De inom filmindustrin som har arbetat med anpassningar av videospel, samt akademiker och kritiker har identifierat flera anledningar till att sådana filmer inte är väl mottagna.
Även om detta inte nödvändigtvis betyder att det aldrig kommer att bli några bra spelspelstillämpningar, verkar de befintliga spelspelstillämpningarna ha misslyckats av en eller flera av dessa skäl.
Anpassningar väljs utifrån franchisor som säljer bra, inte de som kommer att översättas bra till film
"It often comes down to money, as movie studios frequently choose to make films based on the franchises that sell the best, not those with the most cinematic potential."
–Corey May, co-founder of Sekretagent Productions, which provides writing services for both films and video games (Source)
"Doing a video game movie has not really been done well, and I think part of the reason for that is it's been done for the wrong reasons," Tull told IGN. "If you simply say 'How many people have played the game? How much money can we make?' You're doomed. You're doomed right off the start."
–Thomas Tull, producer for the Warcraft video game adaptation (Source)
Spel lyckas ofta av skäl som inte är tillämpliga på film
The Hollywood machine, in its endless chase for big bucks, can't help but exploit the latest hit interactive outing, often failing to realize it's often a specific gameplay mechanic, psychological meme or technical feature that makes the title so compelling.
–Scott Steinberg, head of TechSavvy Global and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV (Source)
Att översätta icke-linjära spel till en linjär trehandshistoria är mycket svårt
The problem? Most film narratives follow a traditional, time-tested three-act structure, whereas videogames don't fit nicely in that mould. "Translating a non-linear narrative into a linear three-act structure is like making a song out of a painting or a sculpture," says Kjeldsen.
– Kirk Kjeldsen, assistant professor in the Cinema Department at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Vancouver (Source)
Spelspel anpassningar är inte interaktiva, till skillnad från deras källmaterial
"There's a very simple reason that nearly all video game movies fail; they're not interactive," Dixon says.
"With video games, the player is really the star of the movie, directing the actors, deciding what plotline to follow--and most importantly for most games, whom to shoot down to get to the next level. When this aspect of the game is missing, viewers no longer feel like part of the action."
–Wheeler Winston Dixon, professor of film studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Source)
Filmregissörer och författare appellerar ofta till publiken på olika sätt än videospel
The issue here is that, when developing video game movies, many directors and writers try to appeal to the audience in whatever way they feel best suits them. In the case of something like Tomb Raider, that appeal came in Lara Croft’s look and gymnastic abilities, rather than the globe-trotting, puzzle-solving, and blending of history with fantasy that made the game so appealing.
This is true of other video game movies as well—Max Payne suffered heavily from a similar weighing of game aesthetics over actual plot, and it’s been a recurring problem in several of the Resident Evil films.
–Melissa Loomis, journalist for GameRant (Source)