Halycon planning Philp K. Dick games - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 27th May 2008, 11:24

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...k-dick-games/1

Halycon Company, the production company which owns the rights to make films based on Philip K. Dick's novels, has announced plans for game adaptations too.

Krikkit · 27th May 2008, 12:49

Hmm... I'd say they'd have to be very careful about how they do this.

A Scanner Darkly would be very difficult to turn into a game without adding lots of hallucinations and stuff, as well as long stretches of not really doing anything.

Blade runner would be very cool, although they'd have to get the kibble just right for it to really work, and really concentrate on the original text, rather than the (admittedly excellent) film adaptation.

I think The Penultimate Truth could make a fantastic RPG adaptation, but again, the developer would have to be very careful not to stray too far from the book's core, and lose the feeling of the novel.

Agent_M · 27th May 2008, 13:16

blade runner was an amazing game, if alittle hard at certain points. still have my copy of it kicking around somewhere

crompers · 27th May 2008, 13:58

If ASD was done well it could be amazing.

I quite enjoyed minority report on the gamecube, well enough to complete it anyways. Arcadey goodness.

ChaosDefinesOrder · 27th May 2008, 14:07

How to make a Philip K Dick story into a game: don't finish it! Just when the conclusion to the game comes, end it there with no conclusion. Not even credits, just stop and chuck the disc out. That's how to get the true essence of a PKD story!

Damn author never finished most of his stories!

CardJoe · 27th May 2008, 14:17

I was playing a short freeware game called Mondo Agency the other day which really reminded me of Dick's work:

http://64digits.com/users/cactus/MondoAgencyFixed.zip

gm_crop · 27th May 2008, 14:46

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Krikkit (seems like we have similar reading tastes).

The best PKD film conversions are the ones that have strayed quite away from the original material, i.e. turned them into action films with the background loosely based on the novels (something I don't mind as Dick was not exactly Wodehouse linguistically, nor a creator of Dickensian characters).

Any game that takes on themes of ethics, nature of reality, drug abuse and God (god?) is monumentally ambitious and, I daresay, doomed to failure. I wish the developers all the best (they'll need it) but I'm just not sure games as a medium is capable of doing his work justice yet.

gm_crop · 27th May 2008, 14:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardJoe

I was playing a short freeware game called Mondo Agency the other day which really reminded me of Dick's work:

http://64digits.com/users/cactus/MondoAgencyFixed.zip

Ack! That's screwed up my sound card drivers

Kipman725 · 27th May 2008, 18:31

terible idea Philip K Dick's books that I have read have no moments of action they would only make good adventure games and those adventure games would not have a wide apeal.

johnnyboy700 · 27th May 2008, 19:53

I recall the Bladerunner game being damn good, I've still got my copy kicking about in a box somewhere I wonder if I can get it to run on XP. The graphics will be laughably crude by today's standards but the gameplay will more than make up for that.

As for the rest of PKD's inventory, sheesh unless they make some drastic changes, they might have a problem or two on their hands.

Didn't they make a game of Total Recall? I have a vague memory of this but considering how long ago they made the film then its likely to have been some dodgy sideways scrolling platform/shooter combo.

Flibblebot · 27th May 2008, 22:54

The problem with PKD's novels and short stories is that they rely for a large part on psychological plot devices - that is, the mind and the (possibly chemically-induced) malfunctioning thereof.

After all, most PKD stories that have been made into films have been drastically altered before they reached the silver screen. Probably the closest to the original book was "A Scanner Darkly", but even that had vast tracts removed (particularly the bit where Substance D causes Fred to spy on Arctor, even though they're the same person - you just can't do that in film and keep a coherent story flowing).

Now games do allow for more immersion that films simply because they're interactive, but I still don't see how you can portray the psychology of the story while keeping the game interesting.

gm_crop · 28th May 2008, 16:27

I wonder how they'll distribute the game. CD? Digital download? DVD? LSD induced theophany? The mind boggles.

27th May 2008, 11:24	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,974	Halycon planning Philp K. Dick games http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...k-dick-games/1 Halycon Company, the production company which owns the rights to make films based on Philip K. Dick's novels, has announced plans for game adaptations too. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

27th May 2008, 12:49	#2
Krikkit Don't panic! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancs, UK Posts: 15,173	Hmm... I'd say they'd have to be very careful about how they do this. A Scanner Darkly would be very difficult to turn into a game without adding lots of hallucinations and stuff, as well as long stretches of not really doing anything. Blade runner would be very cool, although they'd have to get the kibble just right for it to really work, and really concentrate on the original text, rather than the (admittedly excellent) film adaptation. I think The Penultimate Truth could make a fantastic RPG adaptation, but again, the developer would have to be very careful not to stray too far from the book's core, and lose the feeling of the novel. __________________ \|E8400 @ 4.4GHz\|WC: 2*120.1 GT's, MCP350, Storm G5\|4GB Dominators\|DFI LT X48-T2R\|8800GT\|74GB Raptor\|Chieftec BA01\|OCZ ModXStream 600W\|Dell 2208WFP\| The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The LOL!!1!!1!, The Zlad!, The Kempness, The Braaaaaains...

