Poll: Enough With the Giant Spiders

[00slash00]

im a huge rpg nerd, and fantasy nerd in general. however, more and more fantasy rpgs are going unplayed by me for one simple fact: i am cripplingly afraid of spiders. i dont just mean in real life i mean in general. even the diablo 2 spiders (which barely even look like spiders) scare me so much that i need to be with a group of people in order to keep from freaking out. i know spiders are kind of a staple of the fantasy genre and are never going away, all i ask is that fantasy games are less reliant on them. playing dragon age, it felt like the majority of the enemies were spiders. for that reason, i couldnt finish the game. i didnt buy dragon age 2 for the same reason. skyrim looks cool, wont be playing it though, because it has giant spiders (and ive heard one of these encounters is freaky even if you dont mind spiders). i never used to worry about whether a game would have spiders or not because those encounters were usually few and far between, but lately they seem much more common than they used to be

has anyone else had their fear of something specific, prevent them from playing a game, or am i just a massive wimp...or both?

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

Don't play WOW. There are spiders everywhere. Also, you can eat them.

I don't like confined spaces in games; it relates to my rl claustrophobia. It hasn't ever stopped me from playing a game though.

 

[Cheesus333]

I won't be getting Skyrim cause I'm arachnophobic and there's fucking massive spiders in it. That's seriously my reason, and it really pisses me off.

But the Diablo ones never bothered me, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

 

[viranimus]

Wow, is it really all that hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality? Is there some sort of break that prevents one from saying "Ok, there is no such thing as a spider the size of me" or "this is not a spider, it is nothing more than a series of wire mesh triangles wrapped in a texture image"

 

[Miles000]

I won't be getting Skyrim cause I'm arachnophobic and there's fucking massive spiders in it. That's seriously my reason, and it really pisses me off.

But the Diablo ones never bothered me, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

There will be a mod within the first week that will remove them from the game. Guaranteed.

Don't really have a problem with them, or notice them in games for that matter.
Although Minecraft spiders scare the shit out of me.

 

[Tax_Document]

Seriously, you're a complete wuss if you're terrified of PIXELS!

Sorry for the harsh truth, but do not fear I will give you some advice my dad gave me...


"Toughen up, or would you rather me go get you your Princess dress?"

 

[Ashendarei]

Haven't noticed any real increase ... there have been giant spiders in games since at LEAST FF1 for the NES ...

 

[DJDarque]

I can't even think of a game I've played recently that had giant spiders in it. Probably the giant mechanical spider in FF8, but that was over a year and a half ago.

 

[Cheesus333]

I won't be getting Skyrim cause I'm arachnophobic and there's fucking massive spiders in it. That's seriously my reason, and it really pisses me off.

But the Diablo ones never bothered me, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

There will be a mod within the first week that will remove them from the game. Guaranteed.

Don't really have a problem with them, or notice them in games for that matter.
Although Minecraft spiders scare the shit out of me.

Probably won't be available for 360 though

When I was younger, I used to imagine an option in the settings menu that would allow you to change certain monsters into different things. Like for instance, someone who was scared of snakes could change them into spiders or beetles, etc. They'd still do the same damage and have the same health and all that, it'd just be a cosmetic change to make it so that people with phobias could still play.

I'm not sure at what point in my life that I began to think of that as a bad idea.

 

[Sixcess]

Avoid Minecraft.

Though like most things in Minecraft the spiders are scariest when you can hear them but not see them. You just know they're out there somewhere, in the dark, and hopefully not right above you, but don't look up in case one drops on you!

Anyway, I sympathise. There was a level of Tomb Raider 2 with giant spiders that I went through blazing away at any and every slightest hint of movement with an M16. Those things gave me the shivers worse than any other game enemy I can think of.

 

[Hristo Tzonkov]

Hence why you should play on a pc so you can mod the fuck out of your rpgs.Really there's thousands of bestiary mods with that in mind - people afraid of this or that.Me,I'm terrified of high places.You know in the movies where you see the ground going up and down to show that the character is terrified,I really do see that due to some media overexposure.In games though,I'm sad that there's not enough high places to climb since I can do it safely and not get panic attacks.I thought that's what games are for,doing something you're not usually able to.

 

[Frotality]

just take the opportunity to murder copious amounts of virtual spiders to overcome your fear.

a giant ogre beating me with a wooden club would scare the shit out of me IRL, but the RPG equivalent is just another of the hundreds upon hundreds of creatures that are trying to kill you in a typical RPG; if you cant handle the virtual version of your phobia, then youll never be over it.

