Teen Girl Films to Form Video Game Clique

In a Pretty in Pink video game, do players get to make Andie a less ugly prom dress? 

Interesting little story in Variety about Paramount moving into the video game world. Not the fact that movie studios want to invest in games and make some money from that side of the business, but the movies they’ve chosen for their intro. With the vast library of films that they have, their first attempts will be games based on…Clueless, Mean Girls, and Pretty in Pink.

Yes, the teen girl movies, where cliques and social status are the battlegrounds and fashion is the weapon of choice, will become games slated for the “casual” category, which Variety says is the area most likely to appeal to teen girls. I’ll go with their word on this as I have no business info on how games breakout.

So anyway, it’s not like it’s inconceivable that these films could be made into games. I’m sure you could work something out where you accumulate points to buy clothes and the ultimate goal is to become the most populare girl in school, or get to the prom or whatever.

I wouldn’t play these games but I like the Paramount choices for two reasons: one is that it acknowledges girls as a video game audience. Okay, if I had a daughter I’m not sure if I’d be thrilled about her playing a game where the goal is something like the prom, but it’s better than the often condescending (and untrue) assumption that girls don’t play games.

The other, and more interesting point, that games can be made out of more than just your standard war or battle scenario–whether it’s based on real wars, fictional post-apocalyptic wars, sci-fi wars, whatever–a lot (not all, but a fair number) of video games really have the same premise just dressed up in different clothes.

So let’s let the movie to video game palette expand. What are some movies that you wouldn’t immediately think of as game properties that could be games? What would they be like? For some reason, the first one that pops into my mind is There Will Be Blood. A game about dominating the oil business? That could be an old-fashioned board game (is it?).

Okay, let’s wander a little further afield (and I’m just thinking recent films–I’m not going to throw at you the This Gun For Hire game. Though that would be pretty cool). Okay, how about this? Atonement: The Video Game. Try to get Cecilia and Robbie back together! Fight World War II in between!

Now that would turn the video game industry upside down.