The rise of the video-game novel: My latest Wired gaming column
For my latest Wired video-game column, I wrote about a new booming cottage industry: Novels based on popular games. To quote:
Here are some details about Sam Fisher you probably didn't know: He's 47 years old, and his hottie martial-arts instructor has a major crush on him. He lives alone in a condo and struggles to figure out how to deal with his college-age daughter. His favorite pastime is gourmet cooking. He thinks the Iraq war is a bad idea.
Sam Fisher is, of course, the hero of the Splinter Cell video game. I've spent countless hours using my Xbox controller to sneak him past armed guards, scale walls and club enemies unconscious. But I didn't know much about his personal life until I wandered into an airport bookstore recently and encountered Splinter Cell -- the novel.
You can read the rest of the piece online here for free!
Posted by Clive Thompson at September 13, 2005 03:56 PM
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I've received a couple of childrens books based on games for xmas one year when I was younger( http://www.nesplayer.com/wop/ I think I still have the ninja gaiden one in a box somewhere); I remember thinking at the time they were pretty dreadfull.
Posted by: tomp at September 14, 2005 8:39 AM
What a pleasant coincidence that you'd follow a blog about Infiltrations with one about Splinter Cell, Clive.
Reading Chapman's descriptions of his exploits - dodging security guards, hiding in dark corners - brings to mind the missions of one Sam Fisher.
Posted by: Dusty Bear at September 14, 2005 11:13 AM
tomp, heh, yeah, the range of quality peaks at "as good as your average airport-bookstore potboiler" -- and plummets quite far below that at the worst, I'm afraid.
Dusty Bear, I hadn't even noticed that inadvertant connection! It's perfect, you're right -- indeed, it'd be awfully cool to honor Chapman's life by making a video game out of the concept of urban exploration. Infilitration: The Game! Your goal is to get as deep as you can inside a cool private-sector building, and take pictures of the stuff you see, without getting caught.
There have been plenty of games where one of your missions is to take a picture of an military installation -- I think this happens even in Splinter Cell, the game -- but I've never heard of a game where it was the primary focus, with no attacks or killing at all. Anyone out there heard of a game like that?
Posted by: Clive at September 14, 2005 1:33 PM
Hey clive, have you read any of the "Master Chief" novels for Halo?
Posted by: Erik Weissengruber at September 14, 2005 7:18 PM
Indeed I did! "The Flood" and "Fall of Reach". They weren't too bad -- not superb sci-fi, but about on par with your average kill-a-few-hours-on-a-plane pulp fare.
Posted by: Clive at September 14, 2005 9:12 PM
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I've received a couple of childrens books based on games for xmas one year when I was younger( http://www.nesplayer.com/wop/ I think I still have the ninja gaiden one in a box somewhere); I remember thinking at the time they were pretty dreadfull.
Posted by: tomp![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 14, 2005 8:39 AM
What a pleasant coincidence that you'd follow a blog about Infiltrations with one about Splinter Cell, Clive.
Reading Chapman's descriptions of his exploits - dodging security guards, hiding in dark corners - brings to mind the missions of one Sam Fisher.
Posted by: Dusty Bear![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 14, 2005 11:13 AM
tomp, heh, yeah, the range of quality peaks at "as good as your average airport-bookstore potboiler" -- and plummets quite far below that at the worst, I'm afraid.
Dusty Bear, I hadn't even noticed that inadvertant connection! It's perfect, you're right -- indeed, it'd be awfully cool to honor Chapman's life by making a video game out of the concept of urban exploration. Infilitration: The Game! Your goal is to get as deep as you can inside a cool private-sector building, and take pictures of the stuff you see, without getting caught.
There have been plenty of games where one of your missions is to take a picture of an military installation -- I think this happens even in Splinter Cell, the game -- but I've never heard of a game where it was the primary focus, with no attacks or killing at all. Anyone out there heard of a game like that?
Posted by: Clive![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 14, 2005 1:33 PM
Hey clive, have you read any of the "Master Chief" novels for Halo?
Posted by: Erik Weissengruber![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 14, 2005 7:18 PM
Indeed I did! "The Flood" and "Fall of Reach". They weren't too bad -- not superb sci-fi, but about on par with your average kill-a-few-hours-on-a-plane pulp fare.
Posted by: Clive![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.collisiondetection.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 14, 2005 9:12 PM