Experimental Development Pt.5: Other methods to effect the weird and eerie

Fixes and updates

During development, i have found that one of my aims is not as sufficient. As such I have rewritten my second aim: Learn how to evoke feelings of unease and tension through the use of spaces and sound to Learn how to evoke feelings of Weirdness and Eerieness through the use of spaces, sound and visual elements.

This aim includes visual elements which I have already been working with. Instead of Unease and Tension, the Weird and the Eerie are the focus here. This is because research with other pieces of media have highlighted these terms that are more appropriate for this project. Tom’s dev log expressed that he wanted to develop a narrative that is grounded in Epistolary horror, as such I found that the Weird and the Eerie are more useful descriptors for this project.

• Texture warping – On inspecting the PSX shader pack, issue was found that surfaces need to be planes/higher polycount. All room surfaces replaced with planes, resulting in no warping issue. [Refer to previous dev log: [https://collaborative.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2021/05/20/experimental-development-pt-4-room-rework-visual-audio-elements-game-loop-and-playtest/]

• Sensitivty – Currently a menu is being built that allows player custom settings, however a temporary fix is adjusting the mouse look speed to a higher value. The menu is another area to explore upon, currently images and text has been used but hte visual theme has not been heavily consdiered as that would be a smaller priority.
  

• Playthrough tracker – System for tracking playthroughs has been implemented. Playthrough being that the player has reached and completed the final level. This system counts the number of levels (different mazes) that player fininshes. Upon doing so the player reaching the maximum number of levels (three, instead of five as we found that was too much), all three levels are deleted and then the player is placed at the first level with a new generated maze. Doing so allows us to create additional changes with this tracking system. What these changes may be will be researched from case studies.
• Triggers for PCG text – Tom has integrated the PCG text system, as such triggers were implemented to activate the text system. The triggers are placed in the three main room types, these being entrance, exit and Killbox. This was done since each main rooms will always be in every level generation. However this may warrant expansion in the future.
• Slipgate model-A simple model for the teleportation gates had been designed, this design was inspired by the Quake Slipgate. It uses a simple low-res textures keeping with the theme and distinct enough from the rest of the environment, that the player should be able to identify it as the exit.

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• Texture change-Another system has been produced that tracks the player’s progression on each level, each level changes the textures used for the walls and floors. Tom discussed this as a possible idea to show progression through each level. This makes sense as the story that is presented through the text generator describes a fictional developer’s commentary.

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Methods to effect the Weird and the Eerie

While playtesting our game there was still a lack of atmosphere, especially the unease and tension I wished to impart. As such I believe this could be expanded upon with the implementation of the Weird and the Eerie.

Definition

In The Weird and the Eerie (2016), Mark Fisher writes of the Weird as represented by Lovecraft.

“The encounter with the outside often ends in breakdown and psychosis. Lovecraft’s stories
frequently involve a catastrophic integration of the outside into an interior that is retrospectively revealed to be a
delusive envelope, a sham.” (Fisher, 2016, p.9)

Fisher argues that the weird can express itself as an object/entity so strange that it should not exist, but because it exists it challenges our understanding and our schema to engage with everything else. Then concluding that it is our understanding that is inadequate.

Mark also describes the Eerie as “…constituted by a failure of absence or by a failure of presence. The sensation of the eerie occurs either when there is something present where there should be nothing, or there is nothing present when there should be something.” (Fisher, 2016, p.27). Not only must there be a failure of absence but there must be a mystery that is uncommon. This is similar to the liminal spaces that I previously touched upon in a previous log: [https://collaborative.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2021/05/03/experimental-development-pt-1/].

The eerie is already in the narrative and design of the game, this being expressed as the only two sound sources (The footsteps and Droning) within the game. In narrative terms it is the fact that the player has entered an empty multiplayer lobby, a virtual space that is usually populated with players engaging in tense battle. However, in the current build of the game this does not come across clearly. While the project features the absence of something, it should be considered that the presence of something could be implemented to further effect the Eerie. As of right now, implementing any form of A.I may be out of scope for the project, instead a simple presence could be implemented as a sprite or model that the player can only momentarily see in certain situations.

The Weird has not been so well implemented in the game, however from Fisher’s explanation it could be suitable for this game. He highlights the Weird being expressed as a clash with exterior and interior elements, resulting in the knowledge that the interior is obsolete. For the project, the interior could be seen as the set of levels that the player progresses through, upon achieveing a playthrough (the completion of three levels) exterior elements could be revealed to the player. This exterior element could also be expressed as the Eerie presence too, or it could also possibly be explored with visual or audio elements.

I’m not so sure what these elements could be or what form they could take, as such I will conduct a case study where the Weird and the Eerie are prominent elements.

Inspirations for the Weird and the Eerie

Content Warning: Discussion of suicide is featured below. Spoilers for the following are discussed: The Haunting of Hill House, Vivarium.

