The gaming to factual pipeline
The Big Wide #002
The gaming to film and drama pipeline is now in full flow - see The Last of Us, Halo and Gran Turismo. And there’s plenty of documentaries about the games industry itself. But the game to factual pipeline is seemingly dry.
So why would you want a factual spinoff of your hit game?
Fill the void: unscripted is cheaper than drama, and faster to make. High end drama spinoffs and mid to high end game production schedules are extremely long (five years, 1,000 people and 1,500 pages of script for Red Dead Redemption). This can leave long waits for fans between releases. Unscripted content is relatively fast to make, and could be used to fill the void for fans and keep them engaged.
Style: When games become factual programmes, there’s already a pre-made style guide. Games have spent years finessing their distinctive style, colour grade, graphics music and storytelling, all of which can be used in a real-world spinoff to infuse it with a sense of the original game. The voice actors that star in them are both little known to most, but also legendary, and could be used in any factual spinoff. As games fill up with AI characters with near-real personalities, perhaps there will even be a time when these characters could host a spinoff series themselves.
Unexplored topics: Most games are highly original. A documentary spinoff of a popular game could allow you to explore rabbit holes in science and mythology that no standalone doc would ever explore. Each game’s unique style could also make designing explainer graphics for complex topics easy - just use the structure and engine that has already been created for the game itself.
Funding: factual spinoffs lend themselves well to branded content. An example is Zwift Academy, a long running branded docuseries. It’s an extension of Zwift, which is a hybrid cycling/gaming platform like Peloton. In the long running YouTube series, amateur athletes compete in online cycling races for a chance to win a real world contract with a professional cycling team. Another is YouTuber Colin Furze’s collaboration with the game WarFrame, where he rebuilds items from the game in real life.
Simulator games: Flight Simulator, Farming Simulator, Train Simulator, Sim City - all recreate the real world as close as they possibly can, including real life brands, locations and even real time weather. These could be great candidates for factual spinoffs, with large audiences, brand engagement and classic factual content ready to go.
Why haven’t there been any spinoffs so far? Cost is one aspect, as the spinoff should match the ambition or at least the style of the original game. But gaming industry revenue equals global music and global film combined, and unscripted is cheap compared to drama - so the money is there.
The big players are already in the gaming space, translating unscripted content to online games. Netflix is betting big with 80 games released and 100 in development, including game versions of Love is Blind and Squid Game. Disney (with National Geographic IP under them) are in hot pursuit and recently announced a collaboration with Epic Games (makers of Fortnite) on a ‘games and entertainment universe’. Even classic documentary producer ARTE has a successful video game department.
Now may be the time to act. As video game companies become entertainment industry titans, it is only a matter of time before factual spinoffs start flowing.
But what would they look like? After pulling up a blank on our search, we decided to take matters into our own hands…
BRAIN DUMP ðŸ§
Here are eleven ideas, pulled from the Guardian’s games of the 21st century and elsewhere. We’ve included a brief idea of what the game is, and an idea for an unscripted spinoff - some more dystopian than others…
Minecraft
What is it: build your own world with virtual blocks.
What it could be: Lego Masters on an epic scale, where, tasked with massive blocks, they must complete challenges such as building a zoo or creating a working lighthouse. Think a new edition of James May’s Toy Stories.
The Last of Us
What is it: survival game during a fungus-fuelled zombie apocalypse.
What it could be: natural history / science series about the hidden world of fungus all around us and the threats it poses to humanity if no action is taken.
Tomb Raider and Uncharted
What are they: Indiana Jones reinvented for the world of games - adventure and archaeology.
What it could be: Simon Reeve, Expedition with Steve Backshall or Expedition Volcano style adventures in search of new discoveries (or little-travelled to locations). The danger and stakes would have to be high to make it feel authentic.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
What is it: classic simulator game, pilot any plane in any weather anywhere in the world.
What it could be: Branded adventure YouTube series exploring the aircraft, airports and challenges contained within the simulator.
Half Life
What is it: you vs an alien invasion triggered by a botched science experiment.
What it could be: one of the most famous elements of the game is the gravity gun. A team of scrapheap engineers in an apocalyptic setting set out to engineer existing inventions on Earth and recreate it. Can it be done? You’ll learn a ton about physics on the way…
Grand Theft Auto V
What is it: you are a criminal vs the entire LAPD.
What it could be: Epic, city spanning police obs-doc on a scale never seen before, with popping colours and set to the iconic Grand Theft Auto soundtrack.
Bioshock
What is it: battles in a forgotten, futuristic underwater city.
What it could be: On a bioshock-themed ship a team explores underwater cities across the globe, from both myth and reality.
Super Mario
What is it: brightly coloured bumper cars
What it could be: real world esports format where it has been recreated in real life and spiced up with cartoonish VFX. Who will be the Mario Kart champion? There’s a movie spinoff on its way. Maybe a competition could be next?
Red Dead Redemption
What is it: the last outlaws in the American West
What it could be: individual outlaw stories bought to life with high-end drama recon and experts, infused with Red Dead style, music and visuals. The old outlaws most famous exploits are recreated by skilled riders.
God of War
What is it: adventures of a warrior in Norse mythology.
What it could be: simple…an exploration of norse mythology with characterful storytellers. Raising Kratos, a two hour (!) documentary about the making of the game, touches on how mythology inspired the game around the 28 minute mark.
Tony Hawks Pro Skater
What is it: a high score skateboarding competition with a classic soundtrack.
What it could be: a skateboarding competition! Why has no one done this yet?
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