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
The Pilgrimage (Paolo Coelho, 1987)
Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy & Larry Bond, 1986)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Kim (Rudyard Kipling, 1901)
Le Morte d'Arthur (Thomas Malory, 1485)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
The Saga of Erik the Viking (Terry Jones, 1983)
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone, 1982)
The Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan, 1990-2005)
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-1955)
Dragonworld (Byron Preiss & Michael Reaves, 1979)
The Witch Tree Symbol (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1955)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
The Bike Tour Mystery ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
The Broken Anchor (Sharon Wagner (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Mystery on Maui (Elizabeth Nugent (as Carolyn Keene), 1998)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (Sue Townsend, 1982)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1989)
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe, 1719)
The Neverending Story (Michael Ende, 1979)
Team Yankee (Harold Coyle, 1987)
Ulysses (James Joyce, 1922)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Tarzan the Untamed (Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1920)
The Scoop (The Detection Club, 1930)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury, 1953)
Death on the Nile (Agatha Christie, 1937)
The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux, 1910)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy, 1984)
The Thirty-Nine Steps (John Buchan, 1915)
To Hell With the Ugly (Boris Vian [as Vernon Sullivan], 1948)
The Haunted Carousel (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence (Nick Bantock, 1991)
Children of the Rune: Winterer (Jeon Min-hee, 2001)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (Jules Verne, 1870)
The Mysterious Island (Jules Verne, 1875)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Storm Boy (Colin Thiele, 1964)
The Secret of the Scarlet Hand ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Captive Witness (Richard Ballad (as Carolyn Keene), 1981)
Demons Don't Dream (Piers Anthony, 1993)
Mystery Train ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990)
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie, 1940)
The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, & The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
Gateway (Frederik Pohl., 1977)
The Treasure in the Royal Tower ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett, 1990) & Reaper Man (Terry Pratchett, 1991)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco, 1980)
Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975)
We're Going on a Bear Hunt (Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury, 1989)
Nancy Drew Ghost Stories ("Carolyn Keene", 1983) & Mystery by Moonlight ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Peril at End House (Agatha Christie, 1932)
The Stand (Stephen King, 1978)
The Awakening (L.J. Smith, 1991)
it might adapt elements from some of the following novels as well, not quite sure, but it far predates the TV series
it might adapt elements from some of the following novels as well, not quite sure, but it far predates the TV series
Death by Design ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
Whispers in the Fog ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2000)
False Impressions & The Clues Challenge ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990 & 2001)
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden [aka The Eight Dog Chronicles] (Kyokutei Bakin, 1814-1842)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
ruthless.com (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1998)
The Iliad (Homer, 850-630 BCE)
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Spider Robinson, 1977)
The Mist (Stephen King, 1980)
Real Fake ("Carolyn Keene", 2007)
Temple of Terror (Ian Livingstone, 1985)
The Thirteenth Pearl (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1979) & Tour of Danger ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1992)
The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1931)
Investiture of the Gods (Xu Zhonglin, late 1500s - early 1600s)
The Robots of Dawn (Isaac Asimov, 1983)
Congo (Michael Crichton, 1980)
The Mystery of the Mother Wolf ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
The Riftwar Cycle (Raymond E. Feist, 1982-2013) (subsequently novelized as Krondor: The Betrayal (1998))
The Fourth Protocol (Frederick Forsyth, 1984)
The Rats (James Herbert, 1974)
Watt (Samuel Beckett, 1953)
Nine Princes in Amber (Roger Zelazny, 1970)
Ubik (Philip K. Dick, 1969)
Dear Faustina (Rhoda Broughton, 1897)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Fire on the Water (Joe Dever & Gary Chalk, 1984)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams, 1979)
The Phantom of Venice (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
The Emerald City of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1910)
The Bluebeard Room (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
The Hidden Staircase (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
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