Why do like 95% of anything trying to pull off true lovecraftian horror end up either getting it completely wrong or fall short?
I heard the game "Bloodborn" was very Lovecraftian but no. All it was doing right was some of the imagery. Not even close.
Hollywood seems to not even try. Del Toro has been trying to get a movie of "At the Mountains of Madness" started for years but clearly its risky seeing how Lovecraftian horror is very hard to do correctly let alone get an audience to understand it fully.
Honestly the best Lovecraftian game I have played is a few point and click games but I still cant get fully into these games because I tend to focus on the puzzles or clues and that takes away from the horror aspect.
TLDR cant find any amazing Lovecraftian horror games or film. Too much bullshit parading as Lovecraftian horror. Want too feel completely without hope and horrified in our sheer pointlessness.
Say lovecraftian one more time. You didn't say it enough in that post.
Evan Turner
Topic is about Lovecraftian horror.........soooooo
Jason Nguyen
Don't bother looking into the games or movies that attempt to imitate Lovecraftian horror.
It's one of those things that are damn near impossible to reproduce when adapting it to a completely different media format. The elements that make Lovecraftian iconic and strong are most effective in a narrative format where you are directly inside of the protagonist's head.
Cameron Green
...
Brandon Garcia
Pretty sure you can say 'it' after the third time and people will understand it you sound like a fifth grader attempting to give his first presentation.
Elijah White
Because the horror of lovecraft is about what you can't see. And in most mediums, you can't effectively show "nothing". Also all creators struggle with not showing too much.
James Diaz
Easy ! Play Call of Cthulu the dark corners of the earth, crazy good first part, then the game kind of become a shooter but the mood is still all right
Jeremiah Lopez
Thats true but I feel there can be something good atleast in videogames.
That game "Call of Ctuluh Dark Corners" started very strong. Creeping around dark allys and strange people. Started very good but ends up just being a shooting game.
Shooting Mother Hydra and Dagon? Fucks sake.
Mason Lewis
haha man we had the exact same view of the game
Andrew Martin
I tryed. That shooting kills it for me. Shame. I liked the beginning.
Jose Ross
Its comes down to xenophobia and cosmicism, these two are key for any good lovecraftian based media.
Alexander Bell
The secret world
Camden Rogers
They saif this about lord of the rings ,nad they where able to make it. I dont much about the man or his stories other then the beast in the ocean, cuthulu? I know the name not the spelling sorry if botched. All im saying the right director would need to step in, and it would have to be written a little differently then the books like lord of the rings, but still close enough to the material... hmmm
Lucas Ortiz
Sorry should have proof read this. My fat fingers and my phone keypad dont mix...
Angel Robinson
Yeah i've been seing that too, i guess it's just too hard or would take too much effort for them to make a quality movie/game, though i really liked the 2005 silent film, i think it's the only attempt of a lovecraftian movie that went in the right diraction.
Henry Campbell
I think there is a new game coming out but who knows if it will be any good.
Problems I generally have are games focus so much on the "bad guy" where Lovecraft didn't really have a actual "bad guy" more if a.....very unsettling mood I guess with the "things" serving mostly as a connection to the unknowable.
Surely very hard to pull of outside of a book but I think it can be done.
Camden Brooks
my theory is that the whole fallout universe is based on a divergence in the IRL timeline where hp lovecraft works werent actually published, but some of his fantasies are actually real.
Liam Young
Ill look into that thanks
Parker Watson
You clearly haven't read his stories, do that and you'll understand why it's almost impossible, he just has such a special and different style of writing that i really can't blame producers and devs for not making more stuff involving his brilliant creations.
Mason Cooper
Darkest Dungeon maybe. I only read a few of short stories, so I'm no expert, but I'd say the game has at least traces of the magic you seek.
Tyler Reyes
Problem with the Lotr and Lovecraft is they are not comparable. Thotr is in simple terms a fantasy story. Not hard honestly to pull of. Just a bunch of fanboys worrying if it woyld be butchered.
Lovecrafts style of horror requirements are for sure much stricter than throwing in a monster from outer space ir under the ocean. Most if the horrors come from what we can never know or explain.
Alexander King
Not op, but i have read all of his stories and played darkest dungeon and i have to say that it's a great game, but i personally didn't get that amazing feeling that i got reading his masterpieces.
