Lovecraft and Video Games

[crimson sickle2]

The Void based champions in LoL reference or parody Lovecraftian horrors, Kassadin seems to reference Call of Cthulu especially, some links to their lore for reference:

Kassadin's: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/champions/38/kassadin_the_void_walker
Cho'Gath's: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/champions/31/cho_gath_the_terror_of_the_void
Kog'Maw's : http://na.leagueoflegends.com/champions/96/kog_maw_the_mouth_of_the_abyss
Malzahar's: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/champions/90/malzahar_the_prophet_of_the_void
Mordekaiser could also work: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/champions/82/mordekaiser_the_master_of_metal

However, Eternal Darkness really is the most Lovecraftian game I've seen. The monsters look otherworldly and literally drain your insanity on sight, weird insanity effects play throughout just to mess with you, and most of the characters end up with very bad ends.

 

[M K Ultra]

Dead Space 1 has elements of a Yog-Sothery bent.

-Ancient alien artifact that corrupts humans into multi-limbed undead horrors
-Alien artifact made of unknown material
-A cult that worships the artifact
-The mysterious disappearance of an entire expedition (technically the game is about how the expedition disappeared)
-The protagonist does not win in the end

 

[Zitterberg]

No, you stop it with being so fun to reply to. By the way, I like romantic dinners with candle light and long walks on the beach.

Don't forget PewDiePie resorting to gratuitous amount of rape "jokes."

Spoiler: Because, as we all know, rape is hilarious.

I think you just hit the nail on the head of a wholly different academic paper/essay regarding the potentiality of immersion in Lovecraftian horror video games and the role LPs have in the online YouTube community and the immersive element of video games in general.

I like it.

Yes, it will be important to note how the FPS genre (e.g. Doom 3) will always have some fundamental issues if the developers intend to achieve a feeling of Lovecraftian horror that abides to the conventions and rules of this narrative. Especially if the gamer is so powerful and armed-to-the-teeth. Not to mention the over-reliance of jump-scares in the horror genre in general and an ever-neglect towards the importance of establishing atmosphere.

Although Doom 3 is more along the line of the apocalyptic "Hell on Earth Mars" scenario, along with Biblical proportions and allusions confounded in typical Christian eschatology, there was one moment that always stood out.

Spoiler: The Thing Behind the Door

Though the Latin words uttered by the enigmatic demon (which is rather Freudian as it is laden with both phallic and yonic symbolism) do diminish the unintentional potential for something slightly Lovecraftian in Doom 3, imagine if the "Door Demon" had spoken these words instead:

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

 

[bluerocker]

I don't know if she was mentioned yet; but Jenova from Final Fantasy 7 (The original game; barring whatever the hell the expansions say) certainly has an influence from Lovecraft.

Spoiler: video time!

[youtube=r1KGce5KqxU

Start at 0:55 and watch from there.[/spoiler]

The way Jenova is described as a "wound on the planet" and how she/it twisted the people of the planet... Creepy stuff.

 

[Zitterberg]

Dead Space 1 has elements of a Yog-Sothery bent.

-Ancient alien artifact that corrupts humans into multi-limbed undead horrors
-Alien artifact made of unknown material
-A cult that worships the artifact
-The mysterious disappearance of an entire expedition (technically the game is about how the expedition disappeared)
-The protagonist does not win in the end

And the ever-shifting and highly organic composition of the Necromorphs are rather Lovecraftian, albeit it a far more corporeal and gorier rendition - it misses entities possessing properties of gelatinous amorphousness. In a way, Dead Space is more "crude" and "fleshly" than most "typical" Lovecraftian horrors tend to be, but that could be read as the Lovecraftian horror tale modified through the narrative of the slasher genre.

However, as you've already stated before (and thank you very much for that), the unknown composition of the Artefact and the alien materials are vital characteristics of the Lovecraftian tale (e.g. the extraterrestrial properties of the ever-shrinking metal in "The Colour Out of Space," or the bowl found in "The Dreams in the Witch House").

 

[AlexanderPeregrine]

Here's one I guarantee nobody else would have ever mentioned: here [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eversion_%28video_game%29].

 

[M K Ultra]

[In a way, Dead Space is more "crude" and "fleshly" than most "typical" Lovecraftian horrors tend to be, but that could be read as the Lovecraftian horror tale modified through the narrative of the slasher genre.

True most of the gory bits in Lovecraft get left to the imagination. Like in "At the Mountains of Madness" Prof Lake's party gets ripped apart by some Elder Things but it gets about a paragraph. Isaac Clarke's experience is like being one of the 11 in that party.

