quality books written based on today's most plot driven rpgs.
-Van Veen
|
You've got to keep in mind how much relative plot gets used in movies vs. novels vs. TV, though. In science fiction, a short story usually fits in to one half-hour Twilight Zone episode, a novella (about 50-100 pages) fits in to a two hour movie without having to cut too much out, and a true novel usually requires a mini-series to do justice to, such as the recent Sci-Fi Channel production of Dune.
So where does a game fit in to this? Depends on the game - the full Xenogears saga'd probably gives Wheel of Time a run for its money, but other stuff, Dewprism for example, probably wouldn't be much more than a 100-150 page book. Either way you wouldn't have too much difficulty fitting the entirety of the work in a novel - I have yet to see any single game that does as much as Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, for instance.
| Who knew all he ever wanted was a soda? |
| Yes, while theoretically a Final Fantasy novel might be pretty nifty, you might regret ever having the idea once you've seen the result. It's all well and good to concoct these things in our minds, but once they become reality they can't be taken back. Ever.
Usually novels "based on" things can never live up to the expectations of the fans of the series, or film, or game, or whatever. At best we tend to see stuff that's pretty good -- alterations to the original story can be excused by invoking the power of "author's license." At worst we get Worlds of Power.
For anyone unfamiliar with the Worlds of Power series, allow me to quote from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Page 1, paragraph 1-2.
"It looked as though Count Dracula was going to win the battle.
'I will drink your spirit like cherry pop!' said the count, flapping his cape and showing his fangs. 'Yes, Simon Belmont! You will become one of my children of the night!'"
Isolated passage this is not. There's something that bad on every page. I highly recommend you all read it. If you DARE!
El Cactuar
|
I'd probably be more horrified about such stuff, but what where would sites like Solidsharkey and Seanbaby be without such atrocities?
| Media saturated, finger lickin' good! |
| I honestly think that RPGs ARE like books. I mean, it's the plot that drives me to play most of the time. Playing FF8 is like reading a huge, interactive novel with lots of pretty pictures and little movies thrown in. Oh yea... you "battle", but unless a battle is supposed to effect the storyline, then it's just another battle.
RPGs as books? I dunno how you would write about leveling up. Or all the countless random battles. RPGs are like a novel with little mini games/battles tacked on. Frankly, I don't think the Final Fantasy stories would have as much impact in a book. On the screen, the flashy special effects keep us interested enough to read text, but there is no such stuff in a book.
I think we are just a media saturated culture, and that books are not as popular because you have to imagine too much, there is nothing to keep someone hooked(unless the story is incredible). As a gamer, I'm used to stuff being handed to me in a nice package that keeps my interest.
KTallguy
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Two things come to mind after reading this: first off, you wouldn't write about levelling up, but you might well write more detail about things like magic, or Tactics' Job system. A lot of games let you come back from the dead, for cryin' out loud - there's got to be some compelling material about how it feels, what it means to the characters, etc.
Second, while there are undoubtedly a lot of game players who do love reading (almost certainly more than you'd find among the population at large), there are also a lot of people who don't, and play RPGs and games in general because they don't want to read. Given that that's the case, you might end up alienating people even as you tried to bring others in.
| Market saturation vs. artistic excellence |
| Is it a good idea to write novels based on FF? Depends on your goal. If
Squaresoft wants to satisfy its fans' appetite for more FF stuff and make
more moola, then yes, it is a good idea. But if Squaresoft wants to "open
non-gamers eyes about some of the incredible stories that they are missing,"
then the answer is no. Why? Because the public in general still views video
games as entertainment for kids or for adults who haven't grown up. So most
of the "non-gamers" of the public will just assume that FF novels, like the
FF games and video games in general, are not really for them.
The FF movie, on the other hand, can break this assumption because of
advertisement. If you've checked out some of the movie's posters or TV
commercials, you'd notice that Squaresoft is making an earnest effort to
appeal to the adult crowd. The CG graphics shown in the trailers so far
present this movie as a dark, somewhat gritty sci-fi thriller. In other
words, Squaresoft doesn't want people to think that this movie is not for
them because they're not into kiddy video games. If this movie is
successful, meaning that people rate it as a better-than-popcorn movie, then
non-gamers may take FF and games in general more seriously.
From, Paris
|
Excellent point about public perception - my opinion of Godzilla didn't go up because somebody churned out a sequel novel, so why should somebody else get excited about FF just because a book's been written about it? I don't think the general public is that jaded about video games, but to the outside observer, there's little that would differentiate Chrono Cross from Legend of Dragoon in terms of quality.
Of course, sadly enough, even within the gaming community there are those who don't differentiate between the two.
| SMS: Don't let it happen to you! |
| I think games as books would suffer "secondary media syndrome." What I mean
by that is if something, a book, game, TV show, or movie, is made into one of
the other medias, then the one that came second will be worse (in comparison
to the original), most of the time. This works with many game to movie
conversions, or movie to game, or book to movie, or book to game, and etc.
