| Author | Message | ||
     David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.195.82 |
Hello, I think that, across a variety of media, we are currently enjoying something of a golden era for horror gaming. On consoles, games such as Alan Wake and the Dead Space franchise have pushed forward a cinematic sense of atmosphere through sound and visual design, weaving in plots that are interesting enough to make you press on in the face of horrific antagonists. For tabletop RPGs, the internet has allowed far more small press and niche games to find an international audience, offering a bewildering array of different options and bypassing the distribution costs of shipping heavy books through innovations such as downloadable PDFs. We want to reflect this on the Twisted Tales website and have, thus far, published two video game reviews: http://twistedtalesevents.blogspot.com/2011/04/dead-space-reviewed-by-tim-frankl in.html http://twistedtalesevents.blogspot.com/2011/08/limbo-reviewed-by-tim-franklin.ht ml Today, we published an interview with games designer Kenneth Hite, who has been a writer for most of the best horror RPGs on the market: http://twistedtalesevents.blogspot.com/2011/09/kenneth-hite-interviewed-by-david .html My questions to RCMB posters are: do you play any form of horror games? If so, why and which are your favourites? If not, what puts you off? If any of you would like to review your favourite horror games, then please get in touch. Best, David | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.77.198 |
I used to love Doom. The atmosphere was hellish. Also fond of Resident Evil until it became all 1st-person shooter on our asses. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 99.126.164.88 |
I don't do any gaming of any kind, not anymore. Contemporary console gaming for me would probably be like the time when my (late) grandpa tried to figure out my Atari 2600, with increasing frustration. I think Call of Cthulhu put out some amazing stuff, however. The also-late Keith Herber wrote excellent adventures and campaigns for them, that read like stories and novels all on their own. And too bad Hollywood will never turn Horror on the Orient Express into a film!... | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.195.82 |
Thanks for your responses. Frank: Doom is a great, innovative series- I'm very much looking forward to seeing what they come up with for Doom 4. Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil: CODE Veronica were effective, B-movie horror fun, I thought the fourth started out well and then became ludicrous and that five was terrible in terms of gameplay and level design (it felt like Tomb Raider in places), whilst also being utterly ridiculous. To my shame, I've never played a Silent Hill game, but am very tempted by the new one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/mpd/permalink/m29PBALJG4OJ9Q/ref=ent_fb_link Okay, in finding that link I saw that there is a Silent Hill collection coming out for the 360- so I can finally catch up on what is supposed to be one of the best horror series. Craig: There are some excellent writers working at the moment- Kenneth Hite's Trail of Cthulhu is a great alternative to Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu and Unknown Armies is an innovative, new setting and game for occult horror: http://www.atlas-games.com/unknownarmies/ A lot of contemporary console games are made with the casual gamer in mind, with four or five different difficulty settings. If you fancied giving them a try, I'd recommend Alan Wake. It has a really simple set of controls and is very narrative driven. Anyone else have any contemporary favourites or fond memories of horror games? | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I'm hopelessly behind the times with advances in computer gaming, as (a) my PC is old and knackered, and (b) I can't afford the amount of time needed to play most modern games. The last time I was hooked on a computer game and played it through to the end was with 'Half Life', and how long ago is that now? First person shooters, particularly 'Doom', 'Duke Nukem' & 'Quake', are my favourites for a quick tension-busting blast. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.156.210.82 |
Never really got into games, but what was that one on the Nintendo? With a Dracula type character running around his castle? I used to bloody enjoy that when I played it. Castle Wolfenstein, or something? | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.195.82 |
First of all, apologies to Gary, who I responded to as Frank (reading too many threads back to back). Stevie- Half Life came out in 1998. I have fond memories of it as a friend figured out a way of installing it (and Alien vs Predator) on every computer in the Sixth Form common room. LAN multiplayer took up many free periods. I think that it is worth distinguishing between horror games and first-person shooter games. The contemporary versions of the latter are ultra-competitive (I'm pretty good at them, but don't really find them fun), whereas the former have developed into interractive movies. Here's some footage from Dead Space 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3dGyJeDPlQ Start from 1:45 (may contain spoilers for Dead Space). | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.195.82 |
Zed, I think the game you are referring to is Castlevania: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j03DVgCTLQs Castle Wolfenstein was a very early game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owr8boPAhX0 Wolfenstein 3D was like Doom but with Nazis substituted for demons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C00n4rDUMNo | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.156.210.82 |
Castlevania...that was it. Great stuff. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.127.208 |
Return to Castle Wolfenstein was fun, too, albeit much more recent. Dead Space 2 looks good. | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.195.82 |
