Metroid Completion Cliché?

I realize that the title is a bit confusing. Don’t worry, I’ll get to that soon enough. First let’s talk about the original impact when people first completed the original game Metroid. Well, it depended on the completion time, but those who completed the game under a certain time were given the surprise that the character they were playing as, Samus Aran, was actually a woman the whole time. Considering that this game came out in 1986, the fact that there was a cool female hero on the videogame scene was kind of a big deal. At the very least, it made the series feel unique. The original Metroid game mainly stands out to its unique gameplay style and the fact that you can speedrun to get different endings featuring Samus in different outfits. Going back to play the original game these days is honestly pretty rough though. Again, this was first released in 1986. Nothing feels like it plays smooth without an analog stick anymore, unless it’s an RPG with grid based movement. However, it is good to acknowledge the history of the series. That being said, there is only three bosses in the entire game which is kind of sad to think about. At least they added a few more in the remake to spice things up, although none of them are particularly difficult. They also add in the remake the ability to grab ledges, which is most appreciated, and some more post game content. Although the interesting thing about the post game content is that you send a good chunk of it as Zero Suit Samus as you end up in a random stealth section at the end of the game. And yet, the main reward for speedrunning the game is still artwork of Samus without her power suit. So, I will now address the title by asking is this reward becoming a cliché?

Now, let’s talk about words for a little bit here. My understanding of a cliché is when something is overdone and because of that loses the original intention behind it. So when it was first introduced that Samus was a woman, they were most likely trying to go for that shock and wow factor. You know, they wanted to mess with people’s expectations. Then what reason would there be for doing it after that first game? Let’s talk about another word now. Tradition is when certain ideas get passed down over a period of time right? So it probably has something to do with tradition right? Is there a point though when a tradition becomes a cliché? If I had to guess it would be when the meaning is lost. After all, there is not much point is preserving a tradition if there is no meaning behind it or if the meaning behind it doesn’t apply to new understandings or sensibilities. So that means there would have to still be meaning to it. The question then is does this reward still have meaning, even if it feels different from the original reveal? I realize I have asks a ton of questions today to the point where I am probably coming off as more annoying than interesting here. So I will step back from 20 Questions here and actually answer a question for a change. Yes, it does still have meaning. I know because I still get excited when I see that final time or completion rating and get that alternate ending that I worked so hard to unlock. I am definitely excited that there is a payoff and while there isn’t any wow factor, it is still a great reminder to see that this bounty hunter is a woman who can get the job done. Granted we now have more female protagonists since it is now longer the 80’s, but it fairness they are usually less fun to speedrun. So, it is a nice little tradition for sure, but is there any chance it could lose its meaning? Honestly, I don’t know.

Look, I never want to pretend that I have all of the answers. I don’t, and that’s okay. Every now and then though I am plagued with a question and I want to just role with it. to be honest, this isn’t the first time I have asked this question and it probably won’t be the last. I just wonder if this series will always carry the same meaning as it continues into the future. It has been shown very clearly in more recent games in the franchise that Samus is a woman and while there is nothing wrong with that, I wonder if maybe it might cause us to forget about the history of this series. Maybe we might not remember the first reveal way back when in 1986 when she first took that helmet off. I could just be unnecessarily worrying. I am fully aware of that. It also seems like the Metroid series is in a good place right now. And then I remember that it doesn’t matter with this series because the gap between main series games has been pretty brutal to say the least. There may come a day where no one actually cares about it. Maybe that is the case now. Do people still care? Does this matter to people when they play a Metroid game? It has become pretty normalized to see female protagonists now so maybe it wouldn’t matter to someone who just picked up the series. I guess I am fine with it being normalized, but I feel like something is being glossed over. At first it was that she was both cool and a woman. It hasn’t really changed since then, but we have had some close calls. Looking at you specifically, game that I swore not to mention this month. I guess I am just worried that Samus could one day become a cliché character. I love the acknowledgement that she is a woman, but I hope that the fact that she is a woman remains cool. I hope I conveyed what I wanted to say. I am honestly not sure if I did. Let’s hope so. See you next week.

