Don't look now

On the weekend, I was talking to someone who turned out to be something of connoisseur when it came to horror games. He spoke highly of Outlast, was aware of Slender: The Eight Pages and showed me Eyes upon his ipad. The latter was of particular note: It was claimed it was done by the same people who made Slender and, through a demonstration, Eyes revealed itself to be following the same formula of ‘run from a freaky creature with murderous intent’.

I myself am not into horror games – I myself play games to relax and it’s hard to relax when your Player Character is being chased by a psychotic with murderous intent. However I can see something of a formula begin to emerge through the games mentioned above.  Tell me if the following doesn’t sound familiar: Trapped in a confined space with limited lighting? Threats in the form of antagonists that are of a mysterious nature? Constant danger that is practically relentless? The only action a player can do is running? Little to no chance of victory? Indeed, once one realizes there seems to be a formula to the recent wave of horror games it now becomes impossible to ignore.

I suppose the source of this wave can be traced back to Amnesia: the Dark Descent. Whilst it is kinda nice that that game was a success (for an indy game) and showed up the posers of the survival horror genre, one gets the sense that everyone else has since been looking over Amnesia: the Dark Descent’s shoulder and copying their answers. It would be nice to think that an indy game has become the benchmark for other horror games to follow but I think it more a race to see who can freak out players the most.
But suppose Amnesia: the Dark Descent is the new benchmark. It raises a question: Where can we go from here? Gaming history is littered with games becoming big hits only to inspire clones in their wake. – two such examples being Street Fighter 2 and Final Fantasy 7. Both are regarded as the finest of their genre and nothing that has followed has really matched it (although Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur may have a solid claim against Street Fighter 2). So if everyone seems intent on replicating Amnesia: the Dark Descent, does this mean the horror genre has nothing left to say?

Personally I think horror games work best when they sneak up from behind, pull the rug from underneath the player and gradually break the player’s will. Isn’t that right Eversion?

Aging Disgracefully

Here's something I never noticed before: The combatants in Virtua Fighter 4 all have birth-dates! So taking that into consideration, in the year 2012, Akira is 44, Pai is 37, Lau is 72, Wolf is 46, Jeffry is 55, Kage is 42, Sarah is 39, Jackie is 42, Shun is 100(!!), Lion is 33, Aoi is 33, Le-Fei is 37, Vanessa is 43, Brad is 40 and Goh is 34.
It's funny thing about adding a birth-date to a video game character. It gives them a sense of history, more so with each iteration of the Virtua Fighter series, and it suggests that these characters have been around a long time, and are still able to get back up on their feet after being knocked around numerous times - which, coming from a fighting game series, is hardly surprising.
But at the same time, it does suggest that these characters are aging - and as this is a fighting series we're talking about, it won't be long before the blows render them unable to get back up again.

To be honest I've never been a fan of 'floating timelines'. I personally like to see characters age and grow wiser with experience. Therefore I find it kinda silly that Bart Simpson is forever a ten year old even when his birth-date was established as April 1st 1980 (which would make him in early thirties by now). That being said, one would think a hero who ages would be an interesting concept for a game hero.
Think about it! Each game hero goes on a journey and by the end of it, they come out the other side wiser and/or have killed lots of dudes. Thus it would make an interesting series concept to have a hero who goes on multiple journeys - and as he does so, his appearance changes, injuries and scars he suffers are there for good and the experiences he gains are there with him for ever after. And after all, what is a video game character when they're without dudes to slay eh?
I mean similar things have been done before with game characters aging: Red Dead Redemption featured a player character who is a grizzled, scarred veteran, Donkey Kong Country presented the character of Cranky Kong and even Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess had a little meta joke through Princess Zelda being of twenty years of age.

But alas, I doubt it would take off: As is often the case, a game without a young vital, pretty face will never sell as it's the youth portion of the market will balk out at playing an aging hero. I mean can anyone imagine a wrinkly, decrepit, Kratos still marching to battle insisting on having his vengeance?


Didn't think so.