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The Future of the Manhunter Series - Interest Check

Total Posts: 7

Joined 2015-04-01

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First of all, I’d like to thank Jack Allin for allowing us to post this.

Second, I realize the date is April 1st, but I swear this isn’t an April Fools joke.

Before I begin, if you’re not familiar with, or simply need a refresher, a good summation of the Manhunter series can be found at http://manhunter.talkspot.com/aspx/m/598985

I am a fan of the Manhunter series, and have been since the games were new. Like most of us, I was disappointed that the games left us on a cliffhanger that was never resolved. There were rumors almost ten years ago that the series was back on track, but these rumors actually went nowhere.

Manhunter is quite interesting in that it tells a pretty heavy story in an extremely minimalist fashion. The backstory is mostly implied, and it’s been rattling around in my head for over 25 years now. So I had approached Dave and DeeDee Murray to see if I could get their blessing on a short film spinoff homage to Manhunter. Perhaps something like Manhunter: New Orleans, set against the Louisiana bayous. They liked the idea.

Over the course of the next year, it was decided why do a more-or-less spinoff short film, when we can push forward and make a feature-length film?

In the meantime, Dave revealed to me that it is about time for Manhunter to get its resolution. There will be new Manhunter games before the end of the decade. The plan as it stands is a movie or two, which would catch us up to the timeline of the games. Then the new Manhunter game would be released, continuing where the games left off, as well as new films continuing where the movies left off. However, both the film and the games come with an “if” and a “but.”

That is partly what this post is about.

You see, Activision currently holds the rights to the Manhunter franchise. Evryware could work with them on the next Manhunter game, but Activision gets an 80% cut, and that’s not very appealing. This leaves us two choices: Either get the rights back (which is not unheard of, Big Finish got Tex Murphy back from Microsoft), or continue on with projects that would be Manhunter in all but name.

Before we do any of this, though, we wanted to test the waters. And what better places to start, than with the communities that would already have the most familiarity with the series? The classic gaming and adventure gaming communities.

So here’s a little questionnaire. Don’t feel you have to answer every one, but also don’t feel you have to limit yourselves to yes/no answers either if you wish to elaborate or provide input or feedback. And we understand skepticism, so don’t hold back!

1) Would you be interested in seeing a film based on the Manhunter series?

  1A) The first film, at the very least, would most likely be distributed though     VOD. Does this affect your interest? What about if instead of paid VOD, it were available on Netflix?

2) Does your interest change if the film requires changes that would preserve the story, but remove references to things like “Manhunter,” “MAD,” etc.? This would be the version that would come from not being able to come to terms with Activision.

The first round of funding would be through the use of crowdfunding; Kickstarter or Indiegogo or other services. This would be for the film, not the game.

3) Is this a project that you feel you might contribute to? Feel free to say no, our feelings will not be hurt.

  3A) Would your desire to contribute change based on the goal amount? Starting with microbudget (below $30,000) and moving up to low-moderate ($2 million). (The actual budget is neither of these)

4) Would you be more, less or unchanged in your desire to contribute to a crowdfunding effort if it included raising funds to reacquire the Manhunter rights?

5) What kind of rewards would you like to see offered in the crowdfunding campaign?

Regarding the film itself…

6) Would you prefer the film to be a prequel, dealing with the events leading up to Manhunter: New York, or would you rather the film go right into the story beginning with the events of MH:NY?

7) Is your interest affected by fundamental changes to the Manhunter story? An example would be that in the games, humans are banned from speaking in public. The film would not have this ban.

8) PG-13 or R?

  8A) Manhunter is known for blood and gore. Would you be interested in a much bloodier “Unrated” version?

That’s all I have for now. If you have any feedback or concerns or questions for me or for Dave, you can either ask here or email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). I’ll try to reply as quickly as I can.

     
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PM

Hey, first time posting here on AG.

1) Would you be interested in seeing a film based on the Manhunter series?
I sure would!

  1A) The first film, at the very least, would most likely be distributed though   VOD. Does this affect your interest? What about if instead of paid VOD, it were available on Netflix?

Video on Demand is tricky, because it’s very sight unseen and is very reliant on reviews. Netflix or another streaming service is the way to go if you can manage it.

2) Does your interest change if the film requires changes that would preserve the story, but remove references to things like “Manhunter,” “MAD,” etc.? This would be the version that would come from not being able to come to terms with Activision.

