Top 5 Literature/Game Crossovers We Want To See

When Electronic Arts announced their videogame adaptation of Dante’s Inferno a couple years back, the English majors among us had a bit of a tantrum. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the game began to out-rank The Divine Comedy on Google searches. But looking back, there was something both absurd and profound about seeing Dante Alighieri as a scythe-wielding killing machine. In their campaign to generate controversy, EA had built a game that was essentially true to the goal of the original work: scaring the pants off godless heathens through frightening imagery of Christianity’s #1 sinner vacation destination.

Oh yeah, and being an utterly shameless God of War rip-off, apparently.

Now there’s The Great Gatsby for NES, a flash game that attempts to game-ify F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Great American Novel’ using emulated 8-bit videogame aesthetics of the 1980’s. Needless to say, chucking your hat like a boomerang at pixelated flapper girls and prohibition-era liquor tycoons as Nick Carraway is pretty great. But it got us to thinking: Which classic works of literature would make the best games? Here’s a try:

Holden Caulfield must avoid phonies and navigate his sexual frustration in this Japanese dating simulator. Hopefully the literary backdrop will help stop middle-aged businessmen from falling in love with virtual girls. Or buying one of those body pillows. Yikes.

…As a text adventure, of course. Help Elizabeth Bennet escape from suitors, irresponsible family members and the like by navigating the labyrinthine halls of the Bennet estate to win freedom once and for all. And don’t forget to GET LAMP.

You play as Atticus Finch in this Phoenix Wright style courtroom adventure game, which jazzes up the fight for racial equality with dramatic gestures and probably a Morgan Freeman cameo. In fact, let’s just say that all of Tom Robinson’s vocal samples need to come from Morgan Freeman. Love that guy.

Hidden Bonus: Boss fight with a giant robot mockingbird wreaking havoc on Maycomb, Alabama.

Or anything from Poe for that matter. Think about it: What better way to make a survival horror or interactive drama game than by basing it on the writings of history’s most famously morbid and depressing author? Heavy Rain was nothing. Just wait till you see what kind of deep-seeded paranoia you have after hearing that rapping at your chamber door.

Soundtrack by Trent Reznor and/or Akira Yamaoka is an absolute must.

Anyone who has read Richard Connell’s classic short story about a lunatic Russian aristocrat who hunts people on a desert island could see it easily getting the first-person shooter treatment. Multiplayer to the core, the possibilities here are limitless: Player 1 has access to weapons and a map, but Player 2 can build traps and camouflage with the environment. Instead of the usual chaotic ‘deathmatch’ scenario, it would amount to a 1-on-1 mind war of technology VS improvisation and ingenuity. Market it well and the Halo kids will eat this one up.

Have we missed anything? Share your ideas for literature-based dreamgames in the comments below.