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Every Survival Horror game puts you (the player) into the boots of a vulnerable(ish) man or woman who finds him or herself (for whatever reason) battling against hoards of monstrosities hellbent of murder.
....And even though the Survival Horror genre has recently been over-flooded with samey and mediocre titles, when done well, this style of game is very popular, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But Survival Horror has reached a crossroads: "more of the same" is now not really acceptable or desired.
The genre has reached stagnation point - it's time for a rethink.
So how do you give the Survival Horror genre a much needed facelift?
How should the now all-too-familiar structure of Survival Horror games evolve?
The answer is simple: YOU PLACE THE PLAYER IN THE ROLE OF A MONSTER.
....Or a ghost, or whatever the festering and lurking evil happens to be.
The main object of the game would STILL be to "survive", it's just that this way your enemies would be intelligent humans armed with powerful weapons instead of bumbling zombies armed only with an irrational bloodlust.
Personally I would like to see the player take the form of a shape-shifting creature.
Perhaps soliders have sealed off a large area, and you (being the monster) would have to escape from this heavily guarded zone alive.
Being a shape-shifting monster, many guises and attack methods would be available to you.
Perhaps you could possess different life-forms and attain their abilities and characteristics for a limited time.
I think it would be really refreshing if YOU were the one who was responsible for causing all the gruesome slaughter and random bloodshed.
I have tried to think of a game which puts the player in this role, and I can't.
So it's original, and it's so so obvious.
Many people are getting excited about the new Resident Evil game coming to the GameCube, but let's face it, the sun is setting on Resident Evil and games of that ilk - they have had their day.
It's time for the Survival Horror genre to evolve, and placing the player in the role of a monster whose sole purpose would be to stay alive and escape at any cost is the obvious next step.
....And even though the Survival Horror genre has recently been over-flooded with samey and mediocre titles, when done well, this style of game is very popular, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But Survival Horror has reached a crossroads: "more of the same" is now not really acceptable or desired.
The genre has reached stagnation point - it's time for a rethink.
So how do you give the Survival Horror genre a much needed facelift?
How should the now all-too-familiar structure of Survival Horror games evolve?
The answer is simple: YOU PLACE THE PLAYER IN THE ROLE OF A MONSTER.
....Or a ghost, or whatever the festering and lurking evil happens to be.
The main object of the game would STILL be to "survive", it's just that this way your enemies would be intelligent humans armed with powerful weapons instead of bumbling zombies armed only with an irrational bloodlust.
Personally I would like to see the player take the form of a shape-shifting creature.
Perhaps soliders have sealed off a large area, and you (being the monster) would have to escape from this heavily guarded zone alive.
Being a shape-shifting monster, many guises and attack methods would be available to you.
Perhaps you could possess different life-forms and attain their abilities and characteristics for a limited time.
I think it would be really refreshing if YOU were the one who was responsible for causing all the gruesome slaughter and random bloodshed.
I have tried to think of a game which puts the player in this role, and I can't.
So it's original, and it's so so obvious.
Many people are getting excited about the new Resident Evil game coming to the GameCube, but let's face it, the sun is setting on Resident Evil and games of that ilk - they have had their day.
It's time for the Survival Horror genre to evolve, and placing the player in the role of a monster whose sole purpose would be to stay alive and escape at any cost is the obvious next step.
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But if you were a monster, and you just ran, it would be because of developers mis-using the idea!
Like the man says in his first post, what if you were like The Thing, and could take on the form of anything which you had encountered. It would add a real tactical edge to it, that you simply couldn't have as a human character.
Wise choices of who to look like could have you gain access to other areas, a poor choice could have you discovered, so you'd have to fight for your life until you had the opportunity to take on another form.
There would be potential for differnet gamelay elements in playing a non-standard character, especially if you throw a different storyline at it.
Like the man says in his first post, what if you were like The Thing, and could take on the form of anything which you had encountered. It would add a real tactical edge to it, that you simply couldn't have as a human character.
Wise choices of who to look like could have you gain access to other areas, a poor choice could have you discovered, so you'd have to fight for your life until you had the opportunity to take on another form.
There would be potential for differnet gamelay elements in playing a non-standard character, especially if you throw a different storyline at it.
Wouldn't the player being a monster just really mean seeing some different graphics though ? In terms of gameplay it wouldn't - I don't think - make any difference to the genre.
Players would still control a lone, vulnerable individual in a location and would have to use force, stealth and solve puzzles to progress. Being an almighty monster wouldn't work because if the player's character is too powerful and opposition - i.e. the humans - wouldn't be a threat to the player so we'd all finish it in record time. A large part of survival games see the player having to run from enemies and being a monster wouldn't change that significantly, apart from the human would be chasing instead of being chased ! So graphically it'd be new - you'd be able to take out the oppostiion in newer, violent ways, and it'd be anovelty, but I don't think it'd change the genre all that much because the basic gameplay elements would stay the same.
Players would still control a lone, vulnerable individual in a location and would have to use force, stealth and solve puzzles to progress. Being an almighty monster wouldn't work because if the player's character is too powerful and opposition - i.e. the humans - wouldn't be a threat to the player so we'd all finish it in record time. A large part of survival games see the player having to run from enemies and being a monster wouldn't change that significantly, apart from the human would be chasing instead of being chased ! So graphically it'd be new - you'd be able to take out the oppostiion in newer, violent ways, and it'd be anovelty, but I don't think it'd change the genre all that much because the basic gameplay elements would stay the same.
