Secretive and restless |Undead in video games

Good day, dear reader!
Autumn finally comes in the yard - less than a month and a half remained before Halloween, and tea with cinnamon and the smell from the pumpkin candle only bring this terrible and wonderful holiday closer. In his anticipation, he is drawn to talk about something gloomy, mystical and at the same time-such a familiar. Therefore, today we invite living dead to the monitor of the monitor. Let's look at those who met in the games - in the flesh or not very - and what we remember.

I will take your bones - while you are still alive, you will yell in pain - and make a chair out of them. So I will call him - "My screaming chair". Every day I will sit on it and listen to your scream. More questions?

- LECHUK (LECHOCK)
From time immemorial, even before famous pagan beliefs, there were primitive religions. They were a set of superstitions and approved small deities - very often, their idols were created from fragments of skeletons of animals and people. The concept that the spirit is associated with a carnal object gave rise to two vectors of ideas about the afterlife.

There has always been a afterlife world, where the main number of human souls went - with or without a guide, sinful and sinless - all the fate was mainly awaited by all. But certain misconduct, forbidden rituals and unfinished affairs, according to belief, could delay the deceased on earth. Then he remained in a barrel (spirit) or in his old flesh (a full -fledged corpse, sometimes even avoiding decay, or skeleton), chained to this world invisible chains.

Modern works of art also do not disdain the animalistic cults - for example, the multi -part film adaptation of the novel “American Gods” Nile Gaiman, as in the novel itself, demonstrates the fiery will as the voice of the main hero.
Over time, these images evolved, and in pagan, and later - monotheistic religions, death began to personify the darkness that increased fear of death. Sometimes in the form of spirits the heroes of legends were close people or the gods themselves to bring news or give advice. They became especially popular and diverse in developed politicalism - the beliefs of Japan and Central Africa.

In addition to directly religious legends, there were beliefs about monsters based on undead-vampires and Chinese jangshi, dragers and ghiols, larch and living skeletons, people-people and, of course, the gloomy reaper-embodied death. There were also creatures of a different type - for example, bansheists or poltergeists who kept certain places, but their images were also often distorted and became truly frightening.

P.WITH.: Want to know more about Banshee? They are directly related to the elves, which you can find out in one of the previous articles.

Time passed, and, along with most fruits of human fantasy, undead migrated into art - of course, literature sought to describe these creatures in more detail, while their variations became more and more, and those that existed were modified, acquiring a modern appearance.

Once, for example, ghouls, ghouls and vampires were the same creatures, ugly bloodsuckers who were posthumously cursed and erased existence, unlike life. But, thanks to Bram Stoker, the world heard the story of Dracula - at that time, it was a wild mixture from a historical personality, dark setting and popular beliefs, and now - almost the most familiar image of a whole type of creature with which the nose is competing only.

You know what happens when you really want, but you can't? Either you surrender, or ... create a modern classic. So it came out with the nose - in the early twenties, Albin Grau and Friedrich Murnau really wanted to make a film on Dracula, but could not convince the widow of Bram Stoker to allow the film adaptation and were forced to make their version by changing the characters and key points of the plot. So the Nosferatu was born - the horror of the night - and with this a stereotype about death from sunlight.

The influence of such authors as Edgar Allan Poe, Howard Phillips Lavkraft, Stephen King and others - almost all the horror writers, somehow touched the topics of the living dead, making an idea of ​​them more extensive. Even Harry Potter Joan Rowling unexpectedly brought significant contribution, creating the corpses of Mariones of Dark Wizards called Inferi (Or infernals).

Walking hand in hand with fantasy and mysticism, undead was simply doomed to get into video games ..

You thought we forgot? You thought we have forgiven? See the terrible revenge of the renounced! The death of a whip! And death living!

- Supreme Pharmacist Gnieles
This time, to my own surprise, I will not start with Dungeons and Dragons, and s Magic: The Gathering. This is not due to those who first introduced inanimate characters or creatures, but with the variability and elaboration of their approach. Of course, in DND There were walking dead - especially their species is one of the settings, ravenloft. But in MTG We met cosmic horrors resembling the shapeless almighty other and great ancient Lovecraft;Spectra - flying nightmares, which instilled horror in the souls of the enemies of their overlords;and so on.

Exactly MTG not just copied ideas from art, but tried to develop them, inspiring Igrodelov. And behind iconic projects, the case did not.

In 1982, the world saw a undead on the screen and ... could not hold back a smile. Arcade Ghost House was a simple enthusiasm on the Sega, where the enemies looked more comical than frightening. Thanks to this pioneer, the satirical approach became trendy: Zombie Nation on NES in ’90 and Wrath of the Demon On Atari in ’91, it was clearly demonstrated by this. But, at the same time, people who loved the gloomy mysticism with all their hearts did not doze off-in 1986 Konami released the first game of the series Castlevania, Calling it Demon Castle Dracula. However, she gained popularity a year later, entering the American market under the original name and producing a real splash. Later, together with the platformer Metroid They will become icons, which has formed a genre so popular now - Metroidvania.

