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Neil Gaiman Needs to Make More Games

Neil Gaiman Needs to Make More Games

Neil Gaiman’s Wayward Manor is still a missing-in-action adventure game, after missing its Fall 2013 release window. Which means gamers’ life still lacks a game either written or inspired by one of the finest fantasy authors around. Yet, we have to wonder, why is Wayward Manor only the first Gaiman game in existance? His master tales feel like they’d naturally adapt themselves to a more interactive medium, and I can’t help buy feel we deserve something more.

And before I get into this rambling pondering if what could or should have been, let me state for the record that Coraline does not count. I know that there are DS, PS2, and Wii versions of a game that ties into the 2009 animated movie based on Gaiman’s children’s book. However, it is a buggy, shoddy mess and does not stand.

I first started thinking about this after acquiring the Neverwhere miniseries on DVD. It’s an incredible tale of a man discovering that there’s more to the real world than what he sees around him. There isn’t just a London Above, there’s a London Below and, after aiding one of its residents, he gets drawn into that world. It simply cries out for an RPG adaptation.

For those who have also read the story or seen the original BBC adaptation, it fits perfectly into the tropes. The group’s characters nearly fit into the Five Man Band, with Richard as the Leader, the Marquis de Carabas as the Lancer, Door as the Chick, and Hunter as the Big Guy. There’s an epic quest across numerous locations in search of a treasured and legendary object. Not to mention, there’d be ample opportunity for sidequests or extra adventures in Harrods Floating Market. It would be a dream.

Though, it isn’t the only Gaiman work that would lend itself well to an RPG. When I think about Stardust , I can’t help but wonder how it would work as open world action, action rpg. Except, when I imagine such an adaptation, it isn’t a direct retelling of the story. Instead, it would be an original adventure, something similar to Skyrim , picking up after Stardust ends.

After all, the novel says that Tristran and Yvaine don’t immediately return to rule Stormhold. There are other adventures and further explorations of Faerie. Such a wide and diverse world would easily be as wide and varied as Skyrim, Morrowind or Cyrodiil. Perhaps such a game could have even included elements akin to Fable , where Tristran and Yvaine would build a reputation that would follow them throughout the world and influence the story’s end.

Neil Gaiman Needs to Make More Games

Yet, for all the imagining of prospective Gaiman-inspired games, one based on Sandman could be more inspired. The graphic novels are so beloved and tell such varied tales that any kind of game would be possible. It would be a joy to follow Dream in a Batman: Arkham Asylum -style adventure. Or maybe, there’s a mystery afoot and a deeper conflict that must be solved, and only a point-and-click adventure can help players guide Dream to a satisfactory resolution. Can you even imagine what an open-world Sandman game would be like, providing access to multiple locations not only on Earth, but in the Dreaming as well? Though farfetched, even a platform might work in the right hands. Though, let’s be honest, a well-executed Sandman game that included everything a fan deemed necessary is a pipe dream.

While none of these ideas will ever come to be, it’s probably for the best. When you know and love a book or graphic novel, you get idealized notions of what other media adaptions could or should look like. No matter what the final result would be, there’s no way every fan could be satisfied. I suppose, then, it’s for the best that Wayward Manor is on the way and is an original affair and maybe, if it does well, we’ll see a more serious video game affair from Gaiman. Still, it never hurts to dream.

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