Stories that can only work in one medium

charloselsenor · Sep 16, 2018

For me the obvious example of a piece that can only be effictevely told in a particular type of media would have to be Mark Danielewski's "House of Leaves".

House of leaves is a very large book that focuses around the story of a Family whose house is bigger on the inside then the out. But it's also about a worker in a tattoo parlor who has been psychologically affected by the unedited version of the book itself. There are many meta layers to this story that wouldn't quite translate to a movie or song or video game. Further the book utilizes many differing page layouts to convey emotions, such as when the book has three words in total on a page to show the isolation of the character who edits the book. I could go on and on about how certain details of this book restricts it to the format or literature but I may exceed the character limit then.

What are some of your examples of this type of inherent format constriction stories themselves, and why?

Deleted member 24118 · Sep 16, 2018

I think Blood Meridian is my big one. I don't know how you could make a movie adaptation of that, and obviously games are plain out.

Beyond that I would say cosmic horror in general. I feel something is lost when it makes the jump from text to visual mediums. It's probably why I prefer Fallen London and Sunless Sea to Bloodborne and such.

CallMeShaft · Sep 16, 2018

Portal wouldn't work well as anything but a game.

Jombie · Sep 16, 2018

I would say Nier: Automata. Much of that story and what makes it special is about the small details; the relationship between games and players. That would get lost in a movie or manga / book.

Gamer @ Heart · Sep 16, 2018

Bioshock.

The twist relies on you blindly looking past typical video game conventions and playing on them ultimately.

It only works because your a silent protagonist who we can't hear the thoughts of meaning it wouldnt work in a book or movie. Only through action.

AndreGX · Sep 16, 2018

Cloverfield. And not just because of the "found footage" angle, but specifically how old footage that had been recorded over would seep through between cut in the action, acting almost as flashbacks in a way. Brilliant stuff.

Also, Metal Gear Solid 4's microwave tunnel.

TissueBox · Sep 16, 2018

Basically aything that relies heavily on interaction or unique meta-formats to develop a core aspect of itself tends to qualify..!!

House of Leaves is one of the most well-known and well-crafted exemplifications of this, being an ergodic work.

I guess Gadsby's story technically can work outside of literature, but that wouldn't really be the point anyway. o_o

Astral · Sep 16, 2018

Jombie said:
I would say Nier: Automata. Much of that story and what makes it special is about the small details; the relationship between games and players. That would get lost in a movie or manga / book.

This is what I was gonna say. Both Niers wouldn't work as anything but a game.

Deleted member 2226 · Sep 16, 2018

Gamer @ Heart said:
Bioshock.

The twist relies on you blindly looking past typical video game conventions and playing on them ultimately.

It only works because your a silent protagonist who we can't hear the thoughts of meaning it wouldnt work in a book or movie. Only through action.

I dunno, I think BioShock would be perfect for a film adaptation. It's got a linear story you can condense down and strong visuals there to be realized in a grander way. Even if you give Jack a personality, it doesn't really change the character much in terms of how he impacts the story.

I get your point about the Would You Kindly twist not having the impact it does in the game, but I don't think that's all the game has to offer for another medium.

In general I think most linear video games are a pretty easy translation to film as there's usually a lot of runtime that can be stripped out entirely without impacting the story. It's just a matter of reorienting the focus away from moment-to-moment activities.

With that said, though there have been many attempts, I'd say an unadaptable video game is Myst. While later entries have a plot you could turn into a film (I'd say that Riven would actually be an excellent movie) and the world has a ton of backstory, the game itself really only works through careful environmental observation and player choice, leaving aside the puzzles entirely.

Brakke · Sep 16, 2018

House of Leaves would mostly be fine as a movie. There's a lot of film techniques to communicate isolation and unease. It would be harder to send people into infinite footnote loops, but you can probably evoke deja vu by repeating framing or blocking or whatever.

Deleted member 17388 · Sep 16, 2018

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, the multiple endings stuff would be hard to adapt and the spoiler twist at the endgame on the original hardware.
I'd like to see someone try it like a Lola Run type of film though.

Soapbox Killer · Sep 16, 2018

I'm not sure if SAGA would work as anything but a comic.

I really hope that I am wrong.

Glasgow Mega-Snake · Sep 16, 2018

I wanted to say Spec Ops:The Line because in a similar way to Bioshock the impact depends on the player following genre conventions and just going in to shoot bad guys without a thought like in a mindless military shooter, just for the story to turn it all on its head

But of course the game is a reworking of the basic storyline of Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. So the same story concept exists in three different media, once set in the Kongo, once in Vietnam and once in Dubai, and neither Apocalypse Now or The Line are straight adaptations, it's pretty fascinating to compare them actually

So it really depends on what you consider essential to the story, and if you still think it's the same story

gforguava · Sep 16, 2018

I think everything is adaptable, the creators just have to, you know, adapt it. The quality of the adaptation is another issue.

There are certain moments I can think of that can't really translate directly though. For instance the last page of The Invisibles can only really work in comics because of its reliance on text and images and the text as part of the image, but someone could easily find a way to convey the same spirit with a different device.

There is also Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson which would be an unimaginably difficult task to bring to the screen without completely jettisoning so much of what makes it amazing.
Whether it is the weird concept of the main character having an odd internal conversation with a detective that happens concurrently with the current events of the story(and may be temporally set further along and yet still completely imaginary), the blending of the protagonist and the narrator, or the deep dives into the protagonist's thoughts, pure text is really the only way it could exist. One could take the story and make it into a film but it would be nothing but surface.

Chopchop · Sep 16, 2018

Undertale would only work as a game because of the way it plays on your actions.

The Zero Escape games only work as games because of their branching story paths and the way it plays on the player's ability to retain knowledge through multiple paths.

I feel like some novels that contain a lot of things that can only be seen by some people (like magic/astral plane stuff), or contain a lot of internal monologing would be hard to translate into other mediums.

R0b1n · Sep 16, 2018

Lovecraft

iliketopaint_93 · Sep 16, 2018

Maybe a movie like the Revenant since the complex and expressive cinematography, visual storytelling and hyperreal style are huge factors in why it's enjoyable to watch. It could POSSIBLY work as a miniseries but I've never seen anything on TV shot like that.

CallMeShaft said:
Portal wouldn't work well as anything but a game.

Gamer @ Heart said:
Bioshock.

The twist relies on you blindly looking past typical video game conventions and playing on them ultimately.

It only works because your a silent protagonist who we can't hear the thoughts of meaning it wouldnt work in a book or movie. Only through action.

That particular story, sure, but Rapture alone has so much storytelling potential that a movie or series could probably end up being very good.

Pantaghana · Sep 16, 2018

I can't imagine Master and Margarita working as anything other than a book.

Apparently Andrew Lloyd-Webber tried to make it into a stage play, but gave up because it was too difficult to make it work.

Quzar · Sep 16, 2018

Berserk, too many failed anime attempts to count.

bobbychalkers · Sep 16, 2018

Soapbox Killer Returns said:
I'm not sure if SAGA would work as anything but a comic.

I really hope that I am wrong.

I think its transferable, it would just be extremely expensive to do a show. It would get butchered as a movie.

Ramala · Sep 17, 2018

Device 6 on iOS. Probably Year Walk too. Or games like The Witness or Edith Finch.

FaceHugger · Sep 17, 2018

I really don't see Infinite Jest existing outside of a gigantic novel written in mid 1990's America. Good fucking luck adapting everything that book was.

Mauricio_Magus · Sep 17, 2018

Mother 3
Majora's Mask
999
Nier
Nier Automata

Kasai · Sep 17, 2018

I love House of Leaves as a concept. Its simply amazing, and I even tried reading the book, but I busy that week and there was so many hoops to jump through for the library to get it, it had to be in by a specific day.

I want so badly to get a red copy, but those are very expensive.

azeke · Sep 17, 2018

I generally dislike that too many examples of "something that only be done in that particular medium" only do it to achieve cheapo tweeeeeeeeist at the end.

However "Smack My Bitch Up" by Prodigy does it well.

Flipyap · Sep 17, 2018

fuchsdh said:
I dunno, I think BioShock would be perfect for a film adaptation. It's got a linear story you can condense down and strong visuals there to be realized in a grander way. Even if you give Jack a personality, it doesn't really change the character much in terms of how he impacts the story.

I get your point about the Would You Kindly twist not having the impact it does in the game, but I don't think that's all the game has to offer for another medium.

Giving Jack a personality would require a total rewrite of his story.

Assuming that we're talking about a personality that doesn't instantly spoil the twist of him being a four year old child in the body of a grown-ass man who was brainwashed into thinking that he's just another chain-smoking tough guy.
Magically injecting him with complete mental development would be a cheap cheat and actually aging him up would ripple throughout the rest of the story, altering how other characters view him and changing his place in the world (not to mention making a mess of the Rapture timeline).

How we interact with Rapture's weirdness from the very start of the game (injecting ourselves with gene-altering drugs without a second thought) and how that feeds into the story relies on the way in which we take rules of game worlds for granted.

While you could adapt that directly into a movie, the combo of the video game medium, a silent protagonist and the first person perspective is what prevents it from looking absolutely idiotic.

IchigoSharingan · Sep 17, 2018

Casting couch

Malverde · Sep 17, 2018

R0b1n said:
Lovecraft

Counter-point:

StaffyManasse · Sep 17, 2018

I think SOMA is brilliant because it's a first person video game.

You could tell the same story on a different medium, but the first person perspective and the interactivity really elevates it.

Navidson REC · Sep 17, 2018

charloselsenor said:
For me the obvious example of a piece that can only be effictevely told in a particular type of media would have to be Mark Danielewski's "House of Leaves".

House of leaves is a very large book that focuses around the story of a Family whose house is bigger on the inside then the out. But it's also about a worker in a tattoo parlor who has been psychologically affected by the unedited version of the book itself. There are many meta layers to this story that wouldn't quite translate to a movie or song or video game. Further the book utilizes many differing page layouts to convey emotions, such as when the book has three words in total on a page to show the isolation of the character who edits the book. I could go on and on about how certain details of this book restricts it to the format or literature but I may exceed the character limit then.