Not really. The setting is very interesting and you could still take a page from Serenity and make the film title some kind of reference to the games.

3) Is this a project that you feel you might contribute to? Feel free to say no, our feelings will not be hurt.

Yeah. I would.

4) Would you be more, less or unchanged in your desire to contribute to a crowdfunding effort if it included raising funds to reacquire the Manhunter rights?

It can really help, considering it’s not only for the film, but future projects.

5) What kind of rewards would you like to see offered in the crowdfunding campaign?

The movie, access to production art, scripts and such. Hard printed stuff like t-shirts are a pain to get involved.

Regarding the film itself…

6) Would you prefer the film to be a prequel, dealing with the events leading up to Manhunter: New York, or would you rather the film go right into the story beginning with the events of MH:NY?

Do either a retelling of the first story or a new side story. We don’t need to know how everything happens.

7) Is your interest affected by fundamental changes to the Manhunter story? An example would be that in the games, humans are banned from speaking in public. The film would not have this ban.

As long as you keep the oppressive feel. Like humans can’t be in large groups or do public speaking. No organizing can easily get across the “no speaking” without handicapping the film unless you wanted to do a kind of Sherlock style “texting” set up.

Cool PG-13 or R?

These days PG-13 is very much an 1980s R. So PG-13

  8A) Manhunter is known for blood and gore. Would you be interested in a much bloodier “Unrated” version?

Sure, if it helps the story or adds to the mood.

     
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Would I be interested in a third Manhunter game? Yes, very much! See here. (Just the first post, the rest is about other stuff.)

Would I be interested in a Manhunter film? Hm, haven’t thought about it… not really. Sounds like an extremely ambitious project too.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Total Posts: 7

Joined 2015-04-01

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Karlok - 02 April 2015 09:32 AM

Would I be interested in a third Manhunter game? Yes, very much! See here. (Just the first post, the rest is about other stuff.)

Would I be interested in a Manhunter film? Hm, haven’t thought about it… not really. Sounds like an extremely ambitious project too.

Thanks for your feedback.

Interest in the games aren’t an issue. Like I said in my post, new games are coming.

But the film, yes it’s ambitious, but all films are ambitious. But may I ask what about the film are you not interested in?

See, what I’m actually doing is looking to find if people are interested enough in the idea of a Manhunter movie before I devote the time to creating the script. Otherwise I will simply push production on another film up by a few months.

For clarification, this is not a no-budget youtube-destined fanfilm. We’ve got indie film award nominees and winners on the team, and our FX/makeup lead is a rising star. So while yes, I’m a fan of Manhunter, this is a real, professional production we’re putting together. We just want to see if enough people remember or care enough. And from the results we’ve been seeing, it’s been inconclusive. This thread has hundreds of views, but only two responses, and those are split, so it’s been tough to tell if people don’t actually have an opinion or if people don’t know what games I’m talking about. We’ve had similar results in other places too. Interest seems to be split right down the middle, but the number of responses has been much smaller than anticipated based on the size of the communities.

 

     
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I think the view to response ratio would suggest that many people consider this project/proposal suspect. That’s just my guess, however, and in no way a statement of any fact.


Bt

     

Total Posts: 7

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Blackthorne - 04 April 2015 10:32 PM

I think the view to response ratio would suggest that many people consider this project/proposal suspect. That’s just my guess, however, and in no way a statement of any fact.


Bt

No, no I get it. I even mentioned early on that I understand skepticism. But this is kind of the risk we’re taking by keeping our interest checks to these smaller communities. We’re not ready to make any sort of formal announcement yet, but we do want to see if we can get a nibble. It won’t hurt my feelings to scrap the whole thing due to lack of interest, because I’ll just turn it into something else. But as a fan, I would much rather see the story told as genuinely as possible. Other than that, I don’t really know how to make this anything BUT suspect, because we are NOT in pre-production, we are NOT asking for any money yet and we don’t even have a SCRIPT yet. All we have is the cooperation of Dave and DeeDee Murray (Barry, sadly, passed away some years back) and a team prepared to film once it’s ready.

     

Total Posts: 188

Joined 2004-03-18

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The Manhunter series in general had a strong effect on me as it had on you. If games are coming no matter what, that is fantastic.

1. Maybe? It really would just depend on whether it came out good. Aeon Flux the cartoon is one of my favorite things in the world, but when the live-action movie came out and was universally considered awful I had no interest in seeing it until I finally rented the DVD and fell asleep during it.