The Mario is Missing Cliché

I like Luigi as a character. I’m just coming out and saying it. Not everyone gets their own month on my blog you know. I realize that doesn’t mean a lot right now, but later on it will hopefully mean a lot more. The point is I think that he deserves some attention and so I decided to give him some. Throughout all of the jokes I attempted and the ramblings I gave since nowadays I consider sleep to be optional, I was trying to look out for number two. So I tried to give some thoughts on the man in green to spread some awareness you see. However, there is one thing that I have been trying to avoid when talking about Luigi and that is his relationship with Mario. I am not talking about them being brothers; everybody should already be aware of that fact. I am referring to how that relationship ultimately affects Luigi in his appearances. Typically Mario is the one holding the spotlight and Luigi can hope for second fiddle at best. Heck, sometimes he doesn’t even get a mention at all. Where was he in Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine? Does it matter? Apparently not, so why even mention it? The only green that deserves to be there is the dinosaur that somehow gets even less respect than Luigi. Although even with all Yoshi does have something that Luigi does not have. Yoshi has a standalone game. In fact he has several different standalone games with the most recent being Yoshi’s Crafted World. Now you may be thinking that Luigi does have standalone games and that I should know this considering I spent the last blog post talking about the Luigi’s Mansion series. That’s fair. However what isn’t fair is the fact that Luigi can’t have one standalone title that has nothing to do with Mario.

The main problem with the relationship of the two being brothers is that the relationship doesn’t feel equal. With Mario he gets to do whatever and then someone will say that Luigi is also here. In fact my friend even showed me a meme where a Toad says “…Oh, Luigi came too, Super.” There’s being the butt of a joke and then there is just being insulting. As long as Mario is here the poor guy can’t seem to catch a break. Whereas when Luigi is in charge, things usually end up becoming about Mario. The first game to have Luigi in a starring role is a game called Mario is Missing! And I think that I don’t have to delve any deeper to relay that the main focus wasn’t on Luigi. It could have probably been any other character and the game would not have changed in any way. The only reason Luigi got the role is because he is Mario’s brother. They at least made him have a unique selling point in the Luigi’s Mansion series, but he still ends up having to rescue Mario each time. I’m starting to think that Mario games can’t get cleared for release unless there is at least one kidnapping in it. Maybe Nintendo should have a nice therapy session or something to work out some issues. Although at least it makes sense in Luigi’s Mansion and Luigi’s Mansion 3 since the whereabouts of Mario and the others are the only reason why Luigi doesn’t just peace out and take a better vacation. What boggles my mind is why is Mario captured in the second game? Your main goal for the game is to piece together the dark moon so that the ghosts don’t run rampant and take over the world. That works fine enough on its own as a story. We don’t even find out he was captured until the end of the game so why even bother? If you needed a kidnapping, you already had it with E. Gadd kidnapping Luigi from his house at the beginning of the game. Did King Boo do it as leverage or something? To this day I can’t figure it out. All I know it that it was entirely unnecessary to the overall story.

Look I am not trying to hate on Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. After all that game is really fun and it gives Luigi a dog at the end so you can’t be mad at it. The problem is that Luigi seems to not be able to have a solo adventure without Mario being involved. Well, that’s not entirely true. Back in 2013 during the Year of Luigi, Nintendo released a DLC for their game New Super Mario Bros. U. It was called New Super Luigi U. Basically all they did was replace Mario Bros. with Luigi and called it a new game. Of course there are some differences such as the shorter and more challenging levels and the arrival of Nabbit as a playable character. What is Nabbit you may ask? Truth be told I have no idea. I know he steal items and is good at running but that doesn’t really narrow things down for me. Also he seems to be a purple rabbit, but sometimes I wonder if that is really true. No matter what he is, he is the replacement for Mario as a playable character because Mario is not in the game due to Luigi having the player one spot. I wonder if he just decided not to be in the game because he didn’t get his usual spot. I hope he isn’t actually that petty. More likely he decided to take a vacation from saving Peach from Bowser every other Tuesday. And so we have it where Luigi is able to have a game where Mario is not in it, so long as it takes the same assets and story and shuffles things around a little. So there’s that I guess. I just think he could maybe get a fully-fleshed out game sometimes. And being honest, I don’t really mind Mario being in the Luigi’s Mansion series, so long as it means something. I just want Nintendo to be a little more aware of the cliché that I have noticed. That’s all. Not that they’ll read this, but at least I tried Luigi. I did my best. Now hopefully since I have talked about Luigi so much, then a new Luigi game should be in the works. That’s how it works right? Anyway, we have one more themed month of the year. I’ll see you next month for Metroid month. And for the record, I will only be covering Metroid main series games. Metroid: Other M will be a next year problem.

Thoughts on Luigi’s Mansions

Now let’s talk about the most famous game series Luigi has been a part of throughout the years. I say that knowing the series only has three games at the time of writing, but hopefully there may be more in the future. Let’s just talk about the games in the Luigi’s Mansion series that we have right now. As I already mentioned, there are three different games in the series. The first was originally released for the GameCube and was later remade for the 3Ds system and was simply called Luigi’s Mansion. It wasn’t until over ten years later that there would be a sequel as part of the Year of Luigi with the title Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Then about two years ago in 2019, we were given another sequel in Luigi’s Mansion 3. Now I personally really love this game series as it gives Luigi a chance to shine. However, for a game based around one of the Mario brothers, it has very little in the way of platforming. Instead the main gameplay loop involves sucking up different varieties of ghosts. Now Luigi is not the biggest fan of them going by how he shrieks in terror each time one gets the jump on him, but he still manages to hold his own. I guess I just respect the way he keeps trying his best to get the job done and save the day despite being absolutely terrified. I mentioned in my previous post that Luigi acted more light he wanted some spotlight in the Paper Mario games. In these games I am pretty sure Luigi would much rather just go home if he had the option. Poor guy can’t catch a break. So, I want to talk a little about the different games in the series and I want to start with the second game first. So, let’s discuss Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for a bit.

