What Works & What Doesn’t
There are truly wonderful game-to-book adaptations out there. But more often that not, novelizations miss the mark. Here are some common mistakes we’ve seen.
- The book follows the game too much. Fans of the game are looking for the novel to deepen and expand the story. When authors simply retell the story of the game, readers are bored and the book is unnecessary. One review of a failed novelization said, “Imagine someone playing the game and writing down every single thing they do without elaboration, excitement, or style. You’ve just read this book.”
- The book does not follow the canon of the game enough. Many remember BioWare publicly apologizing because a long-awaited Mass Effect novelization was so riddled with inconsistencies that it was universally hated by fans. While some discrepancies in lore happen, authors have to know and honor the game’s world.
- The book is not good. No one sets out to write a bad book and yet no other genre is more criticized—except maybe celebrity memoirs. Google “best video game novels” and every article starts with a defense of the genre. The market it is flooded with books, and many are barely a step above fan fiction.
Forward Fiction is dedicated to avoiding these mistakes. First of all, we immerse ourselves in your world. We ensure we understand the lore and collaborate with video game creators to create a detailed outline of the story and characters. We hire professional authors and editors, and we test our novelizations with creators and fans.
Our unique process results in rich stories that connect your players to your world and keep them engaged.
