So for this week’s blog there were a couple things that I wanted to talk about. Trying to think of just one had always been something that had proved difficult for me. I could go a more grounded route and talk about how stressed I am about the ACT, or the easier decision of talking about horror games. But I think I have been focusing so much on things that make me negatively anxious, I would say that it is about time to talk about something that made me anxious in a good way. Horror games, or more specifically, one specific creator of horror games, that being puppet combo. So I’m thinking (or at least hoping) that a few of you know what puppet combo games are, but if not I am going to give a short summary. So puppet combo is an indie horror video game creator/producer who has come out with a number of various games in the past year. However, there is something special about this company that puts them apart from others. That being their modern adaptation to a relatively retro style of graphics.
Examples of the graphics:
These graphics are from only three of the various games that puppet combo has come out with.
The first being from their game “bloodwash” the second from a game called “feed me Billy” and finally from a game titled “Murder House” these aren’t just three random games; however, these are among their most popular and successful games. These graphics that are shown aren’t a result of a poor budget or a lackluster producing/coding team, but an intentional choice on the developers’ behalf. This retro and minimalistic style of graphics are meant to induce feelings of not only nostalgia but feelings of fear as well. But what really makes this game so scary is their incredible sound design and use of volume in the games themselves, having not only just loud noises, but an assortment of different terrifying tracks that have been created by developers. And while this is an indie game developing company, this has seen a large amount if success as well as traction, not just from the general audience, but from other small game developers as well, as a result these smaller companies have created a number of different games, one of my favorite games are actually a part of that category. That being a series called fears to fathom.
Images from different additions to the game:
What makes this game unique is that the stories are not created by writers or developers but found off of old subreddits and chat boards on reddit where the user explains their scary experience and developers reach out to them, wishing to turn it into a game. I think that these types of games are so incredible because it proves that you do not need much to create a horrifying environment, and a good horror game.
That’s so cool! I’ve heard of these developer’s games before and have seen their style, and it’s super neat to get a deeper look into that. I’ll have to actually check out their games sometime!
I really like the graphics, and ambience of the photos you showed. I haven’t played many horror games but I’m really interested in this one.