Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't been posting that much. Maybe you should know that I'm a part-time horror writer, so my mind's been to other places.

I just found out that there are a lot of video games inspired by Lovecraft's work. I wanted to know which one's the best one, in your opinion.

Lovecraft kicks Poe's ass when it comes down to it.

-Nate

Best? I'm not sure. Alone in the Dark is probably the most significant one. Have a look at the Lovecraft game group and see if you can pick up some opinions from there.




No way man! Poe rules!

I wanted to know which one's the best one, in your opinion.

If you rank by mobyscore, Anchorhead has been ranked head and shoulders above the rest of the games in that group. But I haven't played it. Don't let the group hold you back -- our approvers are notoriously stingy about allowing games through those gates.

Alone in the Dark is probably the most significant one.

Hello, Quake?

Shadow of the Comet is my favorite.

I've heard that there was a game that mixed Cthulhu with Sherlock Holmes. Anyone know about that?

The Awakened

That one was a true disappointment (The Awakened), and you can read why as soon as my review gets approved.... Call of Cthulhu DCotE was much closer to the actual lovecraftian feeling of the stories than The Awakened, except that it falls on its nose completely in immersion: the voice acting is hideous and you actually kill Dagon(!) in the game. Some of the older games are much better in being honest and following the Lovecraft story outlines while still being creative.

Ahem... Try Dark Corners of the Earth also.

Shadow of the Comet gets my vote, not just as the best Lovecraft game, but as the best Lovecraft adaptation of any kind. That said, it does get a bit random towards the end, and does take several liberties with the guy's work. But the atmosphere and 'feeling' are spot on.

Personally, I hated Dark Corners of the Earth and would absolutely not recommend it. Its main problem was that it wasn't fun at all, and its savepoint system, together with unbelievably frustrating, archaic sequences that required you to do the exact right thing at the exact right time (case in point: escape from the hotel) just killed it for me.

Daughter of Serpents hasn't been mentioned yet - Unfortunately, it was another stinker. It was also insanely short. You could complete it in about 20 minutes.

[EDIT: Just checked through the Lovecraftian games list. 'Dylan Dog' (title aside) looks great! Has anyone played it?]

Well, I'm glad ya'll are responding to me. I'm not a good video game person, but I do play them. Okay, first of all, Poe was a crazy druggie who married his 13 year old cousin. He was addicted to Opium when he wrote all of his stories. So he didn't imagine the stuff, he saw it when he puffed the dragon. Lovecraft was pure imagination.

I have a couple of questions: What story is Quake based off on? I'm not a video game person, and I haven't played it. So I'm serious. Why isn't any of the Alien movie video games in the group? Alien and Aliens was based on Lovecraft. http://www.thelurker.com/features/alien.htm

I wonder why there hasn't been a game based off of Herbert West (aka The Re-Animator). That would be awesome.

EDIT: Oh my gosh, Sherlock Holmes in a Lovecraft setting. That's just wrong.

What story is Quake based off on?

It's not; Sandy Petersen of Chaosium worked on it and hence the big baddie at the end is Lovecraft's Shub-NIiggurath. Not Lovecraftian enough to get into the game group 8)

Why isn't any of the Alien movie video games in the group? Alien and Aliens was based on Lovecraft.

That's, uh, one guy's opinion. Being a huge Lovecraft fan who's watched both movies multiple times, I can't say I see it.... meaning the connection may be sufficiently obscure to bar its membership from the group.

I wonder why there hasn't been a game based off of Herbert West

Because games like to be based on /successful/ media properties 8)

Well, I'm new to Lovecraft, I haven't read Cthuhlu just of yet. But I got it on my computer, so yeah, I'll tell you my opinion afterwards. It would make sense to make a video game based off of Herbert West because of the 80's flicks that are famous. Even though in my opinion they sucked.

It would make sense to make a video game based off of Herbert West because of the 80's flicks that are famous. Even though in my opinion they sucked.

"Porky's" was an '80s flick that is famous. Perhaps the Herbert West producers looked at its miserable game conversion and decided to spare their property the indignity.

That's not all, there's also level names like "The Nameless City" and other things. Apparently Petersen crammed a lot of Lovecraft into Quake, but I'm not enough of an expert to recognize it all.

it's true that there are hints and tastes of it all over the place; all the same, the extent to which it informs the gameplay is roughly zero 8)

No, but it might be enough to get it into a Trivia Item

"Poe was a crazy druggie who married his 13 year old cousin. He was addicted to Opium when he wrote all of his stories. So he didn't imagine the stuff, he saw it when he puffed the dragon."