Thomas Myers
The Amnesia series, endless ocean ( the latter fucking creepy Imo)
Justin Martin
What is the story called that contains cuthulu? Ill look for it tomorrow.
Parker Powell
I was beginning to think I was just being picky but I honestly try to like new Lovecraftian media but I cant love any of it for the most part and that sucks. Its like my Half life 3. I just keep waiting.
Isaac Smith
Bloodborne actually did a great job at it imo. The game starts off as a pretty standard 'hurr durr there is a disease making people mad and turn in to beasts' or whatever but as the game progresses the Lovecraftian elements begin to manifest. The enemy design is fantastic, the cosmic themes are great and everything is vague and leaves you wondering and most of the story plot is left either to the imagination of the player or within cryptic clues left in the description of in game items. Sure, it isn't extremely lovecraftian but it takes the right elements.
Caleb King
> All it was doing right was some of the imagery
Well, yeah, that's sort of all that they set out to do in regard to being "Lovecraftian".
If Bloodborne was actually true to Lovecraft, you would spend most of the game not encountering any monsters, just weird humans.
Try Call of Cthulhu:Dark Corners of the Earth. It's about as close as you will get.
Camden Rogers
Exactly, i mean for example in call of cthulhu, the words unpronauncable, unearthly, undescribable, strange .... and tons of other similar ones are used so often that it would be close to impossible to make a movie fitting the standards of todays spoiled society that only needs some action and entertainment that requires the minimum amount of thinking,
Nathaniel Cruz
Its more "Dream cycle" then "Cthulhu Mythos".. A true lovecraftian game would have you helpless, the "baddies" shouldn't / couldn't be killed.
Blake Rivera
The call of cthullhu
But don't just go for the famous titles, all of his stories and genius.
Lincoln Rodriguez
The Call of Ctuluh
But I recommend reading "The shadow over innsmouth" or "Dagon" 1st.
TCOC is not an easy read. Strange narrative and it jumps around alot. One of those stories you have to read again and fully understand. Its a great story but not the best to start with in my opinion.
Oh also try "The Dunwich Horror"
Jose Murphy
Lord of the Rings isn't that simple though. The lore behind it is vast and specific, if they got it wrong it just wouldn't be right.
This seems to contain free audio books of his stories.
Tyler Sullivan
The consuming shadow (a little game from the zero punctuation guy) might be an option
Aaron Watson
Hmmm well that guy is generally picky. Ill look into it. Thanks.
Xavier Reed
Yeah, i guess we'll just have to stick with the original stories, which might not even be that bad, lovecraft is prolly the only writer whose books haven't yet been shadowed by pathetic movies made for 12 yrold girls with the only purpose of making money.
Austin Walker
You can't really kill the baddies though. You can kill the lesser ones, sure, but you know for a fact in the game that there are beings that you can neither see nor hear that have greater control in the grand scheme of things, like Kos and Oedon. Even the idea of you gaining so much insight in to the world that you ascend and become a 'great one' as an ending was a great concept.
Jack Lewis
Yeah, but do you really think that it would sell, kids only wan't brainless action and flashing images.
Liam Evans
Dat sequence when you run from the villagers and try to bar the doors.
Blake Lewis
Thank you, screen captured and download an audio book version right now.
I have ideas for stories, but not much of a reader, guess i need to read more to learn how to put my ideas on paper, eh?
Sebastian Miller
True. Maybe I dont want to see Hollywood try now haha.
Than again in interviews Del Toro seems to really understand Lovecrafts work. If anyone can pull off a good Lovecraftian movie its Del Toro.
Thats if he gets the money and the Studio didn't fuck with him. Not holding my breath.
Noah Reyes
ROFL Met autistic chick-Genuine autism, medically diagnosed. Wanted to write Happy ending Cthulu stories...
I tried to fuck her, she cried ;)
Jonathan King
read "Dagon", the story is short and grasps the basics of Lovecraftian horror. If you're still interested read "Shadow over Innsmouth" move to "Call of Cthulhu" then "At the Mountains of Madness" . I would call those the basics on the mythos.
Camden Scott
Definitely, but if you're not much into literature you might have a hard time with lovecraft, his writing is very unusual.
