“Cloverfield” Could Become the Ultimate Video Game

Filmed in such a way that it induces motion sickness in some viewers, the highly-anticipated “Cloverfield” has emerged as a “love it or hate it” film. In many ways, though, this horror film could serve as the template for a visually-stunning video game.

“Cloverfield” Video Game: The Video Camera

The film, which is supposed to be footage recovered from a disaster site, really begins when the guests at a going-away party feel the Earth move under their feet. A gigantic creature has declared war on New York City and starts on a path of destruction through Manhattan. A handful of friends at the party band together to find a way to get out of the city alive, but that is, of course, a challenge.

Hud Platt, played by T.J. Miller, spends the rest of the movie chasing behind his buddies with a video camera recording the action. In the proposed game, the player would get to play Hud and keep control of the camera while the city is crumbling all around them. It’s also possible to make this a multi-player game, with each player taking the role of one party guest.

“Cloverfield” Video Game: The Symbiotic Creatures

The over-sized monster in “Cloverfield” also serves as a home for countless arachnid-like creatures which resemble the face huggers from the “Alien” movies. My friends and I thought these creatures behaved much like the birds that eat parasites off the back of a hippopotamus. That symbiosis works as well for the alien creatures as it does for the birds and hippos.

Definitely aggressive, the arachnids add an additional threat level to the game, especially since one bite from them proves fatal. At least two characters in the film burst apart after the arachnids sank their fangs into their flesh. These symbiotes would remain a constant threat on every level of the game.

“Cloverfield” Video Game: Multiple Scenes and Levels

During its 86-minute running time, “Cloverfield” shifts locales several times, starting at the party in a loft apartment, continuing through the streets of Manhattan before the main characters take refuge in the subway tunnels. These scene changes could easily become two or three levels in the game.

Rob (Michael Stahl-David) also makes a foolishly romantic pit stop to retrieve his true love Beth (Odette Yustman) from her ruined apartment building. The characters spend so much time trying to free Beth that this could represent yet another level of the game or even a bonus feature.

“Cloverfield” Video Game: The Final Level

After making it past killer symbiotes and crawling over rubble and dead bodies, the players would race to the military helicopters waiting to evacuate any survivors from the city. As was the case in the movie, though, getting on the chopper is no guarantee of success. In a final confrontation with the creature, you would take control of the helicopter, eluding the creature as best you can. The goal is not to destroy the creature but to escape its clutches.

“Cloverfield” Video Game: Animated or Live Action?

My first thought was to make the proposed “Cloverfield” video game animated, but upon further reflection, the game could be live action using the actual footage from the movie. In many ways, “Cloverfield” already is more a game than a movie already.