Far Cry 4: tension over respect for game storytelling in a TV adaptation

The creative director of Far Cry 4, Alex Hutchinson, has voiced his frustration after controversial comments from Noah Hawley, the creator of Fargo and Alien: Earth. Hawley is currently developing a new TV series based on the Far Cry franchise, but his recent remarks have drawn heavy criticism from video game fans.

Noah Hawley’s comments

In an interview with Deadline, Hawley suggested that he is not specifically adapting Ubisoft’s games. "I’m not specifically adapting the games that they’ve made," he said. "I’m saying, as I did with the Coen brothers or X-Men or Alien: let me have a dialogue with this franchise because this is what I think a Far Cry story is."

Hawley continued his view on video games and dramatic adaptations: "We can have a larger conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of adapting video games, particularly because games are built in a way that doesn’t make for the best drama. When you’re playing a video game, you’re only moving forward through the gameplay segments and then you have cutscenes that you can skip, so when you try to adapt those games, you have to be aware that that can make the human drama in the story feel irrelevant. That’s death for a show."

Alex Hutchinson’s response

Those comments did not go down well with the Far Cry fanbase, which you’d think Hawley would want to keep in mind while setting up his new series. Alex Hutchinson was also among those who shared their frustration with Hawley’s words. "This annoys me a bit," he wrote on LinkedIn. "And I love Noah Hawley’s work."

In an interview with IGN, Hutchinson responded more fully to Hawley’s remarks. He said that gamers simply want their beloved franchises to be respected and not dismissed as unimportant. "I think in certain genres a lot of people skip cutscenes," Hutchinson admitted. "And certainly the player story often takes center stage, but story is a complex topic in games. Theme, setting and characters are all essential to the story and are definitely a driver of player engagement."

The story structure of Far Cry

Hutchinson stressed the importance of story within the Far Cry series. "The best Far Cry game for me is a fish-out-of-water story," he noted. "The player is placed as a ‘normal’ person with little knowledge in an extreme situation, with a lot of challenges. The story asks the player questions and then provides responses based on the player’s choices."

Hutchinson added that his biggest issue is the dismissal of game stories as meaningless. "His view is not without merit, but gamers just want their love for the games to be respected and not written off historically."

For now, it remains interesting to see how the relationship between games and their adaptations into other media will evolve, and which direction Noah Hawley will take with his Far Cry series. Both players and franchise fans are watching closely, while Hutchinson emphasizes that a respectful approach to the source material is crucial for successful storytelling.