A good, established franchise makes a good basis for a video game. There’s a ready built universe with characters and stories ready for the adapting, and an established audience to keep the backers happy. A rich enough franchise can turn out multiple different lines of video game (such as Batman) and even span a gaming universe across multiple genres (Star Wars games greatly outweigh the movies). Yet there are many popular franchises lacking games or (worse) have squandered the title of cheap knock-offs.
#10 – The Avengers
Do I even have to explain why this is a no brainer? Even though superheroes have been a go-to source of inspiration for game developers since, well, forever, The Avengers as a collective have been woefully under-represented. Way back in the day we had an arcade beat-em up, and recently there’s been offerings on social networking and the Wii, but there hasn’t been a big name release based on the recent movie, which is just odd. Some of the individual characters have had their own adaptations with various degrees of awfulness, leaving an even bigger gap in the market. Somebody get onto this. Think big.
#9 – Doctor Who
To be fair the Doctor Who franchise isn’t one that automatically lends itself to video game adaptations. That isn’t to say that it’s impossible. The right creative director and the right concept and this could be something worthwhile. Focusing on the Doctor’s approach being able to outwit his enemies would need to be the basis, along with puzzle solving and time travel. Hell, it couldn’t be worse than the platformer and the social media games that were put out last year.
#8 – Monkey
This one may be unfamiliar to American readers. It’s a Japanese TV series based of the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. When it was dubbed into English the wacky, over the top action, low budget effects and sincere message in each episode turned it into a cult favorite in Australia and, to a lesser extent, the UK. With most action games putting the focus on spectacle and insane special move laden combos the insane aesthetic of Monkey is perfectly suited to a hack ‘n’ slash game. Besides, there’s the theme music…
#7 – Cabin in the Woods
Horror games are in short supply at the moment. What the genre needs is a breath of fresh air, much like Cabin in the Woods was a breath of fresh air for the stale horror movie genre. Technically it isn’t a franchise but it more than a little potential for one. The expanded universe hinted at in the movie lays the groundwork for a solid survival game, using whatever tools you have on hand to fend of the randomly spawned horror that awaits you. The manipulated NPCs you also need to help you survive (even if they are just bait) could be the ultimate double edged sword.
#6 – Predator
The Predator ranks alongside (usually directly alongside) the creatures from the Aliens franchise as one of the popular and recognisable monsters of modern pop culture. Somehow they’ve managed to be passed over in heading up their own video game titles of late, with only Concrete Jungle failing to impress anyone. There are dozens of titles pairing the Predators with the Aliens, and Aliens have their own line of games, but the unique dynamic that comes from the Predator hunting down a group of humans needs to be turned into a game.
One or two Predators trying to hunt down a group of humans chosen for their ability in combat could be a fantastic arrangement for online play. One player gets the super-strong, heavily armed Predator while the rest of the players are soft and squishy humans who need to work together to match their opponent. For a successful hunt the Predator needs to focus on drawing humans away from the group to pick them off. Perfect.
#5 – Locke and Key
It was a shame when the television pilot of this comic series by Joe Hill didn’t get picked up, because this is a series deserving more attention. When the depressing lack of top shelf horror titles on consoles right now this could be the title to take the genre in a fresh new direction. The story revolves around the Keyhouse, located in the suburb of Lovecraft (subtle enough?) and the tragic family who moves into it. The house is filled with keys and locks, each one carrying a powerful ability ranging from turning people into giants and ghosts, or even changing their gender or manipulating their memories. This could be a great psychological thriller that bases its design on the classic adventure games of the point and click era.
#4 – Tomorrow When the War Began
For those who didn’t encounter this as assigned reading in an Australian high school, it’s a series of books by Tim Winton. They follow a group of teenagers who, whilst camping, manage to avoid being rounded up like the rest of their town when an unnamed Asian nation invades the country. Cut off from the rest of the world and facing down an army they choose to make a stand and fight back using guerrilla tactics while surviving of the wild. A video game that takes some cues from The Last of Us, combining scavenging survival and stealth heavy combat would be fantastic. Being a group of youths battling against trained soldiers using whatever they can find in suburban backyards would be more than a little intense.
#3 – The Hunger Games
Seriously, something needs to be done here. The concept is practically a video game design already. Picture this: an online game where you design your character, distribute random attributes and get dropped into a randomly selected arena with a dozen other online players to hunt each other down. With the popularity of survival adventure games like Tomb Raider and The Last of Us there’s obviously a marke. Throw in the brand recognition and the multiplayer aspect and this is an automatic winner. Could even give the same set up a whirl with Battle Royale.
#2 – A Song of Ice and Fire
(‘Game of Thrones’ to couch potatoes)
To date we’ve had two games based on the series thus far – an RTS based from the books and an RPG that borrows more from the TV series. Whilst both were considered to have a couple of good features the cons out weighted the pros and they were considered to be disappointing by gamers and fans of the series alike. Like any good franchise that should be turned into good games there’s a fantastic world just waiting to be interacted with. Something akin to the Bethesda Elder Scrolls series is the most obvious fit, but that isn’t the only genre that could be tapped into. Hack and slashes of all shapes and sizes, adventure games, MMORPGers, simulators, real-time strategies…is there any genre you don’t want to play in Westeros?
#1 – Superman
Few franchises have disappointed gamers quite like Superman. Gamers and comic book fans share a very similar demographic and plenty of other superheroes have made the successful leap to interactive entertainment. There have been more than a couple of Superman games over the years but to say that they didn’t make the grade would be an understatement. Superman 64 is still widely considered to be one of the worst games that has ever been released, and few others have faired much better.
Part of the problem lies in many of the games treating Superman like a generic video game hero who wades through a number of bad guys and bosses. When a player takes control and the man with the blue tights they want to be able to experience the full power of the Man of Steel, which is always going to be a problem for developers. The recent Superman Returns adaptation tried something interesting by including a health bar for the city of Metropolis, putting the stakes on the players ability to respond to danger. The big guy has fared pretty will as part of an ensemble (most recently Injustice: Gods Among Us) but he really needs a solo adventure that matches his legacy.