Here's a few examples (in the game world):
Game to movie:
Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Mario Bros.
Tomb Raider
Movie to game:
Disney film games
Episode 1 (the third person game)
Game to TV show:
Old Nintendo Cartoons
TV show to Game:
Looney Tunes games
As you can see, most of these examples involve taking one moneymaking
franchise, and then moving it to another media to make a bundle off of the
popularity, so the second incarnation's very crappy in comparison. There are,
of course, exceptions to the "second is worse" rule (Goldeneye comes to
mind). So, if a Final Fantasy Book was made, it'd either follow the game's
script perfectly, meaning very bad descriptions and such, or it would be
written freely from the game by someone who played the game once and is
recalling it from his mind. Either way, in my opinion, it wouldn't capture
the feel of playing the game.
Also, going off on a quick tangent, I enjoy the way console RPGs are done,
because it's like an extended movie that you're the director for. You don't
script it, but you tell them where to move, when to run away, when and how to
attack, and when to go off of the storyline and spend time leveling up or in
a sub-game (which is what I call things like the Hot and Cold quest in FF9,
mini-games are the little tiny things like the jump-rope game in Alexandria
in FF9)
--Opty
|
Thing is, I don't think anybody's expecting a perfect translation or even a book as good as the original game, just something reasonably entertaining that touches on many of the same high points. Besides, it's not impossible - even as Saturday morning marketing tie-ins go, the Pokemon cartoon isn't that bad... er, not that I'd ever watch it or anything.
Really. The names Ash, Brock and Misty mean nothing to me. Honest.
| The wrong authors |
| If they were done in the right way, RPG novels could be very interesting, very interesting indeed. The problem is, I doubt a really good professional writer is going to devote all their time and creative energy on someone else's creations.
This may be the reason that the novels based on popular television shows and movies *Star Trek, the X-Files, etc* are usually not that great. All the talented people are off creating their own characters.
Plus books, like everything else, are a money-making machine for big corporations. I doubt they'll be bold enough to waste money on what they think is a niche market - and that very well may be a good thing.
- Negative Creep
|
As you say, a really good writer could make a game novelization interesting to a lot of people, not just the hard core fans. Even if you consider Vagrant Story's plot anemic, I think just about everybody (who's heard of him) would like to see what Steven Brust could do with it. And I wouldn't discount that potential entirely, if Square or another big developer really wanted to start producing books: they've shown they know how to commit resources to a project, and very respected authors, such as C. J. Cherryh, have been known to write tie-in fiction when the price is right.
| The right authors |
| This is what we have fanfics for. Fanfics are bareable in their own quirky way because of the nature of what they are. You expect a bit more from novels that you pay for and based on what I have seen of novelisations of Star Trek episodes I think we can be fairly sure that the results would be, er, rather urrrgh.
Besides, and probably more to the point, RPG stories are written to be presented in a computer game, and probably wouldn't work outside of that context.
-Arya
|
I don't know about that last statement - Gormenghast, a story about treachery and power struggles inside an ancient, decaying medieval complex, was on TV tonight, and I couldn't help but think how many similarities it had to Vagrant Story, at least as far as setting was concerned.
On the other hand, you're right about the first point. While most people who write fanfic will never be professional writers, most of them make up for it because of the true love and respect the authors have for the subject matter. You'll most likely never get that from hired help.
| Sequel to CHECKERS: THE MINI SERIES |
| From everyone's favorite author of high-suspense, high-octane, high-selling entertainment, Tom Clancy, comes a timeless story of the battle between light and dark, of two warring nations locked in a struggle that can only end with the death of a monarch.
CHESS: THE NOVELLA
Coming this January!
More seriously, though, I think it's actually a pretty good idea to convert games over to book form, especially since they're mostly already there, in the case of RPGs. The constant boss battles could be a bit of a bother, however, as fighting Timmy the Sorcerer five different times with increasingly higher HP ratios might not be quite as exciting in worded format. Subquests, too, could get a little hard to handle, but I'm really not sure if the battle against Ruby Weapon is an essential element in understanding Cloud's deep desire to stop staring at Tifa's breasts.
The one main problem I can foresee is the horror of reading a book review in your local paper and being blinded by spoilers. Not to mention the critics who will insist that Barrett's Mr. T resemblance is some sort of allusion to the life of Jesus Christ...
~ The Radio Star
|
I dunno - if we're speaking seriously about video games in novels, I honestly think they could use some more examination. Games of all types have been used as metaphors in literature, starting with cards and chess in the Alice books and moving onwards. If Unbreakable can seriously examine comic books, why can't somebody write a meaningful introspection on modern suburban life, using Nintendo as the touchstone?
Closing Comments:
Inspired by a friend's recent grief, here's tomorrow's topic: what kind of problems have you had with parents and friends over playing video games? Don't go in to any great detail, but specific anecdotes and general conflict patterns are worth sending in. See you then.
-Chris Jones, honestly doesn't know who he'd like to see write the FF8 novelization
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