The Manhunter I have in my head and in AGI graphics does not feel like it would translate well to live-action film, but that really depends on you as a filmmaker/filmmakers.

1A. Doesn’t effect interest as long as I can watch it on a TV rather than on a laptop screen (through Netflix, direct download, or any other service that’s available on PS3 etc.).

2. Interest does not really change, again it depends on you as a filmmaker. Would certainly prefer everything is intact though of course.

3. If I see some of your other work and like it and/or am just feeling generous than yes, although I have never contributed to a Kickstarter before.

3A. Wouldn’t matter to me but I can’t imagine you reaching something like $2,000,000 unless you had some well-known filmmakers on your team. The Manhunter name alone is certainly not enough. Look at the failed Police Quest Kickstarter.

4. Would very much increase desire to contribute if it includes game rights.

5. I don’t care.

6. Would rather us be dropped right into that world. People are way too concerned nowadays with “knowing the whole backstory”. Who cares?

7. See answer 1.

8. Doesn’t matter.

8A. Doesn’t matter, would rather time and effort not be wasted on it unless you have a strong vision for it.

     
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Joined 2004-01-25

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Since there have not been many replies, I’m going to add my 0.02.

Your original post was too long and confusing. It would have been easier to ask people if they would be interested in a movie based on the Manhunter games. However, I can’t see much point in your project - you want to make a movie based on an obscure game from an obscure genre. Further to that - you say that a key element in the games is that people can’t talk in public, but this won’t be the case in the movie.

What is the point and purpose of those movie, then? Judging from the questions you have posed, I don’t think you even know yourself/yourselves. A Manhunter game would struggle to hit a very low target via crowdfunding. Crowdfunding a Manhunter movie sounds like a waste of time.

Also, in the future I’d probably avoid posting things like this on April 1st.

     
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I think Toefur has a point here. You’re talking about a movie based on an obscure game in a niche genre. Even within our community, I don’t think more than a handful of people have actually played the Manhunter games. Heck, some of them are probably not even aware the games existed in the first place.
If you’re aiming at the nostalgia crowd with this project, I feel you’re aiming at far too small a group to ever achieve anything…

That’s not to say that it would hurt the project by linking it to the games, but you need more than that to reach an actual audience. Blood and gore alone won’t cut it, imo, you’ll need an interesting hook - like humans not being allowed to speak/communicate - as a selling point, something that can elevate the project to make it worth seeing. But if you plan on even losing that, then really, what’s left? A cheap version of the Tom Cruise vehicle ‘Oblivion’? A variant on the ‘V’ series?

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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Total Posts: 2704

Joined 2004-08-02

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These are my replies so I hope it helps out. I am being very honest so hopefully like you said, I won’t be hurting any feelings.

1) Would you be interested in seeing a film based on the Manhunter series?
Maybe but not because it is related to Manhunter. If I would watch it, it is because the film itself will appeal to me. I have never played Manhunter, and have no nostalgia associated with it.

  1A) The first film, at the very least, would most likely be distributed though   VOD. Does this affect your interest? What about if instead of paid VOD, it were available on Netflix?
I don’t use paid VOD but I might watch it on Netflix.

2) Does your interest change if the film requires changes that would preserve the story, but remove references to things like “Manhunter,” “MAD,” etc.? This would be the version that would come from not being able to come to terms with Activision.
Not really since I have no connection with Manhunter.


3) Is this a project that you feel you might contribute to? Feel free to say no, our feelings will not be hurt.
I have never contributed to a movie on Kickstarter so probably not.

  3A) Would your desire to contribute change based on the goal amount? Starting with microbudget (below $30,000) and moving up to low-moderate ($2 million). (The actual budget is neither of these)
No it won’t

4) Would you be more, less or unchanged in your desire to contribute to a crowdfunding effort if it included raising funds to reacquire the Manhunter rights?
No

5) What kind of rewards would you like to see offered in the crowdfunding campaign?
I don’t care myself.

Regarding the film itself…

6) Would you prefer the film to be a prequel, dealing with the events leading up to Manhunter: New York, or would you rather the film go right into the story beginning with the events of MH:NY?

If it is a movie, it should stand up by itself, and not rely on any knowledge of the game. Like myself, I bet there are tons and tons of people who have not played Manhunter or even heard about it.

7) Is your interest affected by fundamental changes to the Manhunter story? An example would be that in the games, humans are banned from speaking in public. The film would not have this ban.
No

Cool PG-13 or R?
Doesn’t matter for me.

