The Big Game Idea: Final Cinema - A 1UP classic from Nov 06, 2006

Below is a series that I originally ran on 1UP in 2006. In it I proposed an original video game based on the Incredible Hulk. I called it "The Big Game Idea." Over a few weeks I described the graphics, game play, visuals, and plot from beginning to end, including bonus features. I made a few minor edits, but it is more or less exactly the same as it was almost 20 years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

Hello everybody, I hope you had a good weekend. I saw Borat, that movie was nuts... that's all I'm going to say about it. Today we write the final(?) chapter in the big game idea. I plan on dropping a link to Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada and posting this over at Vivendi's site so the people at Radical Ent. can also see what I wrote. It's an uphill battle for a fan of the comics and games to be heard in a sea of comments and feedback but maybe, just maybe they will take some time to read the project through. Here's to hoping!

CINEMA: The Devil Hulk and Ravage are locked in combat. The two titans savagely punch each other. Their strikes causing earthquakes and tremors for miles and and miles. The Fantastic Four and Avengers are watching the images on a giant monitor.

"I am afraid we have only one option that can contain damage at this scale." Says Reed Richards. Tony Stark looks over to Reed and back at Thor, who is shaking his head.

"Franklin is too young." Sue Richards holds Franklin closely.

"You would send a child to fight a monster than not even a god could defeat?" Asks Thor.

"We are running out of options here! One of these creatures will win and I fear the consequences of his victory." Reed says.

"These monsters have caused several magnitude seven earthquakes in the four corners. With aftershocks reaching as far as California and Louisiana" Says Nick Fury on a separate monitor, "We cannot allow this fight to continue."

"Franklin is young, but I believe he is capable." Says Professor Charles Xavier on another monitor. "I agree with Reed."

"I can do it dad." Chimes in Franklin. He pulls away from his mother.

"You can't kid. The Hulk is too much to handle." Ben Grimm goes over and puts his hand on Franklin's shoulders.

"I'm scared of the Hulk... but I'm more scared of what he will do to my family." He puts his hands on Ben's and then vanishes.

"No!" Yells Sue.

"Forgive me." Reed drops his head.

Franklin appears high above the battle and closes his eyes. He holds his hands out and yells "Stop!" A semi-visible shockwave goes towards the monsters and they slow down a little but they will not stop fighting. He concentrates "Dr. Banner, please stop!" We notice that the aircraft flying nearby have frozen in time but the monsters will not stop trading blows. "Dr. Banner where are you? I need you to STOP!"

Suddenly Franklin finds himself inside the mind of Banner.

"I'm sorry Franklin." A young voice can be heard but not seen. From behind a mirror a little kid steps out, a few years younger than Franklin. It is Bruce Banner when he was a child. "Don't you see he won."

"Who won?" Asks Franklin.

"My father." Banner sighs. "I did my best but he took everything I had... everything I had left."

Franklin, who is 12-years-old looks at the child who is no more than six. "Dr. Banner?" he wonders.

"My name is Bruce, you can call me Bruce..." He goes over to Franklin. "Franklin we're a lot like. I mean you don't know it but we are. That's why you can't stop what's happening."

"I don't understand." Says Franklin

"We were both born with unlimited potential." Banner explains. "You have a mother that loves you and you have a father who is a scientist." Visions of Reed and Sue Richards appear and vanish. "I had a mom that loved me and my dad was a scientist." Visions of Brian and Rebecca Banner appear and vanish as well. "You were born special, your parents knew that."

Franklin nods. In the mirrors he can see images of Sue and Reed in the hospital. Johnny Storm is holding the baby Franklin. Ben Grimm is making faces at the delighted child.

"They all wanted to help you because you were special." Banner continues. Reed and Sue visit Professor Xavier when Franklin is just a toddler. "You felt special didn't you?" We see Franklin flying in the air as a young member of the Power Pack, then a little older as a New Mutant.

"I was taught never to fear who I was or be ashamed just because I was different." Says Franklin.

