What about the other way around? Movies or books or comics into games? You'd think that movies, at least, would translate better -- after all, the depth is there, the characters are well-defined, the goals in most cases are clear. Take a look at the Batman franchise, for instance. A superhero who fights criminals with his martial arts ability and a range of interesting gadgets. What could go wrong?

Yet traditionally, the Batman games have been average experiences at best. These titles have typically been linear beat 'em ups in the style of Final Fight. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it turned the Batman into nothing more than a mere brawler, stripping him of his greatest and most iconic assets: his intelligence, his tenacity, and his mystery. Batman works best as a moody, shadow-dwelling creature, using his wits to solve the case before even resorting to violence. It's certainly possible to translate this concept into gameplay form, but straight-up action is not it. The upcoming Lego Batman game, however, looks like a step in the right direction by presenting that universe as an homage rather than a direct expression. At some point, you realize that a grown man running around in a skin-tight bat costume is just ever so faintly ridiculous. By presenting it as such right off the bat (no pun intended), Lego Batman immediately creates an atmosphere conducive to letting go of canon and its attendant rigidity, and letting the player (and developers) really get down to the business of having some fun with the license.

In fact, the Lego series of games seems to have hit upon a winning formula: License a beloved franchise (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman). Provide simple enough gameplay to bring in the non-hardcore, while filling the game with enough little mysteries to please the others. At the same time, divorce the gameplay to a certain extent from the expectations of the franchise in favor of something slightly more generic yet still engaging. The method of exploring a recognizable area and interacting with recognizable characters gives the Lego games just enough authenticity to feel like a valid product from that franchise's universe without insulting the original in the slightest.

And therein lies the secret of a successful adaptation: rather than merely providing the trappings of a license, or attempting to expand upon already pared-down characterization, simply make enough of an allusion to show proper respect for the original, while simultaneously letting go of rigid adherence to canonicity to be able to imbue the game with fun mechanics that won't get bogged down with the franchise's history. Does it work in reverse? Absolutely. Think about the success of the Tomb Raider movies (whether or not they were good movies is a separate conversation) and then think about the failure of the Doom movie.

Where there is a perceived niche to be exploited, adaptations will always follow. It's useless to rail against the trend; one must vote with one's dollar. But maybe, when this generation of game players begins creating their own game-to-movie-to-game products, perhaps they'll have seen enough Alone in the Darks to make them think twice.