Insomniac Games: Are we ready for another Hulk game?

3. Original story…

Rather than Marvel’s Hulk game taking inspiration from any particular storyline from the comics, why not let it be an original story? One not based on the TV series or films, but one only celebrating over 50 years of the green-skinned behemoth’s character in pop culture. Something Batman: Arkham did with Batman and even what Spider-Man PS4 managed to accomplish.

This will not be an origin story as such, but more like an introspective look at the character of Dr. Banner and the Hulk. It will follow a hero’s journey, but also rediscovery of what it means to be the being who is “The Strongest One There Is”. The gamma experiment can be retold through flashbacks if necessary. However, at this point in Banner’s life, he is around 43 ,and it has been 15 years since he first became the Hulk. Since the initial gamma ray exposure, he was a founding member of the Avengers. He’s also fought side by side with the Fantastic Four, Defenders and the X-Men, even Alpha Flight.

Having saved the world many times and proven to be a hero rather than monster, all he wants to do is settle down with the woman he loves, Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Ross and make contributions to mankind through science. After years of being a fugitive, he was pardoned at last and, with the help of covert intelligence agencies such as S.H.I.E.L.D., his crimes of destruction, rampage, endangerment to others and resisting arrest have been scrubbed from his record and forgiven.

Over the years, while the public, law enforcement and superhero community are in support of the Hulk’s contributions, others are not. As Dr. Banner finally earned the peace he rightfully deserved with Betty Ross and managed to gain control of the Hulk, he continued as a scientist and hero at his secret lab.

After he learned even his power can be used against him, once he discovered some of the Avengers kept secrets that Gamma Base, who has in the past detained enemies of the Hulk such as the Absorbing Man, The Leader and Zzzax, had begun conducting trials with gamma rays on human test subjects by reverse-engineering his gamma experiments, Dr. Banner left the team, with his cousin Jennifer Walters a.k.a She-Hulk being his replacement.

So there you have it, the promise is set open for writers to play around the overall plot, characters and setting of whichever direction they would like to take it. In terms of who should be writing the game, it is a tough call as it is a team effort. Who first comes to mind is Jeffrey Yohalem, the director and writer graduating cum laude of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and who went on to work on the sequel to Ubisoft’s flagship titles, Assassin’s Creed and then worked consistently on each iteration since. Having gained five nominations and won a Writers Guild of America Award in Videogame Writing for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, he could be a great candidate.

However, as this is a team effort, Yohalem would not be alone. For her two-time WGA wins, her consistent leadership and competence in leading a video game’s narrative in addition to her breathtaking contributions to the Uncharted series and the Legacy of Kain series, it is only right that Amy Hennig should be Narrative Director of this particular Hulk game. Joining the group as lead writer is Uncharted co-writer and the sole writer of The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann, with Yohalem co-writing with Hulk writers Greg Pak, the mind behind the storylines “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk” and Gerry Duggan.