I watched and was deeply disturbed Squid gameI felt a bit of surprise when I saw the reveal The Squid Game: Unleashed earlier this month. Boss Fight’s up-to-date video game adaptation on Netflix Games transforms the show’s brutal games into frenzied multiplayer gameplay. There is still brutality, but it is cartoonish. And unlike heroes Squid gamedeath is not the end of any of these participants. You can try over and over again until you perfect these not-so-lethal virtual versions of what were originally quite deadly games.
WITH The Squid Game: Unleashed to the upcoming one Call of Duty crossover with Squid gameand even an actual recreation of the concept from YouTuber Mr. Beast’s Squid Game, every attempt at gamification Squid game probably defeats the purpose of the show. But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Remember the novel’s similar brutality and social commentary Battle royale (1999), which was adapted into the widespread phenomenon of the video game genre of the same name (as seen in PUBG AND Fortnite). Battle royale the novel is a stark depiction of a fascist regime that dehumanizes its countries’ children through a deadly, performative version of conscription. In the book, joining the titular Battle Royale is the worst thing that can happen to you. All this original intent was lost in subsequent reconstructions such as Fortnitewhich is entertaining and has a Snoop Dogg feel to it.
Actually, that’s why shouldn’t surprise me to see this The Squid Game: Unleashed and similar. The game’s director, Bill Jackson, told me in a recent interview that this type of adaptation is exactly what players have been asking for – as opposed to, say, a Telltale Games-style narrative game set in Squid gamea world that retains the original television show’s social commentary and intense storytelling style. No, people didn’t want that. They wanted to take part in the competition.
“We asked players and members what would you like to see if we make games on Netflix? The first answer, and it was a huge delta, was: Squid gameJackson told me. “And we said, ‘Do you like this? What do you want to do? Their response was again overwhelmingly, “I want to compete, I want to play these games and try to live, and I’ll be fine if that means failing and dying.” And it can be brutal. This was very clear from the first conversations with members. So we wanted it to be true. It’s still a difficult mission, but we did it. I really think that’s what we wanted to convey here – you’re going to play the role of a contestant on a stylized version of this show.”
The Squid Game: Unleashed inherently different from the source material due to its medium. As Jackson put it: “The most important thing is that you are a competitor, and the penalties if you don’t win will be severe. But guess what? It’s a video game. If you fail, let’s try again. And that’s actually the whole loop.”
At this point in the interview, I actually asked Jackson about this Battle royale and its impact on video games, and noted how more and more common these types of stories have become across all media. “You can go back to the cinema – Death Race — there are many such configurations. Or Bruce Lee Enter the Dragon. Same thing. It’s… it’s the same kind of influence. But in video games, yes, it’s a deep setup, right? We will put you in a competition and the punishment will be fair – you will be knocked out and the others will move on. This pattern is inherent to video games. It is inherent to us.”
As strange as it may seem, people like it. This isn’t some executive at Netflix demanding that in-house game designers remove all social commentary Squid game and turn it into something tastier. This is players themselves — ordinary people — who can’t lend a hand but want to enter a competition to see how they’ll fare if it comes down to it. But of course these players want to do it in the safety of virtual reality, where death doesn’t matter but bragging rights still matter.
That doesn’t mean people miss what’s really essential about the story Squid gameor that all these people are just stupid or superficial or something. I think, as Jackson said, this impulse reflects something different, something inherent in each of us. It might be a little scary, but that’s the reason all these adaptations come in this type of format. We asked for it.
