Videogame novelizations

[Nightingale]

I recently finished my reading of the third Resdient Evil book and, against all expectations, it was actually pretty good! It doesn't -it nor the ones on the series that I have read so far- surpass the source material at all, as to be expected from a derivative work... but they hold up pretty well, once you can look past the liberties taken to turn the games into books.

Reading thru these books (with four more in the horizon and the one based on RE: Zero being the best so far) got me thinking a little... while not particularly a good idea for some cases, turning widely-known videogames into novels can really help developing the characters without cramming the main story with details that would otherwise feel forced in terms of the design. And I think that's a potential goldmine for developers looking into deepening their characters without having to go and alienate the casual player with a million cutscenes and in-game reads.

In fact, I think characters like Billy Coen and Rebecca Chambers are far better explained on the books than they are on the games (where they come across as almost strangers, given how little focus is given to them and how general it seems to be). But is that very revelation that made me realize I was probably looking in the wrong place for the richest possible experience with a horror-themed game and that didn't involve actually playing the game... and that's because Resident Evil, while amazing as a game franchise, doesn't really have the depth or scope to be more than a re-telling of in-game happenings when novelized... but do you know what DOES have all those things? Silent Hill!

And yeah! After painstakingly jumping thru hoops just to get to a version of it, I found out that there's actually two books set on the SH universe, and one of them was even translated into English (oddly, the second one). Now, I haven't actually read any of those yet, so I can't actually endorse them but... don't they look like the poster children and prime candidates for novelization? The franchise is chocked-full with potential when it comes to widen and deepen its story... because, sure, you get your answers and there's some sort of closure to the stories of the games as you play them (although, I have only ever played 1 and 2) but they leave out so much for the sake of mystery that you can just about feel the need for a side-story such as this one to fill on the gaps.

I'll probably come back here and comment after I have read the books, just to see how wrong -or right- I was about those in the end... but in the meantime, have you ever read any novelizations and/or stories in which other games were based upon? I heard Dune's pretty good.

If so, what did you think?

[Moonface]

I think the only things I've read are the 2000's Tomb Raider comics, such as Tomb Raider - Saga of the Medusa Mask which I remember being enjoyable, but I can't recall how well it was compared to the source material or how much it added to that.

[Nightingale]

I didn't know Tomb Raider had comics... that's cool!

If we are talking comics, then The Last of Us: American Dream can't go unnamed... it is pretty amazing and it renders the entire DLC pointless

I have also read the one-shot Left 4 Dead comic and... honestly, it's pretty forgettable. Like, I swear, the only characters I remember are those not in there for more than a couple of scenes xD

[Maniakkid25]

...have you ever read any novelizations and/or stories in which other games were based upon? I heard Dune's pretty good.

Wait, wha? W-we can't be thinking of the same Dune -- where did that even come from?

I've been trying to read a few novelizations, a couple of which are SMT related. Well, techincally, one of them isn't a novelization, because it's actually the source material for the entire franchise! There have been fan translations of the first two of the original Digital Devil Story trilogy that would later give birth to the Megami Tensei franchise, and I've been meaning to sit down and read them. As well, I own the first two volumes (out of five, but the last three are currently untranslated) of Quantum Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner. For those with a keen eye, this sounds similar to Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner, but somehow different. That's because it's not a direct novelization, but rather (a novelization of the writer's) the original plan for the story before that writer (who is also the writer of the book) had to leave for medical reasons. That storyboard was then adapted into Digital Devil Saga.

As well, a story that I've also been meaning to read is Parasite Eve. You may recognize that name as the cult hit RPG horror PSX game, but this book is actually the spawning point of the series that would later follow. There was also a movie based on that book, and while you don't need to read the book to understand the game (none of the characters are related to each other, and the book is summarized in the game), it's one of those things that intrigues me. The only problem is it was written by a Ph. D student, so it is DRYYYYYY!

[Nightingale]

Wait, wha? W-we can't be thinking of the same Dune -- where did that even come from?

I actually had to double-check it, but Wikipedia seems to confirm the novel and games are related. I wanna read them, since I never beat any of the Dune titles