One Shots: Child's play
Today, my friends, you are going to be disturbed by this column -- disturbed and delighted, puzzled and tantalized. But I'm afraid that we're going to have to begin with a sight that is quite unsettling, so if there are any small children in the room, get them to hold your hand because there's no way you are brave enough to witness this.
"I recently returned to The Secret World and have been having a blast, but I think this is the scariest scene I have come across whilst playing," reader Balsbigbrother. "OK, so it's a little gory with the meat cleaver in the head but those dolls and the shadows they make on the walls, eeek! The game atmosphere kind of builds up to a point where your own imagination takes over. So while I was in that room, I kept thinking if all those dolls suddenly turned around to face me, I would seriously lose it and maybe need psychiatric counseling for several months afterwards."
You're not alone, man. The Nursery was one of the most terrifying places I've ever visited in a video game. Let's see who dares to see the whole tableau after the break!
Reader Chiara gets props for coming through on a lot of my wacky weekly screenshot challenges, including one recently to send in a shot of her worst in-game costume. This is what she came up with.
"After getting spammed with creepy rabbit festival masks by a secret NPC admirer in Lord of the Rings Online, one of my characters became an Awesome Bunny Superhero," Chiara writes. "I swear she just acted on her own; I had no say in it. Thankfully she-it retired."
/shudder
Anyone here a fan of Napoleon Dynamite? That was the movie that was cool to like for a while, then cool to hate, then... I guess most everyone forgot about it. Everyone except the makers of RIFT, who threw in this funny little homage.
Reader Kim was on the scene for this one: "Running around in-game, I found two brothers in a battle to the death. Don't they know they are supposed to break the wrist and walk away?"
Never having been an EverQuest player, I find that being a virtual tourist to the Olden Days is an enjoyable way of getting to know the game. Reader Ben continues his streak of sending in interesting moments in the game with this particular hang-out.
"Here's a goblin tavern within a goblin dungeon," Ben writes. "Unfortunately, I can't remember which one anymore!"
The Napoleon Dynamite picture inspired me for this week's screenshot challenge. I want you all to take pictures of your favorite (or groan-worthy) pop culture reference in your MMO. C'mon, you can think of at least one or two!
Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!
