Comic books have inspired video games for almost as long as home computers have been around. On paper, the two mediums complement each other like Batman and Robin. Comics are primarily about escapism, so combining them with an interactive form of entertainment like gaming places fans directly inside the narrative, thus heightening the appeal of superheroism. However, the union has proven inconsistent in practice. While there are plenty of examples of inspired licensed games out there, comic fans have had to wade through a mire of shameless cash-ins to find them.
Maximising the potential of a comic book property has proven surprisingly difficult in the past. Marvel and DC's A-listers were among the first to undergo the video game treatment in the early 1980s. John Dunn's Superman and Parker Brothers' Spider-Man for the Atari 2600 are two primary examples of comic-book inspired fare. Both games were victims of the hardware's limitations and played as awkwardly as they look... but that didn't stop an influx of superhero-themed offerings from flooding in.
The 1990s was littered with more clones than a Star Wars prequel. Comic book adaptations during this era usually took the shape of platformers or arcade-style beat-em-ups, with superheroes superimposed over a template lifted from another game. Of course there were notable exceptions, such as Konami's six-player brawler X-Men and the passable Death And Return Of Superman, though poorly designed Marvel titles from LJN and frustratingly-difficult Batman offerings from Sunsoft were the order of the day. The source material's key elements of storyline and artistic design were offered up as sacrifices and fans were left frustrated. Comic-themed games during this age suffered as much from design flaws as they did from unimaginative developers.
For better or worse, almost every major comic book property has inspired a video game. Even some lesser-known books such as Turok and the Teen Titans have found their way onto home platforms, yet only in recent hardware generations have superhero licenses begun to fulfil their potential. Ultimate Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction both arrived in 2005 and proved to be a giant leap forward. While neither game was perfect, time was taken to capture the essence of the source material and produce something original, rather that merely slapping a licence onto an existing blueprint. Despite these gems, the previous console generation had more than its share of super flops, including the mediocre Justice League Heroes and the reviled Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis.
Last year, Eidos Interactive and Rocksteady games set new standards for the comic book adaptation with the masterpiece Batman: Arkham Asylum. This was the game that comic book enthusiasts had been crying out for. It was innovative, atmospheric, challenging and faithful to the character's roots. Why it took so long for the quintessential superhero offering to grace consoles is a mystery that would challenge the detective skills of the Dark Knight himself, but its arrival will certainly pave the way for other games like it.
With the advancements we have seen in technology during the current hardware generation, video games have realised their potential as a storytelling medium. This has opened doors for comic book writers to bring their vision to a new audience. Arkham Asylum writer Paul Dini made a name for himself working on various DC comics before trying his hand at gaming. In an interview with Digital Spy, the scribe spoke of the challenges he encountered when tackling a new medium.
"[Arkham Asylum] didn't have a subplot, a romantic through-line or a big Bruce Wayne story, because we focused more on the gaming experience. You want to add enough characterisation on Batman so he doesn't come off like a stock good guy, but there's no point in him taking the mask off and doing a Bruce Wayne story because there’s no gameplay there."
Not only has the increasingly cinematic nature of video games provided another avenue for writers from other fields to explore, it has also helped game scribes make the jump in the other direction. Neil Druckmann, writer of the Uncharted games, told DS that his experience penning video games put him in good stead for his debut graphic novel A Second Chance At Sarah.
"When writing game scripts, we weren't as concerned with describing the actions exactly as we imagine them. We actually left quite a bit of wiggle room for interpretation from the actors, allowing the process to be much more organic. For the graphic novel, I not only tried to be as descriptive as possible, but I also thumbnailed all the pages to make it easier for [artist] Joy [Wong] to see what I had in mind for the visuals."
Druckmann and Dini are not the only ones to find work in both sectors. Writers Evan Skolnick and Brian Reed were brought in to pen Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, while acclaimed comic artist Dave Gibbons has collaborated with Revolution Software on its remastered versions of Beneath A Steel Sky and Broken Sword. Furthermore, various DC creators including Jim Lee and Geoff Johns are on board for Sony's ambitious superhero MMO DC Universe Online.
The union between the two mediums has long been blighted by exploitation on the part of publishers and developers, but recent releases such as Batman: Arkham Asylum are telltale signs that the union is beginning to fulfil its potential. The technological advancements made during the current hardware generation have helped develop gaming as a storytelling medium and enabled designers to do justice to the epic plotlines found on the pages of comic books. With a sequel to Arkham Asylum in the pipeline and Sony's DC Universe Online showing boundless potential, the future is bright for the partnership between gaming and comics. In time, we can only hope that the pair become the dynamic duo that they've always had the potential to be.
