Interplay: the Adaptive Contexts of Videogame Adaptations
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Stuart Knott Interplay Interplay: The Adaptive Contexts of Videogame Adaptations and Franchises Across Media By Stuart Knott Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a PhD degree at De Montfort University, Leicester April 2016 1 Stuart Knott Interplay Table of Contents Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Introduction i.i Understanding Videogame Adaptations 5 i.ii Existing Work 11 i.iii Chapter Summary 14 i.iv Conclusion 21 Chapter One: A Brief History of Videogames and their Adaptations 1.1 Theory and History 23 1.2 Cinema(tic) Immersion 34 1.3 Reputation 47 1.4 The Japanese Connection 58 1.5 Early Videogame Adaptations 66 1.6 Cross-Media Complexity 82 1.7 Conclusion 93 Chapter Two: Japanese Videogame Culture as International Multimedia 2.1 The Console Wars 98 2.2 Building a Mascot 110 2.3 Developing a Franchise 120 2.4 Sonic the Animation 128 2.5 International Multimedia 147 2.6 Conclusion 160 Chapter Three: Unifying Action and Culture through Mortal Kombat 3.1 Martial Arts Cinema 165 3.2 The Action Genre 173 3.3 Arcade Duelling 186 3.4 Adapting Street Fighter 195 3.5 Franchising Mortal Kombat 201 3.6 Cult Success and Aftermath 216 3.7 Conclusion 227 Chapter Four: The Appropriations, Economics, and Interplay of Resident Evil 4.1 Zombie Cinema 232 4.2 Developing Resident Evil 240 4.3 The Economics of Adaptation 247 4.4 Personifying Adaptation 265 4.5 Further Appropriations 284 4.6 Beyond Anderson 291 4.7 Conclusion 297 Conclusion 305 Appendices Appendix One: Videogame Adaptations 329 Appendix Two: Sonic Timeline 338 References 343 2 Stuart Knott Interplay Abstract Videogame adaptations have been a staple of cinema and television since the 1980s and have had a consistent presence despite receiving overwhelmingly negative reactions. Recognising the perseverance of videogame adaptations, I examine some of the key issues and debates surrounding the genre with in-depth analysis of the source material, the machinations of the film and videogame industries, and the films themselves, specifically relating to three prominent onscreen videogame adaptations. Following an introduction to the various theories and areas of study already performed in this field, all of which I incorporate into an intricate, blended methodology, I explore issues of fidelity, localisation, and evolution that occur when adapting Sonic the Hedgehog out of the confines of its limited narrative. In examining adaptations of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, I explore how cinematic genres (such as the Hong Kong martial arts and American action movies) have influenced the creation of videogames and the production of their film and television adaptations. Finally, I delve into the history of zombie horror films, which influenced the Resident Evil franchise. As this became the longest-running (and, by extension, most successful) live-action videogame franchise, I explore the complex production of videogame adaptations, their critical and financial reception, and their ability to evolve into multimedia franchises. Overall, my work is designed to take videogame adaptations seriously by examining them through in-depth analysis, exploring how they convey the gameplay mechanics of their source material, analysing why they remain so popular despite their negative reputation, and by establishing an academic framework by which to discuss them with the same reverence afforded to literary adaptations. 3 Stuart Knott Interplay Acknowledgements My initial thanks extend to all those involved in the creative process of bringing some of the most iconic characters to life in pixels and celluloid, fuelling my imagination and creativity in the process and without whom this project could never have been undertaken. My primary thanks go to my parents, Rosalind and David Knott, who introduced me to videogames over twenty years ago with the SEGA Master System, and to Siân Brock for supporting the erratic work hours and longevity of this project. Additional thanks extend to the following people, who have continued to support and inspire me throughout: Zoe White, Jamie Darnell, Natalie Evans, Alex Henson, Alistair Lewis, Faye Grant, Adam Craig, and Dhara Mistry-Kansagra. I would also like to acknowledge my peers at De Montfort University, Charley Meakin, Dave Cliffe, Laura Mayers, Lizzie Wright, Hannah Louise Denton, and Judith Massey. Finally, I would like to thank my supervisors, James Russell and Keith Scott, for their patience and invaluable input, and my former DMU tutors Yvonne Griggs, Imelda Whelehan, Deborah Cartmell, Stuart Price, and Ian Hunter. 