Poncle Discusses Film Adaptation Hurdles: 'No Plot in Game'

Vampire Survivors developer Poncle has shed light on the challenges of adapting their hit game into a film, a project that was initially announced as an animated series. In a recent Steam post, Poncle confirmed they are collaborating with Story Kitchen on a live-action film, despite the game's lack of a traditional plot.

Poncle emphasized the importance of finding the right partners for this adaptation, stating, "As mentioned last year, rather than jumping the gun and make stuff for the sake of making it, we have preferred to wait to find partners that felt right, especially because to make anything that isn't a video game out of Vampire Survivors requires good ideas, creativity, and that quirky knowledge of the game." They acknowledged the difficulty in translating a game with no plot into a compelling film, noting, "That is a very difficult triplet to get 100% right. Please remember the game has no plot — it doesn't? — so nobody can really anticipate how a film about it is going to be. That is part of what makes it exciting."

The developer humorously remarked on the irony of the situation, saying, "the most important thing in Vampire Survivors is the story," highlighting the challenge of adapting a game that focuses more on mechanics than narrative. As a result, no release date has been set for the film.

Vampire Survivors is a fast-paced gothic horror rogue-lite game that became a surprise hit, starting as a modest indie release on Steam and rapidly growing in popularity. Poncle has since enriched the game with numerous updates, now featuring 50 playable characters and 80 weapons, not including the significant expansions and the Ode to Castlevania DLC.

IGN's review praised the game, giving it an 8/10 and describing it as, "Need a game to play while listening to podcasts? This is it. Vampire Survivors is outwardly simple but turns out to be an incredibly deep hole to fall down — though it's not without extended dull periods when you get ahead of its curve."