Mario Martinez Ignacio is a writer from Mexico City. As a child, he spent most of his free time deep-diving into online wikis, which sparked a passion for lore and worldbuilding. Driven by his love for writing, Mario obtained a BFA in Dramatic Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2024. With the objective of inspiring others, he fuses writing and education to create narratives that entertain while igniting curiosity and fostering new perspectives, one word at a time.
Mar 5, 2025
Table of Contents
Video Game realms hold intricate histories, profound lores, and profound characters that would translate amazingly into the morion screen if done in a correct way.
For its past 68 years of their existence, Video Games have rightfully earned the title as one of the most complete forms of entertainment. Being one of the few that have successfully achieved full immersion between audience and product, with the exception of “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, of which immersion was still limited to sole text, Video Games have managed to make astonishing masterpieces while allowing the playing to be a part of the world. Whether it is allowing them to choose where the character will go next and what action to perform at what time or letting every decision the player makes drastically change the story and how it is presented.
This medium has brought us some of the most profound and intricate characters, narratives, and realities seen in the entertainment industry. So it makes complete sense that as years went by, attempted adaptations were created in order to expand these and capitalize off their popularity.
We are currently standing at a silver age of Video Game adaptations to films and shows, with pieces like ‘Fallout’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ being both critically acclaimed and beloved by audiences. Yet, this is a very recent trend; historically, adaptations of video games have infamously been a disaster both at the box office and amongst fans.
The film and video game worlds have been linked since the end of the Golden age of arcade video games with 1979’s ‘Star Trek: Phaser Strike’ for the MicroVision, but the first video game that appeared in motion pictures didn’t happen until 1982’s Hanna-Barbera ‘Pac-Man’. Despite the 1989’s ‘The Legend of Zelda’ and ‘The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!’ following the animated series format towards the end of the 80s, these only lasted 4 months before cancelation.
A live-action adaptation came in 1993 with the release of ‘Super Mario Bros.’ and from the get-go, it was a massive failure amongst the fans, going down in history as one of the worst films of all time. In the following years, Hollywood saw some successful adaptations in the likes of 2001’s ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ and ‘Resident Evil’. Yet, these saw strong dislikings from fans of such franchises, with only a few getting on the audience’s good side, such as ‘Mortal Kombat’ back in 1995.
As the 2010s came to their end, better-quality adaptations arose, with pieces like ‘Detective Pikachu’ and Netflix’s ‘Castlevania’ having immense success. Once the new decade got its jump start, humanity entered the previously mentioned silver age. While it is still in its early stages, and faithful adaptations are still a mere few, the industry has proven to be able to make good adaptations of video games. By not using it as a mere cash grab and executing it properly and respectfully, there may be a possible future where video game adaptations can be enjoyed by fans while still being successful.
The Video Game world is filled with limitless amounts of narratives. From the profound exploration of guilt and mental health seen in James Sunderland during ‘Silent Hill 2’ to the transformative effects of environmentalism and the definition of Life and Death seen in ‘Final Fantasy VII’, Video Games offer intricate storylines that foster immense amounts of character evolution and entertainment.
One of the most complete characters in all media is by far Kratos from the legendary God of War franchise. While at first the “Greek Era” portrayed him as a single-faced character that was fueled by rage and a thirst for revenge, once ‘God of War’ released in 2018 his character becomes drastically more layered as he grapples with a second change of newfound fatherhood and the challenge of controlling his destructive past while striving to guide his son through a world of gods and mythical creatures.
His evolution acts as a testament that we’re not defined by our past, highlighting the possibility for redemption and growth. It reminds us that if even the god of war could find peace, there is a possibility for us to do so as well. Despite this sort of character evolution has been attempted in film and TV, but very few have managed to do so as effectively as the God of War games. Considering that many regard the cutscenes from 2018’s ‘God of War’ and its 2022 sequel ‘God of War Ragnarök’ as being considered by many peak cinematography, alongside the franchise’s exploration with different mythologies, it opens many doors to possible adaptations.
Ever since 1987, the Final Fantasy franchise has had a leading protagonism in the RPG genre. Thanks to its high-end, award-winning cutscenes with some of the best storylines in the industry, it has many opportunities for animated films and shows to be released based on it. Yet, I firmly believe that it can work perfectly as a long-form anthology series in the style of ‘Love, Death & Robots’ or the recently released ‘Secret Level’. Final Fantasy is already an anthology in and of itself, making it a series in which each episode is its own full-blown narrative and universe can not only be highly successful but it also fits perfectly with the franchise’s reputation.
These are just some of the many intense and intricate stories in gaming that feel like a film already. Games like ‘What Remains Of Edith Finch’ or ‘LA Noire’ have been praised for their cinematic plots and aesthetics. If executed correctly and time is invested to research and respect for the original material, the gaming world has countless of astonishing narratives to offer.
Some of the most complete and detailed worlds seen in entertainment come from the gaming industry. Whether it is the realistic portrayal of the American West seen in ‘Red Dead Redemption II’ or a massive underwater metropolis designed to be a place where people could pursue their dreams without governmental or religious constraints seen in the first ‘BioShock’. These create incredible levels of immersion, allowing for the narratives to unfold more rounded and completely.
The fantasy genre has had its high and lows, with the High Fantasy subgenre nowadays keeping away from the spotlight aside from ‘The Lord of The Rings’ franchise and a few others. In gaming, the genre maintains itself very much alive, with ‘Baldur’s Gate III’ winning Game of the Year back in 2023. One of the most beloved franchises of the genre and a pinnacle in the game industry, when the first game ‘The Elder Scrolls: Arena’ came out in 1994 it introduced the largest interactive world seen at the time, this 6 to 9 million square kilometer map still maintains itself as one of the largest to this day. The following games feature smaller maps of the various regions of Tamriel, with the exception of ‘The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall’, allow for an amazing, astonishing, and immersive world to adapt into a Motion Picture.
Video Games have grown to become the most popular form of media in human history, with the gaming industry gaining more than the film and music industries combined. This form of entertainment has significantly grown more each year, with it expecting to reach over 3.5 billion active players worldwide this year. Fostering breathtaking amounts of creativity and storytelling, Video Games, if done correctly, can offer not just boundless potential of success to the world of TV and Cinema but can also bring audiences together while inspiring future creations in both mediums.
By Mario Martinez Ignacio
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Mario Martinez Ignacio is a writer from Mexico City. As a child, he spent most of his free time deep-diving into online wikis, which sparked a passion for lore and worldbuilding. Driven by his love for writing, Mario obtained a BFA in Dramatic Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2024. With the objective of inspiring others, he fuses writing and education to create narratives that entertain while igniting curiosity and fostering new perspectives, one word at a time.
Mario Martinez Ignacio is a writer from Mexico City. As a child, he spent most of his free time deep-diving into online wikis, which sparked a passion for lore and worldbuilding. Driven by his love for writing, Mario obtained a BFA in Dramatic Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2024. With the objective of inspiring others, he fuses writing and education to create narratives that entertain while igniting curiosity and fostering new perspectives, one word at a time.
Mario Martinez Ignacio is a writer from Mexico City. As a child, he spent most of his free time deep-diving into online wikis, which sparked a passion for lore and worldbuilding. Driven by his love for writing, Mario obtained a BFA in Dramatic Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2024. With the objective of inspiring others, he fuses writing and education to create narratives that entertain while igniting curiosity and fostering new perspectives, one word at a time.
