Scary Shit

by sweep

There's a bit of a trend amongst videogames When tasked with designing an enemy that is supposed to inspire fear, designers seem to be completely overcome with a lack of imagination. The surefire result is a monster with big teeth and more spikes than a hedgehog. In the year 2009, or indeed 2010, we have reached a position where the media/the internet exposes us daily to the horrors mankind is...

There's a bit of a trend amongst videogames

When tasked with designing an enemy that is supposed to inspire fear, designers seem to be completely overcome with a lack of imagination. The surefire result is a monster with big teeth and more spikes than a hedgehog. In the year 2009, or indeed 2010, we have reached a position where the media/the internet exposes us daily to the horrors mankind is capable of. The film industry knows the score - horror films are now themed around rapists and psychopathic torturers as oppose to the more traditional Kraken. Videogames seem stuck in the past, a world of physical torture rather than psychological.

Take Dead Space for example

Dead Space was probably the scariest game I have played for a few years. The shambling necromorphs were grotesque, true, but the paralysing fear stems from the implication that enemies are stalking you as oppose to directly assaulting you. Dead Space successfully understands that not knowing what could kill you is always more terrifying than a direct confrontation.

I racked my brains to produce the single most terrifying character I could remember. The answer is, for me at least, undoubtedly plain:

That's right. The Penguin from Wallace and Grommit: The Wrong Trousers.
The slyness of the character, his ability to manipulate and trick, is far more persuasive in seeding his place the greatest villain of all time. The cold stare and lack of emotion is almost alien when contrasted with the expressive nature of the other characters. It is his potential for evil, his unpredictable calmness, that sets the audience on edge. Again, the concept of the unknown is paramount to the sense of fear the character instils.

Another terrifying character was the regenerator in Resident Evil 4.

It shambled in, completely un-announced. Compared to the enemies I had already face in Re4 it did not seem particularly menacing. It was only once I discovered that it couldn't be stopped that I began to freak out, and when it finally caught up with me and bit off my face well... I had a lot of laundry to do that day. Again - the fear is inspired by not knowing how to kill or defeat the seemingly docile enemy placed before you.

Big spiky monsters might look cool - but ceased being scary a long time ago. Perhaps it's time the videogame industry did some growing up?

Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep