Man, these loading screen quotes are something. You are building towards something, aren't you, Amnesia?
I still have no idea what the hell half of them are referring to.
I've only reached the sewers, so I'm lacking info at this point, but I think most of them are only tangently related. There's a byline of abuse, and how the changes the abuser, of guilt. The orbs hidden in desks, I can't place who those are supposed to be.
I played through the first 2 hours of Machine For Pigs, and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. It's atmospheric but not scary, the mechanics being cut out make it feel like less of a game, the tension is completely uncut by the lackluster and easily bamboozled enemies, the puzzles are obtuse and the level design often does a poor job of pointing you towards areas of interest.
I hope it gets better, but really not so great so far.
I confess to a little concern with Soma. Once you have an idea of how fucked up something is, it's not likely to have the same impact when you actually get there. I mean, those videos have established an environment where brains are ripped out of people, brains hooked up to ghastly equipment, machine tentacles with cutting tools, robots gaining sentience and mimicking others or possibly being others somehow... where do you go from that? And how?
While both Penumbra and Amnesia: TDD (haven't played AMFP myself) started you in obviously spooky locations, it was some time before you learned the nature of what was going on. But if I know, with 100% mathematical certitude, that the place I'm entering is full of dangerous, grotesque science fiction run amok, I'm not going to be too terribly surprised by the first machine that tries to carve me up. That's what sentient machinery always does, no matter how it gains its sentience.
Outlast had a similar problem. The behavior of the asylum inhabitants is incredibly warped, and you're exposed to extreme violence within the first five minutes. By the time you learn the truth of the asylum, namely that
there is a literal spirit of a sort - the Walrider - hunting select individuals
it's not even close to shocking, and in fact is downright tame compared to what you've been through.
I'm not saying Soma won't be scary and twisted; it's Frictional, that's what they do. I'm just worried it'll be too obviously, in-your-face weird from the onset, and won't be able to effectively build tension for long.
The quip at the end and the art seems like a nod to I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. The short story mind, you not just the game inspired by it.
You all should read that by the way. The most terrifying fifteen minutes of your life.
And play the game, too; it's a twisted little adventure game, and I actually think it's a little more well-written than the book, considering it's a second draft.
I actually got to talk to Harlan Ellison about that game, it was pretty cool.
@Stolis: Thing is, I don't think the horror in this game is actually going to come from the visuals or the machines trying to kill you at all, is the thing. From what I'm seeing they're going to go for a much more existential angle, and the visuals are going to be window dressing for that. I think the real horror is going to come from this question of what is the self, anyway, what is consciousness.
I'm a Transhumanist and even I have problems with the concept of brain uploading for this very reason. If you make a copy of your memories and knowledge, but your physical self still exists, which one is you? What about continuity of consciousness? What the hell IS consciousness, anyway? If the original you dies in this situation, is your consciousness then consigned to oblivion while your copy lives on, unknowing that it isn't the real 'you' at all?
If you think about consciousness for too long, it's really pretty damn scary. It arises from a complex sum of internal processes but we still have no idea why we have... well, ourselves, why we experience things, what's doing the experiencing. At least, if you don't believe in a soul, I guess.
To me, the scariest thing in the gameplay trailer wasn't the cut open brains, or the Giger-esque corridors, or the crawling robots, or even the possibility of death -- it's the comment by the POV character near the end: "Are you still in there..? Am... am I still in there?" There's a strong implication that the brain there is his, and the horror isn't "oh god he's going to die," but rather, "oh god, what is he anymore."
Same with the video where the guy is talking to the robot that thinks it's him. The horror isn't in the robot itself, it's in the fact that both the guy and the robot are dead convinced that they're the real guy, and have the knowledge to back it up. So who IS the real guy? Where does their consciousness split?
What is the self?
So tl;dr -- I honestly think that it's going to be a very different kind of horror, the kind where you don't think about it too much and then late at night a few days later you realize that you have no idea who, or what, you really are. More House of Leaves than H.P. Lovecraft.
That SOMA game seems super neat. I hope they come up with some mechanics or narrative structure that does justice to the idea of the "existential body horror" idea, because you could make things get very, very weird. Particularly with the line "The only way out is to do something unimaginable".
