So you just heard about the Shadow of the Colossus movie. You probably cringed just a bit or perhaps you were angry that something like this is happening. But you just accepted it as another example of why game-to-movies are a bad idea. You should feel much more than that, you should be OUTRAGED! "Why?, This is just how the movie industry treats us, hopefully it will change one day but we should just bare it for now" Bullshit! Utter Bullshit, this is something that should affect us deeply as not just gamers but as people who are games enthusiasts. To further my point let me point out some ideas of why this is such a terrible idea.

A colossus movie could never be justified on the screen

We all know the drill no matter how hard Hollywood tries they can never truly capture the experiences you feel when gaming into a movie. Shadow of the Colossus does something when you play it, it makes you feel alone. It puts you in a vast wasteland with nothing but a sword to take beasts that are striking and can be a times terrifying. It transposes you into the shoes of the wander. You arn't just watching him with nothing but a sword and horse attempt to do the impossible, you are the one that is attempting the daunting task. The movie will have you sit in a theater with a hundred or more people watch some actor go through a wasteland alone. You'll probably get some annoying prick behind you will yell at the screen how boring it is. That man is only there because he say a "bitchin" trailer or poster and expected some kinda Hercules versus Godzilla epic. In fact it sounds like minor character are getting a bigger role so that prick doesn't get bored. Even in the comfort of your own home, in complete solitude you could never come close to the same experiences. You can't stop and notice the scenery or get a feel how epic the scale truly is. No matter how many pan shots or fly overs they do, it will feel artifical and you won't feel like your a part of the world.

The person wants to make the movie and has played the game

Lets not focus on the fact that Mr. Mark's last film "Street Fighter: The legend of Chun-Li" was utter shit. That's a given, we all know that. I would instead like to focus on the problem I see here, Justin Mark has played this game. I know he would not be stupid enough to write a script if he never even played it. His friend Ben Fritz also played the game and even talked about how emotional the game is and how it is a big argument for the games as art movement. HOW? How in the fuck then after playing this game and after feeling those emotions did he arrive at the conclusion that this should be a film. At what point in his journey through this game did he think "Damn, that take down was nice but you know, this could be so much better if I wasn't controlling anything and it just sat there and played itself". It's utterly mind blowing to me. It's about the same as somebody seeing the Mona Lisa and thinking "Man, I would love to describe that in a book!" NO,NO,NO,NO,NO! Why? How can you take one story that is beautifully expressed in one medium and slap it on another, what compels someone to think that!

It's plagiarism

We all now what plagiarism is don't we? Taking somebodies idea and claiming them as your own. But this is an adaptation that's different than plagiarism. Oh really? I'm fine when you complement something by making a prequel or side story. That's much better for me personally (though either would be hurtful to Colossus by way of adding unnecessary story to the game). When they expect audiences to feel close to what the game made its players felt, it is plagiarism. Taking the ideas from the game and lying about them. Making them seem like they could be enjoyable and entertaining just as much in the context of a film as a game. But wouldn't that make licensed games just as much plagiarism? I say yes. If to interrupt a film and make it work in a game then yes. Are Movies to games ever good honestly. Sure we have spiderman 2 but that included a ton of crap that was extra. It followed the movie at times but did it honestly expect you to control the game as the scenes verbatim? You fought the same battle sure, but not in the exact same way.

It sets the idea of games as an artistic medium back a couple of years

This is my last point for now, We as gamers generally would want games to be recognized as art. Sure not all of us cry out for the respect but having it wouldn't hurt. We triumph the Braids, Passages, Mother 3s and Colossus's as a testament to video gaming. As an example to of what video games are truly capable of. Intelligent and deeply moving pieces of art that can have profound effect on people if not more so than other mediums. By having this movie take one of the games and turn it into something else is stating that "That was a pretty good story but lets legitimize it by making a film". It doesn't need to be legitimized. The point of making that argument that games are art is that games are possible of standing on their own artistic merits. I'm gonna make the assumption that this movie will be terrible, a little far-fetched but hear me out, what is that gonna saw to the people who don't play games. When people see that terrible movie they are gonna group the game in with the movie. I know that this movie doesn't change the fact that I can still go play the game it would be stupid to say this movie will actually hurt the game. It would be great if this movie bombed and we could point that games are a serious medium because they can't be translated to other mediums. But that doesn't change the fact that this game was meant to be art, it was meant to be a story told only by games. It doesn't hurt the game to make the movie but perhaps even worse it doesn't benefit it in any single way.

Their are other points I could make but for now I will leave at that. I wrote this without letting the news settle so there's still a lot of outrage in their do to just finding out. I'm also sorry if my points or arguments didn't flow because I didn't exactly plan this out. For now I'm hoping that we as gamers can make some attempt to stop this from happening. Rather through a petition or emails or even better make the greatest counter argument we can and then send it to the directors, the writers and the people trying to get this made.