From now on, the knock of bones and the ghostly howl was flooded by the games - the surrounding dead The Secret of Monkey Island or hordes of enemies in Last Armageddon coexisted with .. Pinball Quest. This project was generally a good joke over Gamdev, combining RPG, a quest and Arkada - really, why not to add to the lovely skeletons there, making what was happening even more absurd.

One way or another, with the heyday of the gaming industry, the whole variety of the cold neighbors of mankind flowed into a digital format - and some of them were more popular than others. About what fate awaited various undead, we will talk further.

- Father! Everything ... behind?
- Now - yes. Kings do not rule forever, my son.
- My gaze ... covers ... darkness.

- Artas and Terenas III Menetila
Ghosts are often romanticized, symbolizing love that survived death, or a great test. And in the games they did not escape this fate - although it happens that they perform in completely different roles, becoming comic characters or leading a rustle with a sudden appearance.

In total, there are five main types in art and superstitions - this separation, of course, is conditional, but helps to navigate. Let's apply it to game images and see how much they correspond to their mythical prototypes.

Banshee were once the guardians of forests near the Celts, https://bookmakersnotongamstop.co.uk/review/spin-time/ but over time they began to be tightly associated with death and a gloomy fate. Their howls and sobs could ominate the gloomy fate and dump even bold people from infidels.

Bansh games are not found as often as many other perfumes, due to their specifics. We can see them in quest adventuri, where they serve to create an atmosphere - for example, in "Nancy Drew. The ghost of the castle Malla"-the 19th computer game in the Point-And-Click series Adventures of a young detective girl.

If you want to enjoy the terrible banshee, whose scream can intimidate some and direct others - Lady Sylvana wind -winged from World of Warcraft Hurrying to the rescue. In addition to the supernatural abilities of the spirit shown in the trailer Battle for Azeroth, Her external design also refers us to the posters. Pale skin and frozen traces of tears on the face are perfectly made from an unspeakable archers suppressed grief of the undead.

The most standard - and the most diverse - ghosts are found everywhere. Regulars of cemeteries, they are represented in a variety of forms and simply crush the rest of the ethereal number - in art, in games. So here it more and more depends on individual game experience. I will call my “favorites”, and each of you may have something to add to the list:

1) PIVZ (Harry Potter and the Sorcera’s Stone).
As they say, when the author was small, with a curly head, he passed this damn about ten times. And indeed - the character appeared a lot in books about the young wizard, but I really remembered for the first game on the PC, where PIVZ often burst into the gameplay and prevented me from passing certain sections of the level. His evil laugh, accompanying my failures, still sounds in memory.

2) Specter (Defense of the Ancients and Dota 2)
Time goes on, and computer clubs are replaced by a laptop at the table of the house, but the feeling of excitement does not leave. Spectre has always been an interesting character in its design, which could really create the sensations of “obsession” on the playing field, suppressing the enemy team and gaining strength to the late game.

3) Ghost (Destiny 2 companion)
Here we need to repent, but I have repeatedly said that I am a casual player and I do not pretend to play in everything - so, unfortunately, the first part in Destiny passed me past me. But in the second wonderful little satellite, he simply conquered my heart because he did not hesitate to brighten up the most empty sections of the game with his comments. It was he who in many ways did not allow the game process to slide into a routine shooter. You can, of course, rotate that it is not a lead in classical perception, but because of the ability to go through objects and interact with unknown mortal matters-you should not dissolve it from the list.

Gentlemen Poltergeists are close to their brothers. Often, they are ghosts that they cannot leave any place without outside help without outside help. Many of them can be found in The Haunted Mansion 2003 or in horror, like Amnesia. But sometimes the player does not directly say that in front of him - poltergeist - you have to show ingenuity.

So, in addition "Stone hearts»To the third license game about the Witcher, we meet the family of one of the central characters - Olgerd von Evela - in the form of spirits tied to his graves. One of them - the reckless Vitold - the hero even begins to "ride" in his body. But, like any poltergeist, he is doomed to go back.

P.WITH.Technically, PIVZ, whom I put on ghosts, in the book is a poltergeist - but in the game his image is often more important than his actions, which is not characteristic for this class of spirits - therefore I decided to take the bore to another category.

The latter - but not by significance - perfumes that do not have an accurate translation in the Russian language came from Scottish folklore. Their peculiarity is that they are doomed to eternal afterlife service-someone or something. Tolkien in the lord of the rings calls Nazgulov and oath -criminals precisely Wraiths. Thus, the author shows that some obey the will of the owner of the ring, and others - the legal holder of the ancient blade.

This image was most clearly reflected by two characters belonging to Blizzard Entertainment and Valve - King Leorik and Wraith King.

On the way to Leorik in the dungeons, we meet ethereal perfumes, who are called Wraiths - the game shows that they are forced to serve their king after death, and therefore express his will, preventing the player from getting to him.

Valve was at a certain moment on the path of legal wars, and was forced to rename the king of skeletons in Dota 2 In Wraith King. This made sense and was reflected in a new design - not bones, but green spiritual energy flowed in the armor of the fallen ruler. In his name, Wraith rather reflects the fact that perfumes obey him, and not he himself is their servant.

