It’s inevitable that in this modern era, a lot of media that gets green lit and produced is going to be based on a franchise.  This is for the simple reason that the sheer amount of time effort and money that goes into these projects is enough to make you sink into a little inadequacy filled puddle of awe and they have to stand a decent chance of making a profit or at the very least not cause a loss.  If your project is based on a pre existing franchise with a pre existing fan base, then some of your work is done for you.  You don’t have to market the thing quite so aggressively, you’ve got people providing the hype for you, and you’ve got a large group of people who will pay you for your work regardless of the eventual quality.

It can be heartbreaking to see something handled badly.  There is a lot of resentment towards fan-loved properties that are somehow distorted beyond recognition by a translation to a different medium.  Sometimes it even comes from the original creators and you suddenly realise that you attached more significance and meaning to something that was somewhat a fluke.  Although it happens a lot with sequels and reboots, it’s even more common when something goes from one form to another, for example a line of toys to a line of blockbuster action films that seem to be focused on borderline racist one liners and extended screen time for American military types.

Every now and then though, somebody gets it right.  Somebody manages to take something that is complicated, dense, rich and sometimes awkward, and usher it into a new form.  The world of franchise translators and rebooters and sequelisers should take notes from Relic Entertainment for their work on the upcoming video game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.

I am a long recovering Citadel Miniature fan and spend a lot of disposable income and time investing in an embarrassing number of little plastic figurines that were then painted and hurled into tabletop dice-swayed battles, but for anyone unfamiliar with the universe, Warhammer 40,000 is an absurdly grim and gritty futuristic world where humanity is on the brink of extinction being constantly assailed by horrifying aliens, demons from a hell-dimension and its own self destructive paranoia and religious zeal.  It ups the ante on everything to the point that it comes across as more fun than horrendous in the same way that Snakes on a Plane took itself seriously enough to be ridiculous.

In translating anything from this universe to a video game, Relic must have had a tough time in getting the tone right, but somehow, from what I have seen based on a hands on preview of the game, they’ve identified the core areas that need to be portrayed and made them integral to the plot and the general design.  They’ve had practise with the Dawn of War series, but that almost got more of a free pass as it’s more of a pulled back view like the tabletop miniature game itself, but with Space Marine, you’re thrown right in to experience the horrific setting through the eyes of an individual at ground level.

This is not a cheap cash in.  This is not relying on the fans of a franchise to buy something regardless of quality.  This has been crafted by people who know and respect their source material and have clearly consulted with the original creators on every detail of the finished product.  It is nothing short of a masterpiece in translation from one medium to another.  Frequently I would find myself carefully examining parts of the level design just in awe of how faithful they have been to the general style and quality of the Games Workshop products and was positively enthralled to see so much brought to life in such a believable way.

The game is not perfect, but this should be tempered with the fact that a) I haven’t seen the finished product, just a preview build, b) it’s probably one of the best third person action titles I have ever played, it’s just that the genre in particular doesn’t always resonate with me and c) it’s actually pretty close to perfect.  All the little details about Space Marine are a testament to the feel you can invoke with modern technology and make me think back to everything I have written concerning what a game can be and what it can do.  This manages to do a lot of the background stuff within the constraints of an otherwise big and dumb genre and does so excellently.  I would not be surprised if Relic spent a long time in the planning phase on this one to make sure they got things right.

I implore anybody who is taking something and turning it into something else to drop Relic a line first to see how they went about their work.  They have somehow turned a series of small plastic soldiers with decades of background behind them into something that is equal parts totally different and completely the same.  If you can take Warhammer 40,000 and condense it into a third person action game without losing the essence of what makes it Warhammer 40,000, then I honestly believe you can do anything.  They have shown respect, care and attention to detail with their source material and if you’re not prepared to take the same approach to someone else’s franchise, you should just quite and let someone who will take over.