Jace Morgan
Yeah, but he seems to back oit of stuff like he did to the hobbit.... god it sucked. Lotr all 3 amazing, at least to me... hobbit kill it with a shotgun.
Brandon Richardson
To be fair, you have to consider that it is a soulslike game so obviously it involves a lot of combat. They still did the genre justice imo.
Xavier Sanchez
Ey, i´m a lovecraft lover too OP. Nice to find nother on, try this bro. Amnesi 1 (not the second one, is shit comparing the first). Soma, This two games are great, very similar in lovecraft books points, but ofcourse they are independient, with good history, but not from H. P . book. And by the way, there is even a manga called Berserk, who is very similar to lovecraft confusion/horror, especially at the end. That´s it. (there is an anime, and 3 movies of it too)
Jaxon Ortiz
Mjeaaah, but its more a question of scale. In three movies? They just had to follow the books, remove some of the excess and PRESTO! The mood and themes arent that hard to covey. Maybe the rings influence, but I mean, all the battles and the scenerey? I mean I couldnt do it ofc and you need talent and tons of money, but it doesnt feel that hard to convey into a movie.
Elijah Brown
Let's hope.
Samuel Rogers
...
Elijah Russell
Monstrum is a good lovecraftian game.
Oliver Campbell
King of yellow references 80%
Noah Ortiz
To be honest I have wrote 1 story and had it published in a small Dallas Texas Lovecraft fan magazine.
My biggest problem writing my story was not coming up with a good plot ir setting the mood. It was trying to stay true to Lovecrafts style while also trying to not feel like a hack. Constantly asking myself if all I was doing was ripping off Lovecrafts work.
Its hard. I mean you are trying to write a story in a geanra named after the man who started it while trying to not rip the man off. Jesus haha
Easton Taylor
The problem was they didn't really follow the books. It was catered to a Hollywood audience so they changed a lot, even going as far as creating new characters. You'd think it would be fairly easy, right?
Cameron Cook
Yeah that was nice. Very much like the hotel escape in the shadow over innsmouth
Colton Peterson
I agree, But, its more like HP's "Dream Cycles" IE Dreams of Unknown Kadath.
Jonathan Wood
What? What a dumb ass kek
Adam James
Thank you screen captured. Will look into it for sure. My reading comprehension is rather good, just dont enjoy reading. The words seem to mesh, and im just reading words with out me absorbing the meanings and what not. Im not able to imagine myself in the story as my dad puts it, and i have a strong imagination to. Maybe my comprehension is not as good as i think. I read all the lotr books, and honestly i understood them much better after the movies. :/
Oliver Collins
Ill for sure check out the manga. Weeb it out a bit maybe kek
Brody Scott
After the basics I mentioned, read Shadows out of Time. This stories I didn't bring up are amazing, but, its more or less the filler for HP's loose cannon.... Also please read his poems and letters..
Justin Powell
I have the idea of the story, just no clue how to put thoughts onto paper. I over think everything in my life, and writing my story is just another thing. Awesome that you got a story published, and from what i have read from the thread his stories are not easy. I often find ideas i think are orginal have been used l, its cool to discovering it, knowing my ideas have merit l, but sucks because i feel as its back to squre one.
Brody Kelly
Screen capped. I just downloaded the call for cthulhu audio book. And I will down load all the other suggestions along with it. Seems his stories are public domain or something they are rather easy to find.
Owen Brooks
I too am writing a series of Lovecraftian horror stories, I feel the way to write these types of horror are to step outside of yourself and into your character. You have to feel their fear, taste the dank air of the crypt or feel the humidity on your skin as they trudge through a swamp. Your heart really does have to be in the story to not directly copy some of the tropes of Lovecraft whole also playing to his themes and overarching stories. Study his writing style, learn about some of the mistakes he would make while writing and avoid those, that already is step in not directly parroting him so don't let the aspect of the writing take too much sway from your story. If you like a series of events or a setting. Use it, don't worry if it'll be compared back on Lovecrafts work and people pick out similarities, that's the whole point, is to replicate the horror feel and air of reading a Lovecraft story, to feel like the insignificant hairless ape we are.
Parker Smith
Here, I love these two guys. Simply amazing. hppodcraft.com/
Camden Bennett
MY FUCKING NIGGA.
