RoboCop failed as a game...

[Jbizzel]

RoboCop failed as a game because it didn't get me to question the nature of humanity in the way that the film does.

I mean it is one of my favourite games, and the spectrum version is the best of the 8 bit versions I have played.

The use of mini games is excellent in terms of invoking the theme of the film. Also, the level design follows the story of the film. It's almost perfect.

Surely it sets the bar very high for films converted into an 8 bit game. Maybe the best?

And yet it utterly fails to communicate what this film is about, ie, it's not about shooting thugs, it's about the horror of trying to retain your (blue collar) humanity while your humanity is under attack by neo liberalism, essentially.

The game does not communicate that.

For example, in the film Murphy starts out with 100% humanity.
Because of his Human frailty he is horrifying murdered.
Then he becomes a robot, with 0% humanity. He now lacks the weakness of his human body but this is horrifying because he has no control over his life. This is his true death.

Then he fights ed209, and as he is being killed (again) by the giant robot, his visor is smashed and we see his human eye for the first time since he became RoboCop. We see he is scared. He regains his humanity, only to face death again! The film carefully plays with this idea of humanity and shows the strengths and weaknesses of both having, and losing ones humanity.

I think the film is a masterpiece, and it deserved and got a great game. I just wonder if these existential themes could be woven in to the game?

Having Murphy starts out as human, and he only becomes RoboCop if you get killed.

Forcing him to lose against the ed209 in the first encounter, and having an image showing you his eye, his fear, through the cracked visor?

What are the best film/game tie ins that really get, and communicate the central premis of the film? Are there any good 8 bit ones?

[+3code]

Surely it sets the bar very high for films converted into an 8 bit game. Maybe the best?

Well, "The Name of the Rose" was a book and too a film, so not sure if it counts. And I know "Crime's Abbey" ("La abadía del crimen", https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/4 ... del_Crimen) was never released out of Spain, but there is an English (seems beta) translation. The game isn't easy. But the bar here is very, very high, and the title is a real legend in the History of Spanish software industry.

[Morkin]

I'd be amazed if any software houses/programmers cared about conveying emotions or feelings elicited when actually watching the film... I'd assume their aim would've been to make a passable and playable game that they can tentatively link to a currently popular film to boost sales..

Having said that, not a film but a TV series, I thought Yes Prime Minister encapsulated the spirit of the series pretty well.

[Daveysloan]

Reckon someone should make a C.S.S.C.G.C entry that truly conveys the underlying themes of the Verhoeven classic. Perhaps via the medium of a graphic adventure.

[Jbizzel]

Reckon someone should make a C.S.S.C.G.C entry that truly conveys the underlying themes of the Verhoeven classic. Perhaps via the medium of a graphic adventure.

Interesting, RoboCop the text adventure!

Maybe you are right with the idea that text adventures are the best 8bit medium for games with a richer subtext.

[Jbizzel]

Actually there. Is Jaws the text adventure, which follows the film, and is surprising good.

However, you play from the pov of the shark!!

You take great pleasure in eating people. Wild.

[Jbizzel]

Well, "The Name of the Rose" was a book and too a film, so not sure if it counts. And I know "Crime's Abbey" ("La abadía del crimen", https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/4 ... del_Crimen) was never released out of Spain, but there is an English (seems beta) translation. The game isn't easy. But the bar here is very, very high, and the title is a real legend in the History of Spanish software industry.

I didn't know that was based on Name of the Rose. Very atmospheric game. I tried to play the UK translation but didn't get very far into it!!

[AndyC]

I'd say it succeeds as a game, because it's fun. It maybe fails as an interpretation of the themes of the film, but I also don't think it was ever really trying to be one. And if it were, then it would probably have failed as a game.

And a lot of the people playing the game probably couldn't actually go see the film anyway.

[PeteProdge]

Well, most people who saw Robocop were teenage boys. And the satire element of it was never picked up by them. All the kids at my school raving on about Robocop (our household never had a VCR at the time, so I missed out on it) were into the swearing, the violence, the special effects... They didn't mention anything about it being a snipe at corporate greed, corruption and other flaws of capitalism. And as you say, the game doesn't really venture into that area. It's kind of like looking at 2000AD's Judge Dredd and assuming he's an absolute hero and role model.

Many years (well, decades) later I got round to watching Robocop for the first time, I really enjoyed it, but probably not from the perspective of a schoolboy who snigger at the "b**ches leave" line, reciting it heavily.

Same thing probably goes for the majority of Vietnam films, many of which rightfully portrayed America's war as a disastrous folly, but a juvenile audience comes away thinking the military is amazing and deserves praise. You'd get that angle from the games, I reckon.

[zup]

I'd say it succeeds as a game, because it's fun. It maybe fails as an interpretation of the themes of the film, but I also don't think it was ever really trying to be one. And if it were, then it would probably have failed as a game.

And a lot of the people playing the game probably couldn't actually go see the film anyway.

+1

If you take apart the "Robocop bits" from there (i.e.: change the sprites and enemies) it is still fun to play, so it holds very well as a game.

You may say that it failed to tell the story of the movie, but keep in mind that most games from that era couldn't do that. Most games couldn't only tell their story on the inlays... graphics and gameplay usually takes all the RAM. Even the arcade game, that had no such limitations, didn't tell you the entire story.

