Some video games , likeThe Witcherseries , are directly based on book , but others , likeAssassin ’s Creed , are a bit more pernicious about their literary inspiration . These game may lift figure , themes , or concepts from a book , but not be directly based on them . While none are direct adaption , it is still promiscuous to see how the source material influence these game once you know .

This does n’t just happen with books;some video games have also been inspired by movies or TV showswithout directly adapting them . For instance , games likeMax PayneandThe Legend of Zelda : Link ’s Awakeningwereinspired byTwin Peaks . That said , I tried to nullify touching on games likeAlan Wake , which wear their literary stirring more plainly on their arm .

10STALKER Was Inspired By Roadside Picnic

The Zone And Stalkers Come From The Novel

Although you may already know that theSTALKERgames were inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky ’s filmStalker , you may not sleep together that they wereboth based on the bookRoadside Picnicby Arkady and Boris Strugatsky . Roadside Picnicis set in a domain where extraterrestrial beings shoot the breeze six dissimilar arena on Earth where unusual thing pass and alien artifacts can be found . Scavengers who explore these " Visitation Zones , " like the book ’s booster Redrick , are know as stalkers .

This new early admittance deed of conveyance allow players tack form at will and search the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with a sci - fi twist .

STALKERchanges a few things aboutRoadside Picnic ’s set up , like there only beingone Zone in Chernobyl , as opposed to there being six across the world . The overall tale is also relatively dissimilar fromRoadside Picnic ’s main plot . However , this is plausibly one of the games on this inclination thatcomes close to revive the experience of read the original textthat it was inspired by , even ifSTALKERisn’t a verbatim adaption .

Zofia and Jess Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein: Youngblood alongside Booker from Bioshock Infinite

9Devil May Cry Was Inspired By The Divine Comedy

Devil May Cry’s Characters Are Named For Divine Comedy Figures

Devil May Crystarted its lifetime as a twist - off of theResident Evilseries , but it ’s clear from the theatrical role ’s names thatit also took some inspiration from Dante Alighieri ’s poem , The Divine Comedy . Dante himself is the main character of the poem , and it follows him as he is guided through Hell , Purgatory , and Heaven , with the assistance of the poet Virgil , a woman Dante had play named Beatrice , and Saint Bernard , respectively . These figures , as well as the poem ’s fond nidus on Hell , both lend some inspiration to theDevil May Crygames .

Dante isDevil May Cry ’s friend , and his comrade Vergil starts the series having drop some sentence trapped in the demon land , not unlike how the verse form ’s Virgil is in Hell while Dante is still alive . It may also be thatDMC ’s Vergil being more cold and inhuman is a reference to how Virgil in the poem often encourages Dante not to feel sympathy for the multitude stick out in Hell . However , in the poem this is seen as Virgil being correct , whereas he is typically an antagonist in the games .

Dante ’s partnerTrish gets her name from Beatrice ofThe Divine Comedy . Trish is register by some as a likely love interest for Dante in the first biz , which could reflect the real Dante ’s love for Beatrice . This is a petty mussy , since Trish also looks just like Dante ’s mammy , but Oedipus is also refer inThe Divine Comedy , so hey , mayhap it ’s another acknowledgment . to boot , Devil May Cry ’s Lady , whose real name is Mary , is named after the Virgin Mary , who Saint Bernard was particularly devoted to . Mary is also called the Madonna , which means lady .

Ness from Earthbound on the left, Joker from Persona 5 on the right, and gameplay from Bloomtown: A Different Story in the background.

8Spec Ops: The Line Was Inspired By Heart Of Darkness

Spec Ops: The Line Took Themes From Heart Of Darkness

Spec Ops : The Lineis famous for its attempt to misdirect video biz trope and get player to question how they view war as amusement through the lense of games like it . Because its ethnic critique seems so centered on TV games , it might be surprising to discover that the game was revolutionise by a novelette write before video game even existed . fit in to an interview byDigital Spywith lead game designer , Cory Davis , the biz was partially inspired byHeart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad .

fondness of Darkness ' theme that so - called " polite " men are capable of commit horrific acts work on well withSpec Ops : The course ’s commentaryon the horrors of war that soldier are often ordered to carry out . WhileHeart of Darknesslargely existed to criticise imperialism in Africa , its message has ( sadly ) continue to be relevant in the 126 years since it was written . The novella also inspiredApocalypse Now , which adapted its story to criticise the Vietnam War , similar to howSpec Ops : The Linetook inhalation from it to critique America ’s use of white Lucifer in the Middle East .

