NetRaptor on Writing Game Adapts
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The key to adapting a game, first and foremost, is to like the game itself. 
If you don't like the game itself, but you like the characters, that's fine, 
too. There has to be SOMETHING you like about the story you are going to 
write, or else there's no point.

The first thing to do when you are adapting a game into a story is to play 
the game a lot. Beat it at least twice, from the beginning. Most of the time 
the end cutscene is the most important part, and you'll be shooting for that 
ending and any plot twists that are revealed there. Keep an eye out for neat 
baddies, interesting subplots or minigames, or background details that you 
can use later.

If there are any hidden levels/cutscenes/secrets, I recommend unlocking them. 
Sometimes they can change the whole feel of the game, and maybe unlock an 
alternate ending for you to play with.

Okay, so you like the game, and you are moderately good at it. It's time to 
write down the level names in order and stare at them for a while. Let's take 
the first level of Sonic 1, Green Hill, as an example. It's your generic Sonic 
level with green and brown ground, palmtrees and bushes, with the ocean in the 
background. How can you take it and make it into a real place?

I know an author who adapted Sonic 1, and he made Green Hill into a park. It 
explains the wide-open places and the scattered trees, and translates good into 
a story.

The whole point about a game adapt is taking these levels and making them 
"real". The second level in Sonic 2 is Chemical Plant--a level full of tubes 
and pipes, and this nasty pink liquid that you can drown in. If you took this 
and made it into a movie set, it might be a factory or refinery, with open 
vats of bubbling poison. 

Also think about the level names themselves. If Sonic and Tails visited a 
chemical plant called Chemical Plant, would anybody believe it? What if you gave 
it a name, like "Westside Pesticide"? Corny, but at least it's not so generic. 
Also dig a little deeper--what exactly IS that pink stuff? What's it used for, 
and why is it being produced in such large amounts? What's the reason Sonic and 
Tails are there at all? Can you make this level work, or should you scratch it 
from the list? Does the game manual say anything interesting?

Say you have decided to use the levels in a way that makes sense. Now you need 
to take a good hard look at the game's plot. Does it HAVE a plot? Is it strong?
 Weak? Full of plotholes?

Nobody wants to read a script of the game. Tackle every game's plot with the 
intention of changing it a little. You want your readers to recognize the game 
you're writing about, but don't bore them by repeating the game word for word. 
The reason they're reading fanfiction is to see a different angle on something 
they've already memorized.

Roughly outline the game's plot and figure out ways to alter or enhance it. What 
if you added some more characters? What if they visited the "levels" out of order? 
Can you make the plot more interesting by adding a couple of subplots? Is there 
anything in the game that hints at a subplot you could develop? Is there something 
that REQUIRES an additional subplot, such as character powerups? (Who would 
believe it if Sonic actually found a pair of shoes in a sewer and wore them? It 
works in a game, but not in a story.)

How about the game bosses? All games have a boss or two somewhere. Sometimes they 
make sense--like if Chaos 4 suddenly attacks the main characters--and sometimes 
they don't (how many times will Sonic fight Knuckles, anyway?). Sometimes you want 
to include a boss in a story--the last boss at the climax, for sure--but sometimes 
there are reasons to use a lesser boss. And sometimes there aren't. The WORST thing 
you can do is include EVERY boss in EVERY level, including all the sub-bosses. Are 
you writing a battle anime or a game adaptation?

Use bosses in moderation. Scrap all but the most crucial. Remember, you're looking 
for ways to move your story along, not bog it down with mindless fight scenes.

By this time you probably have a couple pages written already. You have your 
levels (settings), your plot and additional characters and subplots. Depending 
on how good you are at the game, you might want to re-play your favorite levels. 
What mini-stories take place in each level? (For instance, in Sonic Adventure 2, 
Rouge's first level involves saving a sea turtle from some robots.) Can you use 
any of these extra details to enrich your plot? 

I noticed in Sonic & Knuckles that when you fight Knuckles in Hidden Palace, on the 
wall above you is a tapestry of Super Sonic fighting the boss in Doomsday. But how 
many people LOOK at the stuff on the walls in games?

If you do, and can work it into a story, your readers will hail you as a genius.

One of my favorite things to do is to "calender" a game, especially if it has 
several playable characters in it. Where would each character's path cross another 
character's? Would they meet? Help each other? Stab each other in the back? Do 
any of them share bosses? (A shared boss is tons of fun to write.) Where is each 
character on the night in question?

By its very nature, a game adaptation will be long and involved. But hopefully you 
will find it fun and facinating, and even exciting at times. You are taking the 
world of the game and rebuilding it from the ground up. Enjoy it.