"Dark" is a Loose Term These Days...

[Emiscary]

Might just be my imagination, but can anyone here name a recently released, self described "dark" game that lived up to that description? Because near as I can tell modern publishers haven't amended their definition of what constitutes a "dark" or "mature" game since the hay days of Mortal Kombat (dark = blood). Not even gore. Just blood. For a game to be gory you'd have to be able to get a clear look at the damage that's being done and you'd need the bodies of your enemies to react realistically. But that's not the case- the look of an injured character hasn't changed much in the last decade. (IE: a mannequin with a pressurized ketchup hose taped to it.)

Here's a perfect example- Dragon Age: Origins

So by any estimation, this was a standard fantasy game. Beat for beat. A hero rises from obscurity, unites the land, slays a mighty dragon, roll credits. And yet every pitch I heard before it's release described it as "dark". What makes it so "dark"? Hell if I know, but I do know I found myself coated in blood for about 45 seconds after every fight.

And then just recently I had the pleasure of seeing Diablo 3's ending in its entirety. And... it ends on a high note. A Diablo game. That ends on a high note. Diablo (y'know, THAT Diablo) was not supposed to be about triumphing over evil. Diablo is supposed to be about trying your damndest to beat evil and losing anyway.

 

[Lucem712]

I'm not sure MK is suppose to be 'dark', I always thought of it as more as gore-porn humor, just over the top on purpose.

I'd consider a game like 'Condemned: Criminal Origins' to be dark, or anything with a horrific/unsettling vibe. Though, pretty much every word is abused at a certain point, either by hyperbole or misuse.

 

[Vault101]

I think Mass effect 3 is very dark,

MUCH more than the other two (ME2 was more "gritty" while ME1 was bright and campy)

sure on the surface its still somwhat bright and actiony, its not dark visually and theres not as much graphic violence as other games..but then things really get going the enitre game is jsut one punch to the gut after another..oh sure there are victorys, but then become few and far between

the sheer scale of what you up against becomes more aparent..thse charachters you met/saw or listened too? yeah they probably died, if anyone has anyone they care about out there chances are they could be dead too...everyone dying, the galaxy is burning

dragon age isnt dark...its world just has the usual complexities and shades of grey as any other well thourght out world...

one thing that annoys me (often in sci fi) is you get some world..like Dead space or whatever..and they feel the need to make the ENITRE world some horrible ship heap to live in....I think a world needs ot be more balanced to be belevable

 

[Something Amyss]

"dark" and "gritty" and "mature" are just buzzwords. Nothing more. Further, they pretty much always were (with respect to gaming).

 

[Lucem712]

one thing that annoys me (often in sci fi) is you get some world..like Dead space or whatever..and they feel the need to make the ENITRE world some horrible ship heap to live in....I think a world needs ot be more balanced to be belevable

I agree, you can't appreciate the horror setting without getting a feel for life before the horrific events. I think Heavy Rain did this very well (It's hell-ah slow, but I enjoyed it) where it introduced you as a simple family man before it all came crashing down.

 

[SilverBullets000]

You know that a bright and colorful cartoon and turn real dark really fast depending on where they take the episode, right? I've always found that, when something describes itself as dark and gritty, it's usually lying.
Dark is realizing that there's nothing you can do to prevent a kitten from dying.
Their version of dark is ripping off monster heads.
So, yeah, buzzword.

 

[Starik20X6]

To me, 'dark' means it's going to be:

-Morally ambiguous
-Not necessarily a happy ending
-Dealing with some heavy themes in a serious way
-Any combination of the above

'Dark' doesn't mean "oh man they swore this is pretty dark" or "that's so gory, this game is so dark".

For example, Majora's Mask is a lot darker than, say, God of War III. Majora's Mask deals with the overhanging threat of death, the relentless march of time, your mistakes have tangible consequence etc. God of War III has grr grr Kratos angry Kratos smash! I'm not saying GoW III is a bad game, it's just not 'dark' like some would have you believe. Hell, GoW I was really dark.

 

[malestrithe]

Dark has more to do with subject matter and tone than how its shot or how it looks.

High School Musical 3 deals with more depressing and dark subject matter than Step Up 2: the Streets. Step Up 2 is nothing more than a 90 minute music video. Step Up 2 looks darker and most people think its not age appropriate for kids.

 

[Da Orky Man]

Might just be my imagination, but can anyone here name a recently released, self described "dark" game that lived up to that description? Because near as I can tell modern publishers haven't amended their definition of what constitutes a "dark" or "mature" game since the hay days of Mortal Kombat (dark = blood). Not even gore. Just blood. For a game to be gory you'd have to be able to get a clear look at the damage that's being done and you'd need the bodies of your enemies to react realistically. But that's not the case- the look of an injured character hasn't changed much in the last decade. (IE: a mannequin with a pressurized ketchup hose taped to it.)

Here's a perfect example- Dragon Age: Origins

So by any estimation, this was a standard fantasy game. Beat for beat. A hero rises from obscurity, unites the land, slays a mighty dragon, roll credits. And yet every pitch I heard before it's release described it as "dark". What makes it so "dark"? Hell if I know, but I do know I found myself coated in blood for about 45 seconds after every fight.

