Although I've never played it, Alan Wake also leans into small-town vibes as well as having a horror writer as the protagonist. I can only assume it was somewhat inspired by King and Carpenter and probably more.
Also, apologies for being behind on Calibray. I have a stack of Stacks to catch up on at the moment!
Hit the nail on the head here. I think that sense of claustrophobia that a small town affords is super important to horror. Lovecraft did this really well too with the likes of Innsmouth.
Ahh those classics, love them. It's all about suspense, and what better way to build suspense than by showing something familiar, a small commune, idyllic, boring, mundane, that gets invaded by the unspeakable. Take Poltergeist. That opening scene, the family household, falling asleep in front of the TV, the dog looking for biscuits, the little girl coming downstairs and sitting down in front of the static, lots of stuff happening, boring stuff some might say and then she talks to the static... WTF? Suspense in these intimate and sacred of all places is heightened because it is more relatable and thus more effective, and threatening. Great piece, Matt!
It’s interesting to see how much thought and intentionality form the foundation of The Calibray Job. How did that come about? Did you write first, then revise with all of this thought involved? Or did you write second, after forming your intentions?
Or is it a totally different approach?
“In describing the town, I wanted to evoke the sense that the town was rotting. Not dead, so much as dying. Constantly dying.”
You definitely succeeded in giving the town that feel, especially the constantly dying sense.
Totally agree, Matt.
Although I've never played it, Alan Wake also leans into small-town vibes as well as having a horror writer as the protagonist. I can only assume it was somewhat inspired by King and Carpenter and probably more.
Also, apologies for being behind on Calibray. I have a stack of Stacks to catch up on at the moment!
Alan Wake Remastered is in the Monthly Free selection on PSN Plus. Installed yesterday.
Nice!
The trailers and gameplay of the sequel look most impressive. (I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to horror games, though.)
No Resident Evil VR for you then? 🧟♀️
100% nope!! 😅
🤣🤣 looks great in PSVR2! Gotta at least try, go down the basement... 😈😈
Hit the nail on the head here. I think that sense of claustrophobia that a small town affords is super important to horror. Lovecraft did this really well too with the likes of Innsmouth.
My thoughts also turned straight to Innsmouth.
Ahh those classics, love them. It's all about suspense, and what better way to build suspense than by showing something familiar, a small commune, idyllic, boring, mundane, that gets invaded by the unspeakable. Take Poltergeist. That opening scene, the family household, falling asleep in front of the TV, the dog looking for biscuits, the little girl coming downstairs and sitting down in front of the static, lots of stuff happening, boring stuff some might say and then she talks to the static... WTF? Suspense in these intimate and sacred of all places is heightened because it is more relatable and thus more effective, and threatening. Great piece, Matt!
It’s interesting to see how much thought and intentionality form the foundation of The Calibray Job. How did that come about? Did you write first, then revise with all of this thought involved? Or did you write second, after forming your intentions?
Or is it a totally different approach?
“In describing the town, I wanted to evoke the sense that the town was rotting. Not dead, so much as dying. Constantly dying.”
You definitely succeeded in giving the town that feel, especially the constantly dying sense.