Well...yes, Poe married his 13 year old cousin, does that mean he could not write? Yes, he suffered from depression and chronic pain which he dosed with laudunum/morphine/opium and alcohol, and ultimately became addicted, but...don't make the mistake of thinking that the drugs are the source of his talent. Probably his experiences with drugs lent something to his writing - that's a long tradition in the more creative fields - but certainly he didn't just "see the stuff" (to paraphrase you), as if he had nothing to do with it whatever!

Lovecraft is cool too.

certainly he didn't just "see the stuff" (to paraphrase you), as if he had nothing to do with it whatever!

Yeah, that'd be Coleridge's Xanadu 8)

Well, I think his stories are so much alike with each other. From what I've read it's always First Person. I think drugs played a big role in his creativity. I'm not questioning his writing, it's good, just not as good as Lovecraft. Everybody's heard of Poe, but when it comes to Lovecraft, people get a blank expression on their faces. Lovecraft only is the creator of modern horror, at least that's my opinion. Perhaps Lovecraft is an example of what would've happened if Poe wasn't addicted to drugs. I just think it's odd that Poe married his 13 year old cousin. Then again, horror writers say and do things incredibly strange. I have said a few things that were weird, trust me.

I'm not questioning his writing, it's good, just not as good as Lovecraft.

Lovecraft's skill was in his ability to build atmosphere, not in his writing.

And then... blah blah... inhuman geometry... cyclopean architecture... yadda yadda.. the hippocephalic bird, an eldritch abomination with batrachian footprints creeping over sagging, gambrel roofs... the writing is really like playing Madlibs, plugging in occasional run-on sentences between these obligatory Lovecraft Power Words.

when it comes to Lovecraft, people get a blank expression on their faces

This is correct when "people" is read to mean "the illiterates strewn through the halls of your high school". As far as horror authors go, HP is second only to Stephen King in fame... and the value of his literary legacy is equally contentious 8)

Lovecraft only is the creator of modern horror, at least that's my opinion.

A bold opinion from someone who's never read the Call of Cthulhu 8) ... and presumably has never read any Ambrose Bierce, Lord Dunsany, Guy de Maupassant, Algernon Blackwood or any of the other scribes of the weird informing and inspiring Lovecraft's 1927 essay Supernatural Horror in Literature.

Don't get me wrong: I love me some Lovecraft. I think he's a hugely important horror author and a bold popularizer of the cosmic horror he helped birth. I just think that my reasons for liking him are less because he's awesome and more because I like him, y'dig? I can choose to overlook the (pages and pages of) flaws in his work, but that doesn't mean that I need to be blind to them 8)

I just finished reading Call of Cthulhu.

It was pretty good.

Anyway, I said I think he's the creator of modern horror because of the works I've read so far. Herbert West: Re-Animator Beyond the Wall of Sleep The Alchemist The Horror at Redhook and several others.

I've been trying to look for Cthulhu on the internet so I could read it. And I finally did.

Yes, I've read some Bierce, Saki, and Blackwood. My opinion on Lovecraft stands firm. Bierce is good too, but I think Lovecraft had more of a atmosphere in his work. Maybe I should classify them in different catagories.

Best Creatures by Horror Writers (classics) H.P. Lovecraft Bram Stroker Mary Shelley H.G. Wells

Best Atmosphere: Edgar Allan Poe (Black Cat made me afraid of my own cat.) H.P. Lovecraft Saki Ambrose Bierce

Best Scares: Algernoon Blackwood H.P. Lovecraft Edgar Allen Poe Bram Stroker

Let's not forget S. Baring-Gould and A. Le Braz. I would add more, but it would extremely long.

I'm a part-time horror writer that believes that all horror writers should look to the classics instead of the modern writers. I read alot on this site: http://www.horrormasters.com/Themes/horror_classics.htm

I'm thinking of being published on there, not sure yet.

Aside from being much more than a simple horror writer who frightens children with demons and laughable mythos Poe is also know as an outstanding lyricist and critic. While writing his poems and novels he relied heavily on the research aspect of it. Not research of the subject he was writing about, but of the possibility and limitations of the written word. Poe strongly believed that if a word, a sentence or a paragraph serves no apparent function it must be omitted. He was the first to express an opinion that if a work of fiction cannot be read in one sit than it's a faulty one.