If we're going to go really old school, my favourite game as a kid was Psygnosis's Shadow of the Beast 2 on the Amiga 500: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iENsnbU651U The graphics blew my seven year old mind, as did the Moorcockian weirdness, the story of a monstrous protagonist trying to win back his humanity and the Depeche Mode-meets-David Bowie soundtrack. This was where it all started for me. Similarly, my youthful mind was stimulated by the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy series- the books themselves were (fiendishly difficult) games. My favourites were Creature of Havoc: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creature-Havoc-Puffin-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/0140320407/ ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1316454934&sr=8-3 and The Keep of the Lich Lord (which is partly responsible for my life-long fascination with the undead): http://mocagh.org/fforig/ff43.jpg What a wonderful trip down memory lane. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
The first three Silent Hill games are probably my favourite. Stephen King filtered through a Lynchian view of small town America via Japan. The soundtracks alone are nerve-wracking. The Project Zero (Fatal Frame in the states) games are a bit clunky, but often terrifying. They essentially drop you in a haunted house with nothing but a camera to protect yourself with. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is one of the finest Lovecraft adaptations I've seen in any medium. Interestinly, Graham Joyce is working with Id Software on the story for Doom 4. The Doom games were never known for their especially in-depth narrative, so it'll be interesting to see what they come up with... | ||
| Jamie Rosen (Jamie) Username: Jamie Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 99.241.102.179 |
The Silent Hill soundtracks are tremendous. I've got them all -- and you could put together a pretty good vocal CD if you culled the best of Melissa Wiliams/Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's songs from them. The games, too, are awesome. I just picked up Cursed Mountain for the Wii for about $8 thanks to Blockbuster going out of business. It involves ghosts and mountain climbing in the Himalayas, and looks pretty good. I also downloaded the first Castlevania for the Virtual Console on the Wii -- I had forgotten how HARD those games were. I'm also intrigued by the Ju-On: Haunted House Simulator... well, game might not be the right term. Programme, I guess. As for table top, I'll add to the chorus singing the praises of Call of Cthulhu (which I was first exposed to through yog-sothoth.com, rather than the usual other way around.) I'll also chip in for a little-known game called Against the Darkness, a flexible, easy to learn game with a useful but not mandatory background as well if you don't want to make up your campaign from scratch. I actually gave one of my players (not her character, but the actual player) nightmares running that game. She was very appreciative. *g*} | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.193.75 |
Mick: Return to Castle Wolfenstein was indeed a lot of pulpy fun. Dead Space 2 is well worth checking out. If you like first person shooters that contain strong horror elements then I can recommend Singularity- a game about a secret Soviet research base into a new element that leads to a singularity in technological/scientific innovation that positions the USSR as the dominant world superpower. John: On the Silent Hill franchise, I've heard that the second game is considered by many to be the finest horror title on any platform, so I have high hopes for that when I play through the collection. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is indeed a superb adaptation of Lovecraft (particularly 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'). I did find it incredibly difficult and noted quite a few bugs, so I'd love to see a revised version that offers more differentiation between Easy and Hard modes and for all the problems (including the cover/shadow system) to be fixed. Jamie: Please tell us how you get on with Cursed Mountain. Who published of Against the Darkness? The horror RPG I'd most like to see back in print is Kult. Its capacity for scaring and disturbing players is legendary. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 217.20.16.180 |
David: for me, Silent Hill 2 is as chilling, emotionally mature, and thematically consistent in its story, setting and design, as the very best of the genre in any medium. I rank it that highly. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, special mention should go to the Gamecube's era-spanning Lovecraftian horror game, Eternal Darkness. The best thing about it is the way it continually tries to fake you out - from pretending that you've accidentally muted your television, to making out, half-way through, that the game has ended and imploring you to switch off your console. It's an absolute blast (and should be playable on the Wii for anyone who has one). | ||
| Jamie Rosen (Jamie) Username: Jamie Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 99.241.102.179 |
Against the Darkness was published by a small press called, I believe, Tabletop Adventures. I have Kult, but think it might be a bit too grim for my group. | ||
| Greg James (Greg_james) Username: Greg_james Registered: 04-2011 Posted From: 86.178.212.200 |
