EternalDarkness
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Video games are tackling mental health with mixed results
Mental illness occupies a strange place in video games. After centuries of misdiagnosis and misinterpretation, we've begun to comprehend the reasons behind disorders and their prevalence in modern society. Recent research shows that roughly one in five American adults suffers from some form of mental health issue each year. When it comes to the media, though, these conditions are frequently misrepresented and misunderstood, and video games in particular lean on lazy stereotypes and tropes. Mental illness is used as a motivation for villainy, thrown in as an "interesting" game mechanic or mischaracterized as the sum and whole of a character's personality. There's a worryingly pervasive stigma surrounding mental conditions, and as one of our most dominant art forms, video games need to do a better job in portraying them.
Eternal Darkness to see light on next-gen systems?
If you're one of twenty people who owned the little lunchbox known as the Gamecube, you probably at least heard of Eternal Darkness -- a type of horror game that used some fairly unconventional methods to creep you out (although some of it was seen in the battle against Psycho Mantis in the first Metal Gear Solid). In his blog, Silicon Knights' own Denis Dyack has let loose that the idea for a sequel taking place in the same universe as the first Eternal Darkness is more than just a thought: it's a plan. See, they make their games the same way I try to write my own stories: they envision a universe and create a history -- what may be the "final boss" or the evil our heroes must face are only a small pawn in a much larger game. Hmm... how can I make this more clear? I guess we all know who Sephiroth is, if not, he was the bad guy in Final Fantasy VII. I don't care what you think of the game, that's not the point. The point is that if Sephiroth turned out to be a puppet manufactured by an ancient civilization who happen to be immortal zombie vampire pirates from the moon, that's the idea behind Eternal Darkness. The first game was just one battle against one enemy. So sequels are practically a given with such a large universe to explore. Does that make sense? Anyway, we'll keep tabs on this development and hope it goes to more places than just the Wii-cube. I know it's not actually a cube, give me a break!
Eternal Darkness 2? "Absolutely yes."
On his IGN blog, Dennis Dyack -- the man behind the upcoming Too Human trilogy -- reveals that Silicon Knights has plans for sequels to Eternal Darkness: "I am most often asked if we have sequels in mind for Eternal Darkness. The answer is absolutely yes. Although this may not be obvious to those outside of Silicon Knights, anyone inside the guild understands that there is really no other answer." For those who may be unfamiliar with Eternal Darkness, it's still one of the best games available for Nintendo's Gamecube. A survival horror title in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft, the game provides plenty of psychological scares and an involving story. One of Eternal Darkness' most interesting features is the "insanity meter." The more monsters players see, the crazier the character gets, and will eventually start hallucinating. The great thing about these illusions is that they would often break the fourth wall. For instance, you might enter a room filled with zombies when the game would give you a fake "please reconnect your controller" message. Good stuff. Considering Silicon Knights' lucrative trilogy deal with Too Human, we can only hope that any Eternal Darkness sequels will hit the 360 as well. [Via GameDaily]