I mentioned, in another thread, a game in which you venture into Castle Frankenstein to destroy the monster, I guess with this thread we could play the opposite game, being Frankenstein's monster.
Now this has potential, you'd start off not really knowing who or what you are, just wake on the operating table, control would even be a bit heavy at first, as you find your feet. Once you see your reflection you begin to understand. But then you hear voices, hundreds of people are storming the castle, and you must escape. Only, you can't hurt anyone, or they'll continue to see you as a monster. No, the object of the game would be to prove that you're not evil, by doing good, and avoiding those monsterists that see you as evil!
Or, sticking with castles and classic horror, why not be Count Dracula. A dwindling vampire population needs you to travel deep into suburban Transylvania, and turn a bunch of young virgins into vampires by biting their necks. Only girls these days are a little stronger minded than those of years gone by, they don't leave huge balcony windows open, and flutter their eyelids at you.
Worse still, Buffy has just arrived in town. Better still, each level sees you fight off the threat of different vampire hunters, including Peter Cushing, and the Frog brother's from the Lost Boys!
Now this has potential, you'd start off not really knowing who or what you are, just wake on the operating table, control would even be a bit heavy at first, as you find your feet. Once you see your reflection you begin to understand. But then you hear voices, hundreds of people are storming the castle, and you must escape. Only, you can't hurt anyone, or they'll continue to see you as a monster. No, the object of the game would be to prove that you're not evil, by doing good, and avoiding those monsterists that see you as evil!
Or, sticking with castles and classic horror, why not be Count Dracula. A dwindling vampire population needs you to travel deep into suburban Transylvania, and turn a bunch of young virgins into vampires by biting their necks. Only girls these days are a little stronger minded than those of years gone by, they don't leave huge balcony windows open, and flutter their eyelids at you.
Worse still, Buffy has just arrived in town. Better still, each level sees you fight off the threat of different vampire hunters, including Peter Cushing, and the Frog brother's from the Lost Boys!
Every Survival Horror game puts you (the player) into the boots of a vulnerable(ish) man or woman who finds him or herself (for whatever reason) battling against hoards of monstrosities hellbent of murder.
....And even though the Survival Horror genre has recently been over-flooded with samey and mediocre titles, when done well, this style of game is very popular, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But Survival Horror has reached a crossroads: "more of the same" is now not really acceptable or desired.
The genre has reached stagnation point - it's time for a rethink.
So how do you give the Survival Horror genre a much needed facelift?
How should the now all-too-familiar structure of Survival Horror games evolve?
The answer is simple: YOU PLACE THE PLAYER IN THE ROLE OF A MONSTER.
....Or a ghost, or whatever the festering and lurking evil happens to be.
The main object of the game would STILL be to "survive", it's just that this way your enemies would be intelligent humans armed with powerful weapons instead of bumbling zombies armed only with an irrational bloodlust.
Personally I would like to see the player take the form of a shape-shifting creature.
Perhaps soliders have sealed off a large area, and you (being the monster) would have to escape from this heavily guarded zone alive.
Being a shape-shifting monster, many guises and attack methods would be available to you.
Perhaps you could possess different life-forms and attain their abilities and characteristics for a limited time.
I think it would be really refreshing if YOU were the one who was responsible for causing all the gruesome slaughter and random bloodshed.
I have tried to think of a game which puts the player in this role, and I can't.
So it's original, and it's so so obvious.
Many people are getting excited about the new Resident Evil game coming to the GameCube, but let's face it, the sun is setting on Resident Evil and games of that ilk - they have had their day.
It's time for the Survival Horror genre to evolve, and placing the player in the role of a monster whose sole purpose would be to stay alive and escape at any cost is the obvious next step.
....And even though the Survival Horror genre has recently been over-flooded with samey and mediocre titles, when done well, this style of game is very popular, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But Survival Horror has reached a crossroads: "more of the same" is now not really acceptable or desired.
The genre has reached stagnation point - it's time for a rethink.
So how do you give the Survival Horror genre a much needed facelift?
How should the now all-too-familiar structure of Survival Horror games evolve?
The answer is simple: YOU PLACE THE PLAYER IN THE ROLE OF A MONSTER.
....Or a ghost, or whatever the festering and lurking evil happens to be.
The main object of the game would STILL be to "survive", it's just that this way your enemies would be intelligent humans armed with powerful weapons instead of bumbling zombies armed only with an irrational bloodlust.
Personally I would like to see the player take the form of a shape-shifting creature.
Perhaps soliders have sealed off a large area, and you (being the monster) would have to escape from this heavily guarded zone alive.
Being a shape-shifting monster, many guises and attack methods would be available to you.
Perhaps you could possess different life-forms and attain their abilities and characteristics for a limited time.
I think it would be really refreshing if YOU were the one who was responsible for causing all the gruesome slaughter and random bloodshed.
I have tried to think of a game which puts the player in this role, and I can't.
So it's original, and it's so so obvious.
Many people are getting excited about the new Resident Evil game coming to the GameCube, but let's face it, the sun is setting on Resident Evil and games of that ilk - they have had their day.
It's time for the Survival Horror genre to evolve, and placing the player in the role of a monster whose sole purpose would be to stay alive and escape at any cost is the obvious next step.
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