Until recently comic book characters and stories haven’t been able to really get a foothold within the gaming industry, but now it looks like this could be set to change, after some successful additions to the market. In general, when we see adaptations from other formats, such as movies and comics turned into games, they don’t often translate that well.
That has started to change though with the introduction of games such as Batman’s Arkham series, Spider Man 2 and Deadpool, which have all seen successes in the gaming world. Furthermore, comics have inspired game developers in the online slots and casino world. DC Comics has made the decision to partner with some of the most renowned and innovative gaming developers to produce super exciting online slots games. Some brands have even gone a step further to create their own games in order to get that competitive edge, mFortune is an example of a brand that has perfected this strategy.
So there are definitely some comic titles that would be perfectly translated into a gaming environment and should be seriously considered by game developers.
Fell – This comic tells the tale of a detective cop, Richard Fell, who is transferred to Snowtown after his partner is injured and has to deal with a crime ridden area, where the good rely on magic to save them and Fell’s job is to clean up the streets, even if he has to be as violent as those he is pursuing.
This comic would translate very well into a detective game, with a similar gameplay to L.A. Noire, but some more brutal fight scenes. It would create a great game where the player was free to make their own decisions and conclusions and wouldn’t be pushed down a certain route by developers. They would have to decide when to hold back information when playing as Fell or when to lay everything on the line.
100 Bullets – This comic is the story of several wronged individuals in the USA, who are given an offer from an old man, Agent Graves. This offer gives them an untraceable gun, a carte blanche for revenge and 100 bullets. Every trigger pulled has a far-reaching consequence. This could translate easily into a game of third person shooting and tailored choices around morality. It could be a game where killing has a good and bad meaning to it.
DMZ – The comic tells the story of America in the near future, hit by the second Civil War and is set in a de-militarised Manhattan, with the poorest residents trapped in a Westernised No Man’s Land. This game could work in a similar way to This War of Mine or The Walking Dead and would create moral choices and dilemmas for the player. It could either be a telltale adventure or a scavenger hunt, with an aim of survival in this world. The reporter Matt Roth, who features as the journalist who enters Manhattan in the comic would be well suited to play the main playable character within the game.
For developers it is definitely worth continuing to try and explore the link between comic and gaming further, as it is now proven that it can be a success if done properly. It is not only on consoles we are seeing this now, mobile games featuring comic characters are available and even online slots, based upon the likes of Batman and the Avengers have been created and are proving to be a success.
