What books would you see fit to be made into a game. With the rise of more artsy games and episodic format I think it is feasible to make a novel into a game. I had this discussion with a friend yesterday and came to the conclusion that the Song of Ice and Fire series could be made into a great fantasy epic and The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy would make a great adventure game.

I think that the story of Beren and Lúthien from The Silmarilion would make an epic(ly awesome) action RPG.

Some Wikipedia articles for the ignorant.

Hmmm, I would say the Deathgate Cycle by Weis and Hickmann. Yes there have been a game made before but it only followed the series very loosely. It would of course be a crpg or adventure game.

They talked about it, pitched it, put teams together for it and we never saw anything.
I want my Ender's Game... uh... Game! Damn it!

I want to float in a weightless, completely 3D shooter, where I can orient myself anyway I choose and teamspeak with 40 people on each side.

You're in luck, Hitchhiker's Guide was an Infocom text-adventure... I believe there's a legitimate freeware version on the web.

The guys who wrote Undertow are doing a game in the current Unreal engine based on Ender's Game with Card's input, so you're in luck too.

As for books I'd like to see become games, how about Banks' Player of Games itself...

-- Steve

Time and Again by Jack Finney, would make an interesting adventure puzzle game (point and click maybe).

Here is a link to an online version of the HHGttG-game http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_andrew.shtml

The New York Times ran a piece a few days ago, about using games to draw readers. I thought it was a really interesting read, though I'm not sure the author gets what gaming is about, or what makes it fun. (Of course, I could say the same about a lot of the industry itself, but that's a conversation for a different topic.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/books/06games.html

I want a Temeraire series flight sim and RTS. Dragons + 1700's naval combat, what's not to love?

Wheel of Time.

Okay, maybe that wouldn't work since the whiny mouth breather doesn't get any magic powers till the second or third book.

Just about any novel by Matthew Reilly. Reading those books for me is just wonderful action packed rides with pretty decent characters in comparison to say what I consider kinda trashy (as in I feel a bit dirty after reading it) Deathlands series.

http://www.matthewreilly.com/

I am eagerly awaiting his next book in his Captain Jack West Jr series, Six Sacred Stones ended on a cliff hanger worse than the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Also, when I first read the title of this thread, I recalled when I would read Choose Your Own Adventure type books when I was younger =D

So long as a book based game is better then a movie based game, i'm all for it. We have not had a good movie based game sence Goldeneye.

The Shadow over Innsmouth.

Wait.

Any Lovecraft story.

Halfang:
The Shadow over Innsmouth.

Wait.

Any Lovecraft story.

I concur the Call of Cthulhu story would make a great game.

Xaryn Mar:
Here is a link to an online version of the HHGttG-game http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_andrew.shtml

Yay I am glad they made one after all. I have a special place in my heart for text adventures.

There was a Call of Cthulu Xbox game, but I only played the first level where you shake down some Cultists besieged in an old house with the police and then stumble across an Elder God...

Did that game turn out good? I don't feel like a played enough to judge.

Halfang:
The Shadow over Innsmouth.

Wait.

Any Lovecraft story.

Hmmm, I second that although that story has been made a game (The first part of Dark Corners of the Earth are very inspired by that story). My favorite HPL-story to game would be At the Mountains of Madness or perhaps The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Eldritch Warlord:
I think that the story of Beren and Lúthien from The Silmarilion would make an epic(ly awesome) action RPG.

Some Wikipedia articles for the ignorant.

I definitely agree.

Khell_Sennet:
I want a Temeraire series flight sim and RTS. Dragons + 1700's naval combat, what's not to love?

Also agree with that.

Xaryn Mar:

Halfang:
The Shadow over Innsmouth.

Wait.

Any Lovecraft story.

Hmmm, I second that although that story has been made a game (The first part of Dark Corners of the Earth are very inspired by that story). My favorite HPL-story to game would be At the Mountains of Madness or perhaps The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

At the mountain of madness is really one of the best (perhaps because its long) also Dunwitch horror is one of the more messed up ones and at the same time resting on my list favorites.