"I wasn't taught that." Says Banner. All of the light colors in Banners mind become dark and muddy. "When I was born my parents noticed that I was learning quickly. Not just recognizing shapes and colors, I was learning numbers and words as a baby." We see Banner lying face up in a crib looking the world around him. "My father worked for the army, he feared that I might be a mutant. The result of his exposure to radiation. That's when he began drinking." A golden door opens up in Banner's memory. We see Brian sitting at a table holding a bottle and looking out at the children. The door closes as Brian stands up. Banner pulls up his shirt. His tiny frame is covered with welts and bruises. "That's when he began hitting me."

"I, I didn't know." Says Franklin.

"I didn't cry, I tried not to show any emotion. No matter how much he hit me." Banner drops his shirt. "I was never taught to feel special. I was never taught to feel anything... anything but anger." The Hulk begins to appear in a mirror but then vanishes before he comes into focus. "I was told that I was a freak, that I was a monster." Banner says. In the various mirrors inside of Banner's mind we see him in school, the teacher is scolding him. He is sitting on a swing at the playground, the kids are laughing at him. At home he is alone.

"We tried to run away." The childhood home of Bruce becomes visible, Franklin and Bruce are standing on the driveway. This was the same home that we saw previously in his mind. We see Rebecca running to a car in the driveway while carrying a suitcase.

"That's when dad killed mom." We see Brian chase after Rebecca, he grabs her by the hair and pulls her to the ground. Her head hits the cement. Bruce kneels down and caresses her face. The police quickly arrive, they approach Brian, whose face changes to the Devil Hulk. When they place him in handcuffs we see the Devil Hulk in shackles. Franklin steps back. The Devil Hulk turns back into Brian again, they all fade away.

"I didn't have any regular friends after that. Even less after the accident." A golden door opens and we see Banner caught in the gamma blast. "The only people that could be friends with a monster were outsiders." They appear in the mirrors and fade away as he says their names. "there was Rick, Jim was a runaway, a hobo named Crackerjack, Michael was a mob boss and Marlo was his showgirl friend..."

The house, the driveway and Rebecca vanish. Banner stands up and looks at Franklin. "Betty was the only one that ever loved me from the beginning. Betty was the only one I loved back."

We see Betty walking, looking lost in the background. "But he came back. My father came back, he told me I was just like him, he showed me that I was a monster and took her too." The Devil Hulk reaches out from a mirror and takes Betty away. "So now I have nothing. I don't even have my anger any more." The Hulk appears trapped in a mirror. "I am waiting here for the end. I am waiting for my father to finish hurting the world... the way he hurt me."

"If he wins he will destroy everything and everybody. There will be nothing left! Not Betty! Not Rick, not Marlo none of your friends... nothing." Franklin pleads. "You have to stop this! I don't want to lose my mom!" He grabs Banner and shakes him "Not the way... not the way you lost yours!" He stops shaking Banner and begins crying. "Please change this Bruce. Please stop him."

"There is nothing left for me, not without Betty." Banner sighs. After a long pause he looks at Franklin "You shouldn't have to pay for the sins of my father... for my sins." Little Bruce begins to grow, he changes into the adult Banner. "We are a lot alike, you and I. You should be given another chance... I should never have become like him... to deny you of a normal, loving life. Close your eyes and concentrate." Banner gets on one knee. "I'll take it back, all of it. I'm sorry Franklin." He gives Franklin a hug.

The battle between Ravage and the Devil Hulk freezes, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers freeze where they are. The world seems to reverse. We see Giant-Man, we see the Maestro. We see Spider-Man and Luke Cage. We see Namor talking with Reed on a monitor. The Juggernaut and Absorbing Man fade in the distance.

Franklin Richards opens his eyes, he is sitting on the sofa holding his mother. His father is seated next to him. Reed Richards is concentrating on a video. Johnny Storm has his head in his hands. Ben Grimm is standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He is looking away from the monitor. The Fantastic Four are watching something on the S.H.I.E.L.D. security channel. It looks like a missile test.

Everything fades to black.

We hear the roar of a rocket.

