ENGL 1337: Classic Literature Made Video Games

Books. Yeah, you know. Those hard things with words in them and few or no pictures? They’re not all about hobbits or boy wizards, and they aren’t all made into movies and then games. While Hollywood may absorb classic literature and secrete something that passes for a movie version and a game, some classic literature might actually make for good video games…if they skip the movie and stay true to the freaking book. Finally, being an English Major pays off.

“Classic literature” is a relative term, but I see it as stories that have stood the test of time and inspired other works for generations. And no, that’s not what I was told in English 101. Even if you have never read a book without the term “strategy guide” in the title, I’m sure even these stories sound familiar.

Tarzan of the Apes - Before Batman and Spiderman swung through the air, there was Tarzan. Sandbox games usually confine us to cities, and exploring a real jungle instead of a concrete one could be both visually stunning and downright fun. Who better to do this than Tarzan? While I’d like this to stick to realism, I’d accept a magical, ubiquitous vine for Tarzan to swing on. Just as long as we could record and use our own Tarzan-yell.

Robinson Crusoe - We wouldn’t have Survivor, Cast Away, Lost or even Gilligan’s Island without Robinson Crusoe. By now, some of you have probably heard of or even watched the new TV series Crusoe, adapted from the novel. So, why can’t we have a video game? Learn and build your survival skills as you construct your shelter, hunt for food, and fight off cannibals, pirates, and loneliness while exploring your island.

I guess some classics do come with pictures.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Many games seem to be toying with the concept of characters being different during day and night. While Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess may be famous for this, a story by Robert Louis Stevenson about a scientist and his secret formula sort of beat them to it. Spend your days mixing chemicals as Dr. Jekyll, and your nights in debauchery as Mr. Hyde.

Curse you, Gottfried Leibniz, for dying before Candide was published!

Voltaire’s Candide - I’d actually be surprised if anyone else has read this one. But if I had to experience this Leibnizian propaganda masquerading as a crappy novella that teeters between fiction and non-fiction while following a boy’s adventure of torture by the Inquisition, traveling to El Dorado, and searching for his lady-love only to find out she’s become disfigured, marries her, and winds up living on a farm, then so should everybody else! Even if it’s in game form. This is “the best of all possible worlds“? Yeah, right. If it was, it wouldn’t have been pure torture. Of course, if others were to suffer through it in a game, then I might change my mind about the experience.