Games that inspired you to read books

[Lee__Kanker]

In the jap only Book of Lost Memories there is a section dedicated to the literary works that inspired the games and they have a Huge variety both eastern and western
The most peculiar of this was The Box Man by Kubo Abe. A story set in a dingy asian metropolis where a group of people choose to live in these boxes foerever, seldom interacting with the outside world, inside the boxes they scribble what they see the outside world as, and the narator finds one in front of his house and becomes fascinated by it

I wont spoil annything but its definetly not forgettable lets leave it at that

Amnesia the dark descent on the other hand made me want to finally read the entirety of Dracula, I wanted a book about an eccentric immortal nobleman with a dark secret in a big foreign castle being visited by an englishman.
I've left it at like page 200 years ago last time and man it's worth it

It's amazing how a 200+ year old book still feels like horror games with the story being told entirely throgh notes, the way you slowly findout about what the vampires and all the other small stories all tied to the count..
Just listen to this!

 

[retronerdgamer]

Brave Story, I need to get the book because I read a bit of it at the library at my old school but... never got to finish it!

 

[Logi]

Fear and Hunger made me read King in Yellow

 

[psvitaforever]

"Samurai Warriors Chronicles" for 3ds (my first SW game) has inspired me to read a book about those historical times and characters.

 

[RustySK]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. got me to both read Roadside Picnic by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky and watch Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker.

I gotta admit, neither really grabbed me anywhere near as much as the game (and my disdain for Tarkovsky's disdain for basic cinematic pacing remains alive and well to this day), but they made for good entry points into Slavic/Russian history, fiction and cinema, which I'll always be thankful for.

That said, if you like fanciful sci-fi writing with a slant towards the philosophical, Roadside Picnic might still be worth a look.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

In the jap only Book of Lost Memories there is a section dedicated to the literary works that inspired the games and they have a Huge variety both eastern and western
The most peculiar of this was The Box Man by Kubo Abe. A story set in a dingy asian metropolis where a group of people choose to live in these boxes foerever, seldom interacting with the outside world, inside the boxes they scribble what they see the outside world as, and the narator finds one in front of his house and becomes fascinated by it

I wont spoil annything but its definetly not forgettable lets leave it at that
View attachment 10374

Amnesia the dark descent on the other hand made me want to finally read the entirety of Dracula, I wanted a book about an eccentric immortal nobleman with a dark secret in a big foreign castle being visited by an englishman.
I've left it at like page 200 years ago last time and man it's worth it
View attachment 10383
It's amazing how a 200+ year old book still feels like horror games with the story being told entirely throgh notes, the way you slowly findout about what the vampires and all the other small stories all tied to the count..
Just listen to this!

It's crazy how the entirety of Shin Megami Tensei began as licensed games for an obscure Japanese book series. Would I read them? Probably not but it's interesting.

 

[raveci]

i also binged strugatsky bros cause of stalker (aka the best zone), pristine sci-fi, just the best, but the filler in-between can be a bit tedious at times (a lot of the characters like to go on political rants cause soviet union i guess)... roadside picnic though being a short story has minimal filler, so it's a must, but yeah very little to do with the game

then there was witcher books cause of witcher 2 (aka the most meh), first book - masterpiece, then downhill from there, and by the end it felt like discount game of thrones, not what I expected, though must admit it's an above avarage drama, can jerk a tear or two

and the only other thing i remember is neverwinter nights (aka the best dnd game) that led me to brimstone angels somehow, and I don't think I managed even a single chapter, that one was a complete dud

 

[Cu-Neo]

The game Metro 2033 made me read the Novel Metro 2033

Also SMT 1 made read some of the Aya Nishitani "Digital Devil story" novels

 

[raveci]

Dracula

Spoiler

would have been so much better without van helsing, just show up out of nowhere starts mansplaining vampires, and then be like "let us kill all vampire, huzzah" and they kill all vampire huzzah, no arc no strife, other then, like, "oh shoot, no one told granny that garlic ain't for cookin" or "oh, let us hurry up a bit"

 

[Waffles]

Both The Last Of Us and Resident Evil got me to read the books that either inspired them or were made as tie-ins for them.

