Lovecraft Would Dig these Video Games

[Manndroid]

I wonder if a few ignorant players would have cried foul if they saw the Dark Young, accusing them of ripping off Shub-Niggurath from the end of Quake.



Also, I don't know if it was mentioned (I'm lazy), but the original Alone in the Dark was a big 'ol homage to Lovecraft.

[DMcCool]

I really enjoyed Dark Corners of the Earth.  It wasn't an all-out shoot'em up like most FPS games tend to be.  I found escaping from the hotel to be quite the challenge.  The PC version had one issue where when you fight the Giant Deep One (possibly supposed to be Dagon - never clarified), you couldn't see the lights on the reef to shoot, so you could never pass the scenario.  Thank goodness for saved ame editors.

Outside of that, I haven't found very many games that do any justice to a Lovecraftian feel.  Situational suspense/horror is very hard to pull off in a video game.  Most games just resort to startling you and calling it fear.

[Kaelestes]

Have any of you fine gents & ladies ever played a PC title called Scratches?

EDIT: And I forgot to add that I found another great free downloadable game based on Herbert West. It's called Carrion Reanimating and you can get your hands on it at Zombie Crow.

[Kaelestes]

In the far South Western corner of Fallout 3’s world map there lies the lonely Dunwich Building hidden by the scorched plateaus of the wastelands. This "dungeon" is easily one of the creepiest locations in a game ripe with significant creepiness. For those who aren’t familiar with the game, Fallout 3 takes place 200 years in the future after nuclear war has devastated the planet. Hideous mutations and extreme steampunk violence abound. I thought you guys and gals might get some enjoyment out of the voice recording transcripts and computer terminal entries found inside of this particular building, seeing as it is a direct homage to Lovecraft's work.

Computer Terminal, Voice Recognition Memos:
Entry 001 –
//coughing// Memo to Sales staff. In recognition of an exemplary quarter, Mr. Statham has authorized me to release sales staff early for the holidays. //unintelligible// It was no easy task to release a new acoustic borer to a market used to conventional bit-bore drilling systems, but thanks your hard work and //unintelligible//, acoustic bore drills are setting a new standard in the excavation industry. //coughing// Thanks to your many private sales and procurement of government contracts, we'll all be in the black for the foreseeable future. Happy Holidays from Mr. Statham and Dunwich Borers! Now get home to your families! //applause//

Entry 002 –
//unintelligible// Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrbbbbbbbbbboommmmmmmmmmkkkkkkk //unintelligible// NOTICE TO USER: PagSoft LLC recommends against sustained recordings in a low-frequency environment. Continued use in this manner voids all hardware warranties. Auto-dictator v223 powering off automatically.

Entry 003 –
//unintelligible// Thmmmmmmmmmmkkkkkkkaaaakkkkkkkkaaaaaaaakkkkkkmmmmm //unintelligible// NOTICE TO USER: PagSoft LLC recommends against sustained recordings in a low-frequency environment. Continued use in this manner voids all hardware warranties. Auto-dictator v223 powering off automatically.

Entry 004 –
//unintelligible// What the hell was that? Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. //deep breathing// Where is it? Where... Where //impact sound// //paper crumple// there, there //paper crumple// safe and sound. Jesus, they bled so much. But I kept it clean. Clean, clean, clean //unintelligible// //unintelligible// shit, more. Got to move. Got to keep it safe.

Entry 005 –
//deep breathing// My skin... my skin. Barely any left. One of them now, but they know I still have it. Stay back! Back, you! //deep breathing// That's close enough. //door// You, and you, too. Over there.... yes, yes. One of us, one of us. Ug-Qualtoth is returned //unintelligible//

Entry 006 –
//liquid dripping// Ug-Qualtoth //unintelligible// Ug-Qualtoth. I came, I came. Back this time, deep-temple //unintelligible// screaming, twisting //unintelligible// //impact sound// No light, no flesh //unintelligible// deep temple born deep temple died. Ug-Qualtoth again, //unintelligible// returned, returned //unintelligible// retribution NOTICE TO USER: Internal memory capacity reached. PagSoft LLC recommends PagMem LLC for all your data storage needs. Please contact your administrator for details.

Entry 007 –
.......software version is v223
.......configured to user voice: H. Granger
.......onomatopoeia dictation is OFF
.......phonetic spelling parser is OFF (auto-correct ON)

Computer Terminal, Data Log:
Here I am, trapped in a room by myself typing on a terminal trying to keep myself busy. Hell trying to keep myself sane. I don't know what it is about this place, but I want to get out of here. Yeah, get out of here -- I can't even bring myself to open that damn door again. I hear those things wandering around outside, sniffing, screaming, doing whatever they do. When I first got here I thought the place was abandoned and went around looking for anything to scavenge. Five minutes later, I'm in this room scared half out of my mind. Things started chasing me, I fired a few shots, missed, and ran through the darkness. Ahh shit. Told ol' Billy to meet me here and bring some extra ammo and grenades. That was three days ago, poor guy probably didn't make it too far. Those things better have given him a quick death. Listen to me, babbling like a damn fool. Billy's all right. I'll just stick here until those things go away and meet up with him. Hah, what a story I have for him.

