adaptation
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Gorgeous puzzle game 'Monument Valley' is being turned into a movie
One of the most beautifully-designed mobile puzzle games of all time is going to be given the silver screen treatment. Released in 2014 and quickly snapping up the title of Apple's Game of the Year, Monument Valley will be adapted into a movie in a joint venture by Paramount Pictures and Weed Road Pictures.
Netflix grabs 'Snowpiercer' TV show outside the US and China (updated)
We've known for some time that the stunning and brutal post-apocalyptic movie Snowpiercer is being made into a TV series for TNT. Now, Netflix is joining in on the action by distributing the series outside of the US and China, Variety reports. The 2013 film, by intriguing South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, told the story of a socially stratified supertrain traveling on an endless loop across a frozen planet, touching on food scarcity, class warfare and child exploitation along the way. The TV adaptation offers more of the same, raising questions about human survival that are eerily pertinent even in our "civilized" age.
'Resident Evil' film team is making the 'Monster Hunter' movie
We last heard the Monster Hunter movie was still in the works back in September 2016, but selling 8 million copies of this year's Monster Hunter: World might have sped things up. According to Variety, the film adaptation has snagged Paul W. S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich, who directed and starred, respectively, in the long-running Resident Evil movie franchise.
Amazon is turning William Gibson’s ‘The Peripheral’ into a series
It's about time we got a serious attempt at adapting William Gibson's work to the small screen. With the success of Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon and Philip K Dick's The Man In The High Castle, streaming studios with an eye on originals can only benefit from Gibson's seminal take on the future. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, the creative team behind HBO's Westworld reboot, are taking on The Peripheral, Gibson's 2014 sci-fi thriller, for Amazon Studios.
NBC is adapting UK tech support sitcom 'The IT Crowd'
NBC had a hit adapting the BBC version of The Office and now it's hoping for the same with UK hit The IT Crowd. The network is set to adapt the Channel 4 sitcom with the original creator, Graham Lineham, who will write and produce, Variety reports. Like the British series, it will revolve around tech workers in the IT department of a giant corporation, but will be a "re-imagining" of the original, not a clone. "Oh, yeah. Working on it. Don't expect the same kind of show and EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPY," Lineham confirmed on Twitter.
'Altered Beast' and 'Streets of Rage' coming to film and TV
Sonic the Hedgehog has apparently opened the floodgates on Sega adaptations. Sega Group's production arm is teaming with Fear the Walking Dead producer Circle of Confusion on adaptations of '80s and '90s classics Altered Beast and Streets of Rage, according to Variety. Beat 'em up game Streets of Rage pits your rogue cop against big city crime boss Mr. X, while sidescroller Beast features a resurrected Greek Warrior that transforms into powerful werecritters after defeating a suite of villains.
Serial's real-crime podcast has inspired a TV show
If you asked me yesterday what Serial was, I would describe the podcast as a mystery investigation TV show specially tailored for your ears. The first season chronicled a murder over the course of 12 episodes, with an investigative dialogue driving the show forward. However, an announcement made today by Deadline will see the podcast turn into a TV series produced by Fox 21 Television Studios. Co-created and co-produced by This American Life's Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, the series will be developed with Chris Miller and Phil Lord of The Lego Movie fame. The show is set to go behind the scenes of the podcast, however just like the cases it investigates, the exact details are unclear.
Watch this little robot learn to walk after taking damage
Robots are getting pretty good at carrying on after taking a knock, but what if they lose a limb? Scientists from the US and France have given a six-legged 'bot the smarts to keep going even if two of its legs are disabled by, say, a Sarah Connor shotgun blast. The team created and then rated a number of simulations for how its robot could keep moving forward despite losing a leg or two. Once that information was programmed into the robot, it was able to rapidly evaluate the options and use the one that worked best in the real world.
