Mugla on 5/8/2004 at 15:30
I actually enjoyed taking my time in the cradle... I even let one of the inmates beat me up while the lights were flickering, just for the fun... (dont ask. it felt right at that time :idea: ... :nono: )
null, that was some job you did there, and I'll add my thanks to the list above: :thumb:
*resisting urge* (Argh.. I cant, I just simply must!
Sorry guys, the following part wasn't actually written by me. Well, actually it is, but it's one of my dark moments again. It isn't my style to go throw my 'ideas' like this.
I hid it away cause its a right spoiler-fest. And to save those in their right-mind from a lengthy rant.)
[SPOILER]
The Cradle (as actually the whole game) felt slightly unfinished in my eyes:
When I first entered RtC(3), my first impression was, suprisingly First City Bank & Trust: An open building with atleast 3 entering spots and lots of returning outside to get into another part inside (FCBT had, if memory serves, 5 + the 2 side doors you could open later from the inside :eek: ).
I was so sure to end up on the other side of the yard, that I didn't even bother to explore the exterior any further than the first entrance I found (which later on I noticed was the only one :weird: ). I was a bit disappointed at this. The level had so much potential, seeming quite crude and lonely when I checked the rest afterwards.
Other that comes in mind was the continual 'interpreting' Lauryl gave later on. It gave the goals out a bit too clearly for my liking, leading the otherwise enjoyable ride into a short end. Well, almost atleast. It did go into a 'Oh noes! Now you must do this ONE more thing, before you get out!'-feast quite soon.
Instead, if the girl would had been mad from the years being outside her body and talked all gibberish, demanding you to take her remains outside, and thus helped you escaping would had been a more pleasant (and staying-on-your-toes) way to take care of it (I could just imagine her nagging in your mind in terror in a rapidly increasing cresendo, making you haste your way out as soon as possible).
And some small details that seemed to fit in(just to promote my self-righteous arse. I hate myself.):
-the inmates shouldnt warn you, wether they heard you or not, being totally oblivious to your presence until they are sure you're there: at which point they should dart at you without hesitation, flaying their hands and screaming like little girls that they are. (many would be fooled to think they're completely harmless, just to get their careless arses bitten off as they turn their backs *glee*)
-the ambient sounds could react to your fumblings: as you make a particular racket, there could had been noises suggesting that you were noticed
-I've noticed a regular pattern before, where there were far-too-clear hiding spots around patrolling AI, at which spot it was wise to jump into that shadow to avoid the guard just rounding that corner. Unfortunately, there were quite few places like this, and I knew right away there was nothing to fear ahead. (Now to add that small alcove into the hallway, and as walking it down, clear footsteps could be heaard from around the proceeding corner: I most certainly would jump into that cover, and tremble, waiting for the cretin to appear. Naturally it would stop then just 'before' the corner, breathing heavily for as long as you dont yet see there, and stoip immediately when you go around to see, leaving you nervous about wether there is something or not...)
-more detail about the past of the cradle wouldnt had hurt. What did the staff think about the new asylum extension, when it came? how did the inmates think themselves? How did the lobotomy-procedures end? Where were the signs of trouble from the inmates, worrying the staff and pointing to the eventual demise? etc.
-the inmates objects and stories could had been a more central aspect, perhaps they could had been killed only by taking their objects to the spots they used them at (it would had been nice, if you couldn't had get past a certain spot without destroying the inmate in this particular manner (and to add some kicks to it, they could sence your presence once you got their toys, so it would had been a right runaway part with a howling madman breathing down your neck :ebil: ))
-Lastly when I activated the storm-cellar for the first time, I somehow excpected a deep silence to fall, and then the voices and creepy sounds returning with a more anticipating, 'searching' manner, alerted to your action. It was quite disappoining, when this didn't happen, but everything went on normally. :(
[/SPOILER]
Once again, sorry for that one. I just had to. Been nagging inside me a week now. :sweat:
Imploder on 6/8/2004 at 23:04
ive read most of this tread and i want to say that null and his team of crack level desigers ahve done such a great job :thumb:
also i read a bit about silent hill so ive bought the game and its really good, but of course null set a far better mood in one level than konami did in one game
Skulker on 18/8/2004 at 22:33
Years from now we will all be telling stories to our grandchildren about the Cradle.