  8A) Manhunter is known for blood and gore. Would you be interested in a much bloodier “Unrated” version?
Blood and gore are fine with me, as long as the movie itself is good.

     

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TimovieMan - 05 April 2015 08:25 AM

I think Toefur has a point here. You’re talking about a movie based on an obscure game in a niche genre. Even within our community, I don’t think more than a handful of people have actually played the Manhunter games. Heck, some of them are probably not even aware the games existed in the first place.
If you’re aiming at the nostalgia crowd with this project, I feel you’re aiming at far too small a group to ever achieve anything…

That’s not to say that it would hurt the project by linking it to the games, but you need more than that to reach an actual audience. Blood and gore alone won’t cut it, imo, you’ll need an interesting hook - like humans not being allowed to speak/communicate - as a selling point, something that can elevate the project to make it worth seeing. But if you plan on even losing that, then really, what’s left? A cheap version of the Tom Cruise vehicle ‘Oblivion’? A variant on the ‘V’ series?

Again, I’d like to mention that we are a team of actual professional filmmakers, we’re just not taking this public yet. We are not entirely or even as a majority aiming at the nostalgia crowd, because yes, we’d get very little in terms of funding. Right now, we’re just approaching the communities that would be the most likely to recognize the source material and gauge interest. For something like this, we’d normally use a focus group, but it’s hard to put one together for something as obscure as Manhunter. The trade-off is we have to rely on the notoriously skeptical internet to give us a drop of belief and pray we get feedback that isn’t “I’m not interested because this will never get made.” But, we now know that for a game that won AGOTY from several sources in 1989, the game is surprisingly more obscure than we thought. This has its own positives and negatives that we wouldn’t have known otherwise.

As for hooks, the non-speaking thing just doesn’t work in a modern film. Nobody is going to sit through 90 minutes of nobody speaking. In the games it was just a convenient way around technological restrictions. This doesn’t mean we’d just leave a void where that element originally was. There’s more than enough there that you’d never miss it. We’re not looking to crank out some Uwe Boll style fast-buck adaptation. It’ll be good things, and I appreciate the feedback. In fact, I hope I’m not coming off as defensive, because I 100% appreciate every word written here. It’s more helpful than you can imagine. Smile

By the way, the stuff about backstory vs jumping right in? For the record, that comes from a discussion Dave and I have been having. He wants backstory, I want to just jump right in. That’s been really valuable feedback you guys. Thanks.

     
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MeatBeagleFilms - 05 April 2015 12:44 PM

Again, I’d like to mention that we are a team of actual professional filmmakers, we’re just not taking this public yet.

Then why immediately go the VOD/Netflix route? Why not try a limited theatrical release?

But, we now know that for a game that won AGOTY from several sources in 1989, the game is surprisingly more obscure than we thought. This has its own positives and negatives that we wouldn’t have known otherwise.

That’s actually a good thing as you won’t get as much flak for changing story elements. You can take what worked best in the Manhunter games, and drop/alter what didn’t work. More leeway, imo.

As for hooks, the non-speaking thing just doesn’t work in a modern film. Nobody is going to sit through 90 minutes of nobody speaking.

Sure it works, and sure they will. A SILENT film won the Best Picture Oscar three years ago. Wink
It just needs a fitting approach, which would make the project actually a lot more ambitious. Besides, “speaking is not allowed” does not mean “speaking is not possible” - it wouldn’t necessarily be a silent film… Wink

By the way, the stuff about backstory vs jumping right in? For the record, that comes from a discussion Dave and I have been having. He wants backstory, I want to just jump right in.

With the nature of this story (and if you’re going the route of an alien or pro-alien protagonist who slowly becomes privy to the treatment of humans and switches sides), you just need a very basic backstory and learn all the details as you go along. A two-sentence intro would probably do, and then you jump right in. Cool

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

Total Posts: 188

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MeatBeagleFilms - 05 April 2015 12:44 PM
TimovieMan - 05 April 2015 08:25 AM

I think Toefur has a point here. You’re talking about a movie based on an obscure game in a niche genre. Even within our community, I don’t think more than a handful of people have actually played the Manhunter games. Heck, some of them are probably not even aware the games existed in the first place.
If you’re aiming at the nostalgia crowd with this project, I feel you’re aiming at far too small a group to ever achieve anything…

That’s not to say that it would hurt the project by linking it to the games, but you need more than that to reach an actual audience. Blood and gore alone won’t cut it, imo, you’ll need an interesting hook - like humans not being allowed to speak/communicate - as a selling point, something that can elevate the project to make it worth seeing. But if you plan on even losing that, then really, what’s left? A cheap version of the Tom Cruise vehicle ‘Oblivion’? A variant on the ‘V’ series?

