Some video games, likeThe Witcherseries, are directly based on books, but others, likeAssassin’s Creed,are a bit more subtle about their literary inspirations. These games may lift names, themes, or concepts from a book, but not be directly based on them. While none are direct adaptations, it is still easy to see how the source material influenced these games once you know.
This doesn’t just happen with books;some video games have also been inspired by movies or TV showswithout directly adapting them. For instance, games likeMax PayneandThe Legend of Zelda:Link’s Awakeningwereinspired byTwin Peaks. That said, I tried to avoid touching on games likeAlan Wake, which wear their literary inspirations more plainly on their sleeves.
10STALKER Was Inspired By Roadside Picnic
The Zone And Stalkers Come From The Novel
Although you may already know that theSTALKERgames were inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s filmStalker, you may not know that they wereboth based on the bookRoadside Picnicby Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.Roadside Picnicis set in a world where extraterrestrial beings visit six different areas on Earth where strange things occur and alien artifacts can be found. Scavengers who explore these “Visitation Zones,” like the book’s protagonist Redrick, are known as stalkers.
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STALKERchanges a few things aboutRoadside Picnic’s set up, like there only beingone Zone in Chernobyl, as opposed to there being six across the world. The overall story is also relatively different fromRoadside Picnic’s main plot. However, this is probably one of the games on this list thatcomes closest to recreating the experience of reading the original textthat it was inspired by, even ifSTALKERisn’t a direct adaptation.
9Devil May Cry Was Inspired By The Divine Comedy
Devil May Cry’s Characters Are Named For Divine Comedy Figures
Devil May Crystarted its life as a spin-off of theResident Evilseries, but it’s clear from the character’s names thatit also took some inspiration from Dante Alighieri’s poem,The Divine Comedy. Dante himself is the main character of the poem, and it follows him as he is guided through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, with the aid of the poet Virgil, a woman Dante had met named Beatrice, and Saint Bernard, respectively. These figures, as well as the poem’s partial focus on Hell, both lend some inspiration to theDevil May Crygames.
Dante isDevil May Cry’s protagonist, and his brother Vergil starts the series having spent some time trapped in the demon realm,not unlike how the poem’s Virgil is in Hell while Dante is still alive. It may also be thatDMC’s Vergil being more cold and inhuman is a reference to how Virgil in the poem often encourages Dante not to feel sympathy for the people suffering in Hell. However, in the poem this is seen as Virgil being correct, whereas he is typically an antagonist in the games.
Dante’s partnerTrish gets her name from Beatrice ofThe Divine Comedy. Trish is read by some as a potential love interest for Dante in the first game, which could reflect the real Dante’s love for Beatrice. This is a little messy, since Trish also looks exactly like Dante’s mom, but Oedipus is also mentioned inThe Divine Comedy, so hey, maybe it’s another reference. Additionally,Devil May Cry’s Lady, whose real name is Mary, is named after the Virgin Mary, who Saint Bernard was particularly devoted to. Mary is also called the Madonna, which means lady.
8Spec Ops: The Line Was Inspired By Heart Of Darkness
Spec Ops: The Line Took Themes From Heart Of Darkness
Spec Ops: The Lineis famous for its attempt to subvert video game tropes and get players to question how they view war as entertainment through the lens of games like it. Because its cultural critique seems so centered on video games, it might be surprising to learn that the game was inspired by a novella written before video games even existed. According to an interview byDigital Spywith lead game designer, Cory Davis,the game was partially inspired byHeart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad.
Heart of Darkness' theme that so-called “civilized” men are capable of committing terrible acts works well withSpec Ops: The Line’s commentaryon the horrors of war that soldiers are often ordered to carry out. WhileHeart of Darknesslargely existed to criticize imperialism in Africa, its message has (sadly) continued to be relevant in the 126 years since it was written. The novella also inspiredApocalypse Now, which adapted its story to criticize the Vietnam War, similar to howSpec Ops: The Linetook inspiration from it to critique America’s use of white phosphorus in the Middle East.
7BioShock Was Inspired By Atlas Shrugged
BioShock Used Rapture To Criticize Ayn Rand’s Philosophy
Although many of the games on this list seem to have some level of admiration for the work that inspired them, inspiration doesn’t always have to be positive.BioShockwas inspired by the works of Ayn Rand in the same way that smelling rotten eggs might inspire you to puke. The game’s developers took Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, as detailed in her bookAtlas Shrugged, and used them as the inspiration behind Rapture. The game’s antagonist, Andrew Ryan, is also inspired by Ayn Rand, and seemingly named after her.
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AlthoughBioShock’s developers seemed coy about directly addressing their criticisms of Rand’s philosophy in interviews that I found, it’s pretty clear through the game’s depiction of Rapture that Objectivism is not being held up as a good basis for a society.Rapture, which was founded on similar principals to Galt’s Gulch fromAtlas Shrugged, is collapsing both literally and as a community. It is far from the utopia Rand imagined in her novel, and it’s made clear that following her philosophy of selfishness over altruism is partially responsible for it getting that way.
6Assassin’s Creed Was Inspired By Alamut
Alamut Is Focused On The Same Historical Group Of Assassins
TheAssassin’s Creedseriesis well known for taking some inspiration from history and real-life mythology. However,the first game in the series was also inspired by the novelAlamut, by Vladimir Bartol. It can be a little hard to say what exactlyAssassin’s Creedtook from history, and what it took from Bartol’s novel, as they both took inspiration from the historical Order of Assassins, AKA the Hashshashin. That said, there are some clear indications thatAssassin’s Creedwas drawing at least some of its ideas from Bartol’s novel.
