With the announcements of games like Resident Evil, Street Fighter, God of War, Elden Ring, and The Legend of Zelda all getting film & TV adaptations in the next couple of years, we think it may be time to introduce the world to the lesser known side of gaming: Indie games.
While these games may not be developed by major studios and massive publishers, their stories are just as ripe with potential for an amazing television show or film.
In the gaming world, there are 3 categories when it comes to describing the budget, team size, and production scale of a project: A (“single-A”), AA (“double-A”), and AAA (“triple-A”). Projects in the triple-A category have extremely large budgets, huge teams, and are made in major studios like Capcom. Think games like Resident Evil or God of War. Double-A games, like Little Nightmares or Sifu, are in the middle. Their budgets aren’t too large, but there’s a considerable difference between double-A and single-A. This list is made up entirely of single-A or indie games, some more popular than others, that would one day make fabulous adaptations if given the chance.
Florence
The game Florence is an interactive story of love and life. Developed by the small, Australian studio Mountains and published by Annapurna Interactive, this game was built primarily by only 4 people: Ken Wong, Kamina Vincent, Sam Crisp, and Tony Coculuzzi. Directed by Wong, and partly inspired by his own life, Florence tells the story of Florence Yeoh, a 25-year-old woman stuck in a soul-crushing, monotonous routine. The game further depicts how her life changes and develops after she meets and falls for Krish, a street-performing cellist. The gameplay itself consists of a series of short, wordless, interactive minigames and vignettes that mirror the daily routine, emotions, and relationships of Florence. For example, the first mini-game is helping Florence brush her teeth. Other important aspects of the story revolve around Florence’s complicated relationship with her mother and her hard breakup with Krish.
As one of the more popular games in this list. Florence took the world by storm in 2018 after its official release in February. The emotional turmoil and growth that Florence experiences resulted in her becoming a beloved representation of the tough “adulting” phase for the game’s Millennial fanbase. It would make for an amazing live-action film or television adaption as incorporating the mini-games and musical accompaniment would be a fun challenge for any director. The story itself could also fill the gap left in the entertainment sphere by projects like “Normal People”, “Fleabag”, and “One-Day”. The passionate love and heartbreak between Florence and Krish makes for a heart-wrenching adventure that anyone could adore.
Omori
Released in 2020, Omori was extremely popular within the YouTube horror-gaming community. The psychological horror turn-based role-playing game (RPG) was developed and published by the indie studio Omocat. The project itself was led by the founder of Omocat, Tiffany Liao. The story follows a reclusive, depressed teenage boy named Sunny and his dream world alter ego, Omori, as he deals with severe trauma and guilt. The gameplay takes place in two different settings: Headspace and Faraway Town. Headspace is where Omori lives with his childhood friends, Aubrey, Kel, Hero, and Basil. Together they explore a vibrant world of cartoons, picnics, and endless Summer. Faraway Town, or reality, is where Sunny has been actively isolating himself from his family for the past 4 years, the cause of his isolation being the tragic death of his older sister, Mari.
The mechanics of the game are split into 3 categories: exploration, emotionally-charged combat, and story. These 3 mechanics plus the 2 settings of the game show amazing promise for any kind of experimental adaptation. Properly transferring the 2-world settings into any television show or film would definitely be a testament of skill for any director. The story is bone-chilling and heart-wrenching, keeping all viewers deeply emotionally invested with this horror-tragedy fusion.
Season: A Letter to the Future
In this game, a “season“ is not concerning Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer but rather an era of history. Season: A Letter to the Future is a third-person, atmospheric adventure game developed and published by Scavengers Studio. The director on the project was Kevin Sullivan, with Simon Darveau creative directing in the earlier stages of the game. The story of Season follows Estelle, a young woman who leaves her mountain village for the first time after receiving a prophetic vision of impending change. The game details Estelle’s journey through a strange yet familiar landscape as she attempts to record artifacts, stories, art, and way of life present within the current era — in hopes of leaving a testament to the new people who will come after the cataclysm. Estelle’s main mode of transport is her trusty bicycle, and she records all of her information in sketches, photos, and audio recordings.
The game is relatively calm and simple. The gameplay focuses on connection and communication more than anything else. Some of the reasons why it would make a lovely film adaption lie in its simplicity. Think any Ghibli movie or Wes Anderson‘s The French Dispatch — the interesting instrumental, the relatively slow-paced watching experience, and the opportunity for actors to show off their skills. The vignette style of the gameplay would translate perfectly to a film medium. The interesting cast of characters can also draw in any audience. It’s been a long time since a relatively calm film has hit the box office, and Season: A Letter to the Future may be exactly what the world needs.
Hades
With the extreme success of The Odyssey, Hadestown: The Musical, and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”, it’s easy to see that the public loves a mythology-based project. The game Hades, developed and published by Supergiant Games, proves this trend as it was extremely popular after its release in 2020. The game, directed by Greg Kasavin, was extremely popular after its debut — so much so that it released a sequel game, Hades II. While the game is a rogue-like action role-playing game, the story of Hades is rather simple. Zagreus, the immortal son of Hades and prince of the Underworld, is desperate to escape to the mortal realm in hopes of reuniting with his real mother, who abandoned him as an infant.
Zagreus, outside of being an adept fighter, is extremely charming and suave. Some of the main compliments of the game revolve around Zagreus simply being a fun character to play. The combat within the game is also a major highlight. These two elements are the reason why Hades would do amazing as a film adaption. It’s already clear that there is a general need within the public for mythology-based projects. Additionally, the fanbase forHades is also quite large. The fight scenes within the film would be huge and extremely intricate, drawing in a large action-enjoying fanbase. The cast of the game is also quite large, so there is room to pack the cast with some serious star power. Plus, the second game follows Melinoë, the younger sister of Zagreus, as she attempts to fight Kronos, and who doesn’t love a killer sequel?!
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
The final game on this list is The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories, released in 2018 and developed by Hidetaka Suehiro‘s White Owls, Inc. The game itself is a horror puzzle-platformer centered around immortality, self-harm, and body dismemberment. The story follows J.J., a college student searching for her missing friend on a surreal island. It is during her time on the island that she quickly realizes that she cannot die and must use her regenerating body to progress and solve puzzles. Other key elements of the story include sapphic romance and personal self-discovery.
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories would make for an amazing television adaption as it fights right in with the other modern horror adaptations. Its emphasis on body horror is quite similar to that of The Other Mommy or Together. While the subject is quite niche, the story is very alluring, as J.J. herself is not exactly sure why she’s on the island attempting to save her friend. Watching the protagonist piece things together as the narrative moves along not only invites viewers into the story but prompts them to come to their own conclusions about what the story truly means.
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