novel adaptations
Trying to avoid more indirect adaptations, i.e. ones based on a movie/tv adaptation rather than the book itself, ones based loosely around a famous character rather than a specific story, ones that are just a sequel to a previous video game adaptation (unless they're based on a particular sequel novel). I'll fudge those rules where I feel like it though.
198 Games
Seasons of Heaven (Nicolas Augusto, 2016)
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
The Invincible (Stanisław Lem, 1964)
To Hell With the Ugly (Boris Vian [as Vernon Sullivan], 1948)
Dear Faustina (Rhoda Broughton, 1897)
Ulysses (James Joyce, 1922)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee, 1960)
The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
The Witch Tree Symbol (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1955)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Storm Boy (Colin Thiele, 1964)
The Canterbury Tales, (Geoffrey Chaucer, ~1400)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett, 1989)
We're Going on a Bear Hunt (Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury, 1989)
Kim (Rudyard Kipling, 1901)
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone, 1982)
The ABC Murders (Agatha Christie, 1936)
The Greek Symbol Mystery (Nancy Axelrad (as Carolyn Keene), 1980)
Bedlam (Christopher Brookmyre, 2013)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Real Fake ("Carolyn Keene", 2007)
Watt (Samuel Beckett, 1953)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1964)
Uncivil Acts ("Carolyn Keene", 2005)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (John Buchan, 1915)
Moderato Cantabile (Marguerite Duras, 1958)
In and Out of Love ("Carolyn Keene", 1997) & The Crime Lab Case ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Secrets of the Nile ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
False Impressions & The Clues Challenge ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990 & 2001)
A Song of Ice and Fire series (George R.R. Martin, 1996-2011)
Captive Witness (Richard Ballad (as Carolyn Keene), 1981)
The Iliad (Homer, 850-630 BCE)
The Thirteenth Pearl (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1979) & Tour of Danger ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1992)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Mystery in Tornado Alley (George Edward Stanley (as Carolyn Keene), 2000)
Metro 2033 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2002)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
The Curse of the Black Cat ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2001)
The Broken Anchor (Sharon Wagner (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
The Bike Tour Mystery ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe, 1719)
Children's and Household Tales [aka Grimm's Fairy Tales] (Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, 1812)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1900)
Death on the Nile (Agatha Christie, 1937)
The Hidden Staircase (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
The Phantom of Venice (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
Dracula (Bram Stoker, 1897)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Peril at End House (Agatha Christie, 1932)
The Witcher Saga (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1994-1999)
Evil Under the Sun (Agatha Christie, 1941)
Kâbus (Alev Alatlı, 1999)
The Mardi Gras Mystery ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
The Mystery of the Mother Wolf ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie, 1934)
Mystery on Maui (Elizabeth Nugent (as Carolyn Keene), 1998)
Death by Design ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown, 2003)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie, 1940)
Mystery Train ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990)
From the Earth to the Moon (Jules Verne, 1865), Around the Moon (Jules Verne, 1870) & The First Men in the Moon (H.G. Wells, 1901)
The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, & The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
The Mysterious Island (Jules Verne, 1875)
The Bluebeard Room (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1931)
Children of the Rune: Winterer (Jeon Min-hee, 2001)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Whispers in the Fog ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2000)
The Haunted Carousel (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
Chaos Legion (Tow Ubukata, 2003)
Nancy Drew Ghost Stories ("Carolyn Keene", 1983) & Mystery by Moonlight ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
The Secret of the Scarlet Hand ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
The Neverending Story (Michael Ende, 1979)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (Jules Verne, 1870)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Investiture of the Gods (Xu Zhonglin, late 1500s - early 1600s)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1989)
The Treasure in the Royal Tower ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe, 1719)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Timeline (Michael Crichton, 1999)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1994)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Shadow Watch (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1999)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
Stay Tuned for Danger ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1987)
The Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan, 1990-2005)
11 Comments
thanks! I think it came up when I was getting the list together but I was having a hard time figuring out which specific Kenji Miyazawa works it was pulling from and whether it might be better suited for my other list, for games based on short stories? I should look into it further
Hmm yeah possibly the short stories list would be a better fit – I haven’t found much info on the specific stories it’s adapting either, and am not familiar with Miyazawa’s work
I love your list! There are novels that I didn't even know had a game.
Definitely need "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" on here!
"I Have No Mouth" is based on a short story so it's on this list instead https://www.backloggd.com/u/jakobvongunten/list/games-based-on-poems-short-stories-and-songs-1/
You missed Shannara when it comes to Legend Entertainment book adaptions.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
have added a few of those but Shannara, Discworld Noir, and the Westwood Dune games are all original plots within the setting of their respective series afaik. Not sure why Hitchhiker's wasn't here already, perhaps when i made the list I thought it was primarily based on the radio series?
The Atlus Megami Tensei isn't actually a direct adaption on the novel, it's a sequel the the first 2 novels (before the 3rd novel released and went in a different direction). I don't know too much about the Telenet one but I believe it's a side story rather then an adaption of the novels.
I am glad someone else already did the work of compiling these. Thanks For Making it. Recently this game called "To Hell With The Ugly" was released, which is a direct adaptation of the Boris Vian novel of the same name, if you wouldnt mind adding it.
thanks! (for both the appreciation & the tip)
TeN
3 years ago