There are also teenes, but they are more related to images in the cinema and literature. In games they do not assume a separate role, and the image is most often mixed with other supernatural matters.

It is difficult to demand from a person to be freed from fears. Fears fulfill a no less important role in the human psyche than all other emotional states. The psyche, devoid of fear, would be a psyche of flawed. Harbow.

-Emiel Regis Rogellek Terzieff-city
There are even more species of living dead who have not lost their shell than their friends, so wherever you can do with 1-2 examples, I will try to do this in order to not confuse you.

Who came to us from the Nordic mythology, these “again,“ again ”(literal translation of the name) were especially well remembered by the players in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Their level was rocking along with the player's level, making every meeting with one of the armored rebellious warriors with a real test.

We also meet the dragons in God of War 2018, But there they are closer to ordinary enemies - having an interesting appearance, they do not leave much vivid impressions.

One of the "old" video games, the leads have been with us since the very first Final Fantasy 1987. In mythology, they were especially known by the fact that during their lifetime they were strong sorcerers, and kept these forces after death - often, being the cause of it themselves.

The most memorable were probably the formidable warriors of the necropolis in Homm - their “clouds of death” could significantly annoy the enemies, and the support of the allies was simply invaluable.

One of the most famous people among the larch is Kel’Tuzed, who appears in Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone And Heroes of the Storm. Once upon a time, one of the magicians of Kirin-Torah, now-a mighty sorcerer, consisting of magic and bones, capable of avoiding fatal damage in its phylacteria.

Guess who was not originally dead, but now for sure? It is these guys who are looking for warmth and brains for every day. The fact is that the zombies came from African rituals and were just people obsessed with the idea of ​​an idea. Shamans could use ordinary members of the tribe, like puppets, in the interests of the leader or to achieve their own needs.

Over time, the image evolved. Until now, zombies are often not finally dead in the literal sense - but this cannot be called life. For example, infected in The Last of Us - from runners to clicks - are no longer people and take everything for their own survival.

But everything happens and not so gloomy and serious. Remember Plants vs. Zombies or Stubbs the zombie - Often, they perceive the dead comically, making them an element of visual buffoonery. Of course, battles with living plants, “devilish stench” and other elements perfectly complement the delusional, but funny action on the screen.

Uhhh, if there are very different zombies - what to say about skeletons? Almost everywhere they became the basis of the army of undead, and necromancers raise them in such quantities that you can’t get into calcium.

One of the most popular projects with these ringing guys was a series of games Medievil About the dead knight who accidentally returned to life and went to fight with an evil wizard. The gameplay looked caricatured, but at the same time entertained - and the visual style and the main character - Dan Fortescue - were remembered for a long time players.

You can say about other species either just a little or too much: if it is difficult to talk about reinforces because they are few and they are too diverse, then vampires deserve a separate blog. The only ones I would like to mention - those revived dead who call themselves undead themselves.

IN World of Warcraft there is a whole race of people who rebelled from the graves. They lead a hermit lifestyle, fighting with former allies, absorbed in darkness and suffering. Oddly enough, among them there are even priests - the light burns them, but responds to the call of the suffering.

There is also a heroic class - the knights of death. Former servants of Artas, King Lich, now they are fighting for their factions, being dead, but returning the grains of their own souls.

Of course, by no means all the undead is also reasonable and free in choosing. The whip - one of the fractions - was completely under the rule of her gloomy lord, fighting only for his will.

You can pretend that you do not notice the walking corpses - but the reason for their appearance is obvious and quite real. Death, no matter how sad, is everywhere in our world - and in myths and legends it was also embodied most clearly.

Well, players did not lag behind here - except for individual characters like necrophos from Dota Or anubis from Smite, that is, only one death - and he is brutal. This, of course, is about Darksiders II and her protagonist - one of the most famous riders of the Apocalypse, who, no matter how paradoxical, is trying to resurrect humanity.

Pay attention how often the words “bad” and “fate” are found in one sentence, and you will understand one of the small life secrets: it is best to send fate to hell.

- Mortimer "Morta" Grind
It is difficult to say a lot about the influence of the image of undead on video games.

Sometimes undead meets us quite obvious - for example, necrons in Warhammer 40k. These mechanical warriors created from Necrontire rebelled and became so interesting in the setting of the universe that the key project - Dawn of War - received a separate addition dedicated to them, called Dark Crusade.

In other cases, their presence is less obvious. Fateful reapers from a series of games Mass Effect obviously personify death itself, while without emotional coloring - but as a karmic inevitability. Husky from the same universe are real zombies that have survived the posthumous transformation and now see meaning only in the murder of organically imperfect us.

And how often the dead are seeping into the names! IN Heroes of the Storm Kerrigan, a representative of the Starcraft universe, gives King Leorik the phrase "Stay and you ghost", Hinting at the military specialization that was characteristic of her personally by man.

Summing up, I would like to note that darkness, darkness and cold only sound terribly and repulsive - with proper efforts, they can lure, and their manifestations can create an amazing narrative and setting for the game. This was perfectly proved by all the heroes of our today's blog.