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
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Spider Robinson, 1977)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury, 1953)
Kim (Rudyard Kipling, 1901)
Dear Faustina (Rhoda Broughton, 1897)
The Mist (Stephen King, 1980)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco, 1980)
Guards! Guards! (Terry Pratchett, 1989)
The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1964)
Evil Under the Sun (Agatha Christie, 1941)
Demons Don't Dream (Piers Anthony, 1993)
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone, 1982)
Falcon: The Renegade Lord (Mark Smith, 1985)
Seasons of Heaven (Nicolas Augusto, 2016)
Congo (Michael Crichton, 1980)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
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
Ringworld series (Larry Niven, 1970-2004)
The Fourth Protocol (Frederick Forsyth, 1984)
The Witch Tree Symbol (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1955)
Dracula (Bram Stoker, 1897)
Rebel Planet (Robin Waterfield, 1985)
Mystery Train ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990)
The Canterbury Tales, (Geoffrey Chaucer, ~1400)
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden [aka The Eight Dog Chronicles] (Kyokutei Bakin, 1814-1842)
The Hidden Staircase (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-1955)
Fire on the Water (Joe Dever & Gary Chalk, 1984)
Seas of Blood (Andrew Chapman, 1985)
The Colour of Magic (Terry Pratchett, 1983)
The Thirteenth Pearl (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1979) & Tour of Danger ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1992)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (Jules Verne, 1870)
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Storm Boy (Colin Thiele, 1964)
Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee, 1960)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Damiano trilogy (R.A. MacAvoy, 1983-1984)
Politika (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1997)
The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1931)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (Jules Verne, 1870)
The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux, 1910)
Stay Tuned for Danger ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1987)
The Way of the Tiger series (Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson, 1985-1987)
Whispers in the Fog ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2000)
Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975)
Murder off Miami (Dennis Wheatley, 1936)
A Song of Ice and Fire series (George R.R. Martin, 1996-2011)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence (Nick Bantock, 1991)
How to Be a Complete Bastard (Adrian Edmondson, Mark Leigh & Mike Lepine, 1986)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
Dragonflight and sequels (Anne McCaffrey, 1968-1979)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
TekWar series (William Shatner & Ron Goulart, 1989-1997)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie, 1940)
Flight from the Dark (Joe Dever & Gary Chalk, 1984)
Death by Design ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
The Swiss Family Robinson (Johann David Wyss, 1812)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Tai-Pan (James Clavell, 1966)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett, 1990) & Reaper Man (Terry Pratchett, 1991)
The Broken Anchor (Sharon Wagner (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
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 Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett, 1989)
Tai-Pan (James Clavell, 1966)
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)
Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975)
Secrets Can Kill ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1986)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1989)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie, 1934)
Gateway (Frederik Pohl., 1977)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1994)
The Phantom of Venice (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
The Mystery of the Mother Wolf ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy, 1998)
Chaos Legion (Tow Ubukata, 2003)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
The Invincible (Stanisław Lem, 1964)
The Witcher Saga (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1994-1999)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
Metro 2033 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2002)
Parasite Eve (Hideaki Sena, 1995)
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