'Project Runway' Hopes to Make It Work on Wii

Tim Gunn: Videogame action hero. That's the scenario you'll see next year when Atari introduces a 'Project Runway' game for the Nintendo Wii. Variety reports that Gunn and Heidi Klum are expected to lend their stylista stamps of approval to a game based on the popular catwalk competition, whose sixth season currently airs on Lifetime.

Following the pattern of the show, players will start as designers, creating outfits, hairstyles, makeup and accessories for their models. Players can then become photographers and document the collections, or they can be models and strut down the catwalk, using the Wii balance board.Tim Gunn: Videogame action hero. That's the scenario you'll see next year when Atari introduces a 'Project Runway' game for the Nintendo Wii. Variety reports that Gunn and Heidi Klum are expected to lend their stylista stamps of approval to a game based on the popular catwalk competition, whose sixth season currently airs on Lifetime.

Following the pattern of the show, players will start as designers, creating outfits, hairstyles, makeup and accessories for their models. Players can then become photographers and document the collections, or they can be models and strut down the catwalk, using the Wii balance board.

Variety notes that the game coincides with the trend, largely driven by the Wii, that's seen increasing numbers of women and girls turning to gaming. However, 'Project Runway' games will eventually appear on other platforms as well.

But will 'Runway' make for a good gaming experience? Well, why not? In fact, there are lots of unscripted TV shows that could become fun Wii games. For example:

• 'The View': Try to keep the balance from tilting too far to the left as you attempt to get a word in edgewise with the panel. Keep your head from exploding whenever you hear Sherri Shepherd insist that the world is flat, Elisabeth Hasselbeck repeat talk-radio boilerplate, or Barbara Walters recall conversations with her dog.

• 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey': How high can you tease your hair? Can you flip over a banquet table laden with food and fine china? Can you dodge accusations that you were a stripper with a drug-dealing boyfriend entangled in a kidnapping? Can you pronounce the word "boobies"? These and other challenges await.

• 'Martha': Armed with only a glue gun, you must try to pierce the domestic diva's frosty faux-WASP hauteur and make her lose her cool on live TV. Failing that, you'll have to follow along as Ms. Stewart shows you how to knit dryer lint into a lovely sweater for your dog.

• 'Jon & Kate Plus 8': You're a producer of the show, and you must try to keep either spouse from escaping – or from bringing home a new significant other. Or you can be one of the kids and try to run as far away from home as you can before producers, parents, or therapy bills catch up with you.

-- By Gary Susman