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Your Favorite Classic-Novel-Turned-Movie Becomes a Video Game

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Hollywood has relied heavily on the tried-and-true stories of yesteryear, and this selection of Winter/Spring film releases is no different. America will be reacquainted with some familiar faces and travel down well-paved storylines with the release of several classic novels on the big screen.

But why stop there with the reinterpretations? Haven’t there been some tremendous video games that have arisen out of cinema? These tie-ins have scampered along behind many a blockbuster film – some, like Goldeneye, for better, and some, like E.T. the Extraterrestrial, for worse.
So what would honor the great authors of the 19th- and 20th-century more than rolling the dice on their masterpieces and seeing what pixelated prize might result? Thus, we present our ideas for the video game tie-ins for five most recent classic-novels-turned-movies.

Posted by Jessica S. Marquis

The 6 Rules of Giving Birth on Sitcoms (or Why I Would Still Be Pregnant if I Was on Murphy Brown)

Having a baby is not easy, but having a baby in a sitcom seems like a gauntlet of slap-stickery. There are so many moments primed for canned laughter timed with delightful story clichés.

Think you’re ready to head to the hospital? Here are the six guidelines from our sitcom playbook outlining how to properly deliver your precious new plot point.

Posted by Jessica S. Marquis

Ten Literary Characters Choose the Newest Monopoly Piece

Are you fed up with the current selection of Monopoly tokens? Have you tossed the board and its tiny hotels in frustration at the monotony of game play? Do you find yourself longing for a more fully diversified portfolio of silver movers?

Then your time has come.
 
Hasbro, maker of Monopoly, has announced it will be permanently removing a game piece in favor of a new token. To decide which piece will receive its last rights, they are taking to the internet for a popular vote.
 
To refresh the memories of those of us who haven’t really thought about Monopoly before this news broke, the current pieces in the classic version of the game are the wheelbarrow, dog, thimble, top hat, boot, racecar, battleship, and flatiron. Interestingly, several tokens have been dismissed much more quietly over time, including this blogger’s favorite, the horse and rider.
 
In place of the retired piece – which is being “locked away forever” – a new piece will be introduced into circulation. The current contenders, which you can vote for on Monopoly’s Facebook page until February 5, are a robot, diamond ring, helicopter, cat, and guitar.
 
Many opinions are already zapping around online regarding who should stay and who should go. PETA has requested the Scotty dog be set free, and Wired’s Jonathan H. Liu speculates the cat will win because the vote is taking place on Facebook, a popular forum for sharing feline antics.
 
We decided to ask 10 of our favorite literary characters what their opinions are on this critical event in boardgame history. Below are their answers: Which current piece they would sack, and their suggestions for a new token.

Posted by Jessica S. Marquis

So You Want to Be a Unicorn Farmer: 5 Things You Need to Know Before Entering the Best Occupation Ever

Photo by Rob Boudon

These days, it seems everyone is looking to break into the unicorn farming industry. Be it the economy, the limited opportunities in the classifieds, or the undeniable allure of ‘80s nostalgia, new batches of unicorn farmers are sprouting up across the globe.

I have seen it myself at Unicornomics, the unicorn farm and research and development firm where I am Chief Unicornomicist, as our workshops on How to Raise Unicorns have experienced record attendance in inverse correlation with the Dow.

And, while unicorns are appreciative of this zeitgeist, they are also wary of the pitfalls that a surplus of unicorn farmers can bring. Thus, in the interest of unicorns’ wellbeing and preserving the future of this profession, I present to you the 5 Things You Need to Know Before Entering the Best Occupation Ever.

Posted by Jessica S. Marquis