Looks like there is an EverQuest movie on the horizon. For those of you who may not know, EverQuest was the first true breakout smash hit Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) before the days of World of Warcraft. Man, I have some friends who were PSYCHOTICALLY addicted to that game years ago (Doug Nagy, my Uncut Podcast Co-Host, used to play the game, with a loaf of bread and peanut butter on the desk, so he wouldn’t have to leave the game to eat).
With news already out some time ago that a Warcraft Movie was in development, this news comes as a bit of a surprise. Our friends over at FirstShowing give us this:
EverQuest is getting a big screen adaptation with none other than ex-Marvel CEO Avi Arad… A screenplay is being written by Michael Gordon (300). Story details are unknown, but the fantasy epic will be based on an original pitch by Gordon and will feature some seminal characters from the game.
Ok, now let’s just set aside the issue of “all video game movies suck” for a moment. This news truly does surprise me because World of Warcraft is infinitely more popular than EverQuest these days, and with a Warcraft movie already in development, it seems to make little sense to attempt such a project.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying an EverQuest movie CAN’T work, it just seems to me that the deck is stacked against it. What are your thoughts? Are you interested in an EverQuest movie? Which of the two are you more interested in… the Warcraft movie, or an EverQuest one?
played EQ for 9 years and the movie would work because not only would you get all current players wanting to the movie but all the old players would watch it as well because they would have too they just couldnt let the chance pass because a little bit of evercrack is in them all :)
Warcraft sucks! Everquest is leaps and bounds better.. SO who cares about the Warcraft movie!? Everquest rules
First off I am an avid gamer. I dedicate at least 2 hours a night give or take during the week and on average about 3-7 hours a day on the weekend (when my wife lets me). I have played EQ, EQ2, WOW, Guild Wars and Star Wars. I somehow always go back to EQ which was my original introduction to on-line gaming. True I have in the past become board with the game and needed to take breaks from time to time but lately the content has become more interesting with added graphics and the Lore involved. I do have to hand it to the team at SOE for greatly improving the content of the game and the depth of the storylines.
When I first heard about the possibility of a movie I though that I will be a great idea to re-introduce some older and original players to return to the game and enjoy the new content, and attract new people who are curious about the game itself. Overall a huge marketing and advertising campaign, but thinking deeper a movie will not do justice. The reason being that the game is designed for individuals experience for example you create a character or toon and that character molds into your own personality and play style due to the interactivity. A movie on the other hand would be missing that connectivity that players have. Not to mention that there are different classes and races to incorporate into a movie setting. It will be interesting to see a Gnome and a Barbarian stand next to each other battling a dragon. The movie can go either way either evolves into an epic hit like Lord of the Rings or an otter flop. Personally I will see the movie because I am a fan of the game but it will depend on the reviews and weather or not I will watch at the box office or wait for it to show up in a midnight matinee on TV.
Although I did say before that I was stoked about a World of Warcraft movie, after giving it some thought, I am unsure that the idea of a movie based on any MMORPG is a good idea. MMO’s are still videogames, and as a whole, movies based on source material from that medium haven’t done as well as some of us would like (and yes, I include the Resident Evil.. well what seems like a “trilogy” in that category). Having played several different MMORPG titles over the past five years (Star Wars: Galaxies, Lineage 2, RF Online and yes, World of Warcraft), I can say that these games offer an immersive, interactive experience in the game’s setting. Motion pictures are by their nature observatorial, non-interactive. The best that one can hope for is to see the game’s setting realized on film, most likely through both live-action footage and CGI animation. To me, it would have to depend on several factors:
1: The Script. It had better be balanced in its storytelling, with a good mix of action and drama, so as to appeal to a broad audience that might not have hard of your game. The writer should also have a good idea as to what the game’s setting is, and the kind of stories that you can tell in that framework. If I’m gonna see a World of Warcraft movie, it would make sense to have a story related to either the Alliance, Horde or the Burning Legion.
