@ObZen: That's true, but as an author and creator Moore is allowed some say in the manner in which people experience his material. I'm not saying don't make the movie, I am saying he can object to it all he wants. It just means that he feels strongly about it's primacy as a graphic novel, not a film. I don't disagree with him either, there's no stopping to flip back a few pages in a movie.

perrinbar

@ObZen: You go girl. :D

skullpanda

@Dayvie: I might be mistaken, but I think I remember reading that one episode will be the Minutemen era and the other will be the Crimebusters era.

Mister_Jack

I would be good if they focused more on the original Minutemen and the stories that you only heard about within the dialog of the graphic novel.

An episode where you play as The Comedian in Vietnam, where you would learn more about the characters persona would be alright. Maybe giving Hollis his own episode too.

I think if they did it like this (and did it well) it would be all kinds of win.

Dayvie

Why are replies now all hidden? sad face.

If the game is good, the distribution model probably won't matter much.... Too bad the game is likely going to suck.

outofreach

The first mistake WB made was trying to make this a movie. And then a video game.

And no, I dont fully support Moore's opinion that comics and movies are completely separate. V For Vendetta, LXG, and From Hell all had potential as decent-to-great movies, but they all just ended up sucking. Watchmen, on the other hand, has a far more complex narrative, and I think it in particular won't work as a movie. The ironic part, of course, is that the Watchmen movie appears to be of a much higher quality than the other films. I just hope Snyder doesn't overdo the slow-mo, like with 300. Jeez, that movie's running time could have been cut in half if weren't for that histrionic bullshit.

Great picture of Peanuts, though.

turkish101

@jackydoe: I agree. Just thinking about a certain "thing" that he did during the war was just screwed up, now imagining Linus do that is doubly disturbing.

Then Lucy as the new Silk Spectre makes it more strange.

superfrogsavestokyo

@Floral: Everything Dr. Manhattan does will be better in the movie than it could have been in the comic.

Roto13

And just in case someone on Kotaku hasn't seen the trailer yet...

+ Watch video

Mister_Jack

@Mister_Jack: I'm with you Jack.

ObZen

@Floral: I'm not arguing that, but on the flip side you can say that films can also provide an experience which graphic novels can't. Assuming the film is faithful, which is the way it's looking, we'd be getting the same great story from two different perspectives. Isn't that kind of a win/win?

Mister_Jack

@Floral: Very true. But that doesn't mean the movie will inherently suck. It will simply be a different medium. We will have to see how Mr. Snyder handles it. But so far, god... the trailer literally gave me goosebumps. Note for note perfection.

ObZen

@jackydoe: ...Shit, now that you mention it, it is.

Mister_Jack

@Mister_Jack: Not to turn this into a great debate, but I feel that the graphic novel format can have the reader experience time in a way a movie or game simply cannot. The way time is presented/experienced in Watchmen is as the core of what makes it great.

Floral

@Mister_Jack: Glad someone gets it.

ObZen

@Mister_Jack: The Linus Comedian thing is even more awkward.

jackydoe

@GrandfatherParadox: Yeah. Damn Snyder for knowing that WB was going to make the movie with or without him so he decides to tackle it himself so that it can be as faithful an adaptation as can possibly be done, thus ensuring the fans SOME level of enjoyment rather than letting some other hack director butcher it beyond all recognition like all previous attempts have done, and delivering a trailer that has given the comic more exposure and sales in a few weeks than it had previously seen in its entire existence, turning more people on to Alan Moore and comics as a whole.

Yeah. That guy can go to hell.

ObZen

@lurkingsalt: Not to spoil anything, but if you look at Charlie Brown Manhattan and Snoopy Rorschach and know how that goes....kinda awkward, huh?

Mister_Jack

I think the risk is that people will only buy the first shitty movie tie in episode instead of buying a shitty movie tie in game at full retail price.

Spenze

@Illyr: Yeah great Rorschach.I actually picked up the Complete comic from Target last week. Actually knowing who the peanut gang is dressed up as is great.

lurkingsalt

@Illyr:

I cannot agree more.

RaptureScientist

@Chaoticevl: With everything going on in the book, it's easy to forget that there was a time when they were all going out and kicking ass Final Fight-style.

Mister_Jack

@GrandfatherParadox: I really dislike elitest attitudes like that. So far, the movie looks like it has a lot of potential. It's understandable for Alan Moore to be unhappy with previous adaptations of his work, but he's pre-judging this film before it even comes out because he feels it's an inferior medium for the story. Why can't they both be good, Alan? I loved the graphic novel, and if things go the way they seem, I'll love the film too. What's wrong with that?

Not to mention sales of your book will probably go through the friggin roof.