Now this game is in my opinion the weakest one in the series. The main reason is probably the mission based structure. You are only able to complete certain objectives each mission and then you are forced to exit the area after reaching a certain point. There are also areas that were previously accessible that get blocked off since they aren’t necessarily areas to complete your mission objective. So exploration is kind of limited. Not to mention that interacting with certain areas in one mission can give you completely different rewards in another mission so things can get a little repetitive. The other gripe with the game is that there isn’t much in the area of boss fights since you only get to do mostly hoard battles and only fight a boss during the final mission of an area. However, I do think the puzzles in this game can be very interesting, especially when the dark light comes into play and you can observe hidden objects and stuff. Also the game honestly just controls better than the first one did. And this is comparing the 3Ds to a GameCube so you know that has to mean something. Truth be told, I feel like the second one has a bunch of ideas, but they just really killed most of the exploration from the get-go so the game feels a bit weaker. The original game, perfect segue I know, focus on trying to find all the ghosts and finding as much money as you could fill your pockets with so you could achieve a higher rank. Since the original was one big area you fought ghosts to unlock new areas of the house and find what happened to Mario. All of the ghosts that you fight in this game are unique in design and have some sort of personality. The problem is that their capture is one of the components to getting a high rank and the controls for catching ghosts aren’t the best. In fact it can be very difficult to pull off getting platinum for each painting. The only other ghosts you fight are the boos who are hidden throughout the mansion with a certain amount being needed to reach the final area where Mario is being kept by King Boo. So exploration is very heavy is this game, especially once the element medallions are introduced so you have new ways of interacting with the environment. Although, usually this is only for money and what house Luigi gets at the end of the game. The thing is that every last bit counts if you want to get the best ranking so it can require a lot of trial and error to fully beat the game. It also involves a lot of different boss fights with each having their own unique puzzles. The combat itself is not nearly as complex as it would be in later games.

Now Luigi’s Mansion 3 feels like a balance between the two games where it spends time fleshing out the combat of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon while making it feel as though you are exploring a big open area like the original Luigi’s Mansion. Typically you spend most of your time solving puzzles and fighting waves of ghosts until you make it to the boss ghost and figure out it’s attack patterns so you can proceed on to the next area. Although most of their patterns tend to be pretty simple. Especially if Gooigi is a part of the battle because with the exception of one boss fight, there is no reason you need to switch between characters during the boss fights and so Gooigi is just regulated to puzzles for the most part. Also the gems have no other purpose except as collectibles and you don’t even get a cool Luigi trophy or anything. It is only for an achievement which is a little disheartening. Especially when some of them are so annoying to find. To the games credit they do give you easier ways to find Boos and gems but it does cost some amount of money. Although there is still more than enough coin to collect if you want to get the best ending so go nuts and feel free to spend irresponsibly. Of course that only applies to the game and definitely not in reality. I have never done anything irresponsible with money and my bank is secure enough so that you can’t find the statements to prove I’m lying. At least I hope it is because if not then I will be pretty embarrassed among other things. So back to the game, I do appreciate that a lot of the puzzles give you something to show for it even if they may not be very difficult. I also appreciate the boss ghosts each having unique personalities even if most of them aren’t very difficult. I also really enjoy the new combat of smacking enemies against each other until they drop. I just kind of hope that when they come up with a new game for the series there is more to wealth than just your overall rank or achievements. to be honest, I don’t have much more to say. I just wanted to talk a bit about this series. You should check these games out if you haven’t already just to give Luigi some love. Anyway, see you all next time.

