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OXCGN writer takes a look at how games and real life merge with her great article on Hospitals and in-game scenes based around such places, and why they have that 'certain' fear factor for most of us gamers.
FEAR 2 is a typical example, especially the opening scene shown in the article.
There is just something about hospital levels in games that send shivers down the spine.
Many games, from the recently released Wolfenstein, to Max Payne 2, to Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway, to Left4Dead, make us nervous spending time in these ominous dens of sickness, madness and death.
In the gaming world hospitals are often atmospheric places where demons lurk in the basement, or gown wearing zombies charge from every corner, or mad torturing doctors await, or we are confronted by ghosts of our past.
Yet, in real life, people do indeed fear hospitals and the gown clad attendants which run them.
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@Seeker: I know why it's a good concept for Horror, I was wondering what it was that got the wheel turning if you will. Sort of like how Starship Troopers sparked the Space Marine concept, that you now see in dozens of movies and games. I was wondering what film/book/movie (If any) showed everyone how good a concept it was and everyone followed suit, or whether it was just a concept that's always been used.
But digging deeper, the nature of the design is creepy. In real life, hospitals feel safe because they are full of people. But when the hallways are dark and empty they can be nerve-racking.
From a strictly horror standpoint, the thought of surgery leads to the fear of unnecessary surgery. And from there it’s only a quick jump to mutilation and human experimentation. These are primal fears. They are utilized in horror movies as much as they are used in games. For supernaturally-inclined stories, cruel, patient-mutilating “doctors” create narrative opportunities for dark motives, ghosts and demons.
Halloween II takes place in a hospital. And it’s one of the best horror movies ever made. It capitalizes off the eerieness of empty corridors, and the idea that death is so nearby in a place of healing.
Hospitals make people uncomfortable because they are places where people stare consequence in the face. They see the lifelong smoker hooked up to oxygen tanks. They see the unbeatable effects of aging and diseases they’ve never even thought of. They see the chance involved in life and feel less in control. And they feel petty for their small complaints when they see others facing mortality.
Childbirth excluded, Hospitals are places where you only go if something is seriously wrong with yourself or a loved one. Hospitals are places where people occasionally die. Where you can hear and see people’s grief echo down the hallways.
And I agree 100%, all that boils down to the shattering of our illusion of control. Nice article.
Nice write-up.
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