2: The Director: He/She should be experienced, but particularly with regards to effects-heavy productions. He should also have a clear idea as to the game’s setting. A movie based on, say, Everquest could be shot live-action, with CGI effects, but World of Warcraft might probably work out better if it was in full CGI. The thought of seeing a puppeteer in a “Tauren suit” just sounds plain goofy to me.
3: The Producer: I’m not mocking this “sacred institution”, but basically, this person’s job is to sign the checks, and step in only when it is absolutely necessary to do so, but in this day and age of studio meddling, don’t get your hopes up. To me, if the producer wants to MAKE the movie, then by all means, step in and do it yourself. Effects-heavy movies take a fair amount of time to produce, so he should be aware of this, and set realistic production deadlines. He should also be conscious of the impending industry stike, so speeding things along for the sake of completion might not be a bad idea.
Well, that’s my two cents. Sorry if I offended anyone with this, but that’s just my honest opinion. Take it or leave it.
Deep inside, want to see both. Will I show up and stand inline to go see it? Probably not…the badge of true geekdom is too heavy to bare! (At least in public! ;p )
Well being that I am a hardcore World of Warcraft player id have to say that I’m way more excited about the Warcraft movie. Everquest the movie just seems 6 years too late.
I remeber when the everquest movie was announced like 5 years ago. But times changed WOW if far more popular and has much more of a chance to do well in sales. That makes me think about if the studio wanted to make a Sonic the Hedgehog movie now as apose to back in 92′ or 93′ when sonic was king. I wanna know were’s my Devil May Cry movie? They need a script? I have one in works. Hell I even star in the movie. The point is some games can only be popular for so long so there no point in doing a movie based on it when its popularity has passed. I dont hear anyone asking me if I play Everquest 2.
I played EQ quite some time ago, quit playing because I got bored, and took up with WoW about two years ago (quit playing it this spring because again, I got bored). While I haven’t thought of EQ for years, I would still be interested to see a movie on it, thought I don’t expect it would be any good…
As for WoW, that world has such rich stories. I think that it would make a much better movie, so I have to admit I look forward to that movie much more, but I would still see the EQ one.
I think its good that the fantasy genre is getting more attention lately always thought there was a lot of untapped sources in that area.
OK SO MY GOOD FRIEND IS A HIGH UP AT EA, WEEL JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, WETHER U BELIEVE IT OR NOT , THERE ARE A LOT OF VIDEO GAME MOVIES COMING OUT IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS AND THEY ARE GONNA HAVE AROUND A 100 MILLION BANK ROLL ON THEM….GREAT PRODUCERS, GRWEAT DIRECTORS…..BASICALLY THERE WONT BE AS MANY SHITTY GAME MOVIES COMMING OUT AND I REALLY THINK THAT WARCRAFT ITSELF WILL BE AN AMAZING MOVIE……THERE IS WAY MORE TO THIS THEN U THINK….15 NEW MMORP’S ARE COMING OUT NEXT YEAR AND WARCRAFT IS ENDING…….THIS COULD LEAD TO SOMETHING BIG….LIKE REALLY BIG….PS EVERQUEST WAS LAME BUT ITS ALL THAT WAS AVAILABLE FOR YEARS…..DOUG TRY OUT TABULA RAUS AND MAYBE WARHAMMER…..I CAN GARUANTEE A WARHAMMER MOVIE COMMING OUT AROUND 2010 OR AFTER….THAT SHIT HAS SUCH A HUGE FANBASE.
EQ movie will either be good or bad of course but the important thing is it has alot of potential. I know how to make EQ a great movie that no one has done for a movie franchise and thats what needs to be done to keep it from doing a james bond or spiderman demise to its franchise. If the movie comes out with a bunch of special effects and no story, or all story no eye candy it will fail. You want great mmo’s and great movies? The resource has not been tapped yet.