PopCap vets team up in Fixer Studios, fixing up Spellbinder spiritual successor
Three former PopCap developers formed a new mobile gaming studio "inspired by the game-jam spirit," Fixer Studios. At its core, the studio consists of its three founders: Avery Alix, Eric Olson and Christopher Langmuir. The developer's first game is Sinister Dexter for iOS and Android, a spiritual successor to the 1977 pen-and-paper game Spellbinder. While the studio is being formally announced now, both Alix and Olson's LinkedIn profiles indicate that it was first founded in June 2013. The "collaborative cloud" studio includes a rotating roster of 30 industry veterans. Fixer Studios opted for a "dynamic staffing system to manage production," according to its website. Team members will join up and drop out based on their "availability, interest and expertise," forcing team leads to delegate tasks and "mission critical activities" as needed to keep development on track. [Image: Fixer Studios]
Sons of Anarchy creator says first-person game will 'definitely' happen
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter says the video game based on the show is back on. Sutter tweeted that while he can't provide any other details, "there will definitely be an SOA GAME," adding his own qualifier that "it's pretty fucking awesome." He did note that the game will be a first-person, action-adventure game with HD graphics and will represent "the evolution of gaming." Sutter first announced plans to bring the property to the gaming world in February 2012, initially planning a browser-based game before deciding later in May to create a "real, console-based" experience. The Sons of Anarchy game stalled out in August 2012 when Sutter revealed that it was getting no traction and its "big publisher" pulled out of the project. [Image: FX]
Daily iPad App: Agricola is Playdek's great adaptation of the board game
Agricola is one of the most popular board games around these days -- it's sort of a farming simulation game, where you can take two turns every round, and then periodically get rewards paid off in a harvest. Playdek is an up-and-coming iOS developer that's mostly done card games so far -- they're behind the Penny Arcade card game, as well as the excellent Ascension and a more complicated one I really like called Nightfall. Now, Playdek has teamed up with the creators of Agricola and Lookout Games to produce this iOS adaptation, available right now on the App Store for US$6.99. The way the game works is that every round, you send out a family member to perform some task for you, including growing crops, bringing in resources or building fences for animals. During the game, you can add more members to your family, which means you'll have more chances to bring in resources, but you'll also have more people to feed when the harvest comes around. The game is complex, but the core idea (of building up your farm bit by bit) is strong, so after playing through the tutorial and seeing the process for a while, it's easy to start building your own strategies and plans. Just as with the rest of their titles, Playdek has done a great job here in the presentation -- the game's stark but beautiful music goes well with the theme of fighting just to have enough, and all of the title's various processes and features are clearly displayed with charming and iconic touches. The game uses a top-down 2D drawn style, which might not have been quite as impressive as a full 3D farm environment, but works very well in getting all of the information you need across clearly. Plus, in addition to four gameplay modes, there's online or offline multiplayer, including a pass-and-play mode which is always a nice. Playdek knows well how to translate card games over to iOS, and this title proves they've been able to bring that expertise to board games as well. Agricola might be a bit pricey for those unfamiliar (or uninterested) in the original, but if you're looking for a full-featured, well-made adaptation of the popular board game, this is definitely it.
Daily iPhone App: Steve Jackson's Sorcery is interactive e-book bliss
I have to say -- the iPad is a terrific platform for interactive e-books, but so far, I haven't been very impressed by the options out there. I do use my iPad for reading a lot, but the vast majority of my reading is done in either iBooks or a comic book reader. It's very rare that I will pick up an app that's designed to work as just one single book, no matter how many extras or interactive features are included. However, I'm happy to say that Steve Jackson's Sorcery! is a clear exception to the general rule. It's excellent, and mostly because the book it is based on (actually a "gamebook" released back in the '80s) was already interactive to begin with. Add in iOS interactive touchscreen, some excellent graphical flairs and a whole lot of polish, and what you end up with is something very akin to playing a Dungeons and Dragons game, where the few game elements present are really just intended to ignite your imagination, and get you role-playing in the game's world. Sorcery's story is pretty basic: You're a hero who sets out into a dangerous world, hoping to either save or conquer it. And the combat gameplay is extremely simple as well -- you essentially guess whether your opponent is attacking or defending, trying to mirror their actions to do damage as you can. But the real meat of Sorcery! is in the inbetween. You travel from town to town, talking to various NPCs and even solving a few puzzles, all while exploring this world through the game's scrolling text. I really have no problems at all with this app -- I was fascinated by the story's well-written text, and while the gameplay isn't extremely innovative, it's paced well enough to keep the action rolling. The one hitch might be that you need to use your imagination on this one, so if you're expecting a game like Skyrim, that will draw out the world for you, you might find this a bit boring. But as a die-hard pen-and-paper RPG player and a fan of Steve Jackson's work, I think this is an excellent adaptation that's well worth a purchase. You can pick it up from the App Store for US$4.99 right now.