Now Hear Me Out: Paper Luigi

Now about a year ago when I first started this blog, I spent some time talking about the Paper Mario series and how the games differ from each other. Now I want to spend some talking about a man who did not get very much screentime in those games. That’s right, it’s Paper Luigi. It is really a shame though since I find him to be one of the funniest characters in the series. You may not know this if you haven’t played these games, but Paper Luigi is a bit different from his normal 3D self. In fact, ironically his character is a lot less two dimensional in these games and has a lot more freedom to express his personality. If I were to sum up his personality from what I have seen, he is the kind of guy who shoots for the stars, only to be reminded each time that the higher you jump, the harder you fall. What I am saying is that his plans don’t really work out. For instance, in Super Paper Mario, he tries to interfere with Peach and Bowser’s absolute sham of a wedding, only to cause the Chaos Heart to go nuts and causes him to be trapped in Count Bleck’s castle. Later when trying to escape he gets captured and brainwashed into being his third-rate villain counterpart: Mr. L. Or we can look at how Paper Luigi dashed off to the rescue at the beginning of Paper Mario and the Origami King and immediately ends up being stuck in-between dimensions. The only Luigi I know that is this reckless is the one in Super Mario Galaxy who always manages to find himself in some trouble after nabbing a power star for you. Of course there is something else I should mention when it comes to Paper Luigi.

For those of you who are unaware of what I am about to reference here, thanks for hearing me out so far. As for those who are, I am going to spend a bit of time talking about a game that only exists in fairytales. That’s right, it is Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass. This game is a kind of running joke throughout the events of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door where Paper Luigi will occasionally show up in the hub area letting his brother know all about this exciting adventure he has been on without Paper Mario. He even has his own little groupies that are following him on his adventures that you get to meet him. The difference is that all of his followers think of him as a screw-up and all have their own little vendettas against him. The problem is that the green one has no idea what he has gotten himself into at all. Poor guy. He actually seems to think of himself as the hero in his own story. The two things that interest me the most about this little side story is that we could get a return to an older version of the Paper Mario adventure formula. The other is that we can’t really be sure what really happened in that adventure unless we see it for ourselves. Although I am more inclined to believe his followers since Paper Luigi is a bit of a klutz as I mentioned previously. He still means well though and that is what matters. At least I think so anyway. So what is the point of all this? Now hear me out for a moment. You knew I was going to say that at some point.

You see I would like to see Paper Luigi as a game. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the game they made as a running joke, but I would still like to see more of that Luigi personality. Luigi is fairly underutilized unless it is for the Luigi’s Mansion series. We see a lot of scared Luigi in situations where he seems to be in his element, which apparently is very uncomfortable and with a burning desire to go home. We don’t get to see as much of Luigi being a total dork. And if we do, it is usually because Mario also happens to be there. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the Luigi’s Mansion series, but I feel that Luigi has more potential than just sucking up ghosts in a vacuum. He just has a certain charm to him and just wants to be recognized for his efforts and I say we give it to him. Not to mention the incredible amount of people who would love to actually see a version of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass so long as it stays true to what they want. I am just leaving that as a possibility you know. Besides, this way Nintendo will have people hopefully embracing the life of the Paper Mario series once again. Maybe all you needed was just a new charismatic lead ready to steal the show and potentially save the day with a dash of flair. Or people could just keep playing Bug Fables instead to scratch their Paper Mario itch. I don’t really know for sure, but that is why I write these. I like to speculate on what could be even if it might never actually happen. It doesn’t hurt to dream a little right? I’m even issuing a compromise here so maybe there is some hope right? Anybody? No? Okay. See you next time.

Thoughts on Luigi Memes

You know how I made that random Luigi reference in that last post. Total coincidence if I’m being honest. But hey, it’s a Luigi month! Frankly speaking, the man in green doesn’t get the respect that he truly deserves. So this month we will be looking at some of his highlights. So I thought that we would first start out with some good memes the man has created just with his presence in games over the years. Even though he may seem like he is overshadowed by his brother, in reality he is just trying not to steal the spotlight. Seriously, what a nice guy. At least, most of the time. Let’s look at a great meme that showed up during Mario Kart 8 known as the Luigi Death stare. For those of you who have not played the game, Mario Kart 8 can be a brutal and unforgiving game just like most of Nintendo’s party and competitive games. Only Nintendo could make go-karting feel so violent while also making it super family friendly. There are a multitude of items you can use to put yourself in first place and take out the competition. And then you will get blue shelled because the game decided that your time is over. All I’m trying to say is that things can get chaotic. That means places change a lot. The funny thing was that someone realized that whenever Luigi passed someone he had taken out, he would give them this murderous stare as if he was warning them not to get back up. It was pretty funny and just kind of blew up. Now if you want to find it you can look it up on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already. Go on, I’ll wait. You back? Okay, now doesn’t he look so menacing? You have to wonder why Luigi has all that anger inside him. Oh wait, I just realized he is playing Mario Kart 8 so that totally makes sense.