And then just recently I had the pleasure of seeing Diablo 3's ending in its entirety. And... it ends on a high note. A Diablo game. That ends on a high note. Diablo (y'know, THAT Diablo) was not supposed to be about triumphing over evil. Diablo is supposed to be about trying your damndest to beat evil and losing anyway.

You want dark? try this:

"It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries The Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.

Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants - and worse.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods."

Yeah, shit just got real. God, I love 40k.

 

[Vault101]

[snip.

I dont think somthing has to look like its activly trying to be "dark" to be "dark"


like I said, I wouldnt call the series as a whole dark (which wasnt what they were going for in the first place)

but Mass effect 3 struck me as more dark than other games ...only because you see the world youve grown to care about burn

as opoased to say...Dead space, leaving aside the fact its not scary at all..you knwo their going for somthing, but what heppnes in dead space doesnt quite hit me as hard and what goes on in Mass effect

mabye is a stech to call ME3 dark, but it certainly provoked somthing


now that I think about it...Red Dead redemption is pretty dark,

 

[Vhite]

Dark, especially dark fantasy, has became synonym for boring to me. There is not a single dark fantasy universe/RPG/story that I find even slightly interesting. I prefer to stick with fairy tales.

 

[DoPo]

Mortal Kombat (dark = blood)

I have honestly not seen Mortal Kombat described as "dark", unless it's been from a random person (like yourself, actually). Care to share where you got that impression?

Here's a perfect example- Dragon Age: Origins

So by any estimation, this was a standard fantasy game. Beat for beat. A hero rises from obscurity, unites the land, slays a mighty dragon, roll credits. And yet every pitch I heard before it's release described it as "dark". What makes it so "dark"? Hell if I know, but I do know I found myself coated in blood for about 45 seconds after every fight.

So-o-o, missing the forest for the tree? You take DA:O's description of being "dark" and claim it's only for the blood involved. So what about the nigh unstoppable hordes of enemies? The god that comes out as a complete asshat who flipped off it's creation and left? The old powerful beings who corrupted and took over the dragons? The said dragons that you cannot kill unless you've effectively poisoned yourself for life (and it's not going to be a long one) and then do suicide? The demons that lurk behind your dreams and would love to nom on you? The magic that makes people a delicious treats to the said demons? And demons who can have fun possessing mages and noming in the real world? The fact that some find it preferable to be lobotomised of their emotions instead of being burdened with magic? The uptight "mage police" who grudgingly tolerate mages at best and prefer to eradicate them on the slightest hint of suspicion otherwise? The fact that there is no good in the entire game? The fact that the only character who thinks it's not a dark fantasy setting dies miserably for that? You know, the actual things beyond sprays of blood.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Depends on the definition of dark.

Is dark horror? Is it gore? Is it a deep underlying sense that something is wrong on a level that you can't onsciously notice, but is still there?

Mass Effect 3 has already been mentioned, and I'll say it again. The entire tone has changed from the previous games. Everything is still as it was, still bright and cheerful Citadel, but everything is very obviously preparing for war. Still quirky races, but all counting their losses. Still has the wide range of planets to explore, but all of them show the signs of war, and if you hang around too long you get murdered by Reapers?

I call that dark. Taking the established setting of an optimistic space opera and twisting every aspect of it to just be wrong in some way.

 

[Bostur]

Here's a perfect example- Dragon Age: Origins

So by any estimation, this was a standard fantasy game. Beat for beat. A hero rises from obscurity, unites the land, slays a mighty dragon, roll credits. And yet every pitch I heard before it's release described it as "dark". What makes it so "dark"? Hell if I know, but I do know I found myself coated in blood for about 45 seconds after every fight.

Some spoilers ahead, be warned.

Spoiler

The blood was out of place and overdone. But DA:O did have some morally ambigous elements that I think would qualify as dark. In the intro a prospective recruit is executed because he chickens out and can't handle the pressure. And this is done by the good guys I may add.

One common theme in DA:O is that the end justify the means. The Grey Wardens are willing to do literally anything to end the blight. It is downplayed and trivialized because it is seen from the point of view of the Wardens, but from a more objective perspective it is pretty grim. Do the Wardens care about the politics and well-being of the Dwarves and Elves? No they simply need them as pawns for their war.

The Dragon Age world in general is a rather gloomy place I think. The boundaries between the good guys and the bad guys are pretty fuzzy a lot of the time. Thats a good basis for a 'Dark' setting I think.

Edit: Meh too late. I got beaten by DoPo who made a lot of better examples

 

[Dryk]

Yeah, shit just got real. God, I love 40k.

Let's be honest, 40k went so dark it rolled right back around to light and fluffy again, and it's all the better for it. I mean all the dark stuff is still there, but it's so hard to take seriously.

 

[Vault101]

Exactly. I would go as far as saying if something is actively trying to be dark and calls itself that, its most likely not. So thats Mass Effect, Dead Space & co out of the genre.

I don't think Mass effect 3 was "trying" to be dark....they said the reapers were going to kill everyone and thats what happned,

I just personally found it "dark" even though that might not be an acurate description

people have sighted W40K as "dark" and while that might be true personally I find the whole concept a little silly to be "dark" now granted I have no exerpence with the universe so I dont know how much of it is taking itself seriously (and working) or is just kind of.."WAAAAAAGGHHH! CHAINSAWS!"

Bioshock..I found to be kind of dark, particually with its use of little girls and the effects of ADAM on the place