It seems to be almost a given that whenever a well-made, blockbuster game title is released, gamers inevitably seem to think "this would be an awesome movie". It is also pretty much a given that almost every video game film adaptation has been horrible. I think the evidence is with me on this one; from Doom to Street Fighter to Super Ma....
Why then, do we as gamers keep falling for the joke? What is it about movies based on games that, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, makes us want to watch them, to have them keep being made? I don't know if there really is "an" answer to this, but I have a couple of theories. One is that when we love a game so much, we literally can't get enough. In this way, a movie offers appeal simply because it offers us more of what we love, even if we know it's destined to suck. But I think what's more likely is when you play a game that you love, you become invested in its story and its characters, not as fixtures in a video game, but as characters that you come to care about - it becomes real for us in that small way. A movie would then be tempting because it is taking that one step further towards increased reality - by taking computer rendered characters and portraying them on the big screen with live-action actors, our beloved games, stories, and characters are presented to us in even greater true-to-life detail (after all, no graphics [yet] are more life-like than real life).
Unfortunately, video game movies are doomed to fail from the start, almost inherently, and there's a genuine reason for it. The average video game single player campaign runs anywhere from 8-15 hours. The average movie, on the other hand, runs 90-120 minutes. The result of this is when we play video games, we simply have more time to get invested. Character development can be much more in depth because the character is simply around much more than in a movie. But it's not just that the quantity of time is greater in a video game - the fact that you are controlling the character directly plays a big role as well. The fact that I tell my character where to go, who to talk to, when (and in many cases how) to fight, etc means that the on-screen struggles of my digital companion become my own struggles. My video game character is no longer a separate puppet-like entity for whom I merely pull the strings, but instead a representation of myself that has been transcribed into the digital world. On the other side of things, a movie character, no matter how well written or acted, simply cannot offer that level of engagement. Even portrayed by Brad Pitt, master thespian that he is (interpret that as you will), Pitt's John Marston will only ever be Pitt's John Marston that I just happen to be watching. I may cheer for him from my seat, but I will never achieve that same connection that I do with Rockstar's John Marston. And no matter how good an actor Brad Pitt may be, nobody is as good a John Marston as the one in my mind.
Video games are now and have always been fun in part because of the opportunity they allow for escapism. When I boot up my console, I am transported into whatever world it is my character happens to be exploring. This is where the fun in gaming comes from, at least in part - being able to explore and make your own choices as you see fit. This is the edge that games have over movies, and why the gaming industry is quickly overtaking the film industry as the entertainment of choice (at least in North America). Trying to force a great game into what could only ever be a mediocre movie is at best a category mistake that misunderstands how the two mediums operate, and at worst a perversion of the gaming media as a cash grab by big movie studios. As far as I'm concerned, games should be kept out of Hollywood, and stay in our living rooms - where they belong.
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