4 Stuart Knott Interplay Introduction Overview Interplay is a text-based, methodical analysis of the adaptive contexts of videogame adaptations and franchises across media. While videogame adaptations have had a consistent and tumultuous presence in cinema and television since 1982, there has yet to be a serious attempt to examine the genre. Interplay changes this by infusing the genre with a legitimacy and significance that has been sorely lacking. The following chapters each focus on videogames that have been adapted not just into live-action or animated films and television shows, but also complex multimedia franchises. This allows Interplay to reveal the intricate complexities of videogame adaptation, the ways they reconfigure theoretical thinking (particularly in adaptation theory), and brings to light how videogame adaptations are quickly becoming an exciting, new critical battleground. i.i Understanding Videogame Adaptations Adaptations of videogames have long had a notable presence in cinema and television; blockbuster Hollywood films are regularly accompanied by a videogame tie-in and videogame franchises are frequently, and increasingly routinely, adapted into live-action, or animated, movies and television shows. Indeed, “best-selling science fiction, fantasy, crime, and thriller novels all translate fairly readily to video games by virtue of their mission-based structure and action heroes” (Cutting, 2011: 169). 5 Stuart Knott Interplay With adaptations of videogames into films and animation proliferating cinema and television screens since 1982, the question of why they are so popular and what they can teach about adaptation theory becomes particularly relevant. As videogames are inherently active – players directly influence the actions they witness onscreen – as opposed to film and television’s passive nature, “Literary scholars, educators, and game designers all potentially have something to learn from the process of conceptualizing […] apparently impossible adaptations” (ibid). Videogame adaptations have a tumultuous history and are often met with apathy, negativity, or dismissal. Indeed, although videogame and cinema development has become increasingly intertwined, “critics often assume Hollywood ‘can inject the gaming medium with the same revitalizing energy and innovative vision’ that their directors bring to the screen” (Moore, quoting McEachern, 2010: 185). However, one of my key observations is the inherent differences between videogames and film and how videogames have been adapted into other media. As a result, while Ben Fritz (cited by Moore, ibid: 186), observes that videogame players “view film-to-game adaptations with a fair amount of scepticism”, playing a videogame is a vastly different experience than watching a movie despite both mediums following a similar formula “—establishing conflict, playing out conflict, and finally resolving conflict—video games prioritize the second stage [and] are very much about playing out narrative conflict” (ibid, quoting Hutcheon). Interplay specifically addresses the complex methods of adaptation at work in videogame adaptations. Moore (ibid: 185) notes that, just as film adaptations have long struggled to break free from the shadow of literary works, “game adaptations struggle to cast off the reign of Hollywood films. Within the film world, video games are often dismissed as purely derivative works, secondary productions beholden to 6 Stuart Knott Interplay their theatrical source texts”. Interplay illustrates that, beyond simply exploiting popular franchises for profit, videogame adaptations have come to expand upon and inform their source material, generate ongoing canonicity debates within fan communities, and conform to new genres. Compounding the reception of videogame adaptations is what Henry Jenkins observes to be “the popular conception of games as a technological toy, undeniably out of place in productive society” and the placement of videogames within Hollywood’s economic tapestry (cited by Moore, ibid). Within the Hollywood studio system, videogames are a secondary concern, licensed products that exist simply to promote blockbuster releases and “provide movie fans with yet another opportunity to buy into the film franchise” (ibid: 186). This thinking is nothing less than a disservice when one views videogame adaptations within historical context and by blending together multiple methodologies. Chapter One expands upon how Interplay blends adaptation theory, film theory, videogame theory, and fan theory together with the complex issues of adaptation, fidelity, economics, appropriation, and genre at work within videogame adaptations. Consequently, my research focuses entirely on analysing videogame adaptations with the same critical thinking and intellectual significance afforded towards literary adaptations. As there has yet to be a definitive attempt to discuss videogame adaptations at a critical or intellectual level, or to truly take them seriously