The lesson from Arcane is to make a good video game adaptation you take a game with no story so you're not bound to any silly video game stuff and you just write a whole new story that is fun and entertaining
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Really makes me hope Riot considers investing into more singleplayer experiences. I'd love to see a story-based game from them with the same quality and care that they put into Arcane.
They did a brief delve into the singleplayer market with Riot Forge (which has now been shut down), though none of that was Arcane quality for sure. My pipedream is that they'll tie the MMO they are working on into the shows, but, if it ever releases, that's like 5+ years away.
Arcane is so great that it makes me want to play League even though I have played before and have first hand experience of how ass it is. I won't play it again, but the show makes me want to
Cyberpunk Edgerunners kinda did this and in my opinion, that and Arcane are the best video game adaptations. Then again I haven't watched TLOU and only watched one or two episodes of Fallout sooo
I'd have to disagree there are epic stories to be told had bg3 been made into a show. The lesson there would be to end the show with the end of source material.
I mean most of the events in Arcane were mentioned in the game lore. It was just extremely sparse.
But I think you're right that since story isn't really part of the game it gives the writers a leeway to tie the game events together in a complex narrative instead of just replicating the game.
Same with Castlevania. Sure it had a bit of a story but it was barebones enough that you could take some creative liberties. Not all of it was for the best (my poor boi Hector) but I'm very glad with what we got.
Helps avoid most of the discussion being centered around what was changed, rather than whether or not the show is good as its own thing, too. I think a lot of adaptations would be more positively received if they expectation was for them to be adaptations rather than copies.
Elden Ring/Bloodborne/Dark Souls, follow the story exactly and you have a perfect movie, because the story is hidden in item descriptions and the actual game world so most people don’t know it exists until they watch a Vaati video essay
Back in my day you, the player, was a Summoner controlling the Champions, wielding magic so mighty that even lovecraftian beasts and literal Demons bent a knee, what was wrong with that?
I would offer almost any Resident Evil adaptation as a counter argument. All they had to do was stick to the story and time after time they chose to hurt me instead.
You can also do it with games with stories. You don't need a 1 for 1 video game to movie shot story. Tomb Raider, for example, whereas cheesey was still fun as a video game movie
What gets missed imo is directors and studios miss the essence of what made the games. They think we just want to see the story we knew on the big screen when it's more than that.
as a self proclaimed league loremaster: i really hope you're being sarcastic lol.
there are literal books on the lore, not to mention the ruination book centred around just *one* event in runeterra. arcane happens quite late in the timeline
League does have lore and stories. While not wrong, what applied here is the same as with the One Piece adaptation - adapt for meaning not for single facts.
Especially great is when the characters take their own world serious - we don't have to believe it, we have to believe they do.
I like to go into things treating it like it's an AU fanfic they did of the universe. It makes things a lot more palpable. But I do agree that having either the basics, or nothing is better for studios to work with in the long run.
it's not that simple. they already stated themselves how this is a very risky business venture and how logistically impossible or even unprofitable it is if they weren't heavily marketing the tie-ins of the series to the games they have
the lesson i take from it is really just pure passion
Riot has consistently retconned their history as they see fit to make the story better. Arcane is no exception. The general plot connections stay connected but the story behind them becomes better.
Arcane was lucky to have recognisable protags without intense lore burdens. Usually there is a tradeoff, but Riot seems to be blessed. Valorant is another game where there is massive story potential.
Been saying it for years. Besides, why would I want to watch a show/movie/whatever with an identical plot to the game? It already exists, and I already know how it's going to turn out!
As an addendum, it could still work with a story-rich game. You just gotta tell a different story. Gimme day in the life. Give me another adventure. Move the plot along with a sequel. It's all good! Respect the lore, respect the characters, and most anything beyond that is great.
League of Legends. A multiplayer game with no real story, although some people are insisting to me now there is some story because there's a website with a bit of text about the world
The lesson should be: If a game is loved for its lore, world building or story then run with it, don't change it. If not then have fun and do something new.
Interesting. I loved the first season but bailed on the second one because it really seemed like you need to know the game to get many of the references.
There are tons of stories written about video games that don't worry about anything. They're great stories. Hollywood still ruins the adaptations when full novel series are already written and ready to go.
The Warcraft movie was, in my opinion, an amazing adaptation and it didn't have to do that cause the original lore was good enough. Just adapt good games and do it well, sticking as much to the original as possible.
Last of Us was kind of cheating because it already had a story with the beats and pacing of a TV show. Haven't watched Fallout yet I need to get to that
Fallout massively benefited from getting to exist in a setting where new stories about random people were already the norm, the fallout games are mostly only loosely connected anyway, so throwing a new story into that world was easier than trying to retell something like halo.
I was going to say. And it was that aspect I enjoyed. I’m interested in how they handle the next season given how much fans like that location and its lore.
True. Fallout however is incredibly faithful to the world but tells a completely original story. To me it proves that you can take a game with a strong story and tell your own in its world
Even better there is a framework and the characters are loosely related and have backstories but you can pretty much take that in any direction you want
They basically never said anything about Vi or Jinx the whole time both characters were out, minus the implicit rivalry and a secret sadness in Vi. Arcane is all of it.