[Oloturia]

The same with Blue Thunder. The narration about police corruption and the problem of surveillance technology is traded for a choplifter clone. With the exception of text adventures, background stories used to be almost completely absent ("President Ronnie has been kidnapped by ninjas...") and so there weren't deep meanings. In my opinion, both the machines and the narrative devices of video games were not enough developed to go deeper. Companies like Automata UK tried to add something more to their games, but they were unique (or maybe almost unique, I think most of the experimental games were never crac... aheh... imported in Italy).

Same thing probably goes for the majority of Vietnam films, many of which rightfully portrayed America's war as a disastrous folly, but a juvenile audience comes away thinking the military is amazing and deserves praise. You'd get that angle from the games, I reckon.

For me there was an exception. I remember the goosebumps when I tried "Lost Patrol" for Amiga the first time. I was significantly older since the Spectrum days, but I remember that I had thoughts like "wait... this war isn't cool".

[XTM]

Same thing probably goes for the majority of Vietnam films, many of which rightfully portrayed America's war as a disastrous folly, but a juvenile audience comes away thinking the military is amazing and deserves praise. You'd get that angle from the games, I reckon.

Going slightly off-topic here, with regards to Vietnam films (at least this one is from the same year as RoboCop) ... I'm amazed there never was a game made of Full Metal Jacket, be it in the Speccy era or later.

On the Speccy it could have been your typical "multi game" Ocean effort with the first half of the game being like Combat School or 19 and the second half like Platoon or the other games from that time taking place in Vietnam/a jungle. They could even have made it slightly silly by having weird disciplines based on scenes from the film - "finish 50 pushups before Private Pyle finishes the donut" or a swearing match vs. Animal Mother when you first meet him, where you have to pick the best response from a list

Any modern version obviously would turn into your standard first person shooter once basic training is over. It could even deviate from the film by there being a (slim) chance of Private Pyle staying alive to be deployed for duty in Vietnam if you make the right choices.

Hmm, what with AI-created content being all the rage, maybe in a few years time you can describe a game like I just did and the AI will create it for you?

[bluespikey]

It totally worked as a game. 13 year old me just wanted to shoot baddies in the face, and thats what was given in hi res graphics.

Now, Robocop the film is still the best Judge Dredd film we've got (Is the hero really the 'hero'?) but you're never going to easily portray that in 128K.

[Lee Bee]

While some games attempt to accurately recreate the story of the film they're based on, most don't, because that's not the point of a game. I don't expect to load up Rambo and get a game about the ramifications of PTSD and mental health:



A videogame is a spinoff medium of its own, intended to provide a supplemental, alternative form of entertainment to the film. Many films are, themselves, stripped-down versions of an original book, with much of the philosophical content removed and an emphasis on action. Games take this even further, because they're, well, games! They're meant to be much more gamey than emotioney.

I'd no more expect to find all of a film's subtle emotional themes and subtexts recreated in a video game, than I'd expect to find them in a pinball table, action figure, or tin of spaghetti shapes!



Plus, I believe the target demographic of the Robocop game was under 18s, which means it cannot simply emulate the themes from the movie. This is why the game doesn't contain all those classic lines such as "Blow this c***sucker's head off.", "Bitches leave." or "F*** me! F*** me! F*** me!"

[XTM]

This is why the game doesn't contain all those classic lines such as "Blow this c***sucker's head off.", "Bitches leave." or "F*** me! F*** me! F*** me!"

Great post. But surely you meant classic lines such as ...
"You're gonna be a bad mothercrusher!"
"Why me? Why me?"
"We used to call the old man funny names (...) Once, I even called him airhead."
"Ladies leave!"

[Jbizzel]

@PeteProdge that's a good point. Most war films (post 1945) have an anti-war message. But most war games do not.

https://zxart.ee/eng/software/game/arca ... isection4/

A more modern game, but Survivisection did a good job of adding a sense of the characters feelings and phycological elements to a war game.

Platoon the game is a worse example. The Game bears no resemblance to the film at all. Just murder enough people and you get a "good shot! That's the way to do it!"

[Jbizzel]

For me there was an exception. I remember the goosebumps when I tried "Lost Patrol" for Amiga the first time. I was significantly older since the Spectrum days, but I remember that I had thoughts like "wait... this war isn't cool".

Cannon Fodder was an other good example of war game with an anti war theme. Again, for the 16bit era.

But, I don't accept it was simply down to limitations of hardware. Probably more to do with the industry wanting quick cash in to licenses and consumer expectations pretty low.

Was it universal soldier that was just turican rebadged?

[Jbizzel]

While some games attempt to accurately recreate the story of the film they're based on, most don't, because that's not the point of a game. I don't expect to load up Rambo and get a game about the ramifications of PTSD and mental health:

Lol..I wouldn't expect to slip Rambo into the VHS player and watch a film about the ramifications of PTSD and mental health.

Definitely not Rambo 3, in any case.

Modern games can make you think. Dark souls 2 made me realise that "the curse of life is the curse of want". That we are driven to want more, no matter how much we have. And that wanting for what we don't have is a curse.

I thought that game managed to be very deep while still being a game where you kill everything without questioning it. It does that by simply pointing out to you that you are killing everything without questioning it.

[presh]

Great post. But surely you meant classic lines such as ...
"You're gonna be a bad mothercrusher!"
"Why me? Why me?"
"We used to call the old man funny names (...) Once, I even called him airhead."
"Ladies leave!"

The ITV pre-watershed version was amazing.

Particularly enjoyed Clarence swerving around the melted Emil at the chemical plant! I'm impressed that they filmed alternative scenes to cover such scenarios and pass the censors/certification criteria.

[Jbizzel]

I remember my shock when I saw the real version and clearance gets obliterated!