‘SAGA’ Creator Talks Potential Game Adaptation

Thanks to the work of developer Telltale Games, the worlds of graphic novels and video games are closer than they’ve ever been. Games like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us have proven that the vibrant and oftentimes morally complex tone of a graphic novel can be successfully transitioned into an interactive experience.

Telltale’s work has seemingly opened the door for new opportunities in graphic novel adaptations as well, with many creators now considering the idea of skipping film and moving right to video games. For example, writer Brian K. Vaughan thinks that his critically acclaimed comic series Saga would work best as a video game.

While speaking with The Verge, Vaughan was asked about the possibility of adapting any of his works to film in the future and he sees those adaptations going. As some know, Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man has made several attempts at transitioning to the big screen, but so far those efforts have returned no results. And there’s no doubt Saga will make its way through the same obstacles, but if Vaughan has his way perhaps the property might come to life through a different medium.

“As a player, I love it. As a creator, I find it extremely challenging — that idea of giving the audience so much control over the story. I like to be much more dictatorial, and to take you on this path. So I admire games tremendously, and I would have no idea how to go about creating one. And that’s actually something that has come up. A Saga video game, particularly if it’s sort of about characters other than the main characters in our story, is really exciting to me — even more exciting than a film or TV show. So, uh, never say never.”

As far as what genre or approach this proposed Saga game might take, Vaughan has some ideas but this is all just hypothetical at this point. The writer does say that he’s a fan of Telltale Games’ approach to their comic book adaptations, and could see a Saga game exploring a similar route. By that, he suggests that a game that follows characters outside of the main protagonists could be an interesting concept, and we would agree.

“I love those Telltale games that I’ve seen. It’s very clever. I like that it’s based on making moral decisions, it’s not just a button-masher kind of game.”

For those who might be familiar with Saga, the graphic novel puts its own spin on a Rome0 and Juliet story by casting its star-crossed lovers as members of two warring races. Their paths cross, they fall in love, and then flee from their respective armies, as well as a few other unseemly individuals. Things get more complex from there, but we’d rather not give it away. Instead, we’d recommend readers give the first issue a try and see if it grabs them.

Fans of Saga will know that Vaughan’s world is a rich one, filled with a lot of potential. The warring races platform could breed dozens of different stories, many of which wouldn’t need to tie back into Alana and Marko’s journey. There’s also a really intriguing sub plot involving high paying assassins that could be really cool to see explored.

But for now a Saga game is just an idea. Whether or not it actually makes the jump from page to screen (any type of screen) is still up in the air. And although Telltale might be a good fit, they are plenty busy with projects like Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands, as well as their recurring series The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead. They also just announced a new Minecraft game, just in case their plate wasn’t already full enough. In other words, Vaughan may catch Telltale’s interest, but there’s still a lot of logistical work to be done.

Would you like to see Saga turned into a video game? Who do you think should develop the game and what genre should it be?

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Source: The Verge

Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina

‘SAGA’ Creator Talks Potential Game Adaptation