Perhaps the clearest indication thatAlamutinspiredAssassin’s Creedis through the Assassin’s motto, “nothing is true; everything is permitted.“This saying originally appeared inAlamut, though translated slightly differently as “Nothing is an absolute reality; all is permitted.” As this saying seems to be an invention of Bartol’s novel and not a real Hashshashin saying,Assassin’s Creed’s depiction of the Assassins is at least partially inspired byAlamut.
5Far Cry 2 Was Inspired By Red Harvest
Far Cry 2 Took Ideas From Multiple Novels
Far Cry 2tackles the idea that people, when pushed to go too far, can eventually commit heinous acts of violence. If that sounds like a familiar theme, it’s because the game was partially inspired byHeart of Darkness, just likeSpec Ops: The Line. However, I was interested to learn thatthe game was also inspired by the novelRed Harvestby Dashiell Hammett. According toGameSpot,Red HarvestgaveFar Cry 2’s developers the idea of a story where a lone person enters a place that is in conflict and takes out both sides of the fight.
TheFar Cryseries in general is no stranger to literary influence.The first game in the series was inspired byThe Island of Doctor Moreauby H. G. Wells, which is where the game’s plot about genetic engineering comes from. As someone with only a passing familiarity with the series, I was a little surprised to learn that it had taken inspiration from several literary classics, though I’m not sure if it will be enough to convince me to give open-world Ubisoft games another chance.
4Dynasty Warriors Was Inspired By Romance Of The Three Kingdoms
Dynasty Warriors' First Characters Were Figures From History And The Book
You may be surprised to see not one, but two hack-and-slash series of games on this list, butDynasty Warriorsdidn’t start out as a pure action game. The series was actually a spin-off of the turn-basedRomance of the Three Kingdomsgames.Those games were actually inspired by a historical fiction novel of the same name attributed to Chinese author Luo Guanzhong. The novel tells the story of feudal lords during China’s Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han dynasty.
The firstDynasty Warriorsgame also didn’t follow the hack-and-slash style of the newer games, and was actually a one-on-one fighting game.Fighters in the game are mostly made up of historical figures from the Three Kingdoms period. While these are real historical figures as well, the game’s connection to theRomance of the Three Kingdomsgame series would lead me to believe thatDynasty Warriorstook inspiration from the same historical fiction interpretation of the characters.
3Black Myth: Wukong Was Inspired By Journey To The West
The Destined One And His Weapon Are Based On Sun Wukong
The Soulslike gameBlack Myth: Wukongmade quite a splash last year, and was a major step forward for the Chinese video game industry, becoming the country’s most successful single-player game, according toReuters.The game was inspired by the 16th century Chinese novelJourney to the Westand its character Sun Wukong. LikeBlack Myth: Wukong’s Destined One, Sun Wukong is a monkey warrior who wields a magical staff.
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The game’s staff also takes inspiration fromJourney to the West, as it is similar to Sun Wukong’s magical staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang. Like the staff inBlack Myth: Wukong, Ruyi Jingu Bang can change its size in accordance to its owner’s wishes. WhileBlack Myth: Wukonglifts many elements from the original novel, it isn’t exactly a one-to-one adaptation, though the game doesn’t attempt to hide that it was heavily inspired by the novel.
2Fallout Was Inspired By A Boy And His Dog
Fallout Is An Amalgamation Of Post Apocalyptic Fiction
TheFalloutseriescan claim several inspirations, including developer Interplay Productions' previous post-apocalyptic RPG,Wasteland. However,the novellaA Boy and His Dogby Harlan Ellison deserves a lot of credit. Similar toFallout, it takes place in a post-apocalyptic future brought on by a nuclear war, and even features underground nuclear vaults that helped people survive the initial war.
WhileFallouttakes some direction fromA Boy and His Dog,it also has a lot of other inspirations, including films likeMad Max, according toPolygon. Newer games in the series have also clearly taken some inspiration from the works of H. P. Lovecraft, as seen with the Dunwich building inFallout 3, named for Lovecraft’s storyThe Dunwich Horror. Drawing from such a wide range of inspirations is likely what helpsFalloutfeel like such a distinct property, despite drawing from so many existing sources.
1EarthBound Was Inspired By The Talisman
EarthBound’s Predecessor Mother Was Inspired By A Novel
Even if you’ve never playedEarthBound, you’re probably familiar with its protagonist, Ness, from theSuper Smash Bros.series.EarthBoundwas the sequel to the gameMother, which was only released in Japan. According to an interview withDa Vinci,Mother’s game director, Shigesato Itoi, creditsThe Talismanby Stephen King and Peter Straub as inspiring the first game. In the interview, Itoi mentionsThe Talisman’s sense of sadness as a major source of inspiration forMother, and says he was also inspired by the way King and Straub collaborated to finish the novel.
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Interestingly enough, apart from the character Wolf, Itoi doesn’t reference many direct plot elements fromThe Talismanthat ended up inspiringMother. This shows that inspiration doesn’t have to be as one-to-one asAssassin’s Creedlifting the Hashshashin slogan fromAlamut. Instead, a feeling or idea born out of reading a book is enough to inspire a new creative work.
