nsnow

Great article, I loved the combination of examining the original reactions to the book across cultures as well as how the story has grown and adapted. Anime is very hit or miss for me, but I may have to check this one out.

For cultural trailblazers like Ocarina of Time, I think it is difficult to evaluate them without taking into account the impact they have on the current state of games, or the industry’s history. And while I agree that, out of context, Ocarina doesn’t hold up today without nostalgia, the same can be said of other culturally important pieces. Seinfeld isn’t funny because the jokes it originally made are now sit-com cliches, the classic slasher films aren’t scary anymore because the ideas have been taken and turned up to 11 already, and many classics that were originally read as children stories are now inaccessible by the modern equivalence of that audience because the style is outdated.

No matter what, fans will be upset. While adaptations are often hated for being too different from the source, sometimes people hate them when there isn’t enough change. As an example, Zach Snyder’s Watchmen was at times a frame-perfect adaptation of the graphic novel (except for the ending), yet that ultimately seems to be its downfall in the eyes of many comic fans. Some people claim it is a lifeless adaptation, and that the audience had might as well just read the graphic novel as watch the film.

I can see that logic to a point; an adaptation should go beyond an exact retelling. It should use the features of the new medium to tell the story in a new, exciting way, or examine the story and characters in a new lens.

That being said, in an adaptation I am adamant about the main story and characters remaining recognizable across adaptations, even in a new setting or with changes to the story. So far, I think Game of Thrones has done one of the best jobs with keeping characters recognizable, even as they are experiencing some different events than in the books. Over time, minor changes to the plot, or changes to relatively extraneous characters build up to become larger changes in a long running adaptation. But I am able to see that, based on the experiences of THIS Jon Snow or THIS Sansa Stark, why the characters may make a different decision than in the books (the examples chosen are arbitrary and are not referring to any specific decisions in either the show or books).

Superman as a character has always stood as a Christ figure. Man of Steel focused on that and included visual themes to add to the character parallels: Superman falling out to space with his arms spread wide as if he were on a cross and having his revelation of faith in a church with a priest being prime examples. Some critics of Man of Steel often bemoan these scenes, but I always liked the Christ-figure side of Superman.

Not restricted to the medium, but it is the medium that highlighted and gave a name to the specifics of the trope.

Something I like about the Tell Tale games (especially Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us) is that there is no meter of morality, just consequences for your actions. At times you have to side with one group and alienate another, and it’s not a matter of good or bad, but rather who is right in this instance. While the larger story plots often occur either way you choose, most of the alliances and relationships you build come to a head in the final episode.

I’d say that over-saturation is another problem annualizing games adds, particularly with a series like Assassin’s Creed. At some point, consumers reach a point where the sheer amount of product is overwhelming. I know plenty of friends that are now burnt out on the Madden series or only buy Madden every couple years, rather than each installment. Similarly, I know plenty of people that will follow a certain sub-series of Call of Duty; one friend swears by Modern Warfare while another is excited for Black Ops III and didn’t bother with Ghosts or Advanced Warfare.

Cosplay just doesn’t resonate with me. I can appreciate them in a costume-contest setting and even Halloween or -con setting, but I don’t get the celebrity cosplayer scene, or the professional shoots.