novel adaptations
Trying to avoid more indirect adaptations, i.e. ones based on a movie/tv adaptation rather than the book itself, ones based loosely around a famous character rather than a specific story, ones that are just a sequel to a previous video game adaptation (unless they're based on a particular sequel novel). I'll fudge those rules where I feel like it though.
198 Games
Tai-Pan (James Clavell, 1966)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Dragonflight and sequels (Anne McCaffrey, 1968-1979)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams, 1979)
Congo (Michael Crichton, 1980)
Below the Root (Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1975)
Dragonworld (Byron Preiss & Michael Reaves, 1979)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury, 1953)
Fire on the Water (Joe Dever & Gary Chalk, 1984)
Flight from the Dark (Joe Dever & Gary Chalk, 1984)
Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke, 1973)
The Robots of Dawn (Isaac Asimov, 1983)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
The Swiss Family Robinson (Johann David Wyss, 1812)
The Saga of Erik the Viking (Terry Jones, 1983)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1900) & The Marvelous Land of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1904)
The Rats (James Herbert, 1974)
The Fourth Protocol (Frederick Forsyth, 1984)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
The Stand (Stephen King, 1978)
Damiano trilogy (R.A. MacAvoy, 1983-1984)
Nine Princes in Amber (Roger Zelazny, 1970)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Seas of Blood (Andrew Chapman, 1985)
The Mist (Stephen King, 1980)
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (Sue Townsend, 1982)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
Dracula (Bram Stoker, 1897)
Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975)
The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954)
Murder off Miami (Dennis Wheatley, 1936)
Rebel Planet (Robin Waterfield, 1985)
Tarzan the Untamed (Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1920)
The Colour of Magic (Terry Pratchett, 1983)
The Scoop (The Detection Club, 1930)
The Way of the Tiger series (Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson, 1985-1987)
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (Sue Townsend, 1984)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
Falcon: The Renegade Lord (Mark Smith, 1985)
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (Mary Shelley, 1818)
How to Be a Complete Bastard (Adrian Edmondson, Mark Leigh & Mike Lepine, 1986)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco, 1980)
The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954)
Tai-Pan (James Clavell, 1966)
Temple of Terror (Ian Livingstone, 1985)
The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy, 1984)
The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas, 1844)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (Jules Verne, 1870)
Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975)
Le Morte d'Arthur (Thomas Malory, 1485)
Neuromancer (William Gibson, 1984)
Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy & Larry Bond, 1986)
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden [aka The Eight Dog Chronicles] (Kyokutei Bakin, 1814-1842)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886)
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden [aka The Eight Dog Chronicles] (Kyokutei Bakin, 1814-1842)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
Azure Bonds (Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb, 1988)
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-1955)
When Gravity Fails (George Alec Effinger, 1987)
Team Yankee (Harold Coyle, 1987)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Tom Clancy, 1988)
Gateway (Frederik Pohl., 1977)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Ringworld series (Larry Niven, 1970-2004)
The Difference Engine (William Gibson & Bruce Sterling, 1990)
Never Deal With a Dragon (Robert N. Charrette, 1990)
The Riftwar Cycle (Raymond E. Feist, 1982-2013) (subsequently novelized as Krondor: The Betrayal (1998))
The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux, 1910)
Demons Don't Dream (Piers Anthony, 1993)
The Death Gate Cycle (Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1990-1994)
Guards! Guards! (Terry Pratchett, 1989)
TekWar series (William Shatner & Ron Goulart, 1989-1997)
The Emerald City of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1910)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
The Awakening (L.J. Smith, 1991)
it might adapt elements from some of the following novels as well, not quite sure, but it far predates the TV series
it might adapt elements from some of the following novels as well, not quite sure, but it far predates the TV series
Moving Pictures (Terry Pratchett, 1990) & Reaper Man (Terry Pratchett, 1991)
Politika (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1997)
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Spider Robinson, 1977)
Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence (Nick Bantock, 1991)
The Pilgrimage (Paolo Coelho, 1987)
Parasite Eve (Hideaki Sena, 1995)
Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy, 1998)
The Blackstone Chronicles (John Saul, 1996-1997)
ruthless.com (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1998)
Secrets Can Kill ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1986)
Ubik (Philip K. Dick, 1969)
The Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan, 1990-2005)
Stay Tuned for Danger ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1987)
11 Comments
thanks! I think it came up when I was getting the list together but I was having a hard time figuring out which specific Kenji Miyazawa works it was pulling from and whether it might be better suited for my other list, for games based on short stories? I should look into it further
Hmm yeah possibly the short stories list would be a better fit – I haven’t found much info on the specific stories it’s adapting either, and am not familiar with Miyazawa’s work
I love your list! There are novels that I didn't even know had a game.
Definitely need "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" on here!
"I Have No Mouth" is based on a short story so it's on this list instead https://www.backloggd.com/u/jakobvongunten/list/games-based-on-poems-short-stories-and-songs-1/
You missed Shannara when it comes to Legend Entertainment book adaptions.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
have added a few of those but Shannara, Discworld Noir, and the Westwood Dune games are all original plots within the setting of their respective series afaik. Not sure why Hitchhiker's wasn't here already, perhaps when i made the list I thought it was primarily based on the radio series?
The Atlus Megami Tensei isn't actually a direct adaption on the novel, it's a sequel the the first 2 novels (before the 3rd novel released and went in a different direction). I don't know too much about the Telenet one but I believe it's a side story rather then an adaption of the novels.
I am glad someone else already did the work of compiling these. Thanks For Making it. Recently this game called "To Hell With The Ugly" was released, which is a direct adaptation of the Boris Vian novel of the same name, if you wouldnt mind adding it.
thanks! (for both the appreciation & the tip)
TeN
3 years ago