Mister_Jack

@Mister_Jack: sadly i never though about them doing it as a prequel.

Chaoticevl

Rorschach Snoopy just made my day.

Illyr

@Chaoticevl: It's not like they just died of old age

vedicardi

nice knowing you Warner Bros.
I'll see you and that damn frog in hell

_Ted_

@Chaoticevl: It's a prequel that takes place before the heroes were forced to retire. So there's good old vigilante justice.

Mister_Jack

WB and Zack Snyder can go to hell.

GrandfatherParadox

I don't get how they expect to make a game out of this, it's not like the comic has a large amount of action, it's mostly narrative, back story, and a lot of dead people.

Chaoticevl

How is this taking a risk?

Taking a risk would be not making this game, not making this a film but a mini-series (a format more suited to Watchmen), not putting the twin of Dane Cook (in terms of both talent and appearance) in the director's chair, and not thinking franchise - in other words, showing reverence.

lighten up, morrissey

@TC: You might be right, but my desire to play as Rorschach is outweighing my desire to copulate with a member or the opposite sex.

And that's why I didn't get a date for my junior prom.

Mister_Jack

@perrinbar: Well sure, he has the right to disagree with it, but Snyder isn't all that bad, is he? Moore can believe the graphic novel is the way it was meant to be experienced, that's all fine and dandy, but he is practically acting like he expects the director to completely ruin it. I realize that he's been burnt in the past with film but it still seems kind of disrespectful, especially considering that he's a fan of the comic and is trying his best to make it as faithful as he can rather than cashing in on a shitty superhero movie *coughVforVendettacough*

Mister_Jack

@turkish101: I thought V was actually decent enough for an adaptation. LXG was bad though. Dunno about From Hell.

syafiqjabar

@Illyr:

It's up there with the Watchmen babies (which was in The Simpsons, if I'm not mistaken).

syafiqjabar

That picture is awesome.

A Watchmen video game... would suck. More than likely. The movie? Eh... may be ok. We'll see.

2NinjasTapedTogether

It was Snoopy who said "rawghrawr" then, muffled under latex. It was Snoopy who closed his eyes. It was Rorshach who opened them.

Forestbear

@ObZen: Well said and I can be pure evidence myself towards your point; as a person who saw the trailer and was since turned onto digging out Watchmen from my roomies comic storage -- and loving it ever since. I cannot wait for this movie.

TC

That's all well and good, but when is the second episode of the animated comic coming out on iTunes? I watched the first one, and although there was some bad voice acting, I still thought it was decently done.

jshgambit

@Chaoticevl: I agree a game tie-in of this will seemingly take it out of character. I always considered Watchmen the anti-comicbook comic book. It's mostly a lot of reflection on the character's past, the mistakes, and heavy sense of misanthropy by its writer Alan Moore.

Not sure how a game will convey something new to the Watchmen experience that already isn't conveyed profoundly in its writing. Its clear the game will just contain action fluff unless it goes a Max Payne kind of noir route about it.

I dunno, I'm really mixed on this project.

TC

Sweet, that picture wins the internet for the day.

fearing

@2NinjasTapedTogether: I second that, the picture is awesome.

Usama

Wow. This is one franchise that WB is stupid to create a tie-in videogame for. I mean, seriousy, way to crap all over the work and its intended audience. Do they just not get it? Watchmen was a serious piece of lit that just happens to be a comic book, it's fans take it very seriously. Creating a videogame tie-in is just shitting all over it's legacy.

Who the eff is GlassAdam?

@ObZen: If he'd had any integrity, he would've told WB it's unfilmable.

GrandfatherParadox

@FilthyAssistant: Well, Charlie Brown IS mostly a plot device who spends most of his time being introspective and gets blamed when stuff goes wrong, so you're right there.

MrPerson

@Mister_Jack: V was a great movie and he was a jackass for not wanting his name on it while he left it on that pile of month old abortions known as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Rajolae

Makes sense that Charlie Brown, the whiny character who never does anything of interest but still gets tons of space devoted to him, is Doctor Manhattan in that picture.

FilthyAssistant

I always thought "Watchmen" would work better as an HBO-produced miniseries. They don't make as much money as movies, though. One's gotta consider that when making big-budget productions.

So yeah, the movie's going to be a different beast than the book (which I'm currently re-reading, for the first time in English rather than Norwegian. It's glorious). Here's my guess: Rather than seeing an episodic focus on each of the characters through flashbacks, tied together by the main narrative, we're going to have the movie start with Dr. Manhattan's origin, then move on to the Comedian's murder. It's what makes sense, narratively speaking. Yeah, comic book fans are going to be up in arms about it, but it has to be done, because it's a 2-to-3-hour movie, not a book to be read over the course of several more.