7BioShock Was Inspired By Atlas Shrugged

BioShock Used Rapture To Criticize Ayn Rand’s Philosophy

Although many of the games on this listing seem to have some grade of admiration for the work that inspired them , inspiration does n’t always have to be overconfident . BioShockwas inspired by the work of Ayn Rand in the same way that smelling rotted eggs might inspire you to puke . The biz ’s developers take on Rand ’s philosophy , Objectivism , as detailed in her bookAtlas Shrugged , and used them as the inspiration behind Rapture . The plot ’s antagonist , Andrew Ryan , is also enliven by Ayn Rand , and ostensibly named after her .

AlthoughBioShock ’s developers seemed coy about instantly addressing their literary criticism of Rand ’s philosophical system in interviews that I found , it ’s pretty unmortgaged through the game ’s depiction of Rapture that Objectivism is not being held up as a good fundament for a order . raptus , which was plant on similar principal to Galt ’s Gulch fromAtlas Shrugged , is tumble both literally and as a community . It is far from the Sion Rand imagined in her novel , and it ’s made clear that follow her ism of selfishness over selflessness is part creditworthy for it getting that way .

6Assassin’s Creed Was Inspired By Alamut

Alamut Is Focused On The Same Historical Group Of Assassins

TheAssassin ’s Creedseriesis well love for taking some brainchild from history and real - spirit mythology . However , the first game in the series was also breathe in by the novelAlamut , by Vladimir Bartol . It can be a little hard to say what exactlyAssassin ’s Creedtook from chronicle , and what it claim from Bartol ’s novel , as they both select inspiration from the historical fiat of Assassins , AKA the Hashshashin . That articulate , there are some clear denotation thatAssassin ’s Creedwas drawing at least some of its ideas from Bartol ’s novel .

Perhaps the clearest indication thatAlamutinspiredAssassin ’s Creedis through the Assassin ’s slogan , " nothing is true ; everything is permitted . “This saying originally appear inAlamut , though translate somewhat otherwise as " Nothing is an absolute realness ; all is permitted . " As this locution seems to be an invention of Bartol ’s novel and not a real Hashshashin expression , Assassin ’s Creed ’s depiction of the Assassins is at least partially inspired byAlamut .

5Far Cry 2 Was Inspired By Red Harvest

Far Cry 2 Took Ideas From Multiple Novels

Far Cry 2tackles the thought that people , when pushed to go too far , can finally commit flagitious acts of violence . If that sounds like a familiar theme , it ’s because the game was part barrack byHeart of Darkness , just likeSpec Ops : The furrow . However , I was concerned to learn thatthe game was also inspired by the novelRed Harvestby Dashiell Hammett . harmonise toGameSpot , Red HarvestgaveFar Cry 2 ’s developer the idea of a story where a lone mortal enter a lieu that is in conflict and takes out both sides of the engagement .

TheFar Cryseries in general is no alien to literary influence . The first secret plan in the series was root on byThe Island of Doctor Moreauby H. G. Wells , which is where the biz ’s plot about genetic engineering comes from . As someone with only a pass familiarity with the series , I was a petty surprised to learn that it had taken inhalation from several literary classic , though I ’m not certain if it will be enough to win over me to give capable - universe Ubisoft games another opportunity .

4Dynasty Warriors Was Inspired By Romance Of The Three Kingdoms

Dynasty Warriors' First Characters Were Figures From History And The Book

You may be surprised to see not one , but two drudge - and - separatrix serial of games on this leaning , butDynasty Warriorsdidn’t start out as a pure action game . The serial publication was in reality a tailspin - off of the routine - basedRomance of the Three Kingdomsgames . Those games were really inspired by a historic fiction novel of the same name attributed to Taiwanese author Luo Guanzhong . The novel tells the story of feudal lords during China ’s Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han dynasty .

The firstDynasty Warriorsgame also did n’t follow the hack - and - slash style of the newer plot , and was really a one - on - one fighting secret plan . hero in the plot are mostly made up of historical pattern from the Three Kingdoms period . While these are real historical figures as well , the game ’s connection to theRomance of the Three Kingdomsgame serial would chair me to conceive thatDynasty Warriorstook inspiration from the same historical fiction interpretation of the characters .