Ok, here's some advice.
>Stop looking for a true Lovecraftian horror in computer games. The target demographic for 90% of them is ADHD 15 year old boys. If you genuinely expect a computer game to engage with the mythos and Lovecraft's underlying themes at any level beyond 'hurr durr muh tentacles' you're sorely mistaken.
>If you haven't already, read Thomas Ligotti. The man is a genius, and the true inheritor of Lovecraft's crown. His work isnt easily digestible - it's surreal, abstract, almost like a literary take on the work of David Lynch in many ways - but he captures the feeling of existential dread inherent to Lovecraft perfectly. He has some almist Kafka-esque themes too, which kind of compliments the Lovecraftian nihilism in a way - it's not a huge leap from 'man adrift in an uncaring unfeeling universe' to 'man adrift in an uncaring, unfeeling corporate / bureauocratic / legal system'.
>True Detective season 1 is absolutely fantastic, and manages to engage with Lovecraftian themes of nihilism, existential dread and despair without once making recourse to lowest common denominator wibbly-tentacled monsters.
What helps me write. I am working on a few more after my 1st, trying to get 5 published then publish 10 as a book together as a collection.
1st) try writing on blank paper. Let the prn flow anywhere. No lines. It ends up looking a bit nuts and feeds into the mad man writing about unknowable horrors idea. At least for me.
2) If you drink try writing buzzed. It lhelped me feel relaxed and a bit care free.
3) Go for late night walks. Something may inspire you. After all the oldest fear is of the unknown and in the dark there is olenty of thoughts that may rush threw your head.
4) really get into a few of the.....lore books. Grasp them. Remember what got you too feel uneasy and go back and try to figure out how he did it.
5) lastly try to attatch a personal geeling or some aspect of yourself into your work. Put yourself in the narrators shoes. It can help you feel when and how to write meaning "does this unsettle me or put me in an uneasy state?"
James Jackson
This is true, at the heart of every Lovecraftian tale there is a xenophobic element that cannot be repeated in today's media.
Cooper Young
I LOVE YOU MY NIGGA
Gavin Richardson
...
Ryan Evans
If you want to get into Lovecraft's mind set when he was writing the first Mythos stories; Move to Deerborn michigan. Also youtube.com/watch?v=MrHgZRGLgo0 listen to the lyrics.
Sebastian Ramirez
>hurr durr muh tentacles
Ex-fucking-actly, Why would we want another great story completely ruined, by kids having cthulhu as a final boss in some game and 14 yrold girls starting a r'yleh fanclub or some shit like that, it happened with lotr, harry potter and so many others already.
>inb4 'well what about terraria'
It's different, all i have to say.
Liam Green
Yeah I generally have gotten over the feeling of a hack if you will. After my 1st story anyway. I put in a brotherhood story mixed with a bit of military life to ground it in my life so as to connect it with mysrlf in a way.
After that the story just csme and after some time I felt confident. After reading how Lovecraft himself didn't feel happy with alot of his work I began to think how crazy he was for not seeing the merit in his stories. If he was that hard on himself maybe I was doing the same thing to myself.
Huh. Pleasantly Surprised to have so many people on Sup Forums talking about Lovecraft haha
Carter Rivera
Re-Animator This was a great movie, but a lot of people say it was his worst
Jace Torres
Well i mean you could, but i really think you should start with dagon as some other user said beofre.
Not Lovecraft related in terms of content, characters, settings but for videogames? Penumbra series and the spiritual successor Amnesia do a good job of insanity and fear brought about by what you feel and hear but can't see (for the most part). It's not perfect but it's something in case you haven't played them.
Jordan Russell
whisperer in the dark' movie wasnt half bad imo.
but the acting is kinda b-rate
Parker Cooper
Lovecraft wrote the Re-Animator as a black comedy, He submitted it in a comedy pulp. The movie was an update to the story.. I guess the producers didn't find it fresh enough.
Sebastian Adams
Oh yeah, i totally forgot about that one, it was good indeed. (not op)
Isaiah Wood
I still can't recommend this podcast enough, please everyone here check it out. hppodcraft.com/
Dylan Hernandez
Online stream Dagon is 42 Shadow over Innsmouth is 89 & 90 Call of Cthulhu is 13 & 18 At the Mountains of Madness is 35
Shadows out of Time. 3,7,11,16 & 22.