As a late comer to the thread, I hold my hand up and say I'm a massive admirer of Silent Hill 2. Out of all the games in the series, I honestly consider it to be a work of art. The only other video game that I've played that I would give such high praise and admit to having drawn some inspiration from is Shadow of the Colossus - not a horror game as such but I think it's melancholy atmosphere, moral ambiguity and the downward spiral of the protagonist could nudge it over the line if pushed. I think the reason both work so well is that they keep things simple in terms of narrative. Man goes back to town to find his dead wife. Man goes to temple to ask demon to make his dead girlfriend better. Everything else is then allowed to come to the fore and create an absorbing atmospheric experience, which for a horror game to work is essential. I think Limbo works as well as it does for the same reasons. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.44.221 |
I'll add my vote to Silent Hill 2, although the original was also very good (if dated now). The Fatal Frame (aka Project Zero) games are some of the most atmospheric and frightening I've seen. | ||
| David_m (David_m) Username: David_m Registered: 07-2011 Posted From: 95.147.193.75 |
Jamie: If you ever decide to sell Kult, please let me know. I am excited about the chance to play Silent Hill 2 as I have never owned a Playstation and thought that I'd missed my chance. Then I found this: http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/objects/110/110036.html Eternal Darkness is another title I missed out on; hopefully it will be re-released at some point. Project Zero is unbelievably bleak: great horror, tough game experience. The one my brother had centred on a haunted house in which women were ritually killed with stakes that were driven into their eyes by 1mm each day. I found this incredibly saddening, then realized that some of the horribly disfigured ghosts that had been attacking me must have been victims of this ritual. (Shudders) The only game that I have heard is more disturbing is Amnesia: http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/111/1118326p1.html Plenty of seasoned horror players have had to give up because it is just too scary. The lack of a weapon reminds me of the early part of Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. In the latter title, this really does shift the experience from action to horror as you feel hunted and vulnerable. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.44.29 |
Amnesia looks good, David - thanks for the tip! Another good one is the old PC game Sanitarium. It's very dated now, but has a good story-line and lots of weirdness. | ||
| Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer) Username: Matthew_fryer Registered: 08-2009 Posted From: 90.195.182.56 |
Another vote for Silent Hill 2. Some real under the skin horror moments, and I remember loving that it began with that really long walk along a winding path through the misty trees. Quite a brave move to present modern gamers with such an uneventful hike, but it worked. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.116.118 |
I'm a huge fan of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. Playing a non-mythos game around Hallowe'en is just wonderful. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.25.243 |
Not a horror game, although dark in places with it's story of mental breakdown, American McGee's Alice was a nice little game. Sequel came out this summer - so quietly that I only found out a couple of days ago, although I've now ordered it. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.25.243 |
"its" - argh! | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.176.169.134 |
An excellent Lovecraftian text adventure is Anchorhead. It was released as freeware some 20 years ago (even then text adventure games were considered as classic). You can still easily find it and play it on most any kind of device (including iPads) as there are plenty of adventure-player softwares around, for this one and numerous others - there is still an enthusiastic niche community creating this kind of purely literate zero-graphics adventure games. Regarding board games, I have Arkham Horror, and despite trying to get into it for 3 times, we never liked it. It does feel very mechanical. | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 193.113.57.163 |
For pure PC based terror try 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent'. A sublime marriage of sound, shadow and your own imagination. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.26.161.160 |
I just wrote a novel based on computer gaming. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.250.213 |
For pure PC based terror try 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent'. A sublime marriage of sound, shadow and your own imagination. Just downloading the demo to have a look, Sean. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.101.140 |
"I just wrote a novel based on computer gaming." But Gary, you've only just recently discovered motion pictures. Was it a dramatisation of Pacman? When are they going to make that one into a film, eh? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.26.161.160 |
They've already made a film with a pill-popping two-dimensional character chased by ghosts: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/Ghosts_MJ.jpg | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
But Gary, you've only just recently discovered motion pictures. I don't know why, but that comment made me laugh out loud.  | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.26.161.160 |
I know why. It's because you're an evil, sadistic dwarf. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.156.210.82 |
Oh, yes. How could I have fogotten that? | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.206.30 |
Parody is dead. Expect "Noughts and Crosses: The Reckoning". "ASTEROIDS The Hollywood Reporter writes that screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos has been hired to work on the script for Universal's Asteroids project. The studio outbid other suitors for film rights to the simple, late-'70s Atari video game two years ago. The plotline for the film adaptation has evolved into the story of two estranged brothers that must team up to save Earth from an alien race." |