The next meme I want to talk about for a bit is one that I find to be an absolute classic. It is one that has once again resurfaced after the latest released game in the Mario Party series: Mario Party Superstars. It is quite honestly not adding much new to the table, but it is honestly one of the most fun Mario Party games in years, so I’ll think we’ll just let that slide. For those of you who are unaware, Mario Party is in the same line as Mario Kart in that there is no clear winner until the end. The biggest difference between the two series is that the former has a much heavier emphasis on luck. The goal of the game is simple. You just have to have the highest star count at the end of the game. You purchase them by getting coins around the map with the best way being minigames. These games are usually based on a bit of skill as well as a bit of luck. However, skill goes out the window once the AI is on easy mode. Someone abused this and gave rise to the meme: Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing. It is a series of videos showcasing Luigi not moving at all while the three AI scramble to win the minigames while failing miserably to a man staring blankly into the distance. To be fair, most minigames avoid this problem by requiring at least one button press, but for some of the others the possibilities are endless. To be perfectly honest I am not sure why they chose Luigi for this bit, but it is possibly because of his usual low key nature. That and the fact that Nintendo usually doesn’t give him much to do anyway so it’s a perfect fit.

The thing that I hope you take away from this, other than Luigi is definitely the more entertaining of the Mario Brothers, is that you don’t see these kind of memes about Mario. When is the last time something like this happened to him? And Chris Pratt as Mario doesn’t count because the whole cast of that movie is going to be legendary. We are in for a beautiful train wreck next holiday season and I look forward to watching it in theaters. Tangents aside, Mario never really had anything unique about him. The most controversial thing he has ever done was kidnap a monkey and attack it’s child. I know that is pretty messed up but that was years ago. Mario and more importantly Nintendo would never be caught doing anything like that anymore. Luigi luckily doesn’t have as much spotlight on him as his brother and so he gets to have more interesting interactions with other characters. It is a shame but it seems that Luigi’s lack of attention actually gives better potential for memes. Personally, I am all for more memes of Luigi, but it feels as if he is only being picked because there are no better options. Since he has the most amount of wiggle room with his personality, there is a lot more that he can get away with compared to everyone else. It also feels more fun to interpret things differently because it’s Luigi. The death stare could very well be Luigi’s serious racing face for all we know. I hope it isn’t though because things are more fun that way. So if Luigi is our best way of producing quality memes, then let’s keep them coming. Although it might be hard to top the Charlie Day Luigi memes at the moment.

Now Hear Me Out: Flashlights

I know what you’re thinking. Where could he even be going with this? As always, I ask that you hear me out anyway. Now, I want to start out by saying that I think we can all agree that lighting is a very important element in horror games. Everything is just scarier when things get darker and foggier and gloomier. It helps give off an eerie or even haunting sort of vibe that goes very well in a haunted setting. However, you can’t have a game be pitch black since games using typically have some visual aspects to them. There is a difference between having an atmosphere and having the atmosphere choke any and all light sources to death. So usually there will be some lighting of some kind to make sure you can actually see, especially if the game is first person. That is where the handy tool known as the flashlight comes into play. It is there to make sure you can see just enough so that you can at least make out your general surroundings. It may not be the best thing in your arsenal, but it is probably the most reliable thing you’ll use in a horror environment. Although I have to say, the game developers definitely don’t want you relying on it too much. As evidence for that, let’s take a look at some scary games you might know.

In Dead by Daylight, the flashlight is an optional perk you can give your character. Its purpose is simply to give you a better shot at survival along with the other kinds of items you can find and equip. However, it isn’t used it the typical fashion as it is mainly used to blind the killer so as to prevent the innocents from being caught. Unfortunately, it has some of the world’s worst battery life as it only works for a few seconds before it becomes unusable. So it is best used in that game as a distraction tactic. In Slender, another well known horror game, you have a more traditional flashlight to explore a dark forest. However, you have to pace it just as much as in Dead by Daylight since the battery life is also not great. It isn’t as bad as that game, but using it too much will ensure it will run out before you have reached the halfway point. And in a game where you are required to search for things in a dark environment while a mannequin in a business suit chases after you, it is helpful to have the ability to see. Even in the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game the lights were the last resort to not getting caught by the gang and let you know when to close the doors. Leaving it on would severely drain your power so it could only be used sparingly. Flashlights in other games in the series are used in similar ways as well and don’t really help you feel very protected.

