Surely, this is✤ what the great Bardꦛ intended back in 1599.

Hamlet, his tragic Danish prince ha൲unted by vengeful ghosts… played for laughs as a sword-swinging, chest-baring machismo stud! Ophelia, the drowned and suicidal noblewomanꦅ… now a fun-filled, brain-bending logic puzzle! Claudius, the treacherous, fratricidal king and one of literature's greatest villains… a totally rocking boss battle!

Of course, I haven't played Haml꧙et yet – this indie adventure, created by Russian developermif2000 and scheduled for release on April 8, could be an entertaining twist on the classic play. But if it's just a joke, why bother? When adapting beloved properties to our beloved hobby, must we always add the aforemention൩ed twist?

Will we only play if enough humor or violence are adde𒀰d? Or if the ideas, characters and settings are diluted into casual fare? Here ꦚare some other cases in point:

Above: The Princess Bride = Minigames!

Above: Dante's Inferno = Button-mashing violence!

Above: Dirty Dancing = More minigames!

Above: Jaws = GamesRadar running joke!

I'll know the games ind👍ustry has truly matured when properties like these can be adapted into legitimate interactive experiences, not just attention-grabbing gimmicks. What do you think? Could a real Hamlet game work? Am I really going to pose this entire article as a comment-baiting question? Discuss. Or just watch the full Hamlet trailer and decide for yourself.

Mar 23, 2010