Such critical approach and perfectionism can hardly be attributed to the chaotic nature of drug influenced literature. Thus Poe's addiction didn't prevent him form doing his best.

But that is actually beside the point. I wouldn't even been bothered if he raped his 13-old cousin as long as he writes good stuff. I don't care who Poe the man was, but I deeply appreciate Poe the writer.

And what really fascinates me in Poe (in comparison to Lovecraft) is that he wasn't actually interested in creating horror images or sanity challenges in his novels. His primary goal was to entertain a reader but not subject him to a series of tests and see which frightens the most. Poe's novels intrigue, mystify and puzzle you. Unfortunately the same can't be said of Lovecraft's work. It frightens alright, but that's just not enough to warrant an entry into the literature Hall Of Fame.

Poe strongly believed that if a word ... serves no apparent function it must be omitted.

Are we talking about the same guy here who penned the immortal lines:

To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells -
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells -
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

? 8)

Do you too feel like "To the swinging and the ringing" line doesn't belong there? :)

Seriously, though, the function of this repetition is that of stylistic device which is much more predominant in poetry than in prose. The goal Poe had in mind was to create "a chiming effect" in the reader's mind. It would have been easily achieved with two carefully chosen sentences in the novel, but it wouldn't work in poetry, hence the device of repetition.

Somewhat off-topic but sort of on-topic (!) - it's banned book week here in the US: Sept. 29 through Oct.6, when we put chains and brown bag covers on some of our books and remind the public not to take our intellectual freedoms for granted. Take a look at The Forbidden Library - ignore the Amazon "Buy Me" links :-P - which lists a few banned/challenged books with a little info about who and why they were objected to. Not a complete list, by far. Also see the American Library Association's list of banned/challenged books through Google Book Search, which may be more up-to-date.

Quake isn't a Lovecraft themed game...not really, anyway. Two of the bosses just happen to be ripped off from Lovecraft, and very crappily I might add.

The best one by far is Cthulhu Kart.

i would so buy the game.

as much as i love hp, he rewrote the same story over and over again. poe created characters and situations completely different for his stories, each one with its own plot, setting and theme. his stories weren't simply meant to scare, and they didn't all revolve around one idea (the way hp's were all about the stupidity of religion). also, poe was simply a better writer. his prose was cleaner, made more sense, and had a better flow to it. it read better if you will.

Lovecraft had a unique style and talent when it came to writing. "The Crawling Chaos" wasn't about religion and he wrote that. So was "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" and I'm sure there's many others. He wrote over a hundred short stories, which is pretty good considering that he was 1930's writer (Stephen King has written two hundred).

Poe also had a unique style and talent. But the stories I've read so far of his have the same basic theme line: Wo/Man becomes paranoid about something Wo/Man goes insane and/or tries to give advice Wo/Man kills or hides that thing Wo/Man gets caught and/or doesn't get caught

I'm not saying that Poe wasn't a good writer. I'm saying it's not always about what you write, it's how you write it. You write what you are interested in, maybe Lovecraft was interested in these type of things.

I'm writing a horror story about a horror writer that sees what he concieves in his mind in the real world. I'm sure that there are stories similar to this one, but they all don't have the same style or creativity.

I'm writing a horror story about a horror writer that sees what he concieves in his mind in the real world.

My vague understanding is that's a general premise of the movie In the Mouth of Madness.

Really? I haven't heard of it.

This one is about a horror writer that gets locked in a hotel room and is stalked by one of the creatures in the novel he's writing.

Really? I haven't heard of it.

By a little unknown filmmaker named John Carpenter? My understanding is that it's generally considered one of the most renowned Lovecraft-inspired tales ever committed to film -- of course, that's not saying much. Me, I like Cast a Deadly Spell 8)

here in seattle there was a big deal made out of The Call of Cthulhu as i think it's either set in seattle or the film maker is from here. also it's supposed to be exceptionally good, but i haven't seen it yet.

Great flick, the final one in his so called "apocalyptic trilogy" (the others being Prince of Darkness and The Thing). You might want to check his Masters of Horror episode: Cigarette Burns, as its very similar to Madness (but sans the Lovecraft vibe).

PS: Sorry I missed the start of this thread and wanted to jump on any way I could :P

I looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes. Carpenter is one my favorites. The Fog and Christine are my favorites of his.

