Secrets and the supernatural

[Anne Arlington]

I don't know if this has been posted already, but I would love to see a subtle element of the supernatural in the game. Nothing overt, but the kind of thing a person might imagine (or NOT imagine) if they were stuck alone in a post-disaster environment where everyone is dead. Shadows, bits of half-audible conversation in the emptied homes, innocent laughter by the swingset, fleeting glimpses of light that look like the trapper surveying his territory, ect. Maybe something akin to the ghosts in Dear Esther.

Likewise, I would love to see 'secrets' that a player could stumble across in the game...old Native American ruins, old letters, little lost treasures; I don't know, just things the player could discover and think 'woah!' That would add a little bit more personality to the game.

Anyone with me?

[Jens LN]

Personally, I would rather not see a supernatural element to it.

However, finding stuff like old letters, and stuff indicating how this cold area ended up being all abandoned, would be neat. Even if those people *thought* it was something supernatural, even though it would turn out not to be, it would still be cool.

But then, I rather suspect all those clickable radio's will be for something .. eventually. :)
Who knows, some day we may even be able to read the newspapers ?

[Anne Arlington]

Well, I was kind of hoping if there were supernatural elements to the game, it would be things that could be interpreted as tricks of the mind. After all, is it unreasonable to think that any person in real life could be out in the snowy wilderness all alone with abandoned buildings and dead people nearby and NOT imagine that they hear or see things? The character could even say something like: "Woah...I must be seein' things." Then again, a player like me would be just as glad to believe those things are 'real' in terms of the game. Open to interpretation, hmm? Anyway, I think that would be cool.

[moreglue]

Not a bad idea. Maybe more of a sanity thing as time goes on though? As one begins to struggle with being alone for so long, start seeing things. Maybe a bigfoot just beyond reach or hearing things while walking or seeing a ghost flash in a building...

[robin2u]

Or a headless Fluffy (oooooooooBoo). Really though, parts of the game give me spooky shivers (it's the music, absolutely mood enhancing).
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=436392938

[Hotzn]

Who knows - maybe the aurorae which caused the disaster have something supernatural about them. We'll see when the story mode is released.

[HyphenTorpedo]

The tricks of the mind sound good to me. Would be nice to hear or see things that aren't there, makes it much scarier when they actually are there!

As for the supernatural, if mods are ever made for the game then I'd be quite happy to see one adding a few supernatural elements, otherwise I think it's better to keep it questionable, like someone else suggested.

[robin2u]

Well, our Will could perhaps be already having such mind tricks, since most of the female photos in all the houses look like his past lady love, Anna.

[SaltyStoryteller]

There's already talk of keeping up your psychological health... Ritual and mysticism helped early peoples, so why not now? Little shaman charms and totems to bring peace of mind, or increase the odds of a successful hunt, perhaps? Nothing seriously overt, like glowy lights or stuff, but the aurora itself already gives the game a slightly mystical feel. 'Echos' of past survivors or animals might be interesting... Just something for players to see and draw their own conclusions and supersitions from.

If the devs wanted to be super-cool, they'd watch to see what the players start to believe about that ghostly deer they half-glimpsed in the moonlight and then create some in-game system from that, like crafting a deer-skull totem to the King of the Forest, to reduce the number of wolves you come across by a little...

[moreglue]

Jens LN eredeti hozzászólása:

Personally, I would rather not see a supernatural element to it.

However, finding stuff like old letters, and stuff indicating how this cold area ended up being all abandoned, would be neat. Even if those people *thought* it was something supernatural, even though it would turn out not to be, it would still be cool.

But then, I rather suspect all those clickable radio's will be for something .. eventually. :)
Who knows, some day we may even be able to read the newspapers ?

I was just thinking about this. Originally, I thought it would be cool to have a book of short stories in each map that you could read on those boring nights when you have nothing to do. Then thought along your lines but of a diary in each map, written by 3 different people explaining what happened to them and their area when the storm hit, from their perspective. Gives something to do when you're caught up with things (reading) and could add an interesting element. Maybe there could be some cryptic messages in the diaries as well, which could lead you to discover some new item or passage into a new map (if there will be any more). Supposing you could figure out the "riddle" as it were.

And yes, I too hope something comes of those radios.

[TunnelNugget]

I think some passive eeriness would be cool but I also think the game would be just as good without it. I wouldn't really care which way the developers went with it but I definitely agree with have some secret areas around the map waiting to be discovered. Maybe some subtle puzzles you don't notice at first and in later playthroughs you find out that there's a secret switch which opens a door that leads to a cave with loot and clues as to how everyone died.

[dasebastian]

In the first moment I read of supernatural moments like shadows and whispering I thought, yes great. But after rethinking it, it seems a bit dangerous to me (for the gamepllay). Guess what would happen after the fifth whisper or shadow in the dark? You would think: a, yea, well, anyways.

If they add something like that, it really should just happen - let's say 2 or three times a 100 day run, and NEVER in the same spot and NEVER the same, so that it really confuses u and let u back with the feeling "WTH was that?!".

In my personal point of view, they really did it well already with the music.

But, as said in another thread, things like snow crushing down from trees, or suddenly in the middle of the night in a blizzard outside a window in your cosy home bursts - THAT would be frightning!

Just my point of view.

And to the riddles. I dont know, I think, I wouldnt mind them, I had better things to do, like getting that da*n wolf and make it home before darkness...

[MrBigCookie]

no no no no noooo!! i'm so utterly, utterly sick of all this supernatural bull. It's everywhere today, if it's not zombies it's outright ghosts and spirits and whatnot. can't we have ONE SINGLE GAME without it!? just pure, REALISTIC survival -.-

[robin2u]

MrBigCookie eredeti hozzászólása:

no no no no noooo!! i'm so utterly, utterly sick of all this supernatural bull. It's everywhere today, if it's not zombies it's outright ghosts and spirits and whatnot. can't we have ONE SINGLE GAME without it!? just pure, REALISTIC survival -.-

Ayup. It is called The Long Dark. LOL

[MrBigCookie]

I'm sorry for being so blunt, it was late and i was very tired, my apologies. It's how i feel deep down however. I'm all for secrets and 'lore' (magazine, books, diaries etc) but i really hope the devs don't add anything close to supernatural elements, there is enough games on the market like that already.

[dasebastian]

+1