I vote for some more Forgotten Realms games. There was Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Dark Allience and it's sequel, and that's about it. The Hunter's Blades Trilogy would make for a great Hack and Slash game, what with the shear number of epic battles they have in them. And by hack and slash I mean Dynasty Warriors style.

Forgotten Realms makes this D&D fan cry. Those are sad tears, not happy tears.

More Dynasty Warriors style games done in an interesting and fresh way are always welcome though.

A War of the Worlds RTS could be cool.

Age of Empires 3 meets Command and Conquer 3.

xitel:
I vote for some more Forgotten Realms games. There was Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Dark Allience and it's sequel, and that's about it.

Then there were the old TSR Gold box series (Pool of Radiance (the original one), Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades, Pool of Darknes). Quite old all of them (C64, Amiga 500 and DOS) but still good games.

P.S. You forgot Neverwinter Nights I and II

I think that Arthur C. Clark's "Rendevouz with Rama" would make an interesting 'Myst' style like game of discovery and puzzles. It begs for beautifully illustrated and painted backgrounds and a very stylized and epic score.

With the exception of Snow Crash, I'd say none of them. Books offer a level of depth in terms of character and motivation that video games, because of their nature, can't match. If you get a video game made from a book you're not really getting the book. You're just getting the outer shell, the first layer of the onion, it's never going to be as good.

Add the Witcher to the exception list.

Generally, any good book, that is a book that isn't atrocious action laden sci fi or fantasy, will not make a good video game, most of the time.

I really gotta read Snowcrash...

This thread has been done and I gave some awesome games based on books. Use the search button to see if you can find out what they were.

TsunamiWombat:
I really gotta read Snowcrash...

Do so. Everything else pales into insignificance.

Decoy Doctorpus:
With the exception of Snow Crash, I'd say none of them. Books offer a level of depth in terms of character and motivation that video games, because of their nature, can't match. If you get a video game made from a book you're not really getting the book. You're just getting the outer shell, the first layer of the onion, it's never going to be as good.

Add the Witcher to the exception list.

Generally, any good book, that is a book that isn't atrocious action laden sci fi or fantasy, will not make a good video game, most of the time.

What would be a cool game is if they made the game from snow crash into a game.

mark_n_b:
This thread has been done and I gave some awesome games based on books. Use the search button to see if you can find out what they were.

curse my unoriginality!

A game based on The Dark Tower series by Stephen King could be interesting. Though, those books may be better to make a movie of, than a game. But who am I to judge? I'm just nearly done with volume IV, Wizards and Glass. What might be a more interesting game than a game based on the story in The Dark Tower, is a game simply set in the world of The Dark Tower. Could be either before or after "the world moved on," both would work great I think.

The downside to making great novels into games is that the game may become very popular, thus making good money. If it makes good money, it would probably be milked to the point where both the book and the series of games (and other things that may come with it, such as trading card games and such nonsense) both become really boring and/or annoying (e.g. Star Wars, though I still find the original movies entertaining).

The Bible.
It'd be interesting.

zachatree:
My favorite HPL-story to game would be At the Mountains of Madness or perhaps The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

At the mountain of madness is really one of the best (perhaps because its long) also Dunwitch horror is one of the more messed up ones and at the same time resting on my list favorites.[/quote]
Oh really?

Graustein:
The Bible.
It'd be interesting.

ESRB rating would be AO. Or C for children. It can land on either extreme.

Would it be bad if I made a thread: Which porno would you like to see made into a game?

I'm not sure.

The_root_of_all_evil:

zachatree:
My favorite HPL-story to game would be At the Mountains of Madness or perhaps The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

At the mountain of madness is really one of the best (perhaps because its long) also Dunwitch horror is one of the more messed up ones and at the same time resting on my list favorites.

Oh really?[/quote]
touche good sir

World War Z by Max Brooks,

The player taking control of many different sides of the conflict as some of the many people interviewed in the book.