Books, Movies, or Games?

Which one of these mediums do you think is the best for storytelling? Why do stories created in one format tend to suffer when turned into another? EX. Why do movies based on books suck, and why do video games based on movies suck?


Listen to what the Arm-a-chair critics had to say about the matter: http://www.egameaddiction.com/gameaddicts/content/view/343/1/

i think books and videogames are a better medium of storytelling than movies in most cases just because they allow for more than 3 hours of content (and yes i realize there might be sequels of movies but it is still not enough imo)

and i think the reason why videogames based on movies and movies based on books suck is because sometimes the feelings of the book/movie are lost when the content is translated from one medium to the other

Books give you more depth to the story than in videogames and movies since when your reading it, you get YOUR image of the story. Once they make a movie or a game about the story, your vision isnt like it use to be.

I think they give their own depth. Video Games effect you in a way that books and movies can't do, through an interactive medium, with a good plot and such it can even effect the player emotionally. Books give the reader the ability to make their own image of the story, characters and settings. Movies are in the same sense as Video Games just in the passive medium.

stealth toilet said:

Which one of these mediums do you think is the best for storytelling? Why do stories created in one format tend to suffer when turned into another? EX. Why do movies based on books suck, and why do video games based on movies suck?


Listen to what the Arm-a-chair critics had to say about the matter: http://www.egameaddiction.com/gameaddicts/content/view/343/1/

Click to expand...

Frodus is right when he says books are more in depth. And when adapted to movies, screenwriters and directors leave a lot on the cutting room floor for the sake of time. Even when split up like Lord of the Rings, things still get left out. Then there are effects limitations, or the director thinks that they have a better angle to the story than the original writer and change to suit that opinion. Many Stephen King movies fall into this category.

The only way a videogame can be on par with a book is if the developers stay true to the story's core. I don't think videogames are limited when it comes to time so long as the story is intact and the game aspect is effective in keeping a player immersed.

It really depends. Take a game like Mass Effect, it has an incredible storyline and the way the player interacts with the game to make it unfold however they choose is a landmark in the use of video games as a story telling medium. However, few games tell a story with such quality WHILE EFFECTIVELY USING THE MEDIUM. There are many games with good stories and plots, but a lot of them would be better served by a movie or book.

I like movies because they can impact you a lot more heavily than books or video games can. I understand that because of costs, technology, and length requirements that sometimes things can be lost when putting a story on the big screen. But the visual aspect lets you connect to characters and in emotionally heavy films SEEING the character lets you connect to them (think the ending of Se7en). Seeing Mills' reaction to the box has a much more powerful impact than words can express.

On the other hand, I love books because they can tell the most detailed story. A great author can paint pictures in your head and without having to worry about the costs, length, and whether something could be portrayed accurately. Plus it is very easy for a book to tell you what characters are thinking in a way that movies can't do.

The TL;DR version-
Video games, movies, and books are all excellent storytelling mediums and they have have distinct advantages and disadvantages when compared to the others.

Books, because words are stronger than a compressed 2-3 hour movie.

Games even outdo movies these days when it comes to storyline. Silent Hill and Metal Gear are the series that comes to mind that tells me that Hollywood should start playing video games to learn REAL story structure.

That's a shady statement there Mega. You are comparing two of the highest quality game series to films in general, and saying that video games are superior to movies. However, if I compared Memento and Se7en to stories from video games in general I could easily claim Hollywood wins.

Books i think but games comes a close seconds. Books because they leave it up to you to use your imagination to watch you think of the characters. As much as i love movies i think video games tell the story better, there is only so much that you can fit in to up to a 3 hour movie.

Which is why i think it always goes wrong when they try to make films from books because there you can't fit everything in to them.

As for games based on films there normaly really bad is because they push them out to quick with no thought really gone in to the game as they try to release them with the cinema releases

Books are the best medium for plot-centric stories.

Film is better for action / eye-candy type stores that are less focused on plot (Fast and the Furious 1,2, ... 74, etc)

Video games are the worst of the three mediums to tell a s tory. Instead, video games give you the option of interacting with some similance of the story the writers had in mind or skipping through the plot altogether and just playing the game.

I know a lot of people disagree and believe that video games are a great medium for telling stories (which it really is) but comparitavely speaking it's the last of the three. Writing is rarely the main focus of a video game and games that are plot heavy are great but a lot of the people that play them rush through - Does anyone read all the books in the Elder Scrolls games, or really listen to every word of dialogue?

I just think video games have built in distractions from the stories they tell.

An actual book will draw me into another world more than any game or movie. A well written story will keep me buried in it. I do like the RPG genre especially if the story is involving. I play the game just to be involved with the story. But it is nothing like reading a book.