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5 books that would make awesome games
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It's pretty standard for Hollywood movies -- especially those of the action-thriller variety -- to be made into a game these days. But what about books? Every once in a while we'll see a game like Age of Conan that capitolizes on a great book series, but considering the number of books out there that would make really awesome games, it's too bad more books haven't become gaming fodder.
Here are five books I think would make awesome games.
The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony
This great series about the magical land of Xanth would make a really cool MMO. Xanth was a parrallel version of Florida where every person was born with a special power, some powers being small like the ability to turn a flower's petals red and others powerful enough to provide almost complete invulnerability to harm. It was also possible to escape from Xanth and out into our version of Earth.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick
The inspiration for Blade Runner, it did spawn a Blade Runner game in 1997, but the game was altogether unremarkable. Instead of trying to recreate the movie in game format, a game based on the novel should let the player live within a game world where the Voigt-Kampff test can no longer distinguish an android from a human.
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Who wouldn't want to play as a high-speed pizza delivery driver in a world where, if you don't get your pizza delivered on time, you have to answer to the mob. Not to mention the most popular form of entertainment is plugging the Internet directly into your brain and living in a dark and gritty virtual universe.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Can we call this one a no-brainer? One of the coolest books of all time, the games at the battle school alone would make for a pretty cool game. Can you repeat Ender's mark of making Dragon Army undefeated? And, of course, once you get out of Battle School the real game begins.
Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock
Forget Conan the Barbarian, Elric is the king of cool when it comes to swinging a sword. Think Drizzt Do'urden was something special? You've never met the albino king. A cleric to the gods of chaos and the wielder of Stormbringer, an intelligent sword that eats souls, Elric redefined what it was to be a bad ass. Moorcock's world and his concept of immortal heroes seems perfect for the MMO world. So where's the game?
Honorable Mention: Castle Perilous by John DeChancie. The only reason it is not on the list is that I didn't think anyone would know what the heck I was talking about, but the crazy castle full of gates to different dimensions and different worlds would be the perfect setting for a game.
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