The quip at the end and the art seems like a nod to I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. The short story mind, you not just the game inspired by it.
You all should read that by the way. The most terrifying fifteen minutes of your life.
And play the game, too; it's a twisted little adventure game, and I actually think it's a little more well-written than the book, considering it's a second draft.
I actually got to talk to Harlan Ellison about that game, it was pretty cool.
@Stolis: Thing is, I don't think the horror in this game is actually going to come from the visuals or the machines trying to kill you at all, is the thing. From what I'm seeing they're going to go for a much more existential angle, and the visuals are going to be window dressing for that. I think the real horror is going to come from this question of what is the self, anyway, what is consciousness.
I'm a Transhumanist and even I have problems with the concept of brain uploading for this very reason. If you make a copy of your memories and knowledge, but your physical self still exists, which one is you? What about continuity of consciousness? What the hell IS consciousness, anyway? If the original you dies in this situation, is your consciousness then consigned to oblivion while your copy lives on, unknowing that it isn't the real 'you' at all?
If you think about consciousness for too long, it's really pretty damn scary. It arises from a complex sum of internal processes but we still have no idea why we have... well, ourselves, why we experience things, what's doing the experiencing. At least, if you don't believe in a soul, I guess.
To me, the scariest thing in the gameplay trailer wasn't the cut open brains, or the Giger-esque corridors, or the crawling robots, or even the possibility of death -- it's the comment by the POV character near the end: "Are you still in there..? Am... am I still in there?" There's a strong implication that the brain there is his, and the horror isn't "oh god he's going to die," but rather, "oh god, what is he anymore."
Same with the video where the guy is talking to the robot that thinks it's him. The horror isn't in the robot itself, it's in the fact that both the guy and the robot are dead convinced that they're the real guy, and have the knowledge to back it up. So who IS the real guy? Where does their consciousness split?
What is the self?
So tl;dr -- I honestly think that it's going to be a very different kind of horror, the kind where you don't think about it too much and then late at night a few days later you realize that you have no idea who, or what, you really are. More House of Leaves than H.P. Lovecraft.
As someone who has been big into Philip K. Dick, transhumanism, enjoyed reading The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince, as well as having House of Leaves waiting to be read, I think this game is exactly what I'm waiting for.
Eeeeeeee, I am excite. Might possibly maybe (depending on specs) be the first Frictional game I get to play somewhere near its launch since the first tech demo for Penumbra.
This is practically right around the corner, pretty excited. I hope frictional doesn't hit a slump because while Amenesia put them on the map this game will be the one to establish them with a larger audience.
Dammit okay I think I have to play this. I can't usually deal with horror but this really is bringing back nostalgia for the very best parts of System Shock 2. Fond memories of sitting, terrified, in a cargo bay with no lights, no ammo, and a broken gun, knowing that a shambling horrific cyborg mutant was just around the corner, looking for me...
Maybe I can play during the day, with the lights on >>; Heck, maybe I should learn to stream gameplay and y'all can watch me going "noooo nooooooooooooooooooooooo." No clue how to get started with that though.
Yup. I went to pre-order it yesterday on the PSN store and didn't even see it on there. Thought it MUST be a glitch since PS Blog and other Playstation sites have been pimping this game, but come to find "Nope. No pre-order for you." Insane.
Yup. I went to pre-order it yesterday on the PSN store and didn't even see it on there. Thought it MUST be a glitch since PS Blog and other Playstation sites have been pimping this game, but come to find "Nope. No pre-order for you." Insane.
Yeah I can understand not having a discount but not having a preorder for a game that they are promotion heavily seems really odd to me.
I just wish I knew if there were any performance differences. My PC can definitely run it, but I'm slowly transitioning away from PC gaming. I'm old, and don't have the time/money to keep my machine maintained anymore. Need to simplify. But it feels kind of wrong to play a Frictional game on a console.
Posts
Still looks great. PS4 is great news.
According to the Frictional blog post on the trailer, that whole sequence of events and character isn't actually in the game.
