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

[Amkar]

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

 

I know exactly what you mean, but I'm fairly sure on a technical level that horror and terror are different, not the same thing. I'm just waiting for someone to come along who knows what I mean and is also better at explaining that me! 

 

ANYWAY. It's only loosely relevant.

[the truthseeker]

And remember, one of Klei's own made "The Screecher" in homage to that darker world, showing what the DS engine could do with modding.

 

 

(I'll skip the "is it horror or only Jump-Scare" argument just giving examples here)

 

 

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

Whenever I pick a carrot, "m always going to wonder what it's really made of...

[EllieSenra]

The first half of this thread had me laughing like crazy, especially those two pictures. I also wanna know what's under the censor, and I'm not afraid to find out. >]

 

Back on topic though, I do feel like the game is more creepy in certain areas than others. For example, the desire to keep sanity up is because you know what's going to happen if you don't... and once you see it going down, hearing those noises and seeing those shadows from the corner of your eyes, that's what really gets to you. Because it seems all fine and dandy but you know it's not. Sometimes for me that's creepy enough.

 

But I would love to see what things they could come up with if they took some of the suggestions on this thread. Intriguing.

[ARamblingSpider]

That depends on what you mean by disturbing, are we talking about more realistic or 4chan kind of disturbing?

[EllieSenra]

That depends on what you mean by disturbing, are we talking about more realistic or 4chan kind of disturbing?

 

Ugh, I would be 0% okay with 4chan kind of disturbing. Lol.

[the truthseeker]

At least it ain't penises...oops, went there. 

[ARamblingSpider]

At least it ain't penises...oops, went there. 

While I was reading that I read it in a redneck southern hillbilly voice.

[MassiveZ]

Whenever I pick a carrot, "m always going to wonder what it's really made of...

 

Tsk tsk, naughty.

[Sporb]

Eh, I'm not really feeling it. I really like Don't Starve's mix of frightening things with cartoonish and sometimes cute graphics. It seems more quirky and original somehow than trying to make everything 'OMG SO SCARY.' Which would get old pretty fast.

Plus, creepiness is often more in the presentation of something than in its appearance. There's nothing particularly frightening about the way a shadow hand looks. But, when the music starts playing for the first time, you have no idea what's about to happen but you know it can't be good.* And then when the hand creeps out of the shadows it's actually kinda scary.

*And this fear is of course justified because, in Don't Starve, what you don't know will kill you.

[NikMik]

That depends on what you mean by disturbing, are we talking about more realistic or 4chan kind of disturbing?

Nothing can be as disturbing as ...4Chan! *thunder*.

 

But I didn't mean blood everywhere, like someone gave their child a red crayon and left them in a room with their work papers. I meant, say, the lighting is even more grey, you hear strange sounds like the ground crunching and, if you're in a forest, twigs snapping or something like that. Maybe you'll see things walking around the corner of your screen from time to time. And I love HoneyHam's idead for the death-specific cutscenes when you're killed in a specific way. May not really be scary, but it'd sure get a "Holy s***!" out of an unsuspecting player, right?

[Amkar]

At least it ain't penises...oops, went there. 

 

It could be worse.

 

 

I'm trying to think of something worse and can't.

[23rd]

It could be worse.

 

 

I'm trying to think of something worse and can't.

Barbed corkscrew penises.

[HoneyHam]

Barbed corkscrew penises.

"This is a video of a baby duck."

"That is how the cuttlefish do."

I love ZeFrank.

[ARamblingSpider]

Barbed corkscrew penises.

Sounds like a heavy metal band.

[the truthseeker]

Sounds like a heavy metal band.

 

 

 

I call Drummer! 

[Maz]

Pengulls can have haunted eyes when they are around their eggs!

[ARamblingSpider]

I call Drummer! 

I'll play the triangle, what instrument can 23rd play?

[the truthseeker]

I'll play the triangle, what instrument can 23rd play?

@23rd what do you play? 

[NikMik]

Sounds like a heavy metal band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXCmxO-H39s

[kyomura]

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

I agree with this 110%!!! When I first saw this I thought about Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, etc. It has that feeling where it looks almost cheery on the outside and ALMOST normal, but something is always off, just enough that it remains in the back of your mind always making you uneasy. That's the beauty of this art style. While I do understand the OP's point of view that it can certainly lend itself to a more grotesque style, the current style of the game suits it perfectly. You aren't necessarily grossed out by the creatures you see right now but there is more than enough unease with EVERYTHING that moves that you aren't necessarily excited to try and attack something. To me that's perfect because it's not something you can see in other games. Also it helps to make you feel very uneasy about the whole "surviving and a mysterious island all alone."

...and perfectly sets up the lack of a 'good ending' for adventure mode.   

[NikMik]

I agree with this 110%!!! When I first saw this I thought about Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, etc. It has that feeling where it looks almost cheery on the outside and ALMOST normal, but something is always off, just enough that it remains in the back of your mind always making you uneasy. That's the beauty of this art style. While I do understand the OP's point of view that it can certainly lend itself to a more grotesque style, the current style of the game suits it perfectly. You aren't necessarily grossed out by the creatures you see right now but there is more than enough unease with EVERYTHING that moves that you aren't necessarily excited to try and attack something. To me that's perfect because it's not something you can see in other games. Also it helps to make you feel very uneasy about the whole "surviving and a mysterious island all alone."

...and perfectly sets up the lack of a 'good ending' for adventure mode.   

I'm not the same at all. I suppose living in 'Straya, where it's pretty much the Don't Starve world (everything wants you dead, even the grass), I'm used to having a chance of dying every time I take a step in my back yard, which is full of uncut grass, spiders bushes, trees. It's basically the map from Slender.

[MassiveZ]

I agree with this 110%!!! When I first saw this I thought about Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, etc. It has that feeling where it looks almost cheery on the outside and ALMOST normal, but something is always off, just enough that it remains in the back of your mind always making you uneasy. That's the beauty of this art style. While I do understand the OP's point of view that it can certainly lend itself to a more grotesque style, the current style of the game suits it perfectly. You aren't necessarily grossed out by the creatures you see right now but there is more than enough unease with EVERYTHING that moves that you aren't necessarily excited to try and attack something. To me that's perfect because it's not something you can see in other games. Also it helps to make you feel very uneasy about the whole "surviving and a mysterious island all alone."

...and perfectly sets up the lack of a 'good ending' for adventure mode.   

 

Good point about the feeling of surviving all alone in an otherworldly place, I guess I can see the point of Klei not wanting to turn it into a multi-player experience, probably more than anything for the fact that, we all know god damn well, you could be in a real zombie apocalypse right now, and no matter how terrifying it would be, if you had your best friend besides you, you WILL find a way to **** around and do stupid **** just for the luls. And I guess instead of making another Minecraft, Klei wants to keep their soul and integrity.

[the truthseeker]

Good point about the feeling of surviving all alone in an otherworldly place, I guess I can see the point of Klei not wanting to turn it into a multi-player experience, probably more than anything for the fact that, we all know god damn well, you could be in a real zombie apocalypse right now, and no matter how terrifying it would be, if you had your best friend besides you, you WILL find a way to **** around and do stupid **** just for the luls. And I guess instead of making another Minecraft, Klei wants to keep their soul and integrity.

"Shaun of the Dead" confirms this. 

[Daemonic]

Barbed corkscrew penises.

I can never look at ducks the same way... ever.

[ARamblingSpider]

I can never look at ducks the same way... ever.

Don't worry, spiders are your friends.