As for the game... If they're smart, they'll focus on the background stuff, the stuff that's barely touched on in the book. Run around blowing stuff up as the Comedian, break people's necks as Rorschach, be all Batman-like in a silly owl costume (then another silly owl costume, only even more high-tech)... But put it in the time period BEFORE the movie, when they were actually running around kicking badguy ass. Put us up against Moloch. And don't give Dr. Manhattan an energy bar.

And please, please, please, no diversions based on the pirate comic. Especially not for the Wii version. I'd hate to see the backlash from a "waggle to drag bloated corpses over to the makeshift raft" minigame.

MrPerson

@Mister_Jack: He has no interest in seeing it being made, and thinks it's a bad idea, and I think that's fine. If he went out and campaigned against it and started filing lawsuits then I'd think he's being ridiculous. I think the movie looks cool so far. Dave Gibbons is highly involved and I think that's great and I'll definately see it, but I understand why he has no interest in such a thing as an artist. He feels artistically it's not doing much, it's just retreading ground already broken. He doesn't see the point of copying someone elses work in a different format. I understand his point. I think the movie looks all kinds of cool, but I understand his point.

Plus he usually signs all the royalties over to the artist who worked on the book being adapted when they make them into movies, so it's not like he's just being a prick with empty words and no back up, he's giving away free money he could be getting from them, to the artist. That's pretty nice.

fearing

@MrPerson: Yep. Also Snoopy, probably the best character but actually had relatively little focus in the original comic strips, is Rorschach. Whoever drew that spent a lot of time thinking about it.

FilthyAssistant

ha. charlie brown's nude.

deathpie

@Rajolae: You clearly haven't read the book.

No offense meant if you have, it's just...you couldn't possibly say that the movie was in any way similar to the book if you had.

One is about anarchism and fascism...the other is about hating Bush.

Sensai

@GrandfatherParadox: A lot of good that would do. "Hey guys, listen. That movie you're planning on making? It'll get you loads from the box office, but it's unfilmable." I'm sure THAT would get them to not make a movie.

DukeOfPwn

@superfrogsavestokyo: Yeah that triumvirate is just weird.

fumar

@Illyr: That picture is just full of win. I'm glad that I finally read the comic last week as well. It really is a must read for anyone who likes comic books.

fumar

Watchmen has barely any combat of any sort, and the whole reason it is good is the amazing narrative and storyline, neither of which translate into a fun to play game. They need not even bother.

Mit

@turkish101: V For Vendetta was a great movie. Although I cant say the same about LXG and From Hell because I have yet to see those.

On Topic: I think the Watchmen videogame could potentially not suck if they have Rorschach just attack and burn people. Oh and they have to get the art style right.

RvolutionPeace

I love this messianic attitude that WB has here.

Yes, you're so brave for releasing a game based on an established brand, and which is still (technically) a movie tie-in, which assures that not only fans of the graphic novel but also newcomers from the movie will buy it, and which will assuredly sell thousands upon thousands of copies. It's even braver that you're doing it in a way so that you not only get a one-time payment, but multiple payments for each episode.

Bravo, bravo.

Certainly more companies could learn from your bravery, Warner Bros. McDonald's, in an act of pure self-sacrifice, should sell their Big Macs in quarter pieces, over the span of a few hours, to prove their bravery. Ford Motors should sell their cars piece by piece, and allow drivers to build them from scratch. And our beloved Valve could learn a thing or two about milking a franchise by releasing "episodes" of a game that was supposedly finished four years ago, instead of making a sequel.

Oh, shiiii-

peAr nectAr

That is the best Peanuts/Watchmen picture ever! Too bad I don't know anything about Watchmen to appreciate it. Maybe if they hurried the movie along, I would know!

dawimp523

@ObZen: I think Zack Snyder could do a really good job, but I'd never call Terry Gilliam and Darren Aronofsky "hack directors". Is there even any evidence they were going to butcher it?

Abno

@GrandfatherParadox: That's just silly. The movie was going to happen, there's nothing that was going to stop it. And hey, you never know, it might just be good, if not great.

I can understand some apprehension about it, but you're taking it to a retarded extreme. Keep an open mind.

BryanH

@ObZen: *glances at the copy of Watchmen he purchased earlier this week because of the trailer*

wandering_nomad

@Muisee: It could be good. I have a lot more hope for it then the average tie-in game. Making it episodic means they won't be furiously trying to complete the entire thing on a tight deadline. They can spend some time on each episode to make it shine, rather than throw out a buggy, incomplete mess just to get the promotional push that the movie will bring. Its a great move for us gamers.

It could still suck of course, but this at least makes me very optimistic.

