Netflix is working on a new series based on the game Assassin's creed, and this is not the first time that a work of art inspired by the story of the game has been filmed, as we previously saw a movie that had the same title as the famous series, but it did not meet the expected success and presented a very normal cinematic experience.
In fact, Assassin's creed movie was not the only artwork based on the story of a movie. We saw a large group of other artworks that followed the same approach, such as Resident Evil and Prince of Persia.
If you follow the reviews of these films and series, you find that they provide an average experience most of the time and often these films do not receive the expected mass success, but in the case of designing a game inspired by a cinematic work in the first place, we find that these games are very successful, such as Star Wars and Batman games, and the list goes on.
Now, many may wonder about the reasons that lead to the failure of these films and the success of games based on films, as if there is an unknown secret link, but in fact the reasons are very clear.
Are games based on films successful in the first place?
Before analyzing the reasons for the success of games based on movies and series, we must first make sure of this information, which at first glance appears to be true and absolute information, but in fact this information is not true at all.
Periodically, a group of games that are inspired by very popular movies and series are released, yet they do not receive the required success. Here is a set of failed titles that prove my point
- Enter the Matrix
- Cat Woman
- Fast and furious
- Charli’s Angels
What has been mentioned above is a group of titles, for example, and not exclusively, so I can prepare a very long list with the same idea, but to be honest, the number of successful titles is much greater than the failed titles, but in general we cannot generalize the idea of the success of games based on famous films.
A successful game is not enough to make a successful movie
When a developer designs a game, many elements that lead to its success, such as story, gameplay, character design, level of graphics, size of content, and quality of game modes overlap.
When the filmmaker takes the game to convert it into an illustrated material, we find that he is only quoting the story or the game world, of course, so he cannot quote the gameplay or the type of game stages that we have always liked.
Let's take an example of Assassin's creed movie, which by the way is an average movie, and it is not a failure by all standards. In this film, we find that the filmmaker borrowed the lines and general idea of the game and this is all that can be borrowed from the game.
Now, the film crew has to think creatively to make an excellent film, so it is not possible to take the character of Al Tayer, its events, and its story with the letter and put it in the film because it will be expected, burned, without a plot, and can be subjected to catastrophic failure.
It is also not possible to think of a normal story that can be accepted in other circumstances because the game is already gaining great momentum and with this momentum, the expectations of the recipient of the film increase.
The crisis also lies in the creative thinking linked to the broad lines of the original story and its time and place, even the distinctive movements that we love in the game we have already watched and will not be as dazzling as, for example, the Hidden Blade killing movement when we see it in the film will be familiar and not new to us.
Also, these distinctive movements will be impressive for those who do not know the game at all, as happened with the Egyptian movie "The Treasure", where the audience saw the hero as he made Assassin's jumps and used a fast fighting style. These moves are taken from a game while the moves were a cause for ridicule by anyone who knows the game, especially since its implementation was poor.
Therefore, the maker is tied to several rules that he must follow and cannot use many of the details in the game, so we find this shaky and medium level of films based on game stories.
Successful films must be based on deep stories
Of course, there are some successful movies and series based on games, perhaps the last of which was Netflix's The Witcher.
If we follow these successful films, we find that they are based on games that have a deep narrative background, and in many times the game stories themselves are based on a famous novel, which is what actually happened with the aforementioned series.
Here things become a little easier for the filmmaker because he has broad and deep lines at the same time through which he can work. He has a whole world full of small details and information that helps him build a strong dramatic plot without being bound by the story of the game itself.
On the contrary, we see a story like Assassin's creed that requires a very great effort to be directed in a cinematic work because the story here is very good and appropriate, but for the game only, it does not have many details or a world that was built from scratch.
Also, a movie like Warcraft, we find that it provided a good experience that would have been excellent if a better cast was chosen and this is because of the already existing world of Warcraft that is not linked to a specific game and when the world was only transferred to a movie it was very interesting thanks to the many details inside it.
Things are much easier for the gaming industry
Here we find things turn upside down because the game developer does not need to exhaust himself with many details and can take the story of the movie and put it inside the game and it remains interesting because the playing experience does not depend only on the story, but includes many elements such as the style of play and the quality of the graphics, even if The story was playing a big role that the player will still feel fun while controlling the events of the movie he loves.
The same thing is repeated with the famous and distinctive movements in the film, for example Star Wars games we find very fun and we love to fight with light swords, although this matter we know well from the film, but here the interaction plays a very big role, so the player feels fun when he uses this sword and fighting with it on the contrary if The action was from the game and carried over into the movie.
And the same thing was repeated with Marvel's Avengers game, where everyone enjoyed us as we used the capabilities of our heroes ourselves, crushing enemies and destroying the environment around us.
Of course, no one.
Simply the game maker can develop an excellent movie-inspired game as long as it follows the important rules and delivers a game at a high level of accuracy, whether in gameplay or graphics quality, which is something that can be easily done in the presence of giant publishers and excellent development teams.
Therefore, games that fail are always due to poor gameplay or cheap graphics, which always reflect the level of limited spending on these games. As for films, the volume of spending is not the only criterion. We may see films containing high-tech and high combat scenes, but still boring because in the work filmed it is Pure intellectual creativity is the main factor in success, not just technology and spending
The conclusion
The phenomenon of quoting from movies to games or vice versa will continue to exist. Each party tries to benefit from the success of the other by presenting easy and enjoyable work at the same time.
But things are a little more difficult when converting the game into a movie and not the other way around and this is the reason for the low level of these films, we must also not generalize the idea that all the games borrowed from the movies are good, it is a wrong idea and many games have failed due to the low level of development and dependence completely on the success The movie without being bound by the success elements of the game originally.