NIGHTMARE ALGORITHM notes
horror is a fascinating genre to me, even though I've been a scared-y cat since forever. i remember just the concept of freddy kreuger terrifying me as a kid, the idea that even in your sleep you aren't safe. i grew up to the read the wikipedia synopses, read the script, read every thinkpiece and analysis of the latest 'elevated' horror, and watch long iceberg youtube videos about the most disturbing movies, all of which i'd never watch. and when it came to games, i knew all the lore, i'd watched other people's playthroughs, on the couch or online, but i wouldn't trust myself with the controller. i have a college half-memory of watching my roommate play fatal frame 2 and becoming so absorbed with the story i spoke along with its ghost, as if possessed: 'i don't want to kill !' 'i don't want to die !'
now i've played a few games i might consider horror, without dropping the controller (the keyboard), but they didn't demand that much of me. just the willingness to keep clicking, which is a horror in itself. i like games that make you question why you want to keep witnessing such horrible things, what it gives you. but there's always something to learn from examining what scares us.
i'm scared of technology. i didn't used to be! i'm scared of what technology's become. i remember the promise it had, i remember adapting easily and being proud of my own adaptability. but adaptability is manipulability, from certain angles.
i think the terror of technology now has more to do with the terror of who controls it. and then it's about power. it's about influence, and how much of your mind you can trust to be your own.
those are some of the ideas i want to explore in NIGHTMARE ALGORITHM.
'who's that following me?'
'that's your shadow'