Classic Literature as Insipiration for Video Games

[Drkshadow03]

I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of those who do go out and buy the text after playing the game, will give up after the first few stanzas. At the most it will be cast aside when the next game comes out with all its flashing promise.

I'm not belittling computer games, (computer games which are strongly pushed as an art form by British government policy today) but that computer games and literature seldom mix.

I just can't see the individual who demands the instant gratification in a computer game taking any real pleasure from this work. For surely, this is a text which demands several readings and a whole host of critical and historical understanding in order to appreciate it properly.

A couple of the guys and gals in my English grad classes listed the study of "the aesthetics and cultures of video game" as one of their intellectual interests.

To address you're other points, I know you mentioned "the vast majority" (thus allowing for a minority), but I still want to urge everyone to be careful about stereotyping. I know plenty of gamers who read good books. And vice-versa. Plenty of readers who dabble in the occasional guilty pleasure of video games. In fact, I even know few university professors. I spent the morning reading Jane Eyre, and now I'm going to go play my Xbox.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I think the original poster is correct when he states that more people will read Dante as a result of this game, it is a mathematical certainty. However to what extent, and to what range and depth is entirely another matter.

Computer technology and literature are coming closer together with the impact of media and digital technologies, sure, but at the same time they are still worlds apart. The instant gratification required in the majority of computer games, is a totally different experience to that of reading a substantial text, such as the DC.

I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of those who do go out and buy the text after playing the game, will give up after the first few stanzas. At the most it will be cast aside when the next game comes out with all its flashing promise.

I'm not belittling computer games, (computer games which are strongly pushed as an art form by British government policy today) but that computer games and literature seldom mix.

I just can't see the individual who demands the instant gratification in a computer game taking any real pleasure from this work. For surely, this is a text which demands several readings and a whole host of critical and historical understanding in order to appreciate it properly.

I agree with you. I do think many will pick up the poem, though I do suspect that most will discard it after a few lines, when they are completely lost. But, like the above poster states, there are a lot of gamers who are literature lovers and vice-versa. I'm one of them. Maybe this game will get them to read the poem, and some of them may get into it.

[a_little_wisp]

I heard that in the 4th level of the game you get to fight Aristotle, and he throws copies of the Rhetoric at you!

This made me smile. A lot. I even laughed. And I kind of pictured it being followed by a chorus of: "yaaay!"

I'm a gamer ("gamer girl" as some say) and one of my friends showed me the trailer for it - the graphics are stunning, sure, and I'd like to try it out.

Dante's Inferno itself is near and dear to my heart. I will always remember standing in front of my AP class and reciting the inscription from the gates (beginning of Canto III) as part of an exam grade and remembering being ultimately creeped out when our teacher read us bits aloud (yes we were in highschool, yes she still read to us, yes it was amazing). What a page-turner that one was.

While we were watching the trailer, we were making jokes about how they've completed changed the story, but I don't think I'll be able to resist just seeing what little things they may have kept, for kicks.

"OH MY GOD YOU GET TO RIDE ON GERYON?"

But enough of that -

I do still believe that the best games are the original stories with original worlds consisting of mythologies of their own (Final Fantasy series, for instance), but just like movies today, people won't be able to resist turning our favorite pieces of literature into stories that vaguely resemble the original (it really is for the money, after all). We'll gripe and scream, but people will still do it - and out of curiosity, or boredom, or maybe a little of both, the audiences are still going to look into it.

I agree with you. I do think many will pick up the poem, though I do suspect that most will discard it after a few lines, when they are completely lost. But, like the above poster states, there are a lot of gamers who are literature lovers and vice-versa. I'm one of them. Maybe this game will get them to read the poem, and some of them may get into it.

Mutatis, agreed! Most of my gamer friends are big readers as well, and who knows - maybe Alighieri will get more attention. After all, I know people who love to point out inconsistencies as a hobby (me).

I'm not quite sure what other books near and dear to me I want to see turned into games/movies ... I'll think on it tonight and maybe post on it later.

