I know this is a comicbook site, but videogames have also been adapted into comics which makes this article perfectly fine. Anywho, videogames have a bad rep in hollywood. Starting with Super Mario Bros. (that movie was so bad, I didn't even watch it) Alot of games have been adapted into hollywood films. Games like Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider, Doom, Himan, Resident Evil and more recently Prince of Persia. Some were good, most were bad (Super Marios Bros. and Doom, we're looking at you!) Personally, I think certain games have great potential. Games like Mortal Kombat (yes, it had a good and bad movie but it deserves a proper adaptation without Kevin Tancharoen), Halo, Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider (the other ones were a little bit too campy for me, but still good) and Uncharted. But before I go into how to adapt games to movies, let's take a look at games too complicated or cliche for the big screen.
Mario
Pretty much the only way to do this one is by animation, and it could be just me but, I DO NOT like Mario nor do I wish to see a movie adapted from the games being put on the big screen.
Call of Duty
This takes place under the cliche catagory. That and the fact that there are enough military movies out there as it is.
Street Fighter
I'm not sure if this game had a story to begin with (never played the games, so I don't know) but I'm sure after the last two attempts, I doubt anyone really thinks this franchise has a future in Hollywood.
Sonic... 'nuff said.
Now, those are just to name a few. I listed games that have potential (I like the Resident Evil movies, despite never playing the games before. I wouldn't mind a different take though) now here are ways to adapt games into movies. Successfully.
Stick to the original storyline. Nothing original unless truely needed.
There is nothing wrong with this. Hell, the original Mortal Kombat movie stuck to the original storyline for most of the movie. This is an example I feel that is needed. It's stupid to take a game and ignore the intial storyline. After the success but departure of Prince of Persia (lack of creativity didn't help) you can say in some ways, Ubisoft took the "Marvel" route as far as getting their own studio for their movies.
Stay true to the source material
This is a given, no matter what you're adapting. But, for gamers out there who haven't had their favorite games come true, this is HUGE. For me personally, this is huge because of me trying to faithfully adapt Mortal Kombat into a fan made script. Ubisoft is scripting a Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell movies as an independant studio for the sole reason of wanting to stick to the source material.
Don't make everything PG or PG-13
Now, they've gotten better with this. But, still. For something like Assassin's Creed or Halo, this is crucial. Mortal Kombat is suppose to go R rated, but I think it won't be off the ground for a few years IF they don't screw it up. Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia for the most part aren't suppose to to be R rated. Again, they've done fine with the ratings but I still think it's something needs brought up.
Now, I know that these are pretty typical. But, I think it's a good start if any of the studios want to continue coming out with videogames adapted into movies or just staying away from them. I don't think they should stay away because, again there are games that have GREAT potential.
What do you think? Comment below and be respectful. Also, I am thinking about putting my inspirations for going into the film buisness as a bonus in my next article. But yea, you know what to do.