What if Don't Starve was much more...grotesque?

[NikMik]

I'm putting this in General Discussions and not in Feedback/Suggestions because I'm not saying Klei should add this. I am saying it would be awesome, but no that Klei has to do it or else I won't think the game is good.

 

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I think it would be awesome if Don't Starve was much darker, creepier, maybe. And example being Slurpers: Even though they're hostile, they're super adorable. What if they were hideous, pulsating blob with a giant mouth full of tentacle-like tongues? Or the bishops being all bloody (not that blood is always scary) and having a brain-in-a-dome instead of a light bulb on top of their heads. I'm not going to list everything, but there's two examples.

 

Anyone have any other creepy, disturbing, or just plain grotesque ideas?

[MassiveZ]

I'm putting this in General Discussions and not in Feedback/Suggestions because I'm not saying Klei should add this. I am saying it would be awesome, but no that Klei has to do it or else I won't think the game is good.

 

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I think it would be awesome if Don't Starve was much darker, creepier, maybe. And example being Slurpers: Even though they're hostile, they're super adorable. What if they were hideous, pulsating blob with a giant mouth full of tentacle-like tongues? Or the bishops being all bloody (not that blood is always scary) and having a brain-in-a-dome instead of a light bulb on top of their heads. I'm not going to list everything, but there's two examples.

 

Anyone have any other creepy, disturbing, or just plain grotesque ideas?

 

Interesting, but I would like to turn this back around on you with a different perspective, don't you think that just like movies who don't show the monster are scarier than the ones who do? Not only does not seeing the evil fuks with your mind, but it's a lot more creepier. You are want to see the monster on one hand, but on the other you can feel part of your brain telling you *** no, what if its horrible and cannot be unseen, in regards to here's the monster, meh.

 

What does it have to do with DS, well think about it. Sure the slurper is cute, but you know that its sucking your brain when he facehugs you.

 

I think Klei with Don't Starve has nailed the exact sweet-spot between being interesting and terrifying, and grotesque in its own way.

Just look at Tim Burtons work (which clearly inspired the artists of this game). Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride, also Coraline (heavily inspired by Tim Burton).

 

One thing that all of these art pieces (including DS) have in common, is that they capture your imagination and fear at the same time, leaving you with a lingering sense of dread. 

 

Kinda like watching the old Adams Family TV Series as a kid if you remember, you see a family living and breathing, but your brain is very aware that there is something disturbing about them, something not quite right, and the way they had occasional guests, even though they greeted them with smiles, their chaotic otherworldly nature would leave them running out the door mortified.

 

And I think that this game is perfect at doing what its doing, giving you the exact same feeling. 

 

Hope that made more sense than not, its rather hard to explain

[the truthseeker]

Or we could look at the surrealist H.R. Giger as well as his inspired Alien movies and wonder if DS could be made/modded to that level as well? 

[MassiveZ]

In the game you see a tree, a rabbit, a flower, seemingly normal every day things, but at the same time you are aware that they are not quite right, even tho they appear normal, they are somewhat twisted, somewhat grotesque even? You know that as an observer you don't belong in this world at all.

 

I wonder if this game was inspired by Jumanji at all?

[MassiveZ]

Or we could look at the surrealist H.R. Giger as well as his inspired Alien movies and wonder if DS could be made/modded to that level as well? 

 

Well with Giger everything is made out of penises, so unless I am missing something in the game ...

[NikMik]

Well with Giger everything is made out of penises, so unless I am missing something in the game ...

This...?

[MassiveZ]

This...?

ehem.jpg

 

I'm afraid to ask, but what's under the censor

[NikMik]

I'm afraid to ask, but what's under the censor

Terrible things.

[PopcornTattoo]

well the more adorable the creature the creepier its actions become

 

a super adorable ball of fuzz that lures you over with a false sense of security and then latches onto your head and leeches off any partially/undigested food in your stomach?? probably one of the most terrifying things I can think of that exists in the caves tbh

 

I like when terrifying things are cute because once they show their true nature it makes you suspicious of everything else and has more of a psychological impact than an immediate "jump-scare" effect

 

but I am a huge fan of gore so your suggestions on disfiguring the creatures are just as appealing to me

 

if anything it would make a fantastic mod and I would probably use it quite often

 

maybe something could be done about the deerclops to make it look more like the monster it is

[MassiveZ]

I'm putting this in General Discussions and not in Feedback/Suggestions because I'm not saying Klei should add this. I am saying it would be awesome, but no that Klei has to do it or else I won't think the game is good.

 

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I think it would be awesome if Don't Starve was much darker, creepier, maybe. And example being Slurpers: Even though they're hostile, they're super adorable. What if they were hideous, pulsating blob with a giant mouth full of tentacle-like tongues? Or the bishops being all bloody (not that blood is always scary) and having a brain-in-a-dome instead of a light bulb on top of their heads. I'm not going to list everything, but there's two examples.