Also the necromorphs would feel right at home with the Gugs, Ghouls, & Ghasts in Kadath.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

[In a way, Dead Space is more "crude" and "fleshly" than most "typical" Lovecraftian horrors tend to be, but that could be read as the Lovecraftian horror tale modified through the narrative of the slasher genre.

True most of the gory bits in Lovecraft get left to the imagination. Like in "At the Mountains of Madness" Prof Lake's party gets ripped apart by some Elder Things but it gets about a paragraph. Isaac Clarke's experience is like being one of the 11 in that party.

Also the necromorphs would feel right at home with the Gugs, Ghouls, & Ghasts in Kadath.

Just curious - this goes out to both you and Zitterberg - what editions of Lovecraft's works are you using on an everyday basis? I'm a big fan of the Library of America's "Tales" anthology. Peter Straub isn't Joshi, but he puts together a lean, mean, concise and clean collection of almost everything the Master of Providence has ever written in the general Mythos.

I don't think I'll ever really need to specifically look for another LoA edition for the "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" and the Silver Key stories, seeing as I've got Del Rey books that carry those - but I'm really glad I got the Straub anthology. It's small, it's cheap, it's pretty and fun to read.

Being a bit of a book nerd, though, I think my future ambition is to end up with a metric ton of redundant Lovecraft anthologies, just because this one is a leather-bound Necronomicon and that one has sweet cover artwork, etc.

On topic, though: Dead Space is another case of Lovecraft being simplified to a degree - made tangible for the sake of portraying Body Horror as a substitute for decent Mind Screwage. It's not a terrible idea, but there's a bit of an inherent danger in that.

In "Aliens" and all the movies that followed, survival is the number one concern. Ellen Ripley's sanity is never in question; it's her physical existence that's being threatened by the Xenomorphs. While the Necromorphs are the product of some sort of pervasive alien artifact (the Marker), they're not really focused on the task of driving Clarke insane. It's everything that *surrounds* them that's meant to tug at his mind - especially his own guilt at being unable to protect Nicole.

So the Lovecraftian elements are really in the Dead Space series' tone and general atmosphere and on the delivery mechanism that gets everything started. See the comic prequel for some interesting backstory. It helps that the art is provided by Ben Templesmith. If you've loved "30 Days of Night" as a comic, you'll love this too.

We don't talk about the movie. At least, not in polite circles.

 

[M K Ultra]

what editions of Lovecraft's works are you using on an everyday basis?

This is where I get my fix. [http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/index.html] For meatspace I've got some Penguin Classics.

Spoiler: Off Topic, here's a musical video for your enjoyment.

 

[Zitterberg]

snip

The best edition I have read, both academically and structurally, is the Penguin Classics series, edited by the one and only S. T. Joshi.

Firstly, they're extremely helpful in scholarly pursuits thanks to the huge number of footnotes Joshi provided, thus adding a richness of facts pertaining to the life of Lovecraft, his inspirations and his circumstances. Such depth provides a reading experience that I haven't seen outdone in other anthologies (and I either own or have read countless of anthologies with Lovecraft's works).

Secondly, the structure of the short stories and novellas found within each instalment of the Penguin Classics have been arranged in such an amazingly comfortable order that I couldn't think of a better way of having been introduced to Lovecraft's oeuvre. Lovecraft can be rather intimidating to new readers and it's easy to be deterred from reading any further; his archaic vocabulary, the disturbing frequency of sentences involving "swarthy negroes" and his highly descriptive writing style whenever he shares his fetish for Georgian masonry can all be detrimental for your reading enjoyment. However, Joshi introduces the reader to this unbelievably influential author by beginning with "Dagon." Joshi's brilliance shines through when he slowly reveals an overarching narrative in Lovecraft's oeuvre. The short stories and novellas that initially appeared to be separate are actually a part of a literary cosmos created by Lovecraft; it is easy to get lost in these landscapes, but Joshi is the ideal guide through these maddening mountains.

Ultimately, I nearly shed tears once I reached The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath in the final edition of the Penguin Classics. Everything made sense. Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth, Pickman and all these larger-than-the-plains-of-existence-and-the-spaces-in-between figures are so wonderfully interwoven in that story, but if you were lacking the familiarity of these characters so much would have been lost. It's truly a work of art how Joshi managed to show how these supposedly separate narratives of the Cthulhu Mythos and the Dream-Cycle have always been fluid, always connected and inseparable.

They're the perfect companion to both the newcomer as to the experienced reader.

These books are are: The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories and The Dreams in the Witch House and other Weird Stories - read them in this specific order for maximum reading pleasure.

 

[Zitterberg]

It seems I am utterly incapable of saying anything barely related to Lovecraft without resorting to TL;DR walls of texts.

