There's always been a pretty big cross section of gamers who also enjoy reading. Many fantasy worlds are also full of the sort of things that we, as gamers, wish we could have in our games. So, today my question is this: what books do you wish we had games for? What books have worlds that you want to play with? If you want, don't limit yourself to books, what movies, games, or comics do you wish we had games to play in the worlds?
While kind of a cross between books and games I am constantly amazed that there is no RPG for the Halo universe at this time. The world is rich and very vibrant with what it has, it fits neatly into the space opera genre, and depending on when you set the game could be open to a number of different kinds of game types. You have the potential espionage laden game set with UNSC versus the rebels. You have the almost horrific beginnings to the Covenant war with an alien race that is just wiping out planet after planet. The desperate end of that war as the tides so quickly turn and suddenly humanity has a chance. The new beginnings at the end of the war with the need to rebuild.
Characters have tons of options to. Normal civilians, grunts, spartans, scientists, researchers, and so on. The world is really fun to play in - I know, me and some friends have made conversions to play in Halo using the R&K system - and has a lot of options. Hell, even the gamer in our group who dislikes sci-fi and space opera was having a blast playing a teenage super soldier near the end of the war.
So, where is it? I want it now! how about you?
I really want a game for Metro 2033, one of the most brillaint post-apocalyptic books I know (the plot section in the Wiki article has MAJOR spoilers!). It's easy to adapt it to other systems, though.
ReplyDeleteI would also like a game for Nochnoy Dozor by Sergei Lukyanenko. There are so many possibilities for stories and there's everything from vampires, shapeshifters, witches to mages to play (with), good or evil, whatever you want. And since good and evil have an agreement, there's a lot of scheming and cloak and dagger involved.
One of my favourite books already has its own game, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, taking place in a sort of parallel London.
I think that if you want to run a game for young kids, it would be awesome to do it in the setting of Ronja Robber's Daughter. It's a book I love very much and the castles populated by robbers, the dark forests and all those creatures in the forest would make for a great fantasy campaign.
Not quite the same thing, but Metro exists at least as a console game. Looks good too...
DeleteI never played it, but watched a friend play a couple of hours, it really is a good adaptation and they even changed the ending so that people can enjoy both game and book.
DeleteLol, Ronja Robber's daughter is one of the first books I read and really enjoyed. I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned here Jedediah. XD But yeah, that setting would be awesome for kids. Recalling how immersed I was in that book, I can definitely see it's potential. The world is already alive for the kids when you start playing.
ReplyDeleteIf I recall correctly, the world of Raymond E. Feist itself is based on his/their own campaign world, but Feist disapproves of fanfiction and other people playing with his world. So no gaming allowed there. Still, you can see the game elements in the books, I've actually decided to create my own campaignworld after I found out about Feist's silly restrictions. His books are part of what got me into gaming, but now he's not getting the credit. x)
There's also Lycidas by Christoph Marzi, but as far as I can see it's currently still only in Dutch and German. The setting reminded me of Neverwhere, but it's different and more angled at kids. It also has a London above ground and a more fantasy-like London below.
I also like the books of Jules Verne, though many elements of his books are used and reused in books/movies/rpg's, no one as far as I know has ever brought them together in one world.
Scott Lynch's city based first book begs to be made into a game. i friend of mine tried and failed to homebrew it, much to my disappointment. I have also played in a home brew set in Joe Abercrombie's world. it was fun, but D&D 3.5 did not do it justice.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Ronja Robber's Daughter would make a great setting, hadn't even thought about that one. I would like to see the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn"-Series by Tad Williams turned into an RPG.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite books, that one. Otherland and War of Flowers would make great RPGS as well - especially War of Flowers with its high-tech Faerie.
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