Julian Gollop - Where are the Lovecraftian Games?

In his column for PCGamer Julian Gollop asks where are all the Lovecraftian games?

In any game developer’s career there is always that game you wanted to make, but never got to make. And you still think is a great idea. And nobody else has done anything like it.

For me the ‘one that got away’ was a concept I prepared for MicroProse shortly after finishing work on the original UFO: Enemy Unknown / X-COM: UFO Defense in 1994. It was heavily inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, set in the 1930s in an alternate version of history where renowned occultist Aleister Crowley plotted to take over the world by summoning monsters through an alternate dimension. (Crowley himself was a real, historical figure, a founder of the religion Thelema and a leading member of the Ordo Templi Orientis.)

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Huge fan of Lovecraft - but I'm not surprised we haven't seen more games using that setting.

First of all, it's difficult to translate a Lovecraftian atmosphere to something tangible and visible. Lovecraft tends to focus almost exclusively on the psychological response to what's going on - rather than going into great detail about how things actually look - apart from some rather vague descriptions that I suspect work much better in your mind - than visually depicted.

For instance, I never found Cthulhu himself to be particularly disturbing or frightening. Just a bit weird. I'd sit down and have dinner with him before I went into a building with a Giger Alien - for instance

Apart from that atmosphere, there's really nothing about Lovecraft that would seem overly compelling for a game. Other than the fact that the 30s setting is underused - and we might have a great game using that - but it wouldn't have to be Lovecraft.

Then there's the commercial aspect. I don't really think Lovecraft appeals to the masses. Too esoteric.

I'd love to see more Lovecraft games, though.

I would especially love to see more Lovecraft movies.

They are everywhere. Open your eyes.

I like stuff that has a sort of Lovecraftian vibe, but I don't think the original mythos is very well suited to being portrayed outside the books. So much of it refers to mind bending horrors beyond our perception and comprehension, and the ensuing madness. I think that's much better served by the imagination than by direct portrayals. I guess it could be done well if the horrors were elided, and it is cleverly written and designed.

I think part of the problem is that computer games are expected to last 30+ hours and a lot of that time is spent doing filler activities like fighting trash monsters. That doesn't really fit well into the Lovecraft mythos where even a single monster is usually too much to handle without special tactics.

There are some very popular board games based on Lovecraft which are successful. It works a lot better in that format.

Well, currently there´s quite a lot of Lovecraftian game-stuff happening. We have: "Conarium", "Shadow over Isolation", "At the Mountains of Madness", "Moons of Madness" not to mention "Call of Cthulhu: The Official Videogame" in 2018.

In the past, both "CoC: Shadow of the Comet" and "CoC: Dark Corners of the Earth", were imo. good examples of the fact that it is possible to make a decent translation of "lovecraftian atmosphere" into an enjoyable game.

I think we have seen this a few times already. I have heard from developers of games such a nukem and grimoire, "That is not a dead game which can eternal lie on a shelf, and with strange aeons even that dead game may be bought."

Or something like that. Most millenial gamers who have seen that think its something to do with the Walking Dead game.

There are certainly ways to make a Lovecraftian RPG. It would take a lot of imagination, great writing, experimental mechanics and an understanding of Lovecraft's mythos beyond "I read the books, I love them."

In other words it would be hugely risky and have every chance of both commercial and technical failure.

Is nobody here following Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones? O:

Backer demo was published a month ago.

Thanks! "Stygian: RotOO" had gone completly under my radar. Added to wishlist right away.

Feist said:

Well, currently there´s quite a lot of Lovecraftian game-stuff happening. We have: "Conarium", "Shadow over Isolation", "At the Mountains of Madness", "Moons of Madness" not to mention "Call of Cthulhu: The Official Videogame" in 2018.

In the past, both "CoC: Shadow of the Comet" and "CoC: Dark Corners of the Earth", were imo. good examples of the fact that it is possible to make a decent translation of "lovecraftian atmosphere" into an enjoyable game.

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This. I bought Conarium just the other day.

Drithius said:

This. I bought Conarium just the other day.

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How is it?

I'm a big fan of Lovecraft's writings, but most games based on his lore so far have been mediocre imo.

Julian should ask himself: Where is my new XCOM game? Because the THING his gang is developing looks less and less like UFO DEFENSE. At this rate he won't be able to beat King of Tacticals - X-Piratez! - at all.

mercy said:

Julian should ask himself: Where is my new XCOM game? Because the THING his gang is developing looks less and less like UFO DEFENSE. At this rate he won't be able to beat King of Tacticals - X-Piratez! - at all.

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He is not trying to beat a game played by 1000 people. He is trying to beat a game played by 1 000 000 people - firaxis Xcom.