"My name is Bruce Banner." We see Banner unconscious, inside of the Orion Missile. It shakes violently as it enters orbit. "This is a nightmare I am not supposed to wake up from." We can clearly see the stars in space. A few moments later it explodes with a bright green flash.

FADE OUT.

THE END.

Bonus Ending 1: After the Credits.

We see General Thunderbolt Ross pacing back and forth in his war room. This was the room filled with computers and monitors that Ravage had visited earlier in the game. This time the room is lit and there are soldiers sitting at the computers. They are watching the Orion missile explosion on the monitors. Ross crosses his arms and frowns.

"General we have a condition." One of the soldiers says. "It is your daughter. Her vitals are failing."

Ross runs out of the war room and heads for the bunker. He enters the chamber and sees a doctor looking over her vital signs. "I don't know what's causing this General. Her vitals are dropping... she might be in her final stages."

"No Betty, don't leave me now. Please fight girl, you are a general's daughter... this is an order." His face is flush and he is out of breath. He places a hand on her glass enclosure and covers his eyes with the other, he shakes with anger, frustration and finally sadness. The doctor stands back.

The room becomes dark and Yagan appears from the shadows. He is invisible to both the doctor and Thunderbolt. In his arms he is cradling a small glowing light. He steps over to the glass chamber and places the light into it. Yagan walks away and vanishes. The lights come back on in the room.

"General, her vitals are improving. I think she is stabilizing." The doctor pours over the information on the computer.

"Oh, thank God." The general almost collapses. He wipes the tears from his eyes and looks down into the glass case. He takes his hand away.

We see a close-up of Betty's face. Her radiation burns and skin lesions begin healing. Her eyelids stir and they begin to open.

THE END.

Bonus Ending 2: After beating the game on Hard Difficulty.

We are in a forest with a grassy field. There are many pine trees around. We see a house in the distance. As we get close to it some aborigines appear from behind the trees. There is a man with a beard in the window, we can't see the details of his face. He turns away and pulls a pot of coffee off of the stove. He pours himself a cup, we zoom in on his hand, he is wearing a wedding ring. A female hand appears and gives him a pair of glasses, she also has a wedding ring. They embrace and look down. She is wearing a robe and looks to be a few months pregnant.

"We should start thinking of a name." She says. "If it's a boy how about David?"

"Why not something more Hollywood?... How about David Orion Banner?" Wonders Bruce as he puts on his glasses.

THE END.

What about bonus stuff? If you beat the game on easy you don't get any extras, no Robot Hulk, no alternate skins and no true Maestro. On normal mode you can unlock all of those extras. Beat the game on normal mode and you are also rewarded with the Bruce Timm model Savage Hulk and the Tim Sale Gray Hulk. Beat the game on Hard and you unlock the Todd McFarlane Gray Hulk and the Hulk in his brown "space uniform" shorts as drawn by Bryan Hitch. This space uniform is the Level 1 costume for the sequel to be announced...

So there you have it peeps. About four months in the preparation and a month and a half in the telling I am finished. I hope you enjoyed the big game idea. Please feel free to tell me if you like the idea or not. I'd also like to hear what your thoughts are on the level progression, cinemas, character design, fighting engine and destructible environments. If you are into comics or not and did I actually sell you on the idea of an epic Marvel game. If this game were made what are the chances that you would buy it?

It might be a long while before I get to the second game in the series, let alone the final game in the trilogy. The progression for the sequel is a straightforward translation of Peace in Our Time / Planet Hulk from the current comic series. I'm actually penning the level progression and cinemas for the third game now but it's still a ways off from being ready for 1UP.

My challenge to those that liked the blogs is to hear what your dream game project would be. If you had the power of a Cliffy B or a David Jaffe what would you be working on? Be it a licensed character or an original idea, I'd sure like to hear what you would create. Why? Because 1UP needs more than the same old blogs, same old reviews and same old gripes. You are the gamer, you are the critic, you are the designer. So lets hear what you got!

Did you enjoy this game write up? Is this a title you would like to play? What could make it better? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!