Between copy-editing the official WoW magazine, I came across a very interesting article on Kotaku. The piece talks about a Scottish company that wants to revinvent classic literature on gaming devices. The first thought that came into my mind, was "Oh no, not more Dante's Inferno," but as I read on, I became more intrigued. This company doesn't want to turn books into games, but rather recreate the book in an interactive form where you observe the events of the book and can explore the world in which it's set. The company says its goal is to expand the reach of a book to new readers, but I'm somewhat skeptical. While I think this type of program sounds really interesting, I doubt that someone who isn't interested in books is likely to pick up what they think is a game and then enjoy it. I still think this will only appeal to the existing readers. How many gamers dropped Heavy Rain because they thought it was too boring? Now imagine an experience where you don't have any control over the action, you just watch it.
I think that will be a tough sell to gamers, but as a writer of novels, I find it really interesting to think that my work might one day take on this format. What do you think?
2 comments:
Anything that can get people even the least bit interested in reading is always a positive in my eyes. This may be a nice jumping on point for people to get interested in literature through gameplay. :)
Nice article, Nicole. Did you hear about J.K. Rowling's recent announcement? I guess she's planning on adapting the Harry Potter books into these interactive ebooks as well. If any series can give the form legitimacy, it's probably that one. It can also afford to throw skads of money at the project to ensure that it's done reasonably well.
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