It was pretty funny how all the girlies fell in love with Vi and became obsessed with Cait/Vi and then she became a cop and they all freaked out. This character is from 2012, the ship was called "Piltover's Finest," how did you not find this out in the last few years!
There is a whole website with all the backstorys and shortstorys that have been written over the year. They also released a book with no connection to Arcane and many single player story games. But sure that's all just a lie and fake because you personally don't know about it huh...
love how Viktor in LoL is basically just a steampunk cyborg clunker man and in Arcane he’s actually…some kind of messiah figure trying to reinvent life backwards from synthetic
Arcane is an origin story. There's at least one short story on the league site for each game character. Victor's could totally be after Arcane, I don't think they've deviated from his character very much. He's just bitter and jaded after whatever happens in Arcane. Assuming he goes cyborg full ofc.
Yeah. I feel this especially after watching Halo. I really liked that show and I went in having played only Halo 1 when it came out. All this fanbase discord about “oh no! The Chief without helmet” was pretty offputting and a major role in cancelling the show afaik.
Halo has a ton of lore, though, that the show largely ignored. The games are also narratively driven, so you're directly engaged with that lore. That's not the same as Arcane ignoring the small hidden lore blurbs that are never presented in gameplay when adapting League
Yeah, that’s what I was trying to say in support of OP. I wasn’t bothered by any deviations from the lore, but I understand people that are, exactly because it is so lore heavy.
Still, I’m looking forward to stuff like Mass Effect, which is also lore heavy, and this time I see myself being
bothered bc I’m invested in the franchise (1-3)
So, OP is perfectly right that games with lore that pretty much just exists as individualheadcanon, if at all, might have a bigger chance for “success”
I must've misunderstood, but it sounds like we're on the same page. I'm also excited for the ME show, though I'm pretty sure I'll be big mad when their Shepard isn't FemShep
Not even remotely correct lmao half of the shows characters lore and story is straight from the league website 😂😂😂 people really just be yappin without even considering fact checking
And Arcane ignored or retconned almost everything that wasn't Caitlyn, Vi, or Jinx, which was still almost entirely new lore outside basic story implications
League is a MOBA where characters are generally paper thin. They have at most (1) cool anecdote if you're lucky. They don't have a history as much as a short wikipedia article of lore and it's very rare that it's something you'll miss if it's expanded into high quality drama.
Yeah for those interested here is a Playlist with a couple lore videos from one youtuber. Shouldn't take long to catch up since leagues lore is so paperthin with only one anecdote max per champion. It's only 353 videos and you can skip the Arcane ones.
Yeah, there's a reason you need to go to YouTube nerds for this stuff (shout-out to them, they do good work). Zero of this stuff is in the game, 90% of people's experience is just listening to the quips the characters say in game. You don't "adapt" LoL, because the game has no narrative.
anyway League has lore but it feels like Riot as a whole just doesn't give a shit about updating their champs to reflect it unless it's an entire rework, which makes it hard to care. Riot needs to more heavily invest in single player experiences or updating their characters.
This is different from longer single player games where characters have a lot of characterization applied to them through the course of several dozen hours and where you both get more attached to them, and there's something more firm to get attached to.
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That's how great Arcane is, it can absolutely stand up on its own.
Great series though, I fuck with it.
But I think you're right that since story isn't really part of the game it gives the writers a leeway to tie the game events together in a complex narrative instead of just replicating the game.
Still waiting on a Diablo Based show before Blizzard destroys any more lore in D$, I mean D4.
there are literal books on the lore, not to mention the ruination book centred around just *one* event in runeterra. arcane happens quite late in the timeline
Especially great is when the characters take their own world serious - we don't have to believe it, we have to believe they do.
the lesson i take from it is really just pure passion
Arcane is amazing, and I love it. Even knowing how toxic LoL is it STILL makes me want to go play it.
Right up until I stop watching it and remember that LoL isn't an MMO in which I can immerse myself in Arcane's amazing storytelling.
Am I the only one? I'll show myself out then.
It's two totally different things.
Because imo the GunGrave anime is still the best video game adaptation period with nobody else even coming close.
While there’s already pre-established lore in Runeterra. The Arcane team that magnificent job creating a profound, emotional story that is that show!
Fallout was alright. Like, not at all bad, I was just hoping for a different show than we got
so you have to go a little out of your way to read it at least
His bio is pretty different from Arcane but it does seem like Victor from the show could end up being the Viktor in the story. Bio:
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/champion/viktor/
I whole heartly agree
Still, I’m looking forward to stuff like Mass Effect, which is also lore heavy, and this time I see myself being
So, OP is perfectly right that games with lore that pretty much just exists as individualheadcanon, if at all, might have a bigger chance for “success”
Idm stuff being retconned if it makes for an amazing, beautiful story like Arcane.
I just want a Targon based show so I can see my boy Pantheon. Or have the Ionia and Noxus war
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmsm6y8aSHfSnakBGHI-ZZ3mZHDHQlc1F&si=UZxqF5ExRZAq80n5
anyway League has lore but it feels like Riot as a whole just doesn't give a shit about updating their champs to reflect it unless it's an entire rework, which makes it hard to care. Riot needs to more heavily invest in single player experiences or updating their characters.