However, there are times when the games give you flashlights that seem to never run out of battery and so they can only take them away when certain things happen such as the plot demanding it. Like how in Outlast when you have that indestructible camera that you can use to see just about everything and for some reason your character decides is the best way to not garner attention in an insane asylum. Or in Phasmophobia where the flashlight will last pretty much forever as long as there are no ghosts nearby waiting to cover your eyes and put you to sleep. And of course in the Luigi’s Mansion series where the flashlight is essentially a god-tier item that is the only thing preventing Luigi from being possessed by an angry ghost. I know that game isn’t actually that scary, but I will never miss an opportunity to somehow bring up the man in the green cap since he is the best of the brothers( #numbertwoisnumberone, #alwaysgogreen). Sorry, the point I am trying to make here is that lighting is either totally nerfed and only usable a couple of times before it isn’t very useful or it essentially indestructible and fully charged because the plot demands it. So can we have some sort of middle ground. Like for instance, and I am just spit-balling here, maybe adding a pickup that could keep your flashlight from going out and having it dim over time. You know, maybe call the pickups batteries or something like that. Then adjust the amount of batteries you find based on the difficulty you are trying to go for in the game. Look, I am trying to just keep things balanced. Every scary game feels like it is either on easy mode or hard mode with no middle ground between the extremes. This is just something I think could be used to help with certain balancing issues in the genre. Lighting is such a key factor and yet very few games use it to enhance the experience effectively. Half of them just make it dark and don’t even give you any breathing room. I am just asking for some time to breathe after you try and give me a heart attack. That’s all. See you next week.

Thoughts on Deception Games

You know, I kind of glossed over deception games in my previous post and I feel that they deserve more mention. So let’s talk more about them this week. The question that I want to focus on is what is it that sets it apart from single-player and multi-player games in the horror genre. If I think about it, deception games feel like they reach some kind of middle ground between the two types. On one hand you are on a team and are trying to work together with others, and on the other you are working by yourself because you don’t know who to trust. That is unless you are on the evil team and so your main focus is not getting caught. Everyone is doing whatever they can to prove they are not evil with no one having a clue until they are left for the innocent to find, usually in the form of a dead body. Now what makes this interesting is how fear can creep into the minds of other players and prevent them from being able to trust each other. That is especially the case in the games like Deceit where the game never gives you definitive proof that someone is actually a killer. Sure they give you a scanner to check for evil people, but you have to trust the person using the scanner first. Now let’s take some time to look at these games from both perspectives as an innocent party. We all know the bad guys are just there to have some fun.

So as a single-player experience the biggest sense of fear is the fear of the unknown. Of course the main reason for that is you don’t know who to trust. You know your goal to either to escape or survive and yet you can’t trust anyone. You might want to leave and do your own thing, but then you may be suspected for being the traitor/monster/impostor. So you try to stay in the group and be around others so that they don’t suspect you whenever a body pops up. In the multiplayer environment you are usually familiar with each other’s habits and find it easier to establish trust, but it just hurts that much more when you are betrayed. You work as a team player trying to do what needs to be done to survive and you just want to make sure you can do everything you can to help your team survive, even if they throw you out for it. A lot of the time working as a team is spent on deliberation more than anything by trying to figure out who are the ones not on your side. There is a good amount of tension involved with each game and yet it doesn’t feel like horror does it? Like it isn’t the same kind of game because even though you are helpless to the whims of those who would do harm against you, you don’t ever really feel that sense of dread unless you are getting down to the final stretch. Sure there can be horror elements, but the feeling of fear is different. The question is not when you will be attacked, but instead by whom?

That isn’t to say it can’t be scary. Getting attacked and viciously destroyed by something is enough to give anyone a good fright. However, there is a key difference is the relentless of the pursuit. You see deception games are based around deception. That means that the killers can only succeed if they are able to deceive successfully. Now imagine if Jason Voorhees tried to blend in with all of the camp counselors before he killed them. That sounds quite unnecessary since he is an immortal killing machine, figuratively speaking. The point is that deception is not necessary when someone is powerful enough to just stomp all over you without you having any way to defend yourself. While fear of the unknown can be quite scary, like ordering from a new restaurant on the other side of town, nothing is scarier than something that you have no control over, especially if it coming to get you at full force. As an example, think about the aftermath for your stomach after you have tried that new menu for the restaurant on the other side of town. You thought you could handle spice and you ended up paying the price. Okay there are obviously scarier things then that, but my job isn’t to scare you. You would know best what scenario would actually scare you best. So while deception games are fun to play, they do not give off a horror atmosphere because the bad guys are vulnerable. There is a way out where you can just get rid of the bad guys. Even if you are not 100% sure, the tension still lessens a bit as you get further into the game provided you are playing well. Compare that to being relentlessly chased or haunted by something and you see that what really sets them apart, no matter how you look at it, is dread. As a side note Metroid Dread is a lot of fun, but that’s for another time. Not next week though, I still want to play it some more.

Thoughts on Multiplayer Horror Games

Now this week, we will shift gears a bit. Some people don’t play horror games just to get scared. Not everyone is a thrill-seeker or looking for an excuse to get a new pair of pants. Some people want to use scary games as an opportunity to build close bonds with one another. Of course there is the slight possibility that they just want to have their friends experience the fear with them so that they can laugh at the later, but let’s just go with the more wholesome option. There exist a good number of games that are geared towards being scary and have multiplayer elements. Usually they go one of two different ways. The first type involves everybody being part of the same team against some sort of evil monster(s) and they have to work together to accomplish their goal (usually to survive). The second type is when there are two teams where one or more people is trying to eliminate the other team either through deception or just raw power and ability. Now, I don’t want to talk about whether or not these kinds of games are scary. They obviously are since they each give you a sense of helplessness in the face of some sort of evil threat. The question I want to look at is whether it is scarier if it is an AI trying to get you or if it is more terrifying for your friend to be the cause of your demise. So let’s get started.

