Why is the book so different?

[Sadr]

The issue I'm about to raise here might seem to be more aimed at books than games, but one of the purposes of this topic is to discuss the boundaries of games, which can be done very nicely by comparing the game medium with one of the older mediums of entertainment such as a book.

Now here's the subject of my inquiry.
Green indicates something that has been done before, and worked.
Red indicates something that has hardly ever / never been done before, and has yet to work very well.

Book -> Movie
Movie -> Book

Book -> Game
Game -> Book

Movie -> Game
Game -> Movie

As mediums of entertainment, I would consider a movie and a book more similar to one another compared to a game, seeing as a game is the only medium that let's you directly interact with it, use it and shape it to your desires. However, when looking at potential conversions from the one medium to the other, we see that the movie and the game are the only two mediums of the three that can do painless conversations between the both, not just one way.

So here's Question #1
What is it about a book that makes it so easy to use it as one medium able to create another, whereas it's almost impossible to turn a medium that started in a game or a movie into a book. Can a book only be a beginning, and not the end of a creative process?

Question #2:
Why are movies and games a more compatible match & mix?

[Gshonk]

There have been games that have been changed into books. The Halo books, the Magic books etc.

[yaustar]

1. See Gshonk's answer. A storyline in a game is not usually the priority. The design and game mechanics are the first to be done and explored, the storyline is usually used to drive/direct the player through the game and in some ways, give the player a goal. E.g. Rescue the princess from a castle, Escape from the island, etc.

Since most of the time, game storylines are pretty poor, there isn't much you can pull from a game to turn into a book considering it is a non visual and audio medium. The exceptions are games that have a really good background and story. A game like ICO could make an interesting book if someone was so inclined.

2. They are both similar mediums. Both have visual and audio cues and effects. The experience is compacted to similar time durations. Just one is interactive and the other is not.

[jillduffy]

I just posted something similar in a new thread, but it's so pertinent here. Check out the Digital Culture piece on NPR's All Things Considered from Jan. 8:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundown...wn.php?prgId=2

[ronnoc10]

It's a bit more complicated.


Green indicates something that has been done before, and worked.
Red indicates something that has hardly ever / never been done before, and has yet to work very well.

Book -> Movie
Movie -> Book

Book -> Video Game
Video Game -> Book

Movie -> Video Game
Video Game -> Movie

Comic Book -> Movie
Movie -> Comic Book

Book -> Comic Book
Comic Book -> Book

Comic Book -> Video Game
Video Game -> Comic Book

Tabletop/Role-Playing/Board Game -> Book
Book -> Tabletop/Role-Playing Game

Tabletop/Role-Playing/Board Game -> Movie
Movie -> Tabletop/Role-Playing Game

Tabletop/Role-Playing/Board Game-> Video Game
Video Game -> Tabletop/Role-Playing/Board Game

Tabletop/Role-Playing Game -> Comic Book
Comic Book -> Tabletop/Role-Playing Game

[ronnoc10]

I've been thinking about this a bit, and I've decided that the book isn't different. One of my favorite books is a Black Library publication set in the Warhammer world. There have been good Warhammer games. I can see why the book couldn't have been set in the Warhammer video game world, if there was no tabletop version. I think it's just that there haven't been any good translations, not that there couldn't be, and this is probably a problem with the market more then the mediums themselves. RPG/Tabletop games seem more likely to become books because the audience is generally thought to be nerdy in the 'reads fantasy novels' way, so they get good books, unlike video games or movies.

Edit: Also, looking at my bookshelf, a large portion of the books based on Blizzard's games are very good.