[bluevictim]

I mean, it's absurd if you think about it, you don't get people reworking Monet's paintings and making money off of it, so why should people create a brutal (don't even get me started on the violence) retelling of an epic poem and collect their pay?

I'm having a hard time seeing the absurdity. Handel retold the story of Saul (among many others) and collected pay, Leonard Bernstein retold Romeo and Juliet and collected pay (West Side Story), what's wrong with using an epic poem as inspiration for a game?

I just don't understand why they needed to make this? What is the point besides ruining a classic?

I have no idea what this game is like, but I don't really see how it could ruin any classics. How does this game ruin anything?

I just can't see the individual who demands the instant gratification in a computer game taking any real pleasure from this work. For surely, this is a text which demands several readings and a whole host of critical and historical understanding in order to appreciate it properly.

I agree with you. I do think many will pick up the poem, though I do suspect that most will discard it after a few lines, when they are completely lost. But, like the above poster states, there are a lot of gamers who are literature lovers and vice-versa. I'm one of them. Maybe this game will get them to read the poem, and some of them may get into it.

I'm puzzled as to why it is such a big deal whether or not this game gets people to read and/or appreciate Dante's poem. It seems like a lot of posts in this thread find this to be the only way the existence of this game can be justified (I just picked a couple of posts out of the many to quote). If it's an enjoyable game, what does it matter if its players pick up Dante?

[JacobF]

If it's an enjoyable game, what does it matter if players pick up Dante?

I think I have to agree with this. It's fairly obvious, at least from reading more developer interviews and watching trailers, that the developers don't care about following the story of The Divine Comedy. They want a marketable product, and the idea of Dante's Inferno will surely make gamers shell out cash in hopes of killing underworld creatures in dark and twisted environments. Not observing any possible parallels between it and the poem.

That being said, I still don't think the game itself will be very good. I won't lie, I enjoyed seeing some of the concept art and watching it in action, but it doesn't look like it'll offer much in terms of game play. And there are so many games gutting the market right now that there really isn't any room for another derivative one. I don't doubt it'll sell well, though, as gamers can generally be suckers for good looks.

[Adagio]

At bluevictim and JacobF -

Using inspiration from an epic poem is fine and like you said JacobF if the game is enjoyable then that is all that matters. However, why the hell (no pun intended - well, maybe a little) are the designers using the title 'Dante's Inferno'? that is the link, the parallel, between the game and poem. Like I stated earlier why didn't they just get inspiration from the poem and use their own creativity in creating some really great characters with some depth.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Maybe the characters will have depth. Doubtful, but it is possible, and as the game is not out yet, we don't really know.

I'm having a hard time seeing the absurdity. Handel retold the story of Saul (among many others) and collected pay, Leonard Bernstein retold Romeo and Juliet and collected pay (West Side Story), what's wrong with using an epic poem as inspiration for a game?

I have no idea what this game is like, but I don't really see how it could ruin any classics. How does this game ruin anything?


I'm puzzled as to why it is such a big deal whether or not this game gets people to read and/or appreciate Dante's poem. It seems like a lot of posts in this thread find this to be the only way the existence of this game can be justified (I just picked a couple of posts out of the many to quote). If it's an enjoyable game, what does it matter if its players pick up Dante?

Well, I guess it is a big deal here because that was the question I asked to be discussed in my OP, lol. I agree, the most important factor for this game will be whether or not it is an enjoyable experience for the gamer. I just wanted to get some thoughts from the literary minded.

[JacobF]

However, why the hell (no pun intended - well, maybe a little) are the designers using the title 'Dante's Inferno'? that is the link, the parallel, between the game and poem.

From TV shows and movies, Dante's Inferno, The 9 Stages of Hell, and even just the character Dante has fitted itself into pop culture, and this isn't the first time that the idea of Dante's Inferno has been used outside the poem. Just using that name isn't an automatic parallel between the game and the poem. As I said in my previous post, it's just a marketing tool.