Spoiler: Off Topic, here's a musical video for your enjoyment.

Also, I love that video clip. It's like a paranoid member of the GOP read Lovecraft's works and tried to advocate abstinence among teenagers by equating pre-marital sex with invoking the wrath of a Great Old One.

Spoiler: Here's my favourite band with a song dedicated to one of their favourite authors: Lovecraft

 

[ultrabiome]

although Demon's Souls has already been mentioned, specifically one enemy from Demon's Souls come to mind: the Mind Flayer - highly dangerous ranged mages with a tentacle melee attack that can skewer you and likely kill you. very lovecraftian.

 

[M K Ultra]

There's also Dragon Age Origins
-The Fade [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fade] which is a kind of dream realm populated by shape-shifting demons. Again this is more in line with the Dreamland's imagery.

I'm currently writing my final thesis paper at university about the influence of H. P. Lovecraft in video games

I'd be really interested to read your paper when you've finished it.

 

[JDLY]

Never really liked the Reaper reproduction element introduced right at the end though. Seeing people get melted down is creepy, sure, but it just seems like there were a lot more ways they could have gone with it besides using it to make new Reapers. How does flesh and bone become a mechanical shell anyway?

If you read a bit into it, it's explained to some extent.

The cephalopod-like structure is actually a shell, with the true Reaper housed inside. This explains why they all look the same, yet the human Reaper looked human. Supposedly the Reaper constructed from each species bears a resemblance to that species, but we only ever see the human one because it is not in it's shell yet.

As for the flesh and bone becoming mechanical, it is mentioned early on in ME2 (and I think sometime in ME1, but I'm not sure) that the Reapers are part biological, part mechanical.

OT: Also from ME1, the Thorian. A "plant" in the loosest sense of the word. It is a tentacled mass, ancient beyond comprehension, that can control the minds of sentient beings through spores. It is not objectively evil either.

 

[Zitterberg]

There's also Dragon Age Origins
-The Fade [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fade] which is a kind of dream realm populated by shape-shifting demons. Again this is more in line with the Dreamland's imagery.

I'm currently writing my final thesis paper at university about the influence of H. P. Lovecraft in video games

I'd be really interested to read your paper when you've finished it.

I'll be sure to give you a digital copy once I'm done, then. In fact, everyone who's helped me here will receive a PDF file (how fancy).

It's going to be an academic paper, so it might be somewhat dry for some people's tastes. Hopefully, I won't disappoint. Then again, your feedback and help has made me determined to write the best damn thing I can.

 

[Clura]

Here's a couple more games...

Starcraft franchise:
Like WoW this is filled with Lovecraftian influences. The Zerg and their origin story especially have parallels in Lovecraft. Of course there is precious little cosmic horror in SC2 but this failure is in itself worth looking into.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened.
Haven't played it myself but basically it's Sherlock Holmes meets Call of Cthulhu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BjBcZEsGpA


XCOM: Terror from the Deep
Was supposed to be a Lovecraftian game but the dev couldn't get the license. Still mentions Lovecraft ingame tho.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoBA4DfxYNA

Parasite Eve (first one, can't comment on 2nd and 3rd parts):
Mitochondria are actually aliens. Includes people turning into goo that then attacks people among other things... Depending on your choices it also comes with a classic Lovecraftian ending where your heroine basically becomes the Other 2.0.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psdc-KUtc5Q

Survival horror games:
This genre is most likely the most Lovecraftian in principle as it features a relatively powerless hero whose best option is flight rather than fight. I'd suggest looking into the Alone in the Dark games, especially the first two.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z22DhbOZMbU / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K56mD0MPlhY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxN7Ia-pPy0

Personally, I would argue there's a huge Lovecraft influence in Resident Evil.

I was going to write my own final thesis on your very subject but changed my mind when I read Lovecraft criticism. The whole thing is somewhat unsatisfactory... including Joshi. In some cases especially Joshi ... so I have to fix all that first /nod

Anyway, I'd love to read the finished paper. And I'm always open for discussion of all things Lovecraft if you want to run something by me.

 

[bobmd13]

I have had a quick glance at your post and one game appears not to be have mentioned at all.

Dark Corners of the Earth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfQ-Xqt-d0A

I have added the trailer as it was a great game but developed a game breaking bug with windows 7.

There is a workaround, since I doubt that the developers have ever fixed it.

Just as a side note, if I remember correctly the game starts with you in an insane asylum and things go downhill from that very quickly as the game is played as a flashback.

 

[Clura]

Oh and here's a lovely article on Lovecraft and.... Pokemon!
http://www.destructoid.com/using-post-modernism-to-reinvent-the-horror-genre-167237.phtml