In the Mouth of Madness is about an investigator who investigates this missing horror author and sees what the author concieved. My story is close to it, but not completely. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_mouth_of_madness/about.php

I just found out that Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" was written after Dean Koontz's "Darkfall". Both have close plots, but I don't think that the King ripped of the Dean. I believe that the King created his own version of what would happen if a town was trapped in a blizzard with an evil person of some kind. Dean happened to write a novel with that plotline before him.

I think that "Darkfall" is a lot better than "Storm of the Century" so far, I'm still reading it. I hope it doesn't go downhill.

How about The Thing? If you ask me, that's not only his best movie; but just about the greatest, most disturbing horror movie in the history of filmmaking :bowdown:

Trust me, The Thing is not the most disturbing horror movie in the history of filmaking. I happen to know what not only the most disturbing but the most controversial film ever made is. I'll give somebody two Cthulhu's if they can say what it is. Hint: It is banned in some countries.

The Thing was good, but I like the B&W version better. Don't ask why. I'm a sucker for 50's flicks.

You better not be talking about Cannibal Holocaust. The fifties version of the THing was decent, but they cut the shape-shifting out of the story. I think this is one case where technolgy was a big help. John Carpenter's version is able to capture the spirit of the original better.

You get two Cthulhu's Ace. May you do whatever you want with them, just don't piss them off.

I haven't seen Cannibal Holocaust all the way through, I've seen parts of it. It's super disturbing.

Bonus Trivia: the gutted turtle was a real, living turtle. Everythin else is total BS though.

I'll pick Heart, Beating in the Dark. Extremely low budget and no gore, yet so disturbing.

Guinea Pig 1 made me a bit uncomfortable (watched because everyone said how awesome it is), but the movie itself is a piece of trash and very boring. I used to be a fan of gore horror, now I'm more of a psychological horror type. (the first Ju-on anyone? The V-Cinema one.)

Haven't seen the Mordum series of films and believe me, I don't want to.

the two guinea pig films that interest me are woman in a manhole and ... he couldn't die? something along those lines, i forget the title. but yeah, not too big on squirmy films. i thought ju-on was pretty good but overly long. they could have cut it w/ the first part and it would have been great. the whole high school girls part tho was mostly cringe-worthy. there was some good parts to it but by then i just wanted the damn film to be over.

Are we talking about the same movie. Do you mean the one with the caretaker? If yes, then it's actually the third movie in the series. There are 6 movies if you count American remakes.

Ju-on (dubbed The Curse by fans and I was talking about this one) Ju-on 2 (mostly recaps of the first film) Ju-on (his third movie, now with bigger budget) Ju-on 2 The Grudge The Grudge 2

And one coming out soon (Ju-on 3.)

As I understand it, that's because the first two Ju-Ons are made for TV movies. The remakes where theatrical.

it starts off w/ the caretaker, then it goes on to a... i wanna say a hospital, the vengeful spirit grabs a guard while this woman is watching on the security camera, eventually it shows some school girls and one of them stays in her room and puts up newspapers all over the walls, etc etc.

Poe's most famous stories do follow those lines, but if you go through his back catalog you'll find he was a really varied writer. Read "Murders in the Rue Morgue", it's a horror themed detective mystery. Arthur Conan Doyle once said he got inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes character from Poe. And there's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket", an adventure novel. And the short story "Conversation with a Mummy" is about an Egyptian prince who is resurrected 4000 years after his death to discover that the modern world is actually less advanced than he remembers Ancient Egypt being. And that's just his fiction, he wrote a lot of books on cryptology and physics that were really advanced for his time. He was a pretty smart guy.




Yeah, exactly! Lovecraft was about supernatural horror and the inability of mankind to face it while Poe was about psychological horror and insanity.

I can come to terms with that. Lovecraft and Poe were great writers. If they would've gotten together, and lived in the same time period, they would've written a good piece together.

Wasn't Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem based on Lovecraft's work? Either way, I absolutely loved that game. Such a great atmosphere and storyline to it. You might as well pick it up if your looking for Lovecraftian.

I seem to remember having read that somewhere.

Ah, now that game not ever coming out for any other system is Nintendo's way of giving me the finger for all my bashing and such TT___________________________TT Mean Nintendo.

i think eternal darkness just has a few ideas borrowed from lovecraft rather than actually being based on a particular story. it's an awesome game tho, pretty much worth purchasing a gamecube for that alone. (other good gc games include tales of symphonia, resident evil 4, paper mario and animal crossing. i also love my zelda compilation disc, but those games were all released on other consoles.)

Doctor, are there any good GC emulators out? I'm wondering if you could find a pirated version of the game?