Gryphos
Auror
Often you get people talking about how some books should never be adapted lest the story be ruined, etc etc. And often they're correct, because some stories are just better written than seen and heard. But then I started thinking about the other side to it. Surely there are some stories that simply cannot be told through the written word, or at least are much better suited to a visual medium, whether that's as a film or game.
A few that come to mind:
The video game Journey absolutely cannot be told as a written story. My reasoning is that the entire game is devoid of any dialogue. In a way it transcends language. because of this, even translating the events of the game to a written medium completely ruins that aspect.
Then there's also the game Dark Souls, a major strength of which is its ability to completely immerse the player in a world without them even knowing. This is done through everything from the background design to the item descriptions the player may or may not bother to read. This ability to put things in the background is something books can't really do.
I also though about the film Gravity that came out fairly recently. This film totally relies (more than most films) on atmosphere and tension being created through things like ambient sounds, which isn't really possible with the written word.
In fact most horror films I can think of, I can't imagine would work well written. Sure, there have been plenty of scary books, but there have been far more and far scarier films IMHO. And again, that's mainly due to how a visual and audible medium better allows the creator to create atmosphere through sound design.
So those are my thoughts. I just thought it was interesting to think about. So what do you guys think? Can you think of any other stories that cannot be told in a written medium? What are some strengths of visual mediums over written ones?
A few that come to mind:
The video game Journey absolutely cannot be told as a written story. My reasoning is that the entire game is devoid of any dialogue. In a way it transcends language. because of this, even translating the events of the game to a written medium completely ruins that aspect.
Then there's also the game Dark Souls, a major strength of which is its ability to completely immerse the player in a world without them even knowing. This is done through everything from the background design to the item descriptions the player may or may not bother to read. This ability to put things in the background is something books can't really do.
I also though about the film Gravity that came out fairly recently. This film totally relies (more than most films) on atmosphere and tension being created through things like ambient sounds, which isn't really possible with the written word.
In fact most horror films I can think of, I can't imagine would work well written. Sure, there have been plenty of scary books, but there have been far more and far scarier films IMHO. And again, that's mainly due to how a visual and audible medium better allows the creator to create atmosphere through sound design.
So those are my thoughts. I just thought it was interesting to think about. So what do you guys think? Can you think of any other stories that cannot be told in a written medium? What are some strengths of visual mediums over written ones?