Roger Avary back on Castle Wolfenstein movie
Roger Avary resumed his role as writer and director of the Castle Wolfenstein film adaptation, according to Slashfilm. The film, based on id Software's Wolfenstein series, was first announced in 2007.The film met several bumps along its production course, including a halt due to the Writer's Guild strike, during which Avary said he was "almost done with the script." This was before Avary faced legal troubles in 2008 on suspicion of manslaughter and driving under the influence, in which he was released on a $50,000 bail. Avary continued work on the script in 2008, but when his involvement in a Silent Hill movie sequel stopped in 2010, all talk of the Wolfenstein adaptation stopped as well.The Wolfenstein movie's plot is described as follows: "A young U.S. Army Captain and a British Special Agent on a top-secret mission to Castle Wolfenstein where Hitler will be for the unveiling of a new secret weapon."
German robot arm learns ping-pong as it plays humans, might rival its masters
We like to tell ourselves that learning by doing is the best strategy for improving our skills, but we seldom apply that philosophy to our robots; with certain exceptions, they're just supposed to know what to do from the start. Researchers at the Technical University of Darmstadt disagree and have developed algorithms proving that robot arms just need practice, practice, practice to learn complex activities. After some literal hand-holding with a human to understand the basics of a ping-pong swing, a TUD robot can gradually abstract those motions and return the ball in situations beyond the initial example. The technique is effective enough that the test arm took a mere hour of practice to successfully bounce back 88 percent of shots and compete with a human. That's certainly better than most of us fared after our first game. If all goes well, the science could lead to robots of all kinds that need only a small foundation of code to accomplish a lot. Just hope that the inevitable struggle between humans and robots isn't settled with a ping-pong match... it might end badly.
Michael Fassbender starring in and co-producing Assassin's Creed film
When he's not playing a cold, conniving artificial man, Michael Fassbender is sharpening his hidden blade (and his hidden check book). Not because he's way into hidden knives (he isn't, as far as we know), but because he'll be playing the starring role in an upcoming Assassin's Creed film adaptation, says Variety.Fassbender's company DMC Film is co-producing the film as well, teaming up with Ubisoft Motion Pictures. It's unclear which part of the game's canon will form the basis of the film, if any. Variety says the "plot revolves around a man who learns his ancestors were trained assassins after he is kidnapped by a secret org with ties to the Knights Templar, and sent back in time to retrieve historical artifacts," which sounds like a game revolving around Desmond to us. It also sounds like the basic root of the entire game franchise, so ... do with that what you will.The new deal with Fassbender's DMC Film helps to put Ubi's previous Sony talks to bed. Talks last November apparently fizzled, though Ubi is still open to "re-discuss" things "once the production package is finalized." Ubisoft Motion Pictures will hire the project's director and writer before getting involved with any third parties – a response to the lackluster reception Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time got at the box office, which Ubi apparently attributes (at least in part) to a lack of creative control over its own property.[Pictured: Filming of Assassin's Creed: Lineage]
Chris McDonough talks about the development of the World of Darkness
With layoffs having hit CCP, there's been a lot of apprehension about whether or not World of Darkness would continue in development or suffer a quiet death. But a recent interview with Senior Producer Chris McDonough makes it clear that the title is still very much in development and very much following in the footsteps of its older brother, EVE Online. Both games will share the single-shard setup, and McDonough states that several technologies developed for World of Darkness have been incorporated into EVE Online (something many players suspected about player avatars from the beginning). McDonough also talks in depth about turning the game into an MMO, claiming that a pen-and-paper game naturally translates into an MMO better than other properties because of the lack of iconic characters who players wish to play. The challenge, of course, is bringing over some of the feel of a tabletop setting into an online environment, with McDonough explaining that several of the computer games such as Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines have been used as a point of common reference. Click past the break to see the full interview.