Jaime's Voice Log:
01 – “Why the hell would he come all the way out here? Dad's been a little nuts for some time now, but not like this; leaving me in that crappy old hospital without waking me....without a goddamn flashlight. I made enough selling the meds we scrounged to have kept us both fed at the colony for weeks. Now I'm almost out of rations, my shoes are pretty much destroyed, and I'm still chasing the old coot. By my last reckoning, he was headed south.”

02 – “Maybe I shouldn't have waited so damn long to start tracking him. Trail's gone cold. Going to wander with these guys a while. They say they wander the area – maybe somebody's seen Dad.”

03 – “These guys aren't who I thought they were. Jesus, they killed that family for a sack of rotten vegetables.
Getting out of here next chance I can without catching a bullet.”

04 – “Hit a caravan today. Trev didn't see the kid and got popped. I took care of Tawny right then, and put one in Thor before he saw her fall. That earned me some grub from the traders. Even better, they saw dad. He was in pretty rough shape, and still has the goddamn book. Trader says it gave him the creeps. Me too. But it's good to know he's still alive. Still headed south.”

05 – “He must have been trying to trap food here. I recognize his snares. I can make out a building on the horizon. That must be where he headed. If not, at least I get a roof tonight.”

06 – “Don't like the look of this place... Don't like the smell. Gives me the creeps. Don't want to risk a shot at the crows until I know what’s in there. Sneaking in tonight.”

07 – “The Raiders told spook stories about zombies in the ruins. Never saw anything like that where I come from, but Lord help me, they're real. Not quite what Thor said, but close. These things look... I think they really used to be people.”

08 – “God help me. I found Dad today....I didn't think it was him, but....the face. The zombies didn't touch him. I think....he was becoming like them. Didn't know it was him until I found that old book near him. No more killing. I just need to go. Can't forget the book. All I have left of him. It's warm against the stone. I'll just rest a while...”

09 – “Sharp knife. Sharp knife to send him to deep temple. Flay and say my words. Abdul comes again, on the feast of the weaker. Feast for the Deep Temple. Born again, here. Alhazzared G’yeth G’yeth.”

[Miel]

There was a series of Lovecraftian adventure games called Arcane on the internet a few years ago that I loved. The plot of Arcane centred around a cult, an ancient unspeakable evil, and the certainty that we're all doomed. Nothing more Lovecraftian than that! There were two seasons in total, with a third planned but never released. Arcane was really great for adapting the Lovecraft mythos and creating an atmosphere of creeping horror. Some of the puzzles are quite challenging, too. I highly recommend these to any fan of Lovecraft, or any adventure game afficionado.

You can find links to all the episodes here if you're interested: http://gamescaperoom.com/showthread.php/31-Arcane-%28Series%29 (Note that in Season 1, The Miller Estate, 404 windows will occasionally pop up. These linked to the now nonexistant music files. Just close them and continue with the game. Also, in Season 1, you have to solve the puzzle at the loading screen to read the diary prologue to each episode.)

[Manndroid]

I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but in honor of Amnesia: The Dark Descent coming out in 8 days (at a whopping $20), I figured I'd post a link to the site/the trailer. It's from the creators of Penumbra, and looks beautifully Lovecraftian.

http://www.amnesiagame.com/#main

[Chrizzie Frizzie]

That (Amnesia, that is) looked positively awesome. I dig that they call their physics/3D software framework the "HPL Engine" :-)

[Bulbatron]

I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but in honor of Amnesia: The Dark Descent coming out in 8 days (at a whopping $20), I figured I'd post a link to the site/the trailer. It's from the creators of Penumbra, and looks beautifully Lovecraftian.

http://www.amnesiagame.com/#main

I've already said it here, but I don't mind saying it again, I'm really looking forwards to this.

[Kaelestes]

. . . and looks beautifully Lovecraftian.

What it looks is stupid scary! I'm going to have to invite several friends over during the middle of the day and keep an open phone line for calls to my mother to get through this one! And $20? I hate that so many horror games are getting the price shaft as of late, because that means less money for the developers, but my anorexic wallet isn't complaining.

[Miel]

I've been eagerly anticipating Amnesia for months. I haven't played a truly scary game in ages. Frictional Games' previous horror series, Penumbra, was great, but only slightly Lovecraftian in theme and only scary for the first few chases.

[Bulbatron]

I don't know if Amnesia will necessarily be any more Lovecraftian than the Penumbra series.  I mean the emphasis on tension over action is still there and the whole sanity thing, so what Lovecraftian elements were in the Penumbra series are (or so I believe from what I've seen and read) still to be found in Amnesia.

I suppose the name of their game engine and the direct and not-so-direct references in Penumbra do rather suggest that Frictional must be fans of Lovecraft.

Either way, Amnesia looks like being a great horror game and I love the period setting for it as well.  Can't wait!

EDIT:  The demo is now available.

[Miel]

The game looks great so far! The atmosphere is very Lovecraftian, what with the pulsating horrors, the unseen enemies, and the emphasis on forgetting.

I didn't find it too scary, even with headphones and in a dark room. I think I've been desensitised. My neighbour ringing a cowbell while I was playing also helped. When I get the full game, I'll be playing it with headphones in a dark room after midnight, so no strange interruptions.

[Bulbatron]

Just finished my first session on the full game.  Very good so far - very scary.

[Manndroid]

Played the demo the other night, and downloaded the full game this morning. Waiting 'til dark to give it a whirl - the introduction of the water monster in the demo took me by surprise...

[MartinRonnlund]

Water monster, you say?
Well, maybe I'll give it a try then!