 

Anyone have any other creepy, disturbing, or just plain grotesque ideas?

 

 

Here, more grotesque for you

[NikMik]

well the more adorable the creature the creepier its actions become

 

a super adorable ball of fuzz that lures you over with a false sense of security and then latches onto your head and leeches off any partially/undigested food in your stomach?? probably one of the most terrifying things I can think of that exists in the caves tbh

 

I like when terrifying things are cute because once they show their true nature it makes you suspicious of everything else and has more of a psychological impact than an immediate "jump-scare" effect

 

but I am a huge fan of gore so your suggestions on disfiguring the creatures are just as appealing to me

 

if anything it would make a fantastic mod and I would probably use it quite often

 

maybe something could be done about the deerclops to make it look more like the monster it is

I'm a huge fan of gore, too. And I would barely call "jump-scares", scares. They startle you, sure, but they don't make you actually feel fear. I don't exactly find blood scary, either. A bloody ghost-girl under your sheets? 

Meh. Undead or just dead person with mysterious fluids that aren't blood leaking out of them? I don't know why, but I find that terrifying.

[Hugo M.]

Making the game more grotesque? Thats easy, all you have to do is allow beefalos to 'have' their babies on screen.

[Krac]

The thing I always loved about this game is the non-visual "scary" things. I mean, being chased by wolves and being helped by hunched deformed pig man that defecate whenever they eat... yeah. They are visually cute, but the idea is not so if the pig men are described as they are in "the house in the borderland". Other example is killing a distorted rabbit when you are going insane to build a MEAT (bloody, raw, and going putrid) EFFIGY (where I live normally means a representation of a dead person). Or "farming meat" to survive by feeding poisonous meat to stupid but good man-animals to turn them into rabid monsters.

The caricature world only make it more interesting. If they were "realistic", the creepy aspect will be lost, I think. Here is a video that explains why:

 

And that is the indirect weird aspect. If you are exploring the ruins and see stone statues crying black tears and vomiting black nightmarish fluids, showing expressions of terror or pain... well I found that creepy the first times. But the weird thing is that you get used to it. To all this madness. I find it brilliant design wise. 

[Percival]

Everyone here seems to be a fan of the trope Gorn.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Gorn

But anyways, if Don't Starve was more grotesque....

 

Day 1

The blood of the rabbits I brutally trapped and murdered dries as the fire cooks the raw viscera. The smell of boiling blood entices me... I also managed to make a fire pit.

 

Day 27

I befriended a bipedal pig humanoid by giving him his flesh and blood, but he didn't know of this. He began fighting and chopping trees for me. I might use him to attack those Beefalos..

 

Day 30

Mmm. My friend was delicious. In other news, I found a dried eye impaled with a sharpened bone fragment. I, of course, picked it up, and a mysterious animal began following me. The eyeball. It is fun to squish.

[23rd]

Everyone here seems to be a fan of the trope Gorn.

I much prefer Nothing Is Scarier. Everything catches you off guard on your few playthroughs, although you get use to them pretty quick.. but then there's Tentacles.. don't know what's on the end of them, nor do you know where they're waiting to surface and strike you.

[HoneyHam]

Everything is loud, covered in blood and more tentacles and goo. Also bigger teeth. And everything is bigger for intimidation factor.

I have no clue what to say so I'm just saying general, obvious stuff.

Also, specific death scenes for whatever you're killed by, which are very gory. For instance, if you are killed by....... a hound, it starts ripping your limbs off. Or, a depths worm, you are chewed up and swallowed. Or a Treeguard, your head is smashed. Stuff like that. 

[MassiveZ]

I much prefer Nothing Is Scarier. Everything catches you off guard on your few playthroughs, although you get use to them pretty quick.. but then there's Tentacles.. don't know what's on the end of them, nor do you know where they're waiting to surface and strike you.

 

"There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

— Alfred Hitchcock

 

What a brilliant way of saying it! Especially in the world of Don't Starve, where you meet a frog for the first time thinking FOOD, and 2 seconds later you realize that you made a huge mistake and those things are in fact lethal

[MassiveZ]

Everything is loud, covered in blood and more tentacles and goo. Also bigger teeth. And everything is bigger for intimidation factor.

I have no clue what to say so I'm just saying general, obvious stuff.

Also, specific death scenes for whatever you're killed by, which are very gory. For instance, if you are killed by....... a hound, it starts ripping your limbs off. Or, a depths worm, you are chewed up and swallowed. Or a Treeguard, your head is smashed. Stuff like that. 

