The Cold Light of Day

[mark_asphodel]

I begin to suspect that the premise of a "video game novelization" is fundamentally unsound.

More later.

Comments

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

IMO, to have a successful novelization, you have to add something to the source material that either wasn't present or not properly explained to begin with. If it's a simple retelling, then there's really not much to gain--the only difference is that the sights and sounds that could be shown in a visual medium have to be explicated through the narration, and in my opinion it loses some of its evocative power that way. If the "movie of the book" is making orange juice from an orange, then a straight-up fanfic "novelization" of a video game/movie is like trying to make an orange from orange juice...if that makes any sense. Either way you lose some of the essence simply on merit of changing the form. Because I know personally I have different criteria on which I judge books, movies, and video games (this is why I think book to movie adaptations often falter-- not always because the adaptation was "unfaithful" to the original or because they left stuff out, but because the difference in mediums is not often taken into consideration.) Just my two cents.

I think you can make a good novelization in fic...but I think the story that is told (or maybe the way that you tell it) has to be fundamentally different.

[myaru.livejournal.com]

Back when Manna was talking about doing an FE7 novelization I recall saying something similar - that the media are fundamentally different, and my example was the style of story progression and character development: FE does it one way because it's a strategy game, and a novel would do it completely differently. Since most novelizations follow the game exactly, they flop on a storytelling level.

... maybe I'll just second this instead of rambling.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Since most novelizations follow the game exactly, they flop on a storytelling level.

I agree wholeheartedly. Which is why both "novelizations" I've attempted (for for FE3, one for FE11) are from the perspective of minor characters and don't even jump into the story at the beginning of the game. And even so I've stalled out on the third or fourth chapter with them (albeit for different reasons).

This is also why Fire Emblem did not transition to anime well (well, ONE reason).

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

(this is why I think book to movie adaptations often falter-- not always because the adaptation was "unfaithful" to the original or because they left stuff out, but because the difference in mediums is not often taken into consideration.

YES YES YES.

/cough

I think the story that is told (or maybe the way that you tell it) has to be fundamentally different.

Well, yeah. It has to be approached as a... novel!

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

Show me a complete novelization of a video game, and I will sell you a bridge in Brooklyn.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Hah!

Well, there is that. There indeed is that.

But... seriously, a mere retelling of the game in narrative form, no matter how well-rounded the characterization or how improved the dialogue, is just NOT going to give me a reason to read for 100,000 words or more. If I wanted the game events, I'd play the game.

[samuraiter.livejournal.com]

It can be argued that novelizations will have genuine value for games that can no longer be commonly found and / or are no longer easily playable (cases in point: SNES and Genesis JRPGs only playable through emulation).

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

But in that case, your only experience with the source material would be through a third-party. That's no fun!

[shining-valor.livejournal.com]

As long as it's faithful to the source material, it's better than nothing. Though checking the faithfulness of the narrative versus the source becomes very difficult.

[sigh]

I was ambitious once and started a somewhat novelization of Lyn's Tale. It's stalled now, as I had some decent feedback from a reader and I agreed that some of the characters weren't what they needed to be. So until I can fix it, it remains on the back burner. :/