Let's face it. These last few years have been nothing but an assault on the senses, an endless parade of what is bigger and better. Right now, even the adult industry seems to have caught up to recent trends: there is talk about the production of a 3D pornographic movie being developed in Hong Kong. However, amidst the whirlwind of special effects and intense sounds, we find that the media is losing touch with what matters most.

Content. 

Content. Substance. Meat and Potatoes. Food for the soul. That thing which keeps us thinking about a movie or a game long after it's over. It is the reason that TK Nation seems so fascinated with indie games. Given the absense of a multi-million dollar budget, independent developers are often inclined towards focusing more on the soul of their games rather than what makes it pretty.
    
Now, before I go any further, I'll be the first to say that I usually turn up my nose at roguelikes because the graphics, in my opinion, are just too crude. There's only so much I'm willing to take before I chuck a game aside because it looks completely unappetizing. However, while rummaging through sources today, I came across something that shook me to my core. It was a video of a roguelike in production. The graphics, as always, were ugly. The title seemed like a gimmick. Serial Killer Roguelike? Really, I thought, it's amazing how far some people will go to market something.

And then, I watched the video.



Some of you might remember my anti-feminist rant about 'Hey, Baby' a few weeks ago. I was extremely critical about the fact that the game focused on an annoyance rather than the kind of the violence often visited upon women. Serial Killer Roguelike, on the other hand, is nothing like that. While the video doesn't talk about sexual violence, it's not hard to visualize the connection. How many times have you sat at home wondering if the sound you heard outside was the breeze or someone attempting to break in? How many times, as you sit in the darkness watching TV, have you turned around to see a shadow flicker and have your heart seize up in fear? When you're a woman, it's worse. You know that there are things worse than death out there. 

Serial Killer Roguelike, in a nutshell, is exactly what its name advertises it to be: it lets you play as a murderer. To be more accurate, it lets you as you play as a murderer in an extremely realistic setting. Crimsom King, the developer, talks about how he eventually intends to generate an entire city for his players, complete with criminal and non-criminal factions. It looks like you'll be able to eventually stalk NPCs as they go about their daily routines, work for money and even buy property.  

Of course, at the heart of the game, lies the murderer and his chosen hobby. On a surface level, character creation seems to be extremely basic. There are stats like strength, agility, charisma and so forth. You will eventually have to monitor your fatigue level and mental state. One of his videos, however, hints that there will also be an emotional state that can be monitored.



Unfortunately, given a lack of information, we don't know if it's just added flavoring. Asides from the basic stats, Serial Killer Roguelike also allows you to determine your psychological neuroses. Some of them, like cannibalism, are rather straightforward but others are rather morbidly humorous. Imagine being an obsessive-compulsive serial murderer who got caught because he couldn't stop flicking the light switch.

What about the crime itself? Will gameplay fall short in that department? So far, the answer looks like a vehement no. As stated by the developer, there will be layers upon layers to work with: bones, skin, organ, blood, oxygen supply and even arteries. I can only imagine how diversified murder techniques will eventually get. So far, it is apparently possible to kill someone via suffocation and blood loss already. Death by hamsters doesn't look too far behind.



Much like in real life, asides from worrying if the victim will escape, you will also have to ensure that you're not caught. Screams will be of varying volume depending on what is being done to the victim. If you're spotted by a witness, be assured the cops will soon be on their way. Left a severed arm on the floor? It will be picked up as evidence. 

Serial Killer Roguelike is still far from completion but from what I can see now, it looks like it's going to be one hell of a ride. I know many won't share my perspective on things but I come from the generation where novels and MUDs were still alive, a time when text and your imagination were all that you had. And right now, thanks to the video, I'm going to go check if all my doors and windows are properly locked and barred.


Link to Crimson King's Youtube channel: 
http://www.youtube.com/user/SKRoguelike

Link to Serial Killer's forum thread:
http://www.roguetemple.com/forums/index.php?topic=1298.0

Source: GameSetWatch
  • TAGS:roguelike, previews, horror
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    • About the Author
    • Cassandra Khaw is one of those people who takes pride in the fact she's a full-time, hardcore geek. She claims to be capable of reading binary still and spends too much time rewriting her code. By day, she's a PHP programmer who moonlights as designer. By night, she's either MUDding, in a cybercafe or practicing street dance. She can also be bribed with penguins and brownies. Right now, she's webmistress and columnist for TK-Nation as well as a contributing writer at JayIsGames.
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