Again, I’d like to mention that we are a team of actual professional filmmakers, we’re just not taking this public yet. We are not entirely or even as a majority aiming at the nostalgia crowd, because yes, we’d get very little in terms of funding. Right now, we’re just approaching the communities that would be the most likely to recognize the source material and gauge interest. For something like this, we’d normally use a focus group, but it’s hard to put one together for something as obscure as Manhunter. The trade-off is we have to rely on the notoriously skeptical internet to give us a drop of belief and pray we get feedback that isn’t “I’m not interested because this will never get made.” But, we now know that for a game that won AGOTY from several sources in 1989, the game is surprisingly more obscure than we thought. This has its own positives and negatives that we wouldn’t have known otherwise.

As for hooks, the non-speaking thing just doesn’t work in a modern film. Nobody is going to sit through 90 minutes of nobody speaking. In the games it was just a convenient way around technological restrictions. This doesn’t mean we’d just leave a void where that element originally was. There’s more than enough there that you’d never miss it. We’re not looking to crank out some Uwe Boll style fast-buck adaptation. It’ll be good things, and I appreciate the feedback. In fact, I hope I’m not coming off as defensive, because I 100% appreciate every word written here. It’s more helpful than you can imagine. Smile

By the way, the stuff about backstory vs jumping right in? For the record, that comes from a discussion Dave and I have been having. He wants backstory, I want to just jump right in. That’s been really valuable feedback you guys. Thanks.

Some more on backstory:

The original game manuals and worlds did provide backstory, including the in-game museum exhibits. There’s really nothing else I feel I need to know about the Orb invasion, though of course things would need to be reiterated for a filmgoing audience. Also just from a practical/budget standpoint it seems it would be easier to just drop in on the post-invasion world rather than showing how it happened. More lore can still be dropped in to the movies/games without explicitly showing those events.

And isn’t there origin story fatigue yet with all these reboots that keep repeating origin stories?

Also please note that most nerd gamer types (and probably most people in general) are NOT happy with the idea of a story having to go through changes in an adaptation to a different medium. They will rage and froth at the mouth whether the details are tiny or large, and they’ll only shut up if and when the adaptation turns out to be good. If it turns out to be bad, like every video game movie ever, they blame the fact that the filmmakers “didn’t stick closely enough to the source material”, which is obviously moronic. (The reason every video game movie ever has been bad is because they were made by bad filmmakers, not because they changed the story.) So be aware of that and don’t let it get to you, especially with a fanbase as unfortunately small as Manhunter’s.

     

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TimovieMan - 05 April 2015 04:18 PM

Then why immediately go the VOD/Netflix route? Why not try a limited theatrical release?

Excellent question! This is kind of a conceit of mine. I’m a huge fan of VOD and I was involved with a push to give legitimacy to VOD and digital distribution for years. It’s finally starting to pay off. If we got enough interest (and money), sure I’d be willing to go theatrical. But ultimately, this film is kind of a gift to myself, and so I’m not looking to do any sort of theatrical distribution deals that might compromise making a fun and entertaining movie first.

That’s actually a good thing as you won’t get as much flak for changing story elements. You can take what worked best in the Manhunter games, and drop/alter what didn’t work. More leeway, imo.

Yes! The great thing here is if you go back, you’ll see that much of Manhunter’s story is implied or vastly simplified, so I can kind of play with it as I want and not affect the story. Manhunter: SF’s story is a little more solid, but there’s still plenty to play with. And based on the general response I’ve gotten, this particular series isn’t really held as a sacred cow by its fans, so I’m less worried about making a completely faithful adaptation and instead making a film that fans of Manhunter would instantly recognize as being very much inspired by, but not necessarily completely based on. I wanted to keep some tongue-in-cheek references to the game in there, such as references to the arcade sequences or some of the more obtuse puzzles, but to do that I have to balance it so that they would also be humorous to general audiences without coming off as wacky and breaking the pacing. I don’t want anything that would fly over the heads of people unfamiliar with the games, though. This was the biggest problem with Kevin Smith’s Tusk, in that a lot of the jokes and references made no sense unless you’ve been following his podcasts.