This is so i have a reference, but any lurkers reading this thread and want to follow the recommendations provided here you go.
Isaac Hill
Dagon was well done. As was Colour from the Darkness (a renaming of the Color out of Space). The Kindred (not the one about vampires) was well done but good luck finding the 1979 film.
Bentley Ortiz
That's what I was thinking too haha. And yes him not even liking his own stories and being his own worst critic really opened myself up to taking risks with my stories and not hiding them away if I alone didn't like them. Also, if you have some you can text or send bits of story to who also writes or is an interested reader can be a great boon because a second opinion can really rattle the whole my story is no good and never will be feelings we all get. Grounding it to your life is always a plus. Makes the little details pop, something someone who didn't experience it the way you did wouldn't have bothered to mention, missing just that extra but important bit of imagery, symbolism, you name it. My favorite thing to do while writing these stories is to listen to horror core rap like early tech n9ne and angry fucked up eminem songs mixed in with other heavily lyrical songs that still portray an underlying malevolent tone or have a flow that matches the pace of my writing. Everyone has their thing but I'd suggest try out some different music mixes to see if they affect how well you feel you've written.
Evan Morales
Welcome to Night Vale has a cosmic horror vibe.
Jace Ross
I know youre a child which is why you not only browse Sup Forums but keep repeating "lovecraftian" ( not to mention not even being able to name bloodborne correctly) but your problem is being a retard- stop looking for "le lovecraftian" things
youre the equal of some retarded child posting in youtube comments about how the next deus ex is a "cod ripof." Lovecraft didnt invent cosmic horror albeit kids like you think so because of his reddit status/ being the most mainstream/ devoted one to it
lovecrafts "imagery" is barely existent and nothing to write home about had you actually read a single piece of his works. Only in his later stories did he start to describe anything further than "big black nigger, too black to describe" and those are the ones fondly remembered and praised (shadow over innsmouth, the color out of space etc)
lovecraft wrote stories ranging from vampires to cosmic horror- children like you label cosmic horror as "lovecraftian" now to sound more intelligent albeit it only shows that you think lovecraft invented the fear of the unknown or tentacle monsters
Levi Bell
Lovecraft is overrated
Lincoln Sanchez
...
Ayden Reed
IMO the Colour from "Colour out of space" was HP's favorite creations, and I would have to say it is his best. The "Colour" best / purest Lovecraftian entity/entities.
Brody Diaz
Very true.
Personally I listen to Gregorian chants (that old Christian style of singing) even though im an Atheist I get an old world feel from that music. Also I will listen to a Lovecraft Documentary I often while drinking whisky.
We have our different ways I guess but in the end were all wanting that feeling that only Lovecraft's stories gave us.
Austin Reed
Wow...check out the size of the fedora on this cunt...
Evan Mitchell
Meh, Lovecraftian horror, Cosmic horror, "Cosmicism" call it what you want.
Hunter Adams
fedoralords are exactly the ones memeing about lovecraft
anyone in the /lit/ world would laugh you out and anyone who knows about horror will know that youre a retarded kid for thinking that lovecraft invented space horrors
Its the same thing as calling all FPS games CoDian games
Owen Stewart
Not op, but i think you're right to some point, but mainly just too harsh and edgy.
Give us some writers, from his 'category' that you think are 'something to write home about'.
James Lewis
Not CoDian games, more like Doomian? Wolfen / Wulfian games?
William Barnes
So you just put random pics in fedora edgy hipster retracting posts with no actual points other than you are right because you are...........differing in opinion.
Yeah. I think I know who the kid is in this thread.
Brayden Morales
Lovecraftian didn't invent "Space horror" his horror is more of the fear of the unknown. Hp brought it to the for front, the "genre" arose out of the camp of the dying Gothic horror of the late 19th/ early 20th century.
Gabriel Thompson
Please...some of those fucks might like Lovecraft, but only a true fucking faggot would go on a spiel like that about how Lovecraft sucks hoping to prove he has the biggest fedora of them all and that he can pound mountain dew like no other. Face it, even IF you think you're not one of those fags...you are.
Samuel Sullivan
it's not all about "space horrors" though, is it???