Sierra snares Spiderwick Chronicles

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Aug 9, 2007 4:48 pm PT

Vivendi Games division enlists Stormfront Studios to make games based on film adaptation of fantasy book series.

One of the many fantastic inhabitants of the Spiderwick Chronicles.

Children's fantasy is fertile multimedia marketing ground ever since the rise of Harry Potter, and with that series of books having recently wrapped up, book publishers, movie studios, and game makers alike are keen on recapturing the sales magic of "the boy who lived."

The latest property to have a go at the big time is The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of books being adapted for the big screen by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films. As with Potter, Lemony Snicket, and The Chronicles of Narnia, the film is also receiving a game tie-in, this time courtesy of Vivendi Games label Sierra Entertainment.

Sierra today announced that it has enlisted Stormfront Studios (developers of fantasy-book-to-film-to-game adaptations Eragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) to create the Spiderwick game for the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, DS, and PC for release alongside the film in February.

Like the film and the books, the game will follow Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace as the three siblings uncover a hidden world of fairies, goblins, and other fantasy staples when they move into the rundown Spiderwick Estate with their mother. The film will star Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Sarah Bolger (Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker), David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck, The Bourne Ultimatum), Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda, Blue Chips), and Martin Short (Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, Clifford). For more on the game, check out the official Web site.

38 Comments

  • Trollbane

    Posted Jan 31, 2008 3:50 pm PT

    There is no sense hiding it, this game is going to suck

  • MAJORLAGGY

    Posted Jan 22, 2008 5:32 pm PT

    Id like to see a kid buy this put it in his console and the console spit it out LOL.

    PS this game SUCKS!

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Aug 12, 2007 11:06 am PT

    @diablobasher: before you call an award winning and bestselling author a "crap writer", read how to write and articulate first.

  • PrincePlum

    Posted Aug 12, 2007 7:44 am PT

    People stole ideas from other people? waah?
    Lewis and Tolkein were homies, they had different takes on the whole fantasy genre. I think Lewis was the bigger genius in this case, but Tolkein was pretty cool too (I guess). If you can say anything at all is that CS stole from the bible, since all of his references refer to it. In the point of JK Rowling, Shes a great writer. She started her career on an a really good book and stayed on par with it. But the seventh book was too much about complaining and not enough action -punches the sky-

  • -Direwolf-

    Posted Aug 11, 2007 6:30 pm PT

    I dont know what the controversy is about J.K. Rowling and her harry potter series, of course the writing isnt complex since it is aimed at younger readers and the mass audience which limits their intelligence, the one thing she brings that very few authors can is the ability to write for those masses and create a series that is widely read and loved. If her writing was better quality and/or more complex that would in fact shrink the audience she was able to address through her series since that higher level of writing would turn off most individuals of average intelligence, especially when they are young.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 11:59 pm PT

    another_star:

    I'm not bashing those who like Harry Potter. I'm bashing J.K Rowling for being a crap writer.

  • another_star

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 3:23 pm PT

    man if you dont like the harry potter series then obviously its just not for you. if you do like the series, no point in bashing those who dont.

    a piece of crud can be fascinating to some. but to others. its just a piece of crud.

    a piece of art can be seen as a gift from the gods. but to some, its just a bunch of colors put together. its pretty stupid to fight about one's opinions.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 1:36 pm PT

    "diablobasher ... i won't even waste my time on someone who thinks LotR was written by CS Lewis."

    LOL

    My apologies if it came off as if i thought that. But it's bull. Read my comment a little harder.

    CS Lewis stole narnia from Tolkein. Which then enabled TOLKEIN to right Lord of the Rings.

    Reading comprehension goes a long way.

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 11:09 am PT

    @ boudica_NG: thanks for correcting my grammar. it's just in time for me to use it on pretentious literary experts like you. you are judging jk rawlings' works solely on their technical merits? there is more to consider when judging a book. i am not going to lecture you what those are as this is a game forum. seriously, you think that your assessment of her books is flawless that millions of people who loved them are just clueless and the award giving bodies which recognized her works are just a bunch of dumb as**ses? take a chill pill coz your efforts of trying to sound intellectually superior is working ... the other way.

    diablobasher ... i won't even waste my time on someone who thinks LotR was written by CS Lewis.

