It’s not at all uncommon for video game creators to seek inspiration from other mediums when developing new titles. There have been countlessvideo game adaptations of anime series, television shows, and movies over the years, though one area that is sometimes overlooked is the wonderful world of fiction-based books, short stories, and novels.
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Since the turn of the century, however, more and more developers are creatingvideo games based on books, with many of them going on to become best-selling series. Some simply borrow specific ideas and themes, but there are others that serve as near like-for-like adaptations.The Witcheris probably the best example of this, although it is far from the only one.
10The Witcher
The popularity of CD Projekt Red’sThe Witcherseries has exploded since the release ofThe Witcher 3; unsurprising, perhaps, considering all that the game has to offer. That’s not to say that the series wasn’t already popular before that though, withits first two entrieshaving sold millions of copies between them.
The success of the thirdWitchergame has helped to draw more attention to the series of novels and short storieson which the games are basedthough, with more and more people becoming interested in the work of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski in recent years.The Netflix series has also helped in this regard, and, so far, at least, follows the books a lot more closely than its video game counterparts.
9I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream
Fans ofclassic point-and-click adventure gameswill likely be well aware ofI Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Due largely to its age, however, it’s a title that most modern gamers will probably be entirely unaware of. Those people are seriously missing out, as the experience that the game provides is entirely unique even to this day.
Based on Harlan Ellison’s 1967 short story of the same name, the game takes place in a dystopian future controlled by an A.I. system known as AM. All but five of the human race have been wiped out and those that remain have spent the last century being psychologically tortured by AM. Manydark and disturbing themesare explored throughout its narrative, including genocide, abuse, and paranoia.
8Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
There have been plenty ofvideo games based on the work of J.R.R. Tolkienover the years, thoughnot all of them have quite lived up to the excellence of the great author. With its fantastic nemesis system and well-refined combat mechanics though, that’s not really a criticism that could ever be levied against the fantasticMiddle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
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As per its title, the game is set inTolkien’s middle-earthand encompasses much of the lore detailed in the author’s many novels. There are even one or two familiar faces thrown in there just for good measure, though it’s really the gameplay that takes center stage in this one rather than the characters or narrative. The sequel’s pretty good too, although fails to recapture the brilliance of its predecessor.
7BioShock
Ayn Rand was an award-winning Russian-American writer and philosopher whose work, together with that of other dystopian and utopian writers like Orwell and Huxley, inspired much of 2K’sBioShockseries. It was she who developed and detailed the philosophical principles of objectivism, which inspired boththe city of Raptureand Andrew Ryan’s personal philosophy.
The name Andrew Ryan is even a near-anagram of Ayn Rand’s, whileFrank Fontaineand Atlas take their names from Rand’s husband Frank and her novelsThe FountainheadandAtlas Shruggedrespectively. It’s in these works that Rand first explores and outlines the idea of objectivism, making it somewhat fitting that their titles were incorporated into the games.
6Metro 2033
Having already sought inspiration from the literary worldfor theStalkerseriesprior to setting up 4A Games, it wasn’t all that surprising when the developers behindMetro 2033did so again just a few years later. This time, however, it was the work of the Russian-Israeli author and journalist Dmitry Glukhovsky which caught their collective eye.
His science-fiction novel of the same name provided more or less the entire premise for the game, while his subsequent work has continued to influence the series. The author collaborated directly with 4A Games on the firstMetrotitle and even helped to write the story and dialogue for the game’s sequel,Metro: Last Light.
5The Godfather
Though based predominantly on the movies rather than Mario Puzo’s original novels, EA’sThe Godfathergames can at least be traced back to Puzo’s work by extension. The second of the two games was a little disappointing, though the original, which encompasses the events of the first movie, is one ofthe best GTA clones around.
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Detailing the story of Michael Corleone’s rise to power,The Godfatherhas players controlling an original character and seamlessly weaves new narrative threads into an already great story. This is backed up by some fantastic gameplay mechanics anda hauntingly beautiful scoreconsisting of both new and classic pieces.
4Dynasty Warriors
Many of thebig Mosou game seriesdraw their inspiration from the exact same place; a 14th-century Chinese novel by Luo Guanzhong calledRomance of the Three Kingdoms. It’s widely regarded as being one of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature and tells the tale of the reunification of China, which serves as the main storyline in each and everyDynasty Warriorsgame.
All of the larger-than-life characters found in the series can be traced back to the novel, which itself borrows a lot from real-world historical records documenting the era. Though there are quite a few embellishments when it comes to the abilities ofcharacters like Guan Yu and Lu Bu, there are elements of truth woven into the games' story too, making for an interesting mix of fact and fiction.
3Assassin’s Creed
TheAssassin’s Creedseries has novels of its own these days, but when creating the first game, developers took much of their inspiration from the work of Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol. His 1938 novel,Alamut, tells the story of the Hashshashin and is named after their fortress which once stood in what is now the Qazvin province of Iran.
Large portions of Bartol’s novel were based on historical facts and it was these elements that were used in the firstAssassin’s Creedgame. The line “Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” which serves asthe Creed’s maxim, also came courtesy ofAlamut, though the wording was changed slightly; most likely in the interest of brevity.
2Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
As far as authors go, the late, greatTom Clancyhas had a larger impact on the video game industry than most. Many of his novels have been adapted into video games, with numerous others being written as tie-ins. Perhaps the most prominent of these, however, is the writer’sRainbow Sixseries, which has spawned numerous best-selling video games over the years.
When it comes tospy and military-themed titles, very few franchises can hold a candle to the long-running series, which first debuted more than two decades ago now. It’s appeared on countless systems during that time, with a new entry,Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction,set to finally arriveon the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles in early 2022.
1Parasite Eve
Square Enix’s classic survival-horror seriesParasite Eveserves not as an adaptation of a novel, but insteada direct sequel. The first entry picks up right where Japanese pharmacologist Hideaki Sena’s 1995 novel left off and incorporates many of the same themes, ideas, and characters.
Like the games themselves,Parasite Evecan at times be quite terrifying through its exploration of human biologyand helped the author to win numerous literary prizes. There was even a movie adaptation of the novel in Japan, which managed to rake in almost a million dollars despite its limited theatrical release.
