Oh, crap! I totally forgot it's Thursday. That's the day I remind
everybody about the thing they already know, which is that you can get
a free game from EGS. However will people manage without this timely notification?!?!? ;-)

This week:
In Sound Mind
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/in-sound-mind

So what we got here is a 'first person psychological horror' game, at
least so says the marketing copy. Well, okay, that doesn't sound too
bad, even if it's an overdone trope in Indie games. It's 'frenetic
puzzles' and 'unique boss fights' are less appealing. It has 'original
music by The Living Tombstone' too; is that good, bad? I don't know
and really don't care. The trailer videos with streamers screeching in
fear, though, are a deal-killer for me, though; if that's your
targeted audience, I think I'll give it a pass.

But that's just me. Reviews are generally positive, and it's free so
if it looks interesting, maybe give it a chance. You have a week
before its gone.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

It looks like an adventure game. So, I'll pass.


Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh, crap! I totally forgot it's Thursday. That's the day I remind
everybody about the thing they already know, which is that you can get
a free game from EGS. However will people manage without this timely notification?!?!? ;-)

This week:
In Sound Mind
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/in-sound-mind

So what we got here is a 'first person psychological horror' game, at
least so says the marketing copy. Well, okay, that doesn't sound too
bad, even if it's an overdone trope in Indie games. It's 'frenetic
puzzles' and 'unique boss fights' are less appealing. It has 'original
music by The Living Tombstone' too; is that good, bad? I don't know
and really don't care. The trailer videos with streamers screeching in
fear, though, are a deal-killer for me, though; if that's your
targeted audience, I think I'll give it a pass.

But that's just me. Reviews are generally positive, and it's free so
if it looks interesting, maybe give it a chance. You have a week
before its gone.

--
I'm wearing green 2day so don't pinch me. :P Hump day was noisy outside with busy humans working, but a quiet day for this ant. Will 2day B da same 2? Zs, SB, MM, DST (pls keep it 4ever), allergies, bug bites (14?), fights, updates, spammers, etc. R back
again. Is it safe 2 hang out with people yet?
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 17 Mar 2022 19:39:25 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh, crap! I totally forgot it's Thursday. That's the day I remind
everybody about the thing they already know, which is that you can get
a free game from EGS. However will people manage without this timely >notification?!?!? ;-)

This week:
In Sound Mind
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/in-sound-mind

So what we got here is a 'first person psychological horror' game, at
least so says the marketing copy. Well, okay, that doesn't sound too
bad, even if it's an overdone trope in Indie games. It's 'frenetic
puzzles' and 'unique boss fights' are less appealing. It has 'original
music by The Living Tombstone' too; is that good, bad? I don't know
and really don't care. The trailer videos with streamers screeching in
fear, though, are a deal-killer for me, though; if that's your
targeted audience, I think I'll give it a pass.

But that's just me. Reviews are generally positive, and it's free so
if it looks interesting, maybe give it a chance. You have a week
before its gone.

*--

I snagged it. But didn't dload it. Looks interesting. I will
probably forget about it.

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 17/03/2022 23:39, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Oh, crap! I totally forgot it's Thursday. That's the day I remind
everybody about the thing they already know, which is that you can get
a free game from EGS. However will people manage without this timely notification?!?!? ;-)

This week:
In Sound Mind
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/in-sound-mind

So what we got here is a 'first person psychological horror' game, at
least so says the marketing copy. Well, okay, that doesn't sound too
bad, even if it's an overdone trope in Indie games. It's 'frenetic
puzzles' and 'unique boss fights' are less appealing. It has 'original
music by The Living Tombstone' too; is that good, bad? I don't know
and really don't care. The trailer videos with streamers screeching in
fear, though, are a deal-killer for me, though; if that's your
targeted audience, I think I'll give it a pass.

But that's just me. Reviews are generally positive, and it's free so
if it looks interesting, maybe give it a chance. You have a week
before its gone.

I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with the genre it's
more that the way I found it implemented seems really limited. So you
have the jump scare and lights go out scare. That kinda wears of after
the first few times and it feels more like the game comes predict the
next scare.

Personally I prefer my psychological horror to be more of the dread and foreboding variety. Conarium I think makes a relatively good job of this
as the scare is more based around the atmosphere and what have I got
myself into.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 23 Mar 2022 09:56:57 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:

On 17/03/2022 23:39, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

This week:
In Sound Mind
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/in-sound-mind

I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with the genre it's
more that the way I found it implemented seems really limited. So you
have the jump scare and lights go out scare. That kinda wears of after
the first few times and it feels more like the game comes predict the
next scare.

Personally I prefer my psychological horror to be more of the dread and >foreboding variety. Conarium I think makes a relatively good job of this
as the scare is more based around the atmosphere and what have I got
myself into.

Jump scares aren't horror any more than somebody flicking their finger
at your eye to make you blink is horror. It's a physical reaction that
is devoid of emotional response. Its a useful tool for horror writers
- it primes your mind to the idea there might be actual threat around,
and that heightened state can then be twisted and manipulated into
making you distrust the imagined world you are exploring (whether its
via written word or a visual medium like film or video game).

Unfortunately, too many games rely too heavily on the jump scare as
their primary tactic. "Doom 3" was infamous for this, but even
"Resident Evil 7" - lauded as one of the more frightening modern games
- overused the mechanic. In defense of games, it is difficult to
maintain a horrific situation for several dozen hours (at least,
without it becoming farcical) and jump scares are a cheap and easy way
to ramp up the tension. But ultimately they lack impact and weaken the
overall effect of terror that the game is trying to instill.

True horror games - the ones that make you sit up and wonder about in
the dark of the night - are a rare breed. Most of what we get are
power fantasies peppered with brief moments of apprehension, unworthy
of being included in the horror genre.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)