 

Blood & gore doesn't necessarily translate to "scary". Just look at Saw movies. They are more related to porn, than actual horror

[HoneyHam]

Blood & gore doesn't necessarily translate to "scary". Just look at Saw movies. They are more related to porn, than actual horror

If you want scary, then put jumpscares everywhere. Probably the most unoriginal, mundane way to scare someone, but if you just want plain scary, jumpscares are the way to go.

 

Or maybe a ghost overhaul, right now they're just like the little kid wearing bed sheets on Halloween, but if they were turned more.... realistic, or gory, or maybe a re-texture, they could be scarier.

Also a good way to improve scariness, is make don't starve first-person. And speaking of first person, if you want scary and grotesque....

SCREECHER.

[MassiveZ]

If you want scary, then put jumpscares everywhere. Probably the most unoriginal, mundane way to scare someone, but if you just want plain scary, jumpscares are the way to go.

 

Or maybe a ghost overhaul, right now they're just like the little kid wearing bed sheets on Halloween, but if they were turned more.... realistic, or gory, or maybe a re-texture, they could be scarier.

Also a good way to improve scariness, is make don't starve first-person. And speaking of first person, if you want scary and grotesque....

SCREECHER.

 

You know, I don't find jump scares that scary at all, maybe the fact that my reflex is to laugh when I get jump-scared. To me so far the scariest thing in Don't Starve, is Charlie. Even though I am already accustomed to her being in the game, and knowing what she is, there is still a shroud of mystery on her. And especially when you are sitting by the fireplace, cooking, or whatever, and that music starts playing I immediately get chills & goosebumps, when the hands come out I have this uncomfortable smile on my face that says, I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm a man, I have balls, ****, ***, ***, **** why isn't it over yet.

 

And shes not a jump scare at all

[DeadpanQuinkan]

I much prefer Nothing Is Scarier. Everything catches you off guard on your few playthroughs, although you get use to them pretty quick.. but then there's Tentacles.. don't know what's on the end of them, nor do you know where they're waiting to surface and strike you.

My interpretation of the swamp is that the surface can feel.  Walking on top of it causes it pain and there is not much it can do about it unless you walk near a peak pressure point where the tentacles shoot up from a reflex (like someone smashing your kneecaps) and try to smack you away.  So the equivalent is you walking on top of someone and when they have the painful urge to kick you away, you then proceed to chop off their limbs and then use them to bludgeon others to death.

... I say this game is messed up enough. 

[Amkar]

Just throwing this in here because it's probably relevant at some point in this.

 

Horror is building up suspense with fear of the unknown and stuff. It's more psychological.

Terror is sudden shock, instinctive reaction that makes you want to fight or flight.

 

Or it might be the other way around. The key thing is that grotesque would be more terror than horror, which I don't think the devs want. Not that a slurper is horrifying OR terrifying.

[MassiveZ]

Just throwing this in here because it's probably relevant at some point in this.

 

Horror is building up suspense with fear of the unknown and stuff. It's more psychological.

Terror is sudden shock, instinctive reaction that makes you want to fight or flight.

 

Or it might be the other way around. The key thing is that grotesque would be more terror than horror, which I don't think the devs want. Not that a slurper is horrifying OR terrifying.

 

But it is terrifying in it's own way. Think about it, its a cute creature, but it's also a parasite, that feeds on your nutrition. To it - its behavior is normal, it will happily pounce your head and suck the life out of you. 

It's the whole Adams Family syndrome all over again. They will invite you for dinner, pull out a knife, and announce that you are the dinner, and be surprised why the hell did you just ran away and jumped through the window on the 3rd floor.

[Amkar]

But it is terrifying in it's own way. Think about it, its a cute creature, but it's also a parasite, that feeds on your nutrition. To it - its behavior is normal, it will happily pounce your head and suck the life out of you. 

It's the whole Adams Family syndrome all over again. They will invite you for dinner, pull out a knife, and announce that you are the dinner, and be surprised why the hell did you just ran away and jumped through the window on the 3rd floor.

 

Ah, but that would be HORROR. I think. There's definitely a difference. Someone back me up here?

 

Anyway, don't get too worried about it, it's only something I threw in since it seemed like it could be relevant.

[MassiveZ]

Ah, but that would be HORROR. I think. There's definitely a difference. Someone back me up here?

 

Anyway, don't get too worried about it, it's only something I threw in since it seemed like it could be relevant.

 

Terror and horror are  supposedly the same thing, with a slight difference in perspective.

 

E.G. if someone showed you someone being murdered in the next room, you would be horrified that its happening, but also terrified that it might happen to you as well.

 

To be frank, I can't myself explain Adams Family at all, that show was never portrayed as horror, it was more of a comedy than anything else, but it had that dreadful eerie feeling about it. So was Jumanji, both the movie and the cartoon. I just can't seem to find a word in for that genre, which is relevant, because it is clearly dominant in Don't Starve. I mean... you wouldn't call it a horror game? But it's still eerie as hell. What is it then