Well, he might be as a dead body or note, I guess.
this is a good thing.
but if this is horrifying existentialist body horror with robots I'm in
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
Btw, what happened to the spiler button?
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
I hope it gets better, but really not so great so far.
Steam: BrocksMullet http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197972421669/
While both Penumbra and Amnesia: TDD (haven't played AMFP myself) started you in obviously spooky locations, it was some time before you learned the nature of what was going on. But if I know, with 100% mathematical certitude, that the place I'm entering is full of dangerous, grotesque science fiction run amok, I'm not going to be too terribly surprised by the first machine that tries to carve me up. That's what sentient machinery always does, no matter how it gains its sentience.
Outlast had a similar problem. The behavior of the asylum inhabitants is incredibly warped, and you're exposed to extreme violence within the first five minutes. By the time you learn the truth of the asylum, namely that
I'm not saying Soma won't be scary and twisted; it's Frictional, that's what they do. I'm just worried it'll be too obviously, in-your-face weird from the onset, and won't be able to effectively build tension for long.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
You all should read that by the way. The most terrifying fifteen minutes of your life.
And play the game, too; it's a twisted little adventure game, and I actually think it's a little more well-written than the book, considering it's a second draft.
I actually got to talk to Harlan Ellison about that game, it was pretty cool.
@Stolis: Thing is, I don't think the horror in this game is actually going to come from the visuals or the machines trying to kill you at all, is the thing. From what I'm seeing they're going to go for a much more existential angle, and the visuals are going to be window dressing for that. I think the real horror is going to come from this question of what is the self, anyway, what is consciousness.
I'm a Transhumanist and even I have problems with the concept of brain uploading for this very reason. If you make a copy of your memories and knowledge, but your physical self still exists, which one is you? What about continuity of consciousness? What the hell IS consciousness, anyway? If the original you dies in this situation, is your consciousness then consigned to oblivion while your copy lives on, unknowing that it isn't the real 'you' at all?
If you think about consciousness for too long, it's really pretty damn scary. It arises from a complex sum of internal processes but we still have no idea why we have... well, ourselves, why we experience things, what's doing the experiencing. At least, if you don't believe in a soul, I guess.
To me, the scariest thing in the gameplay trailer wasn't the cut open brains, or the Giger-esque corridors, or the crawling robots, or even the possibility of death -- it's the comment by the POV character near the end: "Are you still in there..? Am... am I still in there?" There's a strong implication that the brain there is his, and the horror isn't "oh god he's going to die," but rather, "oh god, what is he anymore."
Same with the video where the guy is talking to the robot that thinks it's him. The horror isn't in the robot itself, it's in the fact that both the guy and the robot are dead convinced that they're the real guy, and have the knowledge to back it up. So who IS the real guy? Where does their consciousness split?
What is the self?
So tl;dr -- I honestly think that it's going to be a very different kind of horror, the kind where you don't think about it too much and then late at night a few days later you realize that you have no idea who, or what, you really are. More House of Leaves than H.P. Lovecraft.
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Very much looking forward to it.
I thought it was a space station.
You probably thought it was a space station.
It ain't a space station.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
As someone who has been big into Philip K. Dick, transhumanism, enjoyed reading The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince, as well as having House of Leaves waiting to be read, I think this game is exactly what I'm waiting for.
Also I think I owe you a high-five.
SOMA is in beta.
September 22nd. Oh yeah.
Can't come out soon enough.
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Actual story and setting interests me a lot more than Amnesia so I'm pretty excited about that aswell, getting to see them try their hand at sci-fi.
Somehow the video not embedding is very fitting.
Edit: fixed the link.
Maybe I can play during the day, with the lights on >>; Heck, maybe I should learn to stream gameplay and y'all can watch me going "noooo nooooooooooooooooooooooo." No clue how to get started with that though.
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Yup. I went to pre-order it yesterday on the PSN store and didn't even see it on there. Thought it MUST be a glitch since PS Blog and other Playstation sites have been pimping this game, but come to find "Nope. No pre-order for you." Insane.
Yeah I can understand not having a discount but not having a preorder for a game that they are promotion heavily seems really odd to me.
Personally I am going to go PS4 just because of my home setup.