Videogames as TV Shows

There aren't many instances where the world of gaming and television collide, and I wonder to myself why? There’s plenty of gaming literature out there; titles such as the Halo or Assassin’s Creed books, but what about TV shows? I cannot think of many, if any, TV shows based on a videogame. We gamers are as intrigued by stories as everyone else, and I sure as hell would love to see some of my favourite games make it onto my TV box. TV shows tell a story in a different medium to videogames and it would be interesting to see some videogame stories in said medium.

Now before we get started here a few notes. We’re looking at games that would be good to turn into TV shows not vice versa. The reason I say this is because there is a game I want to mention, a game that would expectantly appear on a list like this and most likely would be first on the list. I’m of course talking about SUDA 51’s Deadly Premonition, a game that basically fits the genre of mystery drama, but alas this game doesn't qualify for this list. SUDA 51 was inspired by David Lynch’s ‘90’s success Twin Peaks, so much so the town that 'Deadly Prem' takes place is almost a carbon copy of the town from Twin Peaks, not to mention the storyline which SUDA 51 heavily borrows from. So to sum up, as far as I’m concerned Deadly Premonition already has a TV show.

Some rules:

• No games with pre-existing adaptations.

• We’re not talking movies, we’re talking episodic shows that last more than a season.

Lastly if I don’t mention something you had in mind, go drop it in the comments below, I’m interested in seeing what other games I missed. Now that that matter has been addressed, without further ado video games that would make viable TV shows.

The Metro Series (2033/Last Light) -Live Action-

Metro is about a post-apocalyptic world where everything is worse than zombies. The Metro games have a great setting for a TV show that can be beyond your typical zombie apocalypse  shows setting this show to go side by side with ABC’s The Walking Dead - which of course is a comic turned into a show, turned into several video games but with a different setting bringing some diversity to what used to be an interesting genre: Zombies/Post-Apocalypse.

Metro can go beyond your typical boundaries of zombies as the game features mutants instead of zombies which comes with its own possibility for expansion. The show could feature story elements such as finding out not all the mutants are bad or how life is as a mutant. This could really make for an interesting look a genre that almost criminalises undead humans.

LA Noire -Live-Action-

Boy do I love me some history. LA Noire is a personal favourite of mine putting you into the setting of Los Angeles post-World War II. The game’s story doesn't have to be involved in the making of a TV series; the setting alone could make for an interesting show as well as the characters, though they could be re-written if they kept some of the aspects of the original characters. LA Noire offers a lot: a good 1940’s setting for a detective drama, some decent action and of course well written characters.

The X-COM Series (UFO: Defense/Enemy Unknown) -Live Action- 

Imagine if you will a sci-fi show focusing on a crew of six soldiers fighting as Earth’s resistance against alien threats. Now the thing about X-COM you need to take into account when considering it for a TV show is how it wouldn't be too similar to shows like Firefly and Star Trek. First off the show doesn't take place in space, and this show would be aimed more towards action than exploration. X-COM can easily serve as a brilliant sci-fi show, six blank canvases for the writers to create great characters with, and plenty of tropes too such as: the tough ass commander with the rough war backstory, the brilliant scientist who believes they aren't helping the team and the government funding the X-COM project. 

It would be a show about protecting Earth, investigating the extra-terrestrial and watching the squad grow and become a team, until one of them tragically gets killed off, sending upset fans to their computers to compile their tumblr gif-sets. I personally feel X-COM would be hard to pull off well but I do see plenty of potential in it, and since the game doesn't stick to a open and closed narrative the show could just go on and on. 

Deus Ex: Human Revolution -Live Action- 

Deus Ex as a series could be a TV show but I’d prefer it to focus around Human Revolution because I feel it’s more up to date. A show exploring the concepts of a world where humans receive augmentations seems new to me, it could be cyberpunk-esque and would be a really interesting world to explore. Jensen has good character development for a show with his somewhat “I’m a hardass” vibes, but I think those could be transferable to any protagonist this show could create. Either way, the show would be fresh while maintaining what people like to see: some action, some drama, love, comedy, mystery, and even some horror in the forms of the reality of the world these people live in, to give an example; with the poor getting poorer more people go into the wrong kind of jobs including prostitution and they live in a world where people pay more money for prostitutes with augmentations forcing some people to get augments just to pay the bills, then they have to pay for the augments and it becomes a scary downward spiral which can really give the world a darker setting. 

If you've played the game you already know how dark the world can be and I could see this being a show that really pushes boundaries in terms of showing us what we as a world could become. Instead of pushing the old “humans have polluted the earth” we could see how corporations have all the power (I know that’s not actually new but it would still be fresh) and how the poor people standard of living has evolved. All in all, there is a lot you could do with a show like this. 

The Phoenix Wright Series -Animated-  

The world loves some lawyers or at least shows about them, shows like: Suits and Law & Order are ever so popular, I mean the show ended in 2010 but that’s twenty years people liked it for. Phoenix Wright having an animated TV series would certainly be awesome. This would be one of the only animated law shows, meaning they could certainly spice things up with creative use of animation and storytelling, also the characters are already fairly well designed so just add a pinch of good heated debating and I’m sure you could make something special. I’ll admit this one is somewhat of a stretch, but at the same time I believe it could be a good TV show I just failed to expand upon the aspects it could turn into a show as I myself have never played a Phoenix Wright game *a shocked jury shrieks*.

Conker’s Bad Fur Day -Animated-

Yep, better cover your kid’s ears because this one’s going to get a little randy. I think Conker’s Bad Fur Day has a legitimate chance of being a funny Adult Swim show, and before you ask no, I'm not salty about the whole Project Spark shenanigans, I’d rather see Conker in his own show rather than dropped into a game to increase its sales…

Rest In Peace Rareware Ltd. 1994-2003

You Don’t Know Jack -Live Action- 

I'd say that already existing shows wouldn't count but when doing research for this article I came across ABC’s attempt at a You Don’t Know Jack show in 2001 and it was a flop, which is a shame because the show really was like the game. They had PeeWee Herman (Paul Reubens) present the show, and though they could do without these shoehorned bits about some magic ring, the show was kind of funny. I suggest you go look up the six episodes it had; it was over the top on its quirkiness which I feel worked for it and was a genuinely interesting game show with more flavour than your regular quiz show. Not to mention the game is cluttered with pop-culture references which will translate extremely well with today’s audiences, I think it would be more of a success now than it ever was in 2001. I’d certainly watch it, hell I’d be on it, and if you think it would suck, You Don’t Know Jack.

That’s just a few ideas, if you have any suggestions for games that could be adapted into TV shows feel free to leave a comment, or if you agree or disagree with anything I've said you can leave a comment on that and maybe we’ll have a little discussion