 

[Miles000]

I won't be getting Skyrim cause I'm arachnophobic and there's fucking massive spiders in it. That's seriously my reason, and it really pisses me off.

But the Diablo ones never bothered me, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

There will be a mod within the first week that will remove them from the game. Guaranteed.

Don't really have a problem with them, or notice them in games for that matter.
Although Minecraft spiders scare the shit out of me.

Probably won't be available for 360 though

When I was younger, I used to imagine an option in the settings menu that would allow you to change certain monsters into different things. Like for instance, someone who was scared of snakes could change them into spiders or beetles, etc. They'd still do the same damage and have the same health and all that, it'd just be a cosmetic change to make it so that people with phobias could still play.

I'm not sure at what point in my life that I began to think of that as a bad idea.

Well Bethesda want to get mod support to the 360, don't know how well that is going though.

Actually I think that would be a great idea. It would make the game fun when everything is one enemy and you have to work out what is what and what will kill you fastest by their sounds.

Everything in Minecraft has a creeper skin. So you run from everything, then one starts to CLIMB YOUR WALLS!

But I may be getting carried away.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

There is a massive thread on the wow forums about this and so far it's gone ignored. They even made the undead hunter start with a spider pet which just seemed like a bit of a slap in the face.

I'm not scared of spider's really but I can understand the problem with them. It's like the most common phobia and even people who are not phobic of them get a bit of a shudder. I think that's why developers like using them becuase they are so creepy.

There's definately a bit of excessive spider usage going on atm. Probably becuase everyone's gotten so desensitised to the other fantasy staple, zombies. Maybe developer should start adding a 'no spiders' option to thier games. There are definately enough people phobic of them to excuse it.

On the subject of fear in computer games I noticed that alot of my male friends on wow wouldn't go to Vashjir, the underwater zone, becuase they were scared of the sharks and whales. So wierd.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Wow, is it really all that hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality? Is there some sort of break that prevents one from saying "Ok, there is no such thing as a spider the size of me" or "this is not a spider, it is nothing more than a series of wire mesh triangles wrapped in a texture image"

The reason something is called a phobia is because it's irrational. Some people can't even look at pictures of spiders. So give him a break. You may not be affected by it, but some people are.

 

[lapan]

There are probably a lot more giant rats in RPGs than spiders. I personally don't have any phobias, apart from a slight fear of heights, but that doesn't affect me at all in games.

 

[Nazgual]

Why do I get the feeling Jon Peters had something to do with this.

 

[Gaiseric]

I think I get where you coming from. I don't have a fear like that, but I do get massively angry anytime there is rape in any form of media(irrational I know). And I have noticed that spiders seem to be more common especially in boss form.

Aside from that, I'm sure Icingdeath and Twinkle could protect you from those spiders

 

[VanQ]

I don't get this spider thing. I live in Australia, which is massive spider central, but most of them aren't even dangerous. Seriously, most spiders would rather run and hide than get near a human. A freakin' bee is more vicious than a spider is, little kamikaze bastards. I've never actually met an arachnophope, care to elaborate what exactly makes you scared of them?
And to be completely honest, being afraid of a video game spider is a bit silly, it's not like it can actually hurt you in any way unless you run head first into your TV while it's on the screen.
Then again, I don't have any form of phobia, I'm not predisposed to fear anything. I can tell a scary situation from a not-scary one, but I've never experienced the infamous "cold sweat" you get from these situations. Then again, I'm one of those folks that considers it fun to jump from an airplane or a bridge.
Perhaps you could search for a mod to remove them from the game, I would bet my life there will be a mod for that just a few days after release. If not, why not make one yourself? Maybe replace all the spiders with gnomes or fairies, you arent going to tell me you're afraid of those too are you?

 

[captaincabbage]

I won't be getting Skyrim cause I'm arachnophobic and there's fucking massive spiders in it. That's seriously my reason, and it really pisses me off.

But the Diablo ones never bothered me, so I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

I reckon you should still play it. I'm arachnophobic and I'll still give it a shot. I can't even put up with a daddy long-legs in my room, but I reckon the spiders in Skyrim just don't move or behave like spiders do. Granted we've only seens snippet of them, but I still won't stop it from playing a game.


. . . Except for Resident Evil 2. The giant tarantula in that game that burst when you shot it to release hundreds of little spiders? FUCK. THAT. SHIT.