Haunting of Hill House (2018)-Throughout this series, Eleanor Crain is haunted by a ghost described as the “Bent-neck lady”. These hauntings occur multiple times throughout her life and can be seen as an external force intruding on her life. In episode five, Eleanor Crain is manipulated to commit suicide by hanging. At the moment of her death, the camera focuses on her neck and head and emphasises her Bent-neck. Following this is a sequence of shots that reveal that she was the Bent-neck lady, the hauntings are then shown in reverse order from the perspective of the Bent-neck lady capturing her realisation of her fate. [The scene as desribed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHkX4gNuSOI]

It can be seen that this is a transference from the Weird to the Eerie, it is Weird because the Bent-neck lady is an inexplicable entity that Eleanor Crain has no connection to. It becomes Eerie as it is revealed to be an extremely personal event that generates these hauntings where there was an absence of connection. This use of a re-occuring motif throughout the series is concluded by contextualizing it, the change of understanding accentuates the horror of the hauntings. Then for the project I should look for a re-occuring motif to then be recontextualized, this change could take an established element of the game. Possibly a gameplay element or the narrative text that is generated, then closer to the ending of the game this element is used in a different way to change the player’s understanding of that particular system.

Control (2019)-One way the Weird and the Eerie is expressed in Control is through the environment. The game takes place in a building known as the Oldest House, this is first established as a mundane office space featuring conventional spaces such as hallways and offices. As the player progresses this environment is distorted, mutliple shapes of intrusive concrete are grown out from different parts of the building. Part of the story implies that the Oldest House is an entity being infected by the Hiss, the Hiss is represented by the intrusive concrete as well as other elements such as colour and lighting. Colour is at first a cool blue temperature, lighting is conventional that lights the environment clearly and evenly. However as the Hiss presents itself, the colours used are an intense red and the environment is sparingly lighted and shadows more prevalent. This causes a feeling of trepidation upon entering an area that is infected with the Hiss and therefore signified as dangerous.

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The Weird and the Eerie is presented as the Hiss in Control, the Oldest House being the established environment that the player accepts as the mundane. As such it can be seen that Controls manipulation of the environment, colour and lighting are used to effect the Weird and the Eerie, in this case it is the Hiss.

Vivarium (2019)-Gemma and Tom, the two main chacracters of the film find themselves trapped in an artificial neighbourhood with no means of escape and resort to living in a house identical to every other house. The climax takes place after Tom dies and Gemma attempts to escape the neighbourhood, in doing so she finds herself in a warped version of the house. Being pulled into different houses with each house using a different colour filter, each house depicting Eerie images.

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Here the Eerie is already manifested as the neighbourhood, in this case the neighbourhood is devoid of other people. The pinnacle of this eerieness is the house they live in, upon her attempted escape she breaks through other versions of this space. At first the physical dimensions of the house is shown to be heavily warped, this is a mutation of what is familiar to Gemma. Then the colour filters are applied to show a drastic change of environment, this happens again and again until she finds herself back in the house.

Vivarium uses as a way to show an eerieness, however this still takes place in a house identical to the one she has been living in.

What can be used

• Intense colour-Both Vivarium and Control use colour to highlight the Eerie, drawing attention to the abnormality of the situation. For the game this can be expressed in a number of ways, the PSX shader comes with a colour palette effect that changes the camera view, filtering the camera view with specific colours as shown on the palette. This change could be applied whenever the player advances through a level.
• Entity-An entity is used to facilitate the feelings of the Weird and Eerie. Like the Oldest House or the Bent-necked Lady, it can be used to re-contextualize the player’s understanding of the game or narrative. For the game this could be implemented as a threatening character to the player. For the game it should fit in with the narrative. There is a meta element as the player experiences a fictional developer’s reflections of this game, as such this entity could be related to this narrative point in some way.
• Manipulating established elements-Elements like the environment are changed in someway to highlight the Weird and the Eerie. For the game the environment can be manipulated to show this change, this can be expressed in changing the assets used, as well as changing the shape and dimensions of the each room. Other elements can be changed too, including the audio effects like the footsteps or the droning sounds.

Next steps

• Develop and implement an entity into the game.
• Make use of an evolving colour palette that changes on each playthrough.
• Change the physical space on each playthrough.

References

• Fisher, M. (2016). The Weird and the Eerie. 3rd edition. Repeater. [Accessed: 31/05/2021]
• The Haunting of Hill House. (2018). Netflix, 12 October. [Accessed: 31/05/2021]
• Vivarium. (2019). [Online]. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan. Belgium, Denmark and Ireland. XYZ Films, Fantastic Films, Frakas Productions, PingPong Film, VOO, BeTV. [Accessed: 31/05/2021]. Available from Amazon Prime.
• Remedy Entertainment (2019). Control. [Video Game]. Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, XBOX one, Luna, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia. 505 Games.