27th May 2008, 13:58	#4
crompers Dremedial Join Date: May 2008 Location: Leeds, UK Posts: 1,225	If ASD was done well it could be amazing. I quite enjoyed minority report on the gamecube, well enough to complete it anyways. Arcadey goodness. __________________ \| Q6600 G0 @ 3.21ghz \| ACF7P \| GA-P31-DS3L \| 4GB HyperX 857mhz \| XFX GTX280 655/1210 \| WD 160GB \| Maxtor 250GB \| Black Gigabyte Aurora \| OCZ GameXStream 700W \| HP LP2475w \| AE Aego M 2.1 \| Roccat Kone \| Saitek Eclipse \| Steam: psycrompton PSN: crompers85

27th May 2008, 14:07	#5
ChaosDefinesOrder Vapourmodder Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 366	How to make a Philip K Dick story into a game: don't finish it! Just when the conclusion to the game comes, end it there with no conclusion. Not even credits, just stop and chuck the disc out. That's how to get the true essence of a PKD story! Damn author never finished most of his stories! __________________ Current setup: Hiper Osiris \| Core i7 920 (Cooled by Noctua NH-U12P) \| Foxconn Renaissance \| 2x GTX280 \| Cooler Master UCP \| Corsair Dominator 3GB (soon to be 9GB) \| Creative X-Fi Titanium \| Vista Home Premium x64 \| OS Drive: WD Velociraptor 300GB. Storage: 1x 160GB, 1x 250GB, 1x 300GB, 1x500GB (incremental additions over the years! All Maxtor) \| Monitor: Dell 2709W

27th May 2008, 14:17	#6
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,974	I was playing a short freeware game called Mondo Agency the other day which really reminded me of Dick's work: http://64digits.com/users/cactus/MondoAgencyFixed.zip __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

27th May 2008, 13:16	#3
Agent_M Supermodder Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: bristol Posts: 442	blade runner was an amazing game, if alittle hard at certain points. still have my copy of it kicking around somewhere

27th May 2008, 14:46	#7
gm_crop Minimodder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Shropshire Posts: 34	I think you've hit the nail on the head there Krikkit (seems like we have similar reading tastes). The best PKD film conversions are the ones that have strayed quite away from the original material, i.e. turned them into action films with the background loosely based on the novels (something I don't mind as Dick was not exactly Wodehouse linguistically, nor a creator of Dickensian characters). Any game that takes on themes of ethics, nature of reality, drug abuse and God (god?) is monumentally ambitious and, I daresay, doomed to failure. I wish the developers all the best (they'll need it) but I'm just not sure games as a medium is capable of doing his work justice yet.

27th May 2008, 18:31	#9
Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,753	terible idea Philip K Dick's books that I have read have no moments of action they would only make good adventure games and those adventure games would not have a wide apeal. __________________ Sn45g game server mod My Electronics Site Hardware: 3400+ Sempr0n, 1GB RAM, 1.28TB local storage, x1950pro,Razer Viper,M$ comfort curve 2000,L70S + 17", Fujitsu 17" CRT Audio: HD-650's, PE congress amp, Sound Blaster AWE64, Soundblaster 24bit

27th May 2008, 19:53	#10
johnnyboy700 Hypermodder Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 787	I recall the Bladerunner game being damn good, I've still got my copy kicking about in a box somewhere I wonder if I can get it to run on XP. The graphics will be laughably crude by today's standards but the gameplay will more than make up for that. As for the rest of PKD's inventory, sheesh unless they make some drastic changes, they might have a problem or two on their hands. Didn't they make a game of Total Recall? I have a vague memory of this but considering how long ago they made the film then its likely to have been some dodgy sideways scrolling platform/shooter combo.

27th May 2008, 22:54	#11
Flibblebot Free from artificial flavourings Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Right here, right now Posts: 2,228	The problem with PKD's novels and short stories is that they rely for a large part on psychological plot devices - that is, the mind and the (possibly chemically-induced) malfunctioning thereof. After all, most PKD stories that have been made into films have been drastically altered before they reached the silver screen. Probably the closest to the original book was "A Scanner Darkly", but even that had vast tracts removed (particularly the bit where Substance D causes Fred to spy on Arctor, even though they're the same person - you just can't do that in film and keep a coherent story flowing). Now games do allow for more immersion that films simply because they're interactive, but I still don't see how you can portray the psychology of the story while keeping the game interesting. __________________ My uber-system: 66Mhz 486DX2, 8Mb RAM, 20Mb hard drive, 256 colour VGA adaptor (goes all the way up to 800x600!), keyboard AND serial mouse

28th May 2008, 16:27	#12
gm_crop Minimodder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Shropshire Posts: 34	I wonder how they'll distribute the game. CD? Digital download? DVD? LSD induced theophany? The mind boggles.