Imploder on 18/8/2004 at 22:37
lol :laff:
yeah and they will be playing it in a holographic virtual reality :idea:
now wouldnt that be cool ;)
Mugla on 19/8/2004 at 16:30
But SO not for the kids! :nono:
EvilWriter on 25/8/2004 at 09:05
Ok I live in a house that is 250 yrs old, recently (whilst playing the cradle at 11 at night whilst my big sis kept teling me not to open the attic cos she was scared) the lights and stero kept flickering on and off, then they stopped. I shrugged whilst my sis screamed and carried on playing.
It happened again when I opened the attic door.
It stopped when I'd finished speaking to the little girl.
Then both my cats (who were cuddling us for comfort at the time) looked at the door, stood up, lashed their tales and hissed before clinging to us.
The door opened.
The lights went out again.
The game went off.
The cats hid underneath the sofa.
Me and my sis looked at one another, screamed and ran pas the empty doorway to go and hide with my dad.
:eek:
That was ssooooooo scary!
Yos on 25/8/2004 at 10:34
Definetly a scarefest of the best kind. The knocking on the steps didn't start untill I first started up the strairs, so I was thinking "Crap, someone knows I'm here, and that sounds like something HEAVY comming down!" Anyway, by the time I got to the second half, I couldn't play any more. Later on, I found that I couldn't even finish the rest of the level with my headphones on. On some thinking back though, I agree with Mugla. The inmates could've been more unpredictable. And Lauryl was a bit too blunt. Brother Murus in RttC only told you what to do but not how to go about it all the time. I spent a good amount of time finding that Hammer blessing pool the first time. Also with the reading material, just didn't seem like there was enough. Peeking into Lauryl's diary would've been some good reading and the inmates could've had some diaries/journals of their own. But overall, a level that beats out RttC in creepyness. Good work Null and others who worked on this level. :thumb:
null on 9/9/2004 at 02:18
Quote Posted by Blue Sky
PPPS Oh, just another thought, besides the Silent Hill games, Jacob's Ladder, and the Ring films, do you have any other favourite horrors, either in games or in movies? I believe I've seen most of the really famous stuff, so the more obscure the better!
Difficult question. The horror track often lends itself to appreciation of a single scene, set, or performance rather than an entire work. The few that exhibit the same level of layering and craftsmanship throughout become immediately famous by sheer contrast.
Same goes for games; I tend to favor particular features, because the rest of the experience often degenerates into pedestrian scare tactics that get the job done. Which is fine & dandy, just not my cup of marrow.
It is fairly easy to sell fright pornography to people -- you go in wanting some cheap shocks, and some gratuitous blood or gristle to feed the 'gators, if I may paraphrase Steven King. And that's what you get -- I'm not judging it, it's meeting a market demand.
But ultimately, I'd like to build toys that operate on an emotional level as well as a nervous one. Entertainment that leaves scars where the thrills sunk in.
There's an incredible deficit of ambition in the genre; earnest attempts to outdo the landscape of the average human nightmare are few and far between.
I will say, though, that
Fatal Frame 2 is worth a spin, if you don't mind the Camera-combat mechanics. Vulnerable, highly emotive protagonist(s), many classical (think Sixth Sense) ghost-story scripted events that don't halt the simulation, et cetera.
It's far from perfect, but the sheer production values, coupled with a lot of (now-familiar) unsettling video editing techniques helped to draw me in.
As far as films go, let's see...
If you like to boil slowly, have you checked out
Audition?
Not for everyone, but there are aspects of it that I'll never forget.
I welcome recommendations, as well. Might as well keep this un-dead thread limber and endlessly re-animated. ;)
242 on 10/9/2004 at 00:57
Quote Posted by null
I welcome recommendations, as well.
"Mulholland Drive" by D.Lynch is interesting experience. It has an atmosphere of tension, mystery and very unusual ambience.
Muzman on 10/9/2004 at 07:16
Lost Highway is better for mine; doesn't have that joke-about-hollywood and truncated-TV-series baggage hanging around its neck.
The Woman In Black telemovie remains one of the most effective chillers ever. I'd reckon Hideo Nakata (director of Ringu) has seen it.
