I-Play
creates ‘hidden object’ games (though you might know them from their #1 best-selling racing franchise, Fast and Furious) based on novels from mega-selling authors –Nora Roberts, James Patterson, and Agatha Christie, to name a few. Recently, their company branched out into the classic novel sphere using The Great Gatsby as their premiere and creative director Cara Ely answered some of our questions about the game.
How true to the novel do you stay when turning it into an interactive game?
As true as possible, though that might mean capturing the essence of the story, not recreating it word for word. Part of doing it successfully is acknowledging the constraints. Fitzgerald’s language is amazing, but we couldn’t use it all – people want to play a game, not read it. Luckily, the novel is full of strong visuals – Gatsby’s mansion, the Eckleburg billboard – so we were able to capture many things visually, rather than through text. His characters are so richly drawn, complex and conflicted, and we wanted to get that across as well. There is certainly a subtlety that one can convey with words that is much harder to get across in a game.
Do you feel the need to modernize the content or remove (or add) any violence?
There is a controversial scene in the book where Tom Buchanan hits his mistress and breaks her nose. It’s highly unsettling and if you didn’t know Tom was unpleasant before, that act of violence erases any doubt. In my first draft of the design, I didn’t include that scene, but it nagged at me. I didn’t want to water down the story. Ultimately, I decided that the scene was an important look at who Tom was and the portrait that Fitzgerald was trying to create, so I added it to the game. As to modernizing it, I never considered it. I wanted to work with this property because it is an American classic that encapsulates a pivotal time in our history. Modernizing that would miss the whole point.
You’ve taken other novels and turned them into interactive games. Why shift your focus to classic novels?
I have always been a huge reader and, while mainstream fiction is certainly entertaining, I thought we were ignoring a goldmine of material if we didn’t consider the classics as well. I proposed the idea a few years ago, but it took some time to decide on which stories would be the best fit, and which should be the first out of the gate.
Whose idea was it to use Gatsby?
It was mine. I was reading an article about Fitzgerald last year, and something immediately clicked. I honestly couldn’t believe it wasn’t already being made into a game (though after working on it I can see why people might have hesitated!). Even though it had been years since I’d read the novel, I could immediately picture the pivotal scenes in my head – Gatsby on the dock, the parties, the Plaza Hotel – honestly, I was chomping at the bit from the get-go.
What do you think the novels have to offer to the gaming world?
Novels such as Gatsby offer a depth of experience that is often missing from stories written specifically for games. Even though we had to pare down the novel for the game, the full story is still the foundation; it bleeds through in all kinds of subtle ways. Novels provide a game with many of the same things they give the reader: great stories, detailed settings, and compelling, richly-drawn characters. Presenting these elements within a game offers players the ability to go beyond the written word and actually live inside the story as they play.
Do you believe that by bringing classic novels to the gaming platform you will encourage your players to read?
It’s hard to say, but I certainly hope so. I do think that, if people were perhaps intimidated by a book like The Great Gatsby, because they were either forced to read it or because it looms so large in American literature, the game will give them a more accessible way to experience the story. The game is just a taste of the novel, after all; if people like the prose and the themes, perhaps they will be inspired to at least pick up the book. We’re also reaching out to encourage kids to read; during August, I-play is donating one dollar for every purchase of our book-turned-game properties (Gatsby, Agatha Christie, Nora Roberts, James Patterson) to the Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program. I am personally a voracious reader, and it thrills me to think that the game might encourage people to re-read the novel, or discover it for the first time.
The game is a completely different way to experience the story and the characters. If you liked the book, chances are you’ll like the game, but if you’ve never read the novel, the game still offers a complete and compelling experience.
What does your company hope to accomplish by turning books into games?
Well honestly, first and foremost we are a business; what we really hope to accomplish is to surprise and delight our customers and sell loads of games. As a designer, nothing makes me happier than providing a rich experience that is interesting, rewarding, and a lot of fun to play. With respect to Classic Adventures: The Great Gatsby, if we can also expose players to some amazing works of literature, then all the better.
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