3Black Myth: Wukong Was Inspired By Journey To The West

The Destined One And His Weapon Are Based On Sun Wukong

The Soulslike gameBlack Myth : Wukongmade quite a splashing last twelvemonth , and was a major step forward for the Chinese video recording game industriousness , becoming the rural area ’s most successful single - player game , according toReuters . The game was breathe in by the sixteenth century Chinese novelJourney to the Westand its fictional character Sun Wukong . LikeBlack Myth : Wukong ’s Destined One , Sun Wukong is a scamp warrior who wields a charming staff .

Black Myth : Wukong fans have a lot to look forward to across the next few yr , peculiarly one of PlayStation ’s most - anticipated exclusives .

The biz ’s staff also takes inspiration fromJourney to the West , as it is similar to Sun Wukong ’s magical faculty , Ruyi Jingu Bang . Like the stave inBlack Myth : Wukong , Ruyi Jingu Bang can alter its size in accordance to its possessor ’s wish . WhileBlack Myth : Wukonglifts many elements from the original novel , it is n’t incisively a one - to - one adaption , though the game does n’t assay to hide out that it was heavy inspired by the novel .

Characters from various games looking badass

Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

2Fallout Was Inspired By A Boy And His Dog

Fallout Is An Amalgamation Of Post Apocalyptic Fiction

TheFalloutseriescan take several inspiration , including developer Interplay Productions ' late post - revelatory RPG , Wasteland . However , the novellaA Boy and His Dogby Harlan Ellison merit a lot of quotation . like toFallout , it ingest place in a post - apocalyptic hereafter bring on by a atomic war , and even have underground nuclear vaults that help mass survive the initial state of war .

WhileFallouttakes some direction fromA Boy and His Dog , it also has a set of other inspirations , including films likeMad Max , harmonise toPolygon . newfangled games in the serial publication have also clearly taken some inspiration from the deeds of H. P. Lovecraft , as see with the Dunwich building inFallout 3 , name for Lovecraft ’s storyThe Dunwich Horror . Drawing from such a wide range of a function of aspiration is potential what helpsFalloutfeel like such a distinct attribute , despite drawing from so many exist generator .

1EarthBound Was Inspired By The Talisman

EarthBound’s Predecessor Mother Was Inspired By A Novel

Even if you ’ve never playedEarthBound , you ’re belike familiar with its supporter , Ness , from theSuper Smash Bros.series . EarthBoundwas the sequel to the gameMother , which was only eject in Japan . accord to an consultation withDa Vinci , Mother ’s game director , Shigesato Itoi , creditsThe Talismanby Stephen King and Peter Straub as inspiring the first game . In the interview , Itoi mentionsThe Talisman ’s sense of sorrowfulness as a major generator of inspiration forMother , and says he was also inspired by the way King and Straub collaborated to finish the novel .

Fans of the Persona game , Stranger Things , and Earthbound decidedly need to check out this new 40 - minute RPG from an acclaimed indie dev .

Interestingly enough , aside from the character Wolf , Itoi does n’t reference many direct plot element fromThe Talismanthat ended up inspiringMother . This shows that inspiration does n’t have to be as one - to - one asAssassin ’s Creedlifting the Hashshashin shibboleth fromAlamut . Instead , a feeling or idea born out of reading a rule book is enough to inspire a fresh originative body of work .

Chernobylite 2 promo art with the hero acing a machine and tanks

Sources : GameSpot , Reuters , Polygon , Da Vinci

Summary

Assassin ’s Creed is a highly successful multimedia system enfranchisement modernise by Ubisoft , starting with the liberation of the first telecasting biz in 2007 . The franchise is set in an open existence and revolves around the centuries - old conflict between the Assassins , who fight for serenity with detached will , and the Templars , who desire ataraxis through control . The game are known for their immersive historic configurations , intricate narratives , and advanced gameplay that aggregate activity , adventure , stealth , and parkour . Over time , Assassin ’s Creed has elaborate beyond picture games into novels , comics , films , and upcoming television serial publication , draw it one of the most influential and recognizable franchises in the gaming industry .

Assassin’s Creed Anniversary Poster

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