Now the biggest difference is these categories is the fact that this is the AI vs. another player. So first let’s look at the advantages the AI in the horror aspect. I would say the biggest advantage that an AI has over another player is that their actions can be hard to predict. Of course, AIs always have some level of predictability, but that can’t save you every time. The AI is also programmed for a specific purpose in mind and unless the game allows you the option to alter its behavioral patterns in some way, there is not much chance to get the better of it unless you possess a decent amount of experience. Also, in regards to difficulty settings, I am pretty sure that at higher difficulties, the AI can go random to the extreme and break any rules it wants so long as it gets to crush you. However, the AI is not without its faults. So long as all the players are experienced enough there is no reason why they couldn’t predict the behavioral patterns of the AI where at least one of them survive. Unless the players get overwhelmed by a number of zombies like in the Left 4 Dead franchise, there is no reason that you wouldn’t be able to defeat an AI so long as you have a solid grasp of the game mechanics. However, everything changes once another player is the one pulling the strings.

Now, when another player is the person chasing after the others, there is a different sense of danger. The reason is because the player on the evil team can think ahead and adjust their plans should something go awry. They might not know where the players are, but as long as they have enough experience, they will be able to sabotage the players’ efforts to succeed. Games like Dead by Daylight usually set the win condition as escaping since there usually isn’t much you can go against an immortal killing machine. One thing that players do exceptionally well are laying traps the others are forced to walk into so that they can ambush them. Or maybe they want to do it to mess with them since there is really no telling what a player might do. The thing about a player on an evil team is that even if there win condition is clear, they may troll or do something crazy because they finally got the chance to mess with their peers and there is no way they can let the opportunity pass. So sometimes while they might not reach the target goal of eliminating the other team, it is possible they may single one person out for a nice playful game of constant mental torture. Some people can be harsh guys. So does that make them scarier? That is not necessarily the case if they are not very experienced. And typically being surrounded by people you know takes some of the tension out of it.

So we didn’t really come to a conclusion there since both have their strengths and weaknesses. Usually experience seems to be the biggest factor as to whether or not a game feels scary or whether it feels enjoyable to play. I think the thing that stands out to me from all of this is that this experience of enjoying scary games with friends is generally less inclined to the rush of single-player horror games. It probably matters less that you are getting through the encounters and more that your teammates are not dragging you down to be sacrificed as a sign of mercy. Everyone can have fun running away, so long as they are not tripping each other. Although from what I have seen, teamwork doesn’t usually get the job done. So I guess at the end of the day, it is all about the scares, but it is about trying to drag other people into getting scared with you. After all, no one wants to be scared alone. Well, unless they are a YouTuber.

Jump Scare Cliché

Now if we are going to talk more about spooky games, then we need to get something out of the way. Let’s talk about jump scares. Jump scares have become pretty much standard for horror franchises these days. In fact, it is hard to find a horror experience that doesn’t have a single jump scare in it. Now don’t get me wrong, jump scares do have their place in horror franchises. It is just that they tend to be a tad overused in more recent games. It is to the point where there are games that are just centered around jump scares. Now a jump scare cannot be used effectively if it is constantly used throughout the game. They are great for giving you a good scare for a moment, but that is it. It’s like on Halloween when you went to someone’s house for trick-or-treating and when you go to grad the candy an automated hand jumps out and grabs at you. Startling for sure, especially if you are eight, but once it is over the tension is gone. You relax and so naturally, it is harder to get back into that spooky mindset. Now you also be prepared for that kind of thing at the next house. So, what I am trying to get at here is that a jump scare can be used to produce certain changes in mindset and if overdone can lessen the effect the scary game is trying to achieve. So let’s talk about how I think they can be used effectively.

First, let’s talk about why they work in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series we talked about last week. It is simply because the jump scare is an indication of failure. Since failure is equivalent to death, there is no need to worry about the tension being broken since you have to start from scratch anyway. This is usually the most common approach to using jump scares in games at the moment. There is also the classic fake out where the tension is at its peak and you get a fake out that startles you and causes you to do one of two things. It will either cause you to lower your guard so that you are caught by surprise when it matters, or you are aware of the fake out tactic so you have your guard remain at its peak so you respond accordingly to the real scare. This way either the tension spikes real fast once you have lowered your guard or it remains at around the same level and helps keep you engaged. Imagine a bunch of people going on a rollercoaster for the first time and as it gets to the very top, the car just stops. They might think that they are getting a quick breather or that something is wrong with the ride. Now let’s say there is also someone who is experienced with rollercoasters there as well. They know this is just the calm before the storm of emotions the ride will let them experience. So some tensions rise while others fall and in the end everyone has a thrilling time.