What are some of your examples of this type of inherent format constriction stories themselves, and why?

Agreed.

Although I would like to see a good adaptation of the Navidson Record.

Firaga · Sep 17, 2018

Tetris.

StaffyManasse · Sep 17, 2018

azeke said:
However "Smack My Bitch Up" by Prodigy does it well.

Could you elaborate on this? I'm familiar with the song (haven't heard it in ages though), but I can't catch what you mean in relation to the topic?

azeke · Sep 17, 2018

StaffyManasse said:
Could you elaborate on this? I'm familiar with the song (haven't heard it in ages though), but I can't catch what you mean in relation to the topic?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smack_My_Bitch_Up#Music_video

ISOM · Sep 17, 2018

Banzai · Sep 17, 2018

This might just be me, but I feel like Horror works only in games. It's the interactivity that scares the crap out of me. Movies just don't do anything, but maybe I've watched the wrong horror movies.

StaffyManasse · Sep 17, 2018

azeke said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smack_My_Bitch_Up#Music_video

Oh I see, thanks!

Have never seen the video I realise and based on that I'm not going to be fixing that while at work lol!

DanSensei · Sep 17, 2018

It's possible to stretch the limits of a medium. Until 2008, anything like the MCU could only have been done on TV. Before that point, we usually got an origin story for the hero, fights one of the more well known bad guys, then if we're lucky a sequel where thy Branch out a little.

The closest we had were the Superman and Batman animated series, but for this reason the MCU impresses me to this day.

stillwrapped · Sep 17, 2018

Dark Souls

spookyghost · Sep 17, 2018

Watchmen.

Bradford · Sep 17, 2018

Book of the New Sun effectively only works in textual form for various narrative reasons. Of course, the first book in the series was adapted loosely into a comic and it wasn't very good. I don't want to go more in depth due to massive spoilers, but yeah.

That being said I still dream of a TV or Game adaptation of it.

Cocolina · Sep 17, 2018

The Birds Nest by Shirley Jackson. Impossible to film without it seeming like overly cheesy and obvious but as it stands it's a very effective horror novel.

TwoDelay · Sep 17, 2018

spookyghost said:
Watchmen.

Zelenogorsk · Sep 17, 2018

R0b1n said:
Lovecraft

This is my answer. I don't think you could take something like the last paragraph of "Nyarlathotep" and transpose it to any other storytelling medium.

Deleted member 40797 · Sep 17, 2018

The problem with examples like Dark Souls is that the story (i.e., narrative) can almost certainly be told in other mediums, but the experience cannot be replicated.

Protome · Sep 17, 2018

Radiance by Catherynne M Valente would be absurdly difficult to make work in any other medium.

It's a book set in an alternate time where space travel was invented in the early 1900s and humans colonised the solar system. The rise of Hollywood happened on the moon instead and Art Deco is still very much the go to aesthetic.

But what makes it only work as a book is the structure. Radiance is primarily about the disappearance of a documentary film maker who travelled to Venus to document the disappearance of a colony there. However, it is told after the fact and switches perspectives wildly from events that happened, an in-world fictional version of said events through a film her parents are making about her disappearance, some parts are written as a script others as regular prose and others as other in-world narrative conveyances (letters, messages, etc)

I just don't see how you could pull it off outside of a book.

Rotkehle · Sep 17, 2018

Protome said:
Radiance by Catherynne M Valente would be absurdly difficult to make work in any other medium.

It's a book set in an alternate time where space travel was invented in the early 1900s and humans colonised the solar system. The rise of Hollywood happened on the moon instead and Art Deco is still very much the go to aesthetic.

But what makes it only work as a book is the structure. Radiance is primarily about the disappearance of a documentary film maker who travelled to Venus to document the disappearance of a colony there. However, it is told after the fact and switches perspectives wildly from events that happened, an in-world fictional version of said events through a film her parents are making about her disappearance, some parts are written as a script others as regular prose and others as other in-world narrative conveyances (letters, messages, etc)

I just don't see how you could pull it off outside of a book.

That sounds like an awesome book!

Durger · Sep 17, 2018

Any TV show

Edit: actually they could be could novels or vice versa.

WGMBY · Sep 17, 2018

There was a Will Ferrel movie a few years back called Stranger Than Fiction, which I think would be very difficult to make into a book, since it centers around a man who discovers he's the main character in a book. A lot of the humor and drama comes from him yelling at an omniscient voice from the sky, which is the text of the book as it is being written.

stillwrapped · Sep 17, 2018

quickly said:
The problem with examples like Dark Souls is that the story (i.e., narrative) can almost certainly be told in other mediums, but the experience cannot be replicated.

I guess that's what I meant yea. Maybe not a good example for the OP

Jack Remington · Sep 17, 2018

Quzar said:
Berserk, too many failed anime attempts to count.

The original anime series that covered the Golden Age arc was great.

It just needs an actual budget, and a large number of episodes for pacing purposes.

Stories that can only work in one medium

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