Video Games and the Hobbit

Yeah, deep choices for today’s writing. What can I say, it’s a slow news day today. And perhaps more importantly, I spent the whole day working, without time to read anything, and I got through it by listening to Howard Shore’s Hobbit soundtracks.

A few weeks back I read this article on violence in video games, how violence is pretty much the only way to get ahead most games these days. You can find racing games and puzzle games if you look hard enough, but the days of Tetris ruling the market are long gone.

I was reminded of the game made out of Return of the King. The fight scenes from the book and movie were translated well, but whenever there was a plot point that didn’t involve a fight scene in the original, somehow it became a fight scene in the adaptation. Instead of Sam sneaking through the Spider’s lair and up the tower, there’s a big fight. Instead of Frodo being escorted to Osgiliath, there’s a fight. Instead of Aragorn running through the canyons, there’s a fight. Instead of Gandalf just walking up to Isengard, there’s a fight.

In contrast, if any games have been made of the Hobbit films, they could just be copied shot-for-shot, because those films are already video games. Every fight that happened in the background in the books has of course been placed front and centre. Many peaceful scenes - the trip to Rivendell, meeting Beorn, the escape from Mirkwood - have become big fight scenes. Action interludes that do nothing to advance the plot and can be safely skipped, like a commercial break.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this revelation. Except to conclude that I’d really like to see a version of the Hobbit films that cut the time down about three hours. And I think I ought to look for more video games that involve jumping or stacking blocks.