Oh god, they're probably making a Farmville movie
Never before have our hearts received news with such confusion: In a recent interview with IGN, Toy Story writers Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen hinted at their next project: A movie adaptation of Zynga's Farmville franchise. "We're in conversations with Zynga to do something with one of their brands," they teased. "Can't really say too much on that front yet, but 'Old MacDonald' didn't have a factory, if you get our drift." We do not get your drift. Your drift makes us sad. We trust the two to craft a compelling story, but we worry there's not enough rich source material for them to base it on. All we know is we're not looking forward to receiving a hundred daily invitations to go to the movie from our distant, distant cousins and fourth grade math teachers.
Dead Island film optioned by Lionsgate, based on the trailer
Though reports from February of a planned film adaptation of Techland's then yet-to-be-released zombie title Dead Island were struck down by the studio, legitimate plans for the movie were revealed earlier today. Lionsgate announced in a press release that it's currently in the early development stage of a Dead Island feature, with producers Sean Daniel (Tombstone, Dazed and Confused) and Stefan Sonnenfeld attached. The press release mentions the game's first, Cannes-winning trailer will serve as the film's "primary creative inspiration," adding that the movie will adopt the commercial's "focus on human emotion, family ties and non-linear storytelling." Also, it's a horror movie from Lionsgate, so we're betting you'll get to see the insides of hastily removed human body parts.
Trion's David Reid: 'New era' of premium games inevitable
It's a brutal, cutthroat world in the MMO industry, Trion Worlds' David Reid admits, and he thinks that companies that can't adapt to the rapidly changing scene need to get out of the pool so others can swim. Talking to a crowd at GDC Europe, Reid spoke on an inevitable "new era" of premium games that are being fashioned in the forges of increased competition, challenging business models, higher development costs, and lower social interaction. "It's a lot harder to make your money back in the premium games space than it used to be," he said. Reid used Trion's approach as an example of how MMO studios need to be at the top of their game when developing games, including "AAA ambition and polish, massive scale, persistence, and customization." RIFT, which he cites as having over a million customers and holding the number two spot in the West, made sure that high-quality visuals were a key part of the experience, but also that the team was willing to listen to player feedback when preparing future content. He also pointed to End of Nation's free-to-play model and Defiance's synergy with the Syfy TV show as ways to captivate player interest and stay on top of the game.
The Road to Mordor: Double dragons
Last week Turbine released the concept art for one of its major bosses from the upcoming Rise of Isengard expansion: Draigoch. With it came a number of appropriate "oohs" and "ahhs," and no doubt raiders began thinking up uses for a giant dragon skull in their homes. But there was also a crowd that popped out to cry foul about lore molestation -- that this was a blatant example of Turbine pandering to MMO players by including the expected dragons even when the lore shouldn't support it. A couple examples of quotes, first. "Yet whatever way you cut this idea, how can you integrate another dragon into the story? Smaug was the last one of his kind," Contains Moderate Peril complains. A commenter on our article sniped, "So Turbine's decided to entirely drop the pretense of sticking to the lore, then?" Ouch. As much as I am totally not attached to MMO lore in general, I feel like this might be a good time to both address this particular argument and also the larger one of Turbine's approach to Tolkien's world. Are giant dragons lore-breaking? Does Turbine simply not care about remaining faithful to source material? Do you have my decaf light mocha with cinnamon sprinkles?
