If, like me, you were once or continue to be a Scooby-Doo fan, I’m imagining that 1998’s Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island may have a special place in your heart, totally shaking up the formula of the franchise. We’re all used to the typical unmasking structure, namely the utterance of the classic, “And I would’ve gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling kids.”
As you may know, that didn’t happen in Zombie Island. Marking a major departure for the series, the Mystery Gang found themselves facing off against real life ghouls, no masks or crooks in sight. A similar idea was implemented in 2002’s live-action Scooby-Doo! and its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
You might’ve guessed by now that I was a pretty big fan of Scooby and his pals. The aforementioned projects are perhaps the ones that stick out in my mind most prevalently, and I don’t think it's a coincidence that they all feature ‘real’ monsters. It got me thinking, what’s the next progression for the Scooby-Doo franchise?
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It’s constantly trying to reinvent itself. There’s the adult-aimed animated series Velma over on Max and in recent days, we’ve heard that this group of classic characters is set to get the Riverdale treatment over on Netflix with a new live-action series from Greg Berlanti. I’d love to see a merging of those two ideas: a murder mystery made in the style of Supermassive Games’ works. Think Until Dawn or The Quarry but starring Mystery Inc at the heart of the story. Jinkies, I’d love to play it.
Take a look at the aforementioned The Quarry in action. It’s available to enjoy on Xbox Game Pass. Sadly, it’s now departed PlayStation Plus.
It’s become a bit of a running joke around these parts about just how dedicated I am to The Quarry but honestly, it was released at the perfect time. Yes, it’s not an all-time great but a game about a hedonistic night at a summer camp released during a rare British heatwave? The result: immaculate vibes that I just cannot stop mentally reliving. Add in the fact that I could compare my disastrous playthrough with those of my closest friends. It was a period of time I think back on with fondness.
There’s something so special about when a game releases at the perfect time, suiting either that period’s seasonal conditions or just mirroring your own feelings. I’d love for Supermassive to recapture that magic - and my proposal? An R-rated Scooby-Doo interactive drama set in the most haunted locale our merry gang of amateur detectives have ever found themselves in, released during the height of the Halloween season. Will the gang survive unscathed? What ghosts and ghouls might lurk in the shadows? I need this.
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When it comes to setting, the options really are endless. We’ve seen the Scooby gang investigate theme parks, summer camps, haunted castles, ancient ruins, and alien hotspots. This is a franchise where nothing feels too far-fetched, completely opening up the narrative possibilities. I want to key in on that phrase “narrative possibilities”. Anyone who’s ever watched a Scooby-Doo project will largely somewhat have done so passively. Yes, you try and figure out who’s the big bad but I want to go beyond that. I want to immerse myself within the world and story.
You can do that with an interactive drama video game. Give me a quick-time event chase sequence as Scooby and Shaggy inevitably try to outrun a terrifying monster in the dead of night. Let my fate hang in the balance as I choose who should accompany me on a clue-finding excursion. I want to feel the dread and realisation as I discover that, this time, it’s not a man in a mask.
I’ve witnessed Scooby-Doo’s world as an outsider, and now I want to try my hand at solving the mystery myself. I can’t think of a studio better than Supermassive to handle the job. An unattainable dream? Maybe, but I’ll keep on dreaming about it nonetheless.
Topics: Opinion, TV And Film, The Quarry