Hello all,
I have not played the first The Evil Within game yet, sadly. But the cinematic trailer for the new one is down right stunning. It should be a movie also with that quality, or at least one really creepy psychedelic music video.
I wan't to talk about the setting. In an interview with Pete Hines from Bethesda and the front man of the E3 BethsdaLand Conference it was stated that the scary part of the game or at least most of the game takes place in a virtual reality world. This is GENIUS. To base a horror game in a world that is just beyond where we are in technology can really give it an ominous vibe and feel. With VR technology being on the rise for more than just video games, it's become huge in the adult industry, it has become a new medium for movies to be made for, selling houses, shopping, military, health and sciences, etc. etc. It is only soon that we will have completely virtual worlds like IMVU or Habbo Hotel or even World of Warcraft where we can live another life in VR, like the anime Sword Art Online but not as intense. With the rise of technology and software it all makes this all so much more feasible and scary.
We already have The Dark Net where all the most illegal, scary, and awful things on the internet lay in wait for those who find it (seriously do not go, you will regret it). There has also been a rise in hacker activist groups that stay hidden and hide behind VPNs and Usernames to keep them selves anonymous, now not all groups are for the good of people some are just straight up mean and out for their own benefit. What is to say that these VR worlds that people will soon inhabit will be the target of malicious intent and pranks. Now with the birth of quantum computers on the horizon it is evident that there may be a matrix-esque world where we may very well be able to plug our consciousness into in the future. These cyber worlds are a tricky place to defend and attack but it is possible on both fronts.
What if these worlds are attacked, worlds that we have invested so much time, money, and our selves into. Whether we plug into them or wear headsets, have gear that makes it more 1 to 1 feeling, it will have an impact on us if these worlds become a target. Now what is to say people wont just create these messed up and dark worlds with a face of pleasantry and luxury to lure and trap people. We are delving into a time where we can create totally immersive worlds where people can lose them selves in, but these worlds are worlds that anyone with the know how can alter, attack and disrupt, or even be built to be spiteful or down right evil.
There are already cultures all over the world that daily and by the minute check out of our physical reality and lose them selves in worlds the entertainment we consume made for us, whether it's a show, game, movie, book, forums, or anything really. We run the risk of creating worlds that would be so much easier for people to lose them selves in and become completely obsessed with. There are stories of people that drop out of school due to addictions to World of Warcraft or shut out the world and wreck their bodies but shutting in and neglecting to take care of their body. They lose them selves to all sorts entertainment such as online games like Starcraft, League of Legends, MMOs, to even anime, and shows, to chat rooms and forums. This is something that is prominent, and stories can be found online of peoples experiences going through this obsession.
The Evil Within 2 is not so different. We have a main character that is sucked into a world for getting his daughter back but really any one can be sucked into these worlds for what ever reason is suitable for them. Once people get into these worlds it's hard for them to get out, they live in these worlds completely neglecting the reality we actually physically live in, completely absorbed into it that they become nonfunctional with out it. One crappy world may still be better than the subjectively crappy world they live in reality. As the physical reality we face becomes harder to deal with we find ourselves escaping to new worlds we find in entertainment to get by day by day. It's human nature to avoid such hardships; we built tents to protect us from the weather, we found/invented fire to keep us from the cold, we tamed animals to help us with chores and travel. We also created art on cave walls to tell stories. Info wasn't past on by text books but by folk songs and stories to entertain and teach. It's only natural that we create worlds we can travel to, to avoid our daily hardships of bullies, financial issues, social problems, abuse, or maybe the worst problem: self hate and self esteem. New worlds where the people next door aren't actually there, and now you're the person you wanna be, and that person is an avatar you hide behind.
The people lost in these worlds become easy targets for attacks and malicious intent. We are not so far as to have these worlds more readily available to us today. VR may be young but it has already made such huge advancement, who knows where it will be in a decade or two. Who knows how many people will be lost in new and strange worlds created by people with the intent to draw them in and then hold them there. And the power of VR is immersion. There is no monitor boarder, size, or placement. With VR it's where you are, where you look, where you stand. The immersion of these worlds far surpass the monitor or TV and delve into the world of bad obsession leading to dark and dangerous adventures that can severely damage the psyche or who knows one day the body it self.
The Evil Within 2 is set so close to a reality we can very well be within our lifetime, and much likely much sooner than that. It draws a shocking parallel to our reality and what can happen in the future, and then to think that some one has thought up of all these evil characters, monster, and events and situations meant to scare you and be as messed up and unsettling as possible, but to also attack and kill the main character. What stops anyone from creating the next world you be in to be the same or much more messed up and scary world.
You can find the interview here:
The cinematic trailer can be found here:
I hope you all enjoyed, have a spooky evening and day.