    @ nth1739: you nailed it right on the money. i agree with you that while jk rawlings might not be quite a shakespear, she is still one of the greats who produced literary works that had reminded people all around the world about the joy of reading. yup, nothing wrong with that.

  • spelledarn

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 10:23 am PT

    Stephen Donaldson and Tenith Lee are hardly "good authors". Tossing in anti-heroes who rape their friends isn't exactly a trademark of quality authorship, simply left-wing social-realism, something Donaldson is (in)famous for bringing to the fantasy genre. Both Rowling and Black are quality children's authors, and DiTerlizzi is an excellent artist. I wish Sierre and the mvoie producers all luck in bringing this to families everywhere. Without the social-realism.

  • nth1739

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 9:02 am PT

    Shakespear she is not. I agree with you on that one.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 8:20 am PT

    nth1739:

    I didnt say there was. I'm just sick of ignorant morons hailing her as the second coming of shakespear.

  • nth1739

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 8:11 am PT

    Why are you attacking a children's book author? She has inspired millions of kids to pick up a book and discover the joys of reading. Nothing wrong with that.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 6:52 am PT

    MSG_Deathscythe:

    I've only seen the first movie. My hatred of her comes from reading her books.

    My favorite authors are Terry Pratchett, for his intelligent humor and rich, vibrant descriptive universe, and Brian Jacques for the redwall stories, maybe he's not as technically proficient a writer, but i love his books.

    Boudica mentioned a lot of good writers also.

  • Boudica_NG

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 5:53 am PT

    MSG-Deathscythe - Just because someone doesn't like Harry Potter does not make them "pretentious" (I think that was the word you were looking for, not "pretensive").

    J.K. Rowling is not (technically speaking) a very good writer - she suffers from repetition, childish descriptions and tends to ramble about topics not directly involved in the story. I should know, I've read her books. BUT she got children to read who would never otherwise have picked up the habit and for that she should be applauded. This does not make her a good writer - if you want examples of good writers in the fantasy genre try: Stephen Donaldson, Sheri Tepper, Robin Hobb, Joan D Vinge, Tanith Lee, among many others. But maybe these will be a bit too grown up for you... As for the story above, it sounds like a mistake - surely they should see how well the film does before spending money on a game?

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 5:01 am PT

    @diablobasher : you sound like one of those pretensive "book worms" whose hp knowledge come from watching the movies. if you think hp was so bad and jk rawlings is not a good writer, let's hear titles and writers you think are better.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 4:02 am PT

    Platyphyllum:

    No, she wrote an opportunistic book at the right time. She's not a good writer, she is an excellent opprtunist. Anyone can turn out the chud that she writes, it's not 'captivating' it's annoying.

    Other writers simply don't get the wider appeal because they are A) Not for children and B) Intelligent. These are the reasons that much better authors than JK Rowling are being sold in 'discount' stores as you put it (i call them bookshops. I dont get my harry potter fix from tesco)

    Sure, they were enjoyable up until the 4th book, then i just got annoyed having discovered much better series'.

    And yes, i too wasted days actually bothering to read Harry Potter, and i'll never get that time back.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 3:37 am PT

    I don't care if you like it lol. I get to sit behind much better authors and laugh at you all.

  • Platyphyllum

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 3:31 am PT

    diablobasher: Are you kidding? I spent whole entire days reading Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince! Harry Potter is a wonderful series (I wish I could say the same for the Order of the Phoenix movie though, it was incredibly rushed). J.K. Rowling is an incredible writer, why else would she be richer than everyone else, and still make wonderful books in the series? That takes lots of devotion, and she STILL keep selling millions of copies when there are a ton of other writers who have their books sold only in discount stores? People buy the book because its a very enjoyable read and she manages to make it captivating enough for children (not so much the last 2 books, they get pretty violent) and adults.

    Anyways, I don't think that a Spiderwick Chronicles would make a nice game, I read the books and I'm not really sure if an idea like that could be translated well into a game, but who knows, being a lawyer wasn't such a great idea for a game but Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ended up wonderful.

  • everson_rm

    Posted Aug 10, 2007 3:18 am PT

    Boring...

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