That has always been the case. Gaming was a direct setting to movie and TV. They had a lot of similarities. And whilst we remember the first time we activated Tomb Raider on the Playstation, there was no surprise that a movie became a fact less than 5 years later and it came starring the sequence on ‘hotness’ of the 90s Angelina Jolie. Yet it wasn’t all sweet gaming. That same year gave us Resident Evil where in almost the same time span Milla Jovovich got to wield her killing skills. Gaming and media are connected in many ways. I was realising this whilst I was making a list of the games whilst I was rewatching season 1 of Fallout. So whilst we see the upcoming God of War an d Death Stranding. We wonder where it could go. I don’t think anyone realized the amazing hit Five nights at Freddie’s became, or where the sequel took us and now there is a third movie in design. The larger part is what media designers had to content with because these games all had a massive lore behind it to make the game as versatile as possible. As such Bethesda had the largest goldmine to prosper from, but they were not alone. Fallout became a huge success, in part due to the cast, in part to the storylines they evolved. But they were not alone. I always wondered why no one engaged with Richard Garriott on his Ultimate series. It predates elder scrolls by at least a decade and the lore that Ultima 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and X held, together with the Ultimate Underworld series. It could make for some fabulous seasons. The setting that Ultima 4 introduced makes for a larger setting towards episodes. Especially as the 8 characters (7 plus your character) gets to set a trail of episodes. Love, Justice, Courage, Honor, Honesty, Sacrifice, Spirituality and Humility. So as the series digs into those, whilst taking out some badasses and monsters. There is a simple setting that could evolve over time using the right scriptwriters, whilst staying true to the original sentiment of Ultima. So whilst we look at what comes next, we need to consider what was done before and done with almost spectacular precision. Zo whilst now we see Fallout season 2, with the Tyrannosaurus rex which we saw in Fallout: New Vegas. We forget all the things Fallout introduced us to in Fallout 3, it was more than the Brotherhood. There is a setting that could be transferred in Ultima. There we had mantra’s and stones. What if you start with one stone Perhaps Blue (Honesty) which would allow you into two directions Green (Justice) or Purple (Honor) it is one way to shape a story and it could be a larger way to shape any series, whilst the entries of a game are open to the settings. The limitations of the story could direct any setting in another way and whilst we draw out the map. Which was done really well by Richard Garriott. The intent could be shaped by the writers where the story evolves. And I have always be a true believer in the slogan of FX ‘The story is everything’ and Ultima has a larger setting than nearly anyone else (Bethesda being the obvious exception), but as I see it, these production houses have their hands full and as such there are options in several directions and as I see it, the Ultimate series is a predictive first.
Have a great day today and if you have your own series consider how that series is transformed into an almost award winning series.