BryanH

some part of me still thinks this has to be some kind of joke.

seriously, a videogame based on Watchmen? the idea is so stupid it makes my head hurt when I think about it.

Danner

@outofreach: Replies are better now, they're threaded so you can have a back and forth conversation without having to page-hop or continuously scrolling to find someone who's replied to you.

My two cents, anyways.

BryanH

This will be a horrible game, any long time fan will simply pass this up, like myself.

Muisee

@Mister_Jack: I am by no means saying the film will definitely be bad. It is just completely understandable for Moore to be worried about it.

I, personally, am excited about the film and am hoping it will be decent, or dare I say it, awesome.

The book, in the history of its format, is one of the very best of its kind (in my opinion). I feel this is due to the fact that it really pushes what a graphic narrative can be.

For that fact alone, the film adaptation has a great obstacle to overcome.

I fear, at best, it will be a supplement to the book.

My biggest fear is that it rushes through the plot points in 1.5 hours and ruins all suspense and surprise for the people who read it after they see the movie.

Floral

Can't figure out how it can be made into a game. Aside from the fact that they really don't have the balls to keep the original ending anyway.

2-3 night raids with nightowl \ spectre maybe, but that's it .

Rolanthas

not just hunt them down, but go Rorschach on their asses

evercaptor

First things first: Right click on pic, Save image as....

Looking at Snyder's track record, I think he'll just try to make this into an action movie with one dimensional stereotypical characters which it is definitely not.
The problem also lies in the fact that WB will probably support him as they think that a story driven superhero movie wont appeal to anyone.
The only good thing I can see coming out of this is that I can finally lay my hands on a Rorschach action figure

Shak_0

@Forestbear:

LOL!

Darth_Kupi

@MrPerson:

@"I'd hate to see the backlash from a "waggle to drag bloated corpses over to the makeshift raft" minigame. "

Sure, but it would be AWESOME!

Darth_Kupi

@Illyr: My fiancee and I got a big kick out of snoopy like that :)

sleepfortheweak

hilarious pic.

Benjo

Oh, it couldn't possibly be worse than I fear.

Pantsman

As a long time fan of the comic book, it took me a trailer and a few development diaries to get excited about Snyder's work with the Watchmen movie. It's too early to say for sure, but I'm very optimistic of the fact that every single scene in every single trailer/dev diary is a scene I specifically recognize from the book. They worked really hard to capture it visually, the one thing that's left to be seen is to see if they capture it emotionally, philosophically, and dramatically.

Alan Moore, while I love him to death, is a cynical bastard, and generally I take his opinions on his work turned into film with a large grain of salt; he doesn't even watch these movies. I agree that most of them miss the point slightly or entirely, but movies like V for Vendetta, while paling in comparison to the original still were entertaining in their own right.

However, it's going to be a much harder sell to try and market a GAME based on the movie to me. As others have said, the Watchmen just doesn't lend itself to action, and unless the game is "Press X to think introspectively on your life!", it's going to have to stray away from the book a lot, which means new content, which means it's going to pale in comparison to the old content. But then, I don't really think I am the target audience for this game.

Tesahli

@turkish101:

Actually 300 was a good adaptation in a large part due to slow-mo effects. It's an effective way to replicate the still frames from the comics on screen.

YorickB

@Forestbear: LOL-worthy.

Rimlit

I think someone said it already, but aren't these folks superheroes? At some point in the past, before they got all introspective, they were fighting bad guys right? So by creating a game based on superheroes doing super heroic things were are missing some point here?

mtheumer

@Kiyosuki:

Though I gotta admit if it were done the right way a Moby Dick game would be sort of cool...still weird as hell though.

Kiyosuki

I agree that making a game based off of past events, sort of like a side story, is plausable. It's just that it's so...weird...making any tie in like this with something like Watchmen. It's hard to describe in a way that doesn't sound pretentious and artsy fartsy but it's not the easiest thing to market. It's like how they could make a video game of Moby Dick pretty easilly, but it'd still be kind of weird because it's Moby Dick.

Kiyosuki

@dawimp523:

You should read it.

Kiyosuki

@FilthyAssistant:

Heh, very very well said.

Kiyosuki

XD... ' You've just made my day. ... Well, maybe not that much. At least a half-hour though.

OrlandoHalomitosis

@ObZen:

I thought the same, but after seeing some production diaries and stuff, I'm surprised they can't even get the costumes right.

Heck Nite Owl II seems to be in pretty good shaped for a washed out "superhero"

ElArabDeMagnifico

@Chaoticevl:

You can make it if it's a prequel, maybe play as dollar bill, and Rorschach when he met up with Captain Carnage :D

ElArabDeMagnifico