Greetings From Vault 33
Everyone loves a good end-of-the-world trope, but post-apocalyptic stories are complicated to create. Often relying on total ideation and thoughtful planning, post-apocalyptic stories thrive in video game format. Game developers expertly portray worlds that have crumbled into chaos, weaving dystopian lore like class-wars, survivor faction tension, and a good ol’ fashioned rebellion into the fabric of the universe. These story settings make for epic gameplay and fun fighting modes in video games, while opening up a universe of narrative possibility. Because of their thoughtful, immersive nature, games encourage fans to crave more. While Hollywood producers have recognized this gamer passion, they have, until now, missed the mark on creating adaptations.
Although The Witcher and The Last of Us are beloved video games, the adaptations didn’t inspire gamer audiences. The adaptations reaped financial rewards, with TLOU bringing in over $90 million in streaming revenue for HBO and The Witcher garnishing $930 million for Netflix, but gamers specifically have reported being disappointed with their renditions, specifically in later seasons, turning them away from the franchise as a whole. Although gamers were the original intended audience, they rejected these renditions because they lacked a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that they enjoyed from the game.
In a nutshell, the games were just better, and the shows left us unsatisfied.
But why? Video game narratives are rich and independently compelling, so it’s not because the stories aren't worthy for TV or movies; it's because producers were doing it wrong. Retelling already-told stories, souring once-fun gaming elements, or abandoning niche details, the adaptations ruined the experience of the tale before it ever took flight. Game storytelling, by nature, is nuanced, layered, intimate, and complex, because audiences literally get to be the main character. So when gamers watch an adaptation that retells the same story from the game, it’s unsatisfyingly incomplete because they’re now viewing it as a pathetically inactive, voyeuristic bystander. Thus, a gamer’s intrigue is lost.
Fallout, however, ambitiously took a new approach to adaptation, exemplifying the perfect approach to a video game translation to screen. Borrowing the well-crafted world and unique creatures of the game, Fallout portrays a completely new story with new characters. Moreover, as an homage to the fandom, they throw in Easter eggs for fans and gamers, like on-screen special collectibles and gameplay nuances. For example, in the game, if you hack off an enemy's limb in combat, you earn more points than a traditional headshot. [SPOILERS AHEAD!] So in Season 2 Episode 3 of Fallout, when Lucy Maclean, the main character in the show, aims for enemy arms and legs with her sniper instead of taking them out more efficiently, gamers noticed. This kind of lore nuggets is completely missed by non-gamers, and doesn’t take them out of their viewing experience, but the fans who catch this minor detail are rewarded in secret.
Via u/masoncarr2244
You don't have to be a gamer to enjoy the Fallout TV show, although the show is so good, it makes you wish you played the game, too. Fallout has broken the mold of video game adaptations by staying devoted to the game’s lore accuracy, while simultaneously following a totally original story. This ambitious approach to production showcases originality with a twist, elevating the remake renaissance by rewarding fandom loyalty and driving new potential players to the game, bolstering the franchise as a whole. Instead of alienating devoted fans with a try-hard version of a story they already loved, why not make it the new norm to tell new stories in a beloved out-of-this-world universe?
Via Vulture and Bethesda Games
Lightning in a Bottle
The Witcher, one of the first high-budget video game adaptations, started off as a well-loved homage to the game. That is, until Netflix fired the one man who knew how to honor the story better than anyone else on set: Henry Cavill. His portrayal of Geralt from Rivia came from his heart and soul, and his dedication to lore accuracy onset are what made the first few seasons so enjoyable for the fandom. Yet, Netflix turned on Cavill for season 4 because he became too adamant about staying true to the OG story, and his gamer passion was tough to work around. So they replaced him with some basic Hollywood pretty-boy, Liam Hemsworth, turning gamers away from the franchise for good. Hemsworth lacked the grit and tortured demeanor that Cavill and Andrzej Sapkowski, the original author of the story, would have wanted. So, gamers punished the entire franchise for their transgressions by refusing to tune in to the new season, tanking viewership numbers in the process.
Via ScreenRant
Similarly, The Last of Us fumbled their adaptation. Forbes journalist and devoted gamer, Erika Kain, explains the biggest reasons she hated TLOU on screen was because the storytelling was off and the show’s insistence on repeating scenes almost word-for-word. “The game’s scene is layered and complex, and the show’s version is filled with jokes and playful banter,” she says. “One feels like two mature characters on a serious, deadly revenge mission, [and] the other feels like a sitcom.” Because viewers already have expectations on what they’re about to witness, based on their experience in the game, any discrepancy almost guarantees that the show’s version will fall short.
Unlike these flopped adaptations, Fallout has surprised the gaming community in a good way. It was able to bloom into a television success due to producers following gamer intuition and opting for originality, all while still taking risks on relatively new actors and bold pre-production creativity. When crafting Fallout, Amazon’s marketing executive, Jared Goldsmith, says his team focused on translating the same feeling as playing the games into watching the show itself. By insisting on capturing this feeling, Fallout managed to put lightning in a bottle, tipping their hat to the gamer fandom while also creating a completely unique television experience that has rocked the sci-fi world to its core.
“At the end of the day, it’s the quality of the show that pays off,” Goldsmith says. Folks with Fallout 4, Fallout New Vegas, and Fallout 76 can all agree that the television series is more than just a money making scheme: It’s a flaming success that will hopefully shake up the entire remake model, especially in the gamingsphere.
Here’s hoping that God of War follows in the footsteps of Fallout, instead of TLOU and The Witcher. Gamers are counting on you, Hollywood!
Via u/Playstation