Chris Bateman Responded: 2!!

Hey everybody, so we might now be able to count my email to Chris Bateman as an actual conversation. I was intrigued by what he said, and so I responded:

Chris,

Thanks for the generous reply! This is great stuff and really helps me out.

I'm curious, at which end of the spectrum would you put Thatgamecompany's Journey? Does it represent a kind of a middle-market success?

Also, how well do you think Shakespeare's plays themselves might lend to video game adaptations? I'm specifically thinking of The Tempest with its magic and fantasy elements, as well as its treatment of the theme of vision v. reality. Could the medium benefit from adapting Shakespeare?

Thanks again for your time,

Paul Bills

And then he responded (again!):

Paul:

Journey was funded as a loss-leader by Sony in the manner I described for Shadow of the Colossus. Unlike that title, however, Journey made its development costs back.

The Tempest would make an interesting exploration-adventure game, but I think you could also adapt King Lear, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet and possibly even Hamlet (although this one is trickier!) into a game-like format. Most of the histories and all the comedies of errors are open to adaptation in my estimation - and many would produce very interesting experiences! Note that I don't think existing game genre formats would work for these game adaptations - you'd need to be creative in designing new approaches.

The medium of videogames could definitely benefit from adapting Shakespeare, or indeed other classic writers - I have always wanted to adapt Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice into a game, for instance.

All the best,

Chris. 

I know, I know--I have no idea how you would make a game out of Pride and Prejudice either--but hey, the guy is British. I believe it could be done. Any ideas how?