This honestly affects Dave and the new game team more than me, because he really wanted to have the next game be the actual third in the series. Fans like me would welcome this, but it’s becoming clear that going that route is going to really alienate newcomers. Big Finish could do this because Tex Murphy fans have maintained a strong community, but Manhunter fans really haven’t. I mean there were only two games over 25 years ago, so it’s kind of hard to keep a torch burning. From my research, it’s looking more and more likely that they need to rethink the idea of a reboot/reimagining of the series.

Sure it works, and sure they will. A SILENT film won the Best Picture Oscar three years ago. Wink
It just needs a fitting approach, which would make the project actually a lot more ambitious. Besides, “speaking is not allowed” does not mean “speaking is not possible” - it wouldn’t necessarily be a silent film… Wink

The Artist worked as a silent film because it was ABOUT the silent film era. I’m not saying we’re not going to keep SOME elements of the forced silence in place, for example humans will not be allowed to assemble in groups above a certain size. In the games, only the orbs spoke at all. In the film, there will be human dialog, but not without risks.

With the nature of this story (and if you’re going the route of an alien or pro-alien protagonist who slowly becomes privy to the treatment of humans and switches sides), you just need a very basic backstory and learn all the details as you go along. A two-sentence intro would probably do, and then you jump right in. Cool

Yeah, this is more or less the approach I was looking at.

     

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Venkman - 05 April 2015 04:45 PM

Some more on backstory:

The original game manuals and worlds did provide backstory, including the in-game museum exhibits. There’s really nothing else I feel I need to know about the Orb invasion, though of course things would need to be reiterated for a filmgoing audience. Also just from a practical/budget standpoint it seems it would be easier to just drop in on the post-invasion world rather than showing how it happened. More lore can still be dropped in to the movies/games without explicitly showing those events.

And isn’t there origin story fatigue yet with all these reboots that keep repeating origin stories?

Also please note that most nerd gamer types (and probably most people in general) are NOT happy with the idea of a story having to go through changes in an adaptation to a different medium. They will rage and froth at the mouth whether the details are tiny or large, and they’ll only shut up if and when the adaptation turns out to be good. If it turns out to be bad, like every video game movie ever, they blame the fact that the filmmakers “didn’t stick closely enough to the source material”, which is obviously moronic. (The reason every video game movie ever has been bad is because they were made by bad filmmakers, not because they changed the story.) So be aware of that and don’t let it get to you, especially with a fanbase as unfortunately small as Manhunter’s.

That’s pretty much my take on everything as well. I believe that if backstory is THAT important to the main story, then it can be told over the course of the narrative. I’m not a fan of unnecessary exposition.

I also hate origin stories, especially if they’re things that an audience already understands. Peter Parker got bit by a radioactive spider. Good. We don’t need 30 minutes of movie establishing this. Put him in a costume and get to work. Our Manhunter needs to do the same thing. The orbs are here, we accept that, so let’s put him in his robes and get to work!

And yes, I’ve been one of those people who has raged and frothed. I don’t think the problem is so much that filmmakers don’t stick to the source material enough, but I do agree about bad filmmakers. I think the biggest problem with adaptations is just that very often the makers don’t respect the source material enough. That said, I don’t plan on selling this as a video game adaptation for various obvious reasons.

     

Total Posts: 188

Joined 2004-03-18

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MeatBeagleFilms - 05 April 2015 05:24 PM

This honestly affects Dave and the new game team more than me, because he really wanted to have the next game be the actual third in the series. Fans like me would welcome this, but it’s becoming clear that going that route is going to really alienate newcomers. Big Finish could do this because Tex Murphy fans have maintained a strong community, but Manhunter fans really haven’t. I mean there were only two games over 25 years ago, so it’s kind of hard to keep a torch burning. From my research, it’s looking more and more likely that they need to rethink the idea of a reboot/reimagining of the series.

Both things might be doable. Perhaps make the first new game a new city with a new protagonist (female, it’s 2015) who will eventually get to London and meet up with the original dude. There could be references to the other games’ events, like hearing rumors about the NYC bombings (yikes, that’s delicate) etc. This would of course make you and I very happy although it would be largely irrelevant to 95%+ of the new game’s audience.

There also may be a shot at getting good press by going total AGI retro with the graphics…or some sort of funky cel-shading that makes a 3D world look like that.

     

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