Jump scares are meant to be a fun distraction to the horror experience. Well maybe fun isn’t the right word, but you understand what I mean. They are not meant to be all your game has to offer. There are so many games that come out thinking that just throwing in a few jump scares actually qualifies as a horror experience. I am looking at all those walking simulators who have no other gameplay elements save for maybe a flashlight with some incredibly questionable battery life. If a game solely relies on jump scares, then the game is not scary. One of the most essential elements of fear is not knowing what to expect, so if you use the same trick time and time again, then the whole experience will be rather boring. In fact, the fact that a game would have to rely on jump scares shows that it has absolutely no confidence in being able to keep any sort of tension or atmosphere for an extended period of time. I am not saying those games can’t have jump scares, but at least they should have another way of keeping me engaged. Why would anyone walk into a trap that they can see coming? Walking into an obvious jump scare is the equivalent of getting hit by a rake that you stepped on. If you didn’t see it coming, then you deserve exactly what happens. Look, all I ask is that we try and make a horror experience illicit a little bit of dread and foreboding every now and then. Is that too much to ask?

Now Hear Me Out: Five Night’s at Freddy’s Gameplay

You guessed it. This month is horror month. I know that it’s predictable, but what did you guys expect? Just because I go off on random tangents every once in a while, doesn’t mean I don’t think things through. That’s right! Some of those random thoughts were done for a reason. I think. Anyway, we are starting off with one of the most popular series of horror games in the last decade. You know which series I am talking about here. Mainly because I already put it in the title. Although I have always found this series to be a bit unique in its approach to the genre. In the Five Nights at Freddy’s game series, your win condition is simple enough. Don’t die. It sounds reasonable enough right? however, what’s special about this game is that in order to prevent yourself from dying, you have to play the most intense game of Red Light, Green Light ever. Many of you reading probably know of this already, but for those of you that don’t… if you fail, you are greeted with a lovely jump scare from some cuddly? animatronic animals (also known in some circles as animaltronics). Looking at the game objectively, it honestly doesn’t really feel like a horror game. Sure there are horror elements to the games, but for the most part the game is mainly built like it is some sort of tower defense game. Hear me out for just a second and you’ll understand that this game is closer to a management simulator than an actual horror game.

You see, the biggest reason for this is the fact that you are in charge of one location and your goal is survival by outlasting the enemy. Now there are plenty of horror experiences where the goal is to outlast those that are trying to destroy you. However, in those cases you usually have some way of defending yourself. In this series, you have nothing but a few places you need to keep an eye on and a few tricks up your sleeve in case things get a little bit too close for comfort. You don’t really gain anything for going through each night except for more knowledge and experience. Oh, you also get the pleasure of not dying sue to a jump scare. You become more adept in recognizing patterns are become more used how the animatronics work. Although the game will always throw a bit of RNG to make sure you don’t get too comfortable. After all, it is your goal to survive so there needs to be a bit of challenge. Each night the challenge escalates to the point you wonder why anyone would even come back to this crazy nightmare for such dirt-cheap pay. It really is like being an actual manager. All your maintenance goes unappreciated by those animatronics who just want you to fit into an uncomfortable suit. They could be a little more gentle at least.

There is a lot of micromanagement that goes into this game series and it creates a similar sort of tension that we see in horror games. The reason is because the stakes are so high. If you screw up even once it is game over and you have to start the night all over again. The reason why the game pulls this off so well is because it gives you a timer of sorts. They don’t call it a timer, but it is. It is that clock telling you what time it is and more importantly, how much longer until the next day. That tension of trying to survive for as long as possible is made even more strenuous by giving us a tangible way of telling time. Otherwise we would just try not to think about and put all of our effort into survival. The game is basically using this as another way of saying that you have to complete the objective by a certain time, the objective of course is not dying. Doesn’t it seem strange to have a horror game give you a time frame of how long you will be trapped in horror land? Not to mention the fact that you can’t go anywhere and are forced to stay for at least five nights? They even give you the option to extend your stay. Such great service. The whole concept is just so different from how most horror games operate. It still works, but that is due to the theming and secrets involved in the story elements. Otherwise it could very well be set up as a different genre. The developer essentially decided to use this kind of tower defense, management simulation and turned it into a series of spooky games that got multiple people jump scared into oblivion. Maybe in another universe the concept was turned into an entirely different game. Who knows? Thanks for hearing me out everyone. See you next week.