Tuesday 6 May 2014

Finished Essay

I have recently finished my research into the sci-fi genre and have learned that there is still a lot of demand and a good fanbase for Sci-fi games out there.

I have also learned from the research that most sci-fi fans tend to be quite generous towards the games they play and review them positively with all the games i looked at scoring the majority positive vote but don't get me wrong that doesn't mean that all sci-fi games follows this trend, there are of course some that don't quite make it but from what i have learned the majority do.

I didnt have too much trouble conducting the research as the games i decided to choose where popular so there was a lot of info on them. If anything i would say trying to find the sales figures was a but more difficult and required more thorough research.

06/05/2014

Monday 28 April 2014

What to do next?

Now that the presentation is finished it is time to compile my data into a report. This will be done in the form of a 3000 word document. I will have to choose 1 of 4 background settings to talk about; Jungle, Sci-Fi, Urban or Desert.

Due to my love of games within that setting I have chosen to talk about Sci-Fi. I will talk about the context of the game, how I will market the idea to a potential company, what audience I will try to reach, how I will engage them, what type of research (qualitative or quantitative) I will use and whether or not the production of my game has been influenced by the audience.

Any external sources I use or find will be referenced in a bibliography at the end of my report.

- 28/04/2014

Sunday 30 March 2014

What Have I Learned?

From researching about all these game to film adaptations i have learned that although most of them tend to do well at the box office they are poorly received by the fans due to the film not following the games storyline or maybe the film following it too much to the point where the film and game are near identical.

In the case of the Resident Evil franchise it seemed that the studio in charge of it was eager to make more of them due to the amount of money they were making from them despite the fan reaction which is weird itself because you would think if the fans weren't all that keen on it then why would they go see it but evidently it seemed to be picking up a massive audience more than likely from outside the Resident Evil games fanbase.

I have also learned that the more successful a game is the more likely it is to get a film adaptation. the Resident Evil franchise so far has spawned 5 films, Silent Hill with 2, Tomb Raider with 2 and Mortal Kombat with 2 and these have all been very popular game series that have been adored by fans worldwide.

This tells us that if a game is able to spawn a film franchise then it must be successful because a lot of money needs to be dedicated towards a film and the fanbase needs to want it.

A film is also targeted at people who have never played the games meaning that is trying to introduce the games to a new audience as well which means the games continue to grow.

Other Game to Film Adaptations That Are Worth a Mention!

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Budget:  $48 million
Box Office: $21 million

MetaCritic: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 16/100

Street Fighter (1994)

Budget: $35 million
Box Office: 99 million

MetaCritic: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 12/100

Mortal Kombat (1995) 

Budget: $18 million
Box Office: $122 million

MetaCritic: 58/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 33/100

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Budget: $137 million
Box Office: $85 million

MetaCritic: 49/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 44/100

Alone in the Dark (2005)

Budget: $20 million
Box Office: $10 million

MetaCritic: 9/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 1/100

Hitman (2007) 

Budget: $24 million
Box Office: $100 million

MetaCritic: 35/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 14/100

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Budget: $150-200 million
Box Office: $335 million

MetacCritic: 50/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 35/100

Monday 24 March 2014

Cancelled and Future Game to Film Projects!

There have been many other successful games series that have either had plans to make a film adaptation or still do in the future. Some of the most popular I will list below;

Mass Effect (Future in doubt):

There has been talk of a Mass Effect film since 2012 and it is apparently supposed to follow the plot of the first game but the project has been stuck in development hell since its announcement with no more information on whether the project will go ahead or not.

Halo (Cancelled):

Halo has had talk of a film since 2005 but the project was officially declared dead in 2008. Since 2013 both Neil Blomkamp and Steven Speilberg have expressed interest in making a Halo film but it is nothing short of rumors with no confirmed information.

Although in 2012 a fan made film titled Halo: Forward Unto Dawn was released and received a good reception.

Assassins Creed (In Production):

Talk of an Assassins Creed film has been around since 2013 with the film set to star Michael Fassbender as both a main actor and co producer. The film is scheduled to be released on August 7th 2015 with filming beginning in August 2014. So far it sounds like the film is set to go ahead but with most game/film adaptations it is uncertain.

Gears of War (Development Hell):

Gears of War came about in 2010 but has been stuck in development hell since then. New Line Cinema is in charge of it and has apparently lowered the films budget and is also looking for a new director.

The Last of Us (In Production):

It was rumoured in 2013 that a Last of Us film was to be made. It was confirmed on the 6th March 2014 that Screen Gems will distribute the film with Naughty Dog co presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra, game director Bruce Straley, creative director and writer Neil Druckmann, and Sam Raimi will produce the film.

BioShock (Cancelled): 


Plans for a BioShock film had been around since 2008 with the film supposedly set to release in 2010 but due to budget issues the film was stuck in development hell for several years and the studios backing the project where starting to lose hope in it. In March 2013 it was officially announced that the film was cancelled due to the high budget and not knowing if it would be a success or not.


24/03/2014

DOOM!

Doom is another game series that in recent times has seemed to die down but in its time was another really popular game series. So far it has 6 main games and 4 spin offs with the latest main release being in 2004 and the latest spin off in 2012 so it has been neglected in recent times. Like the other game/films I have talked about Doom is another one where the games where well received but the film not so much. Like Tomb Raider the Doom film had big names in it such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Karl Urban and Rosamund Pike.

The film was released in 2005 and received both poor reviews and took a $5 million loss at the box office. It was however popular for the 1st person scene in it which was a reference to the gameplay of the games and received a bit of a cult following because of this.

Doom:

Budget: $60 million
Box Office: $55 million


Metacritic: 34/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 19/100

I quite enjoyed the film but apparently the masses did not so it was one of these films that was highly popular with some fans but not enough globally to make it successful.

24/03/2014

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider is another highly popular game series that has also spawned a film franchise. So far there has been 14 Tomb Raider games (1996-2013) with the latest release in the franchise being a complete reboot of the series with Lara Croft being born in more recent times and the game being an early chapter in her life at only the age of 20. Tomb Raider has always been well received by critics and fans and is seen as an icon among the gaming industry.

Now on to the films. The film adaptation of Tomb Raider was another game to film movie that well at the box office but not so much with critic scores and public reaction. The films did feature big names such as Angelina Jolie (who was heavily praised for her role as Lara Croft and was well received by fans) and Gerard Butler. There has been 2 Tomb Raider films released in 2001 and 2003.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider -

Budget: $115 million
Box Office: $274 million

Metacritic: 33/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 19/100

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life -

Budget: £95 million
Box Office: $156 million

Metacritic: 43/100
Rotten Tomatoes: 24/100





Out of the 2 films the 2nd one seemed to be better received by critics and fans but didn't do as well at the box office as the first film did. Out of the two personally the second one was my favourite as well so I can see why with the critic responses.

24/03/2014