Like Romeo and Juliet -- you hear of it referred to all the time in music, TV shows, movies, and even though not everyone has read the play, everyone knows just by hearing those two names what it implies.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I'm puzzled as to why it is such a big deal whether or not this game gets people to read and/or appreciate Dante's poem. It seems like a lot of posts in this thread find this to be the only way the existence of this game can be justified (I just picked a couple of posts out of the many to quote). If it's an enjoyable game, what does it matter if its players pick up Dante?

Well, I guess it is a big deal here because that was the question I asked to be discussed in my OP, lol. I agree, the most important factor for this game will be whether or not it is an enjoyable experience for the gamer. I just wanted to get some thoughts from the literary minded.

That's a fair counter and one that I agree with, however there is still a part of me, call it selfish or whatever, that sort of wants to promote literature and reading. Certainly the way to do that is with a book, and not a computer game, but this thing will mean that more people will pick up Dante for sure.

I think that when most people have something that they are passionate about they want to share it with others. I think this is part of the human condition to some degree, it's the same with many aspects of life. (Incidentally I would also promote road bikes as a cool means of transport. Dump the car and use your legs!)

In my daily live I come across hundreds of young people who play computer games, surf the net and everything else, but have never read a book. I guess some part of me wants to address that balance in some way, though I am certainly not dogmatic or insistent in any way.

Why it is such a big deal whether or not this game gets people to read and/or appreciate Dante's poem?

I don't know, I guess I just see it as such a bloody waste.

[bluevictim]

Like I stated earlier why didn't they just get inspiration from the poem and use their own creativity in creating some really great characters with some depth.

Isn't that pretty much what the creators of the game tried to do?

I think that when most people have something that they are passionate about they want to share it with others.
...
Why it is such a big deal whether or not this game gets people to read and/or appreciate Dante's poem?

I don't know, I guess I just see it as such a bloody waste.

Fair enough, but it seems a little narrow-minded to call it a waste just because it doesn't get people to read Dante (as opposed to calling it a waste because it's not an enjoyable game). I wonder how we would react if we encountered a discussion dismissing Moby Dick as a waste because it doesn't get people interested in marine biology, or The Crying of Lot 49 because it doesn't get people interested in information theory, or The Snows of Kilimanjaro because it doesn't get people into mountaineering.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Fair enough, but it seems a little narrow-minded to call it a waste just because it doesn't get people to read Dante (as opposed to calling it a waste because it's not an enjoyable game). I wonder how we would react if we encountered a discussion dismissing Moby Dick as a waste because it doesn't get people interested in marine biology, or The Crying of Lot 49 because it doesn't get people interested in information theory, or The Snows of Kilimanjaro because it doesn't get people into mountaineering.

But that's the nature of the beast, it's just a question of perspective in the end. Naturally though, I value literature above computer games and so see it in those terms.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Moby Dick would make an excellent mini-game. Maybe a downloadable game?

[virginiawang]

To make a game out of classic literature is one of the most offensive ideas I've ever come across. To twist a piece of literature out of its natural shape and adapt it into some practical use insults not only the work of literature itself but its writer as well. I am sure a writer may want to jump out of his grave and vent his complaint immediately after he sees a game created out of his work. In my opinion, literature is art. We are supposed to appreciate it by our hearts.

[Barbarous]

I have no idea what this game is like, but I don't really see how it could ruin any classics. How does this game ruin anything?

Can you see a distorted view?
(keep in mind that Dante is huge muscular figure with a skeleton scythe)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdqY2a9iRXw

[mayneverhave]

I have no idea what this game is like, but I don't really see how it could ruin any classics. How does this game ruin anything?

No, obviously it will not ruin the Divine Comedy. The poem has survived nearly 700 years, there's no reason that a video game (no matter what its quality) could even remotely ruin Dante's reputation. The people who determine its reputation - i.e. academics - will not take the game into consideration, and the people who determine the game's reputation will not take the poem into consideration.

But of course to imagine Dante as a muscular Crusader-figure wielding a large scythe is to completely miss the point of the Inferno, and therefore the game certainly misrepresents the poem, and thereby the poem in public consciousness.