TPA 24

I had a strange dream last night, a good one but still strange. I was being hunted by scientists and military creeps who wanted to take me back to the lab. It reminded me of the game Second Sight where the protagonist had psychic power he could use to esceape his enemies. I've got something similar, I can put bad thoughts into people's minds with my finger gun. Just point and shoot those bad thoughts away. I think this might make a good story. I can make people commit suicide with depression or get them angry enough to kill their fellow worker. I like having dreams like this. 

Yesterday was a good day, the only bad thing that happened was that it was too cold for me to sleep. Guess I'll have to add that blanket. The other thing that happened was that I cut myself shaving. A nasty little cut that leaves a little skin. Like being sheared or skinned. Speaking of which, I bought a new game called "Skinfreak." Published by Torture Star Video and developed by some guy who goes by the name Black Eyed Priest, this game is a throwback to the PS1 era graphics of the late nineties and early thousands. I've only played an hour of the game but I know I'm in good hands, Torture Star has made some fantastic games already. It's become popular to make these short horror games that you can finish in a couple of hours. They're filled with jump scares which are usually cheap but because of the price and the concise story they're fun to play for an afternoon. Torture Star isn't the only one in the short horror game. A developer who goes by the name of "Chilla's Art" has been releasing horror experiences since 2018 but his games have gotten better over the years and it's clear that he has a passion for his art which makes his games...for lack of a better term, passable. Let's go down a rabbit hole, Chilla's Art's games are by no means bad. In fact, they are the reason I got into short horror. Chilla's focus on Japanese ghosts and ghouls are sublime and always give me chills. Most of them have multiple endings which encourage replayability but might seem to some like a cheap way to extend the gameplay time, and they are, in a sense. To get the full story out of Chilla's games, you have to make different choices and by doing so you get the full picture from the game. For example, there's a story about a teacher abusing a student in his game "The Karaoke" but most of this is only hinted at in the first playthrough. There's these subtle moments that crawl under your skin, like, in the same game, where your character blows off some steam at a karaoke bar and we can clearly see an individual lurking behind the door. We don't know who would be trying to harm us as we see his silhouette passing by window in our door. In fact, it's possible that many players will miss this little scare. That's the issue that story-tellers face when they make a game with subtle hints, the player may not notice them and waste all the developer's hard work. We only see this figure while playing a mini game with the window in the background. There's just enough of a shadow for our peripheral vision to catch it. Not all of Chilla's games have this level of grace but they all tend to creep underneath with their PS1 graphics and thier unsettleing stories. 

Going back to Torture Star, I've played three of their games which don't always have the infamous PS1 graphics. "The Horror of Salazar House" is more of a nod to the older adventure games where you had to press an arrow key on the screen to move through the old house. Your character has to solve puzzles whild dodging a ghost that is hunting them. There's a limited supply of bandages which means you can't take too many hits. There's also this interesting easter egg referencing Lovecraft as I think there's a pillar with skulls on it which is a reference to his Dagon work. I think. I need to reread that story. A better game was "Search Party: Director's Cut" which has the player escape a brokendown house that houses a serial killer. Like the previous game, this one also has several endings including ones that reference dreams and mirrors...I think. Honestly, I only remember how the game felt like I was in a dream. You have a maniac hunting you down with a few safe zones to offer respite. It's a good, quick game but my favorite so far is "Night at the Gates of Hell." It's a reference to the horror movies that came out in the seventies and eighties by Italian film directors. Corny, stupid, and just dumb fun. There's a boss battle with a zombie shark, a nursing ten year old who shoots himself, and a priest who leads you to Hell after the final standoff with zombies. Great ideas that ooze B movie goodness. Armed with only a handful of bullets, you try to get a group of survivors out of town and to a supposedly safe zone on an island. I've never been a fan of Italian horror or Gialo films but I might looks some up after playing this game again. It's certainly stirred my interests in B Movies. Oh, and like an eighties horror film, the first people killed are a couple in a park after postcoital cuddling. A N64 graphics woman gets her tit ripped off and eaten by a zombie within the first five minutes. Heck of a way to open a game. 

That brings me to "Skinfreak." A town is terrorized by a man who skins his victims alive. I'll write more later but so far the game has that creepiness to it. The opening has you play as a cab driver who picks up strange passengers. One invites him to a party in the sewer (that's not strange at all) and another is an old woman who claims to have witnessed the Skinfreak attacking her neighbor. That's all I have so far but given how big the game is which allows you to explore a six story building, I'm guessing there is a lot for me to find.