 

[retronerdgamer]

The game Metro 2033 made me read the Novel Metro 2033 View attachment 10412
Also SMT 1 made read some of the Aya Nishitani "Digital Devil story" novels

I forgot metro was based on a book! I need to read those!

 

[Inkingsama]

I read Parasite Eve after playing Parasite Eve. Good book. Now i wonder what i the game would have been like if the author of the book was involved because i read that he wasn't even told about the game until it was almost done.

 

[VampireLord1024]

I can't say that any games that I've ever played inspired me to read books, as I like reading books in general.

 

[A man on a computer]

I read Parasite Eve after playing Parasite Eve. Good book. Now i wonder what i the game would have been like if the author of the book was involved because i read that he wasn't even told about the game until it was almost done.

It's a shame it's no longer in print, and physical copies cost in the 3 digits.

 

[Ian Naxieas]

Sadly I've never actually read a book because of a video game, but a couple have led me down some rabbit holes. Dynasty Warriors made me do a deep dive into Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Suikoden did the same with the Water Margin.

 

[Firenoh]

Fear and Hunger made me read King in Yellow

Vampire Survivors got me to read it as well. A lot of romance in it, surprisingly.

 

[DoubleSunday]

The Witcher made me buy a kindle and finish my first book in close to a decade with The Last Wish. Good games

 

[Lee__Kanker]

It's crazy how the entirety of Shin Megami Tensei began as licensed games for an obscure Japanese book series. Would I read them? Probably not but it's interesting.

Here's a summary!

 

[7eve70rd]

Alan Wake got me to buy a book by the same name at a library used book sale but I have not read it yet.

 

[dropsmegamega]

Mother 3 inspired me to read Agota Kristof's The Notebook trilogy. These were some of the best books I've read in my whole life, dark visceral experiences with a brothers grimm touch that I'd never think would inspire a nintendo game. So, thanks Itoi!

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Mother 3 inspired me to read Agota Kristof's The Notebook trilogy. These were some of the best books I've read in my whole life, dark visceral experiences with a brothers grimm touch that I'd never think would inspire a nintendo game. So, thanks Itoi!

Can you elaborate on that? it sounds really interesting

Post automatically merged: Jan 15, 2025

Both The Last Of Us and Resident Evil got me to read the books that either inspired them or were made as tie-ins for them.

Such as?

 

[dropsmegamega]

Can you elaborate on that? it sounds really interesting

Its kinda hard to say anything without spoiling it (besides I think I suck at selling things), but basically it's about twin brothers who were left with their grandma during the war period... but it's not exactly a book about war, but rather it focus on their personal experiences, while at the same time their writing attempts to be devoid of subjectivity by narrating just the facts ending up in a very unique style. All characters are fairly complex and unpredictable too.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

Its kinda hard to say anything without spoiling it (besides I think I suck at selling things), but basically it's about twin brothers who were left with their grandma during the war period... but it's not exactly a book about war, but rather it focus on their personal experiences, while at the same time their writing attempts to be devoid of subjectivity by narrating just the facts ending up in a very unique style. All characters are fairly complex and unpredictable too.

You underestimate yourself because I'm sold

Siren also introduced me to a great sghort story: Dagon

"Dagon" by H. P. Lovecraft

'Dagon' by H. P. Lovecraft

www.hplovecraft.com

 

[Meekoos]

Parasite Eve got me hunting for the novel but I never got my hands on the translated book since I was just a kid at the time, it did lead me into more science fiction and horror which broaden my library ever since.

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

Hmmm... answered what made me read books already...

But perhaps the only game that caused me to read (because of it), is probably Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego. if only because the clues required me to look up several things to determine where i should be going rather than brute forcing the answer and losing the criminal for stealing things like the eiffel tower, or mount rushmoore.