Many critics are hailing Dante’s Inferno, the latest game from Visceral Games, as a truly remarkable game that should be purchased. PSLS’s own Joseph Peterson said that the game was “amazingly dark” and a “great experience.” Based on Dante Alighieri’s profound work, The Divine Comedy, gamers must traverse nine circles of Hell. With all this excitement surrounding the game, one might wonder if a trip to the big screen would be in the works. However, Visceral’s Jonathan Knight, in a recent roundtable discussion, called Dante “too unlikeable,” stating that the character would not make an easy transition onto the big screen.
Knight said that Dante, while good in the video game medium, does not have enough likability needed to make a solid film adaptation:
Our version of Dante is a dark, troubled character. At the beginning of the game, he’s fairly unlikeable. He’s done a lot of bad things [and] there’s a lot about him to not like for sure. I think that’s something you could only do in a game.
If our Dante was up on the big screen in a movie exactly as he is in the game, I’m not sure you would make that journey with him. He does have redeeming qualities, and he does truly love this woman [but] our goal was to basically make a character that seems like he has it coming to him in the beginning of the game, but by the end of the game you feel different about him.
What’s cool about it is that he’s you, and you’re on the journey as a gamer so you can’t help but enjoy doing the things that he’s doing. But is he a role model? Probably not.
So, if Dante were ever to cross the well established boundary between video games and film, his persona would have to be significantly altered. Do you agree? Would you watch a Dante’s Inferno film? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
