Sometimes, game devs should really think about leaving dead animals everywhere in their games · 11:47pm Apr 25th, 2017
Note: I have spoilers for multiple games here, particular from observations on Outlast 2 and Resident evil 4 and 6.
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Okay, good? Lets begin.
So, I was watching Markiplier's playthrough, and at one point he walks through a processing building filled with corpses, and has a pile of bodies and a dead horse on top- complete with saddle. Pretty sure other livestock were dead as well.
Pretty standard for these horror games/series set in a rural area with a creepy village/cult/monsters in human form, but, something bothered me.
No, it wasn't the bodies (although we will get to those in a bit). It was the horse.
Lets look at this logically for a moment.
In game, this cult has to be isolated-if it was anywhere near a big city with this level of murder going on for any length of time beyond, say, a month, then swat teams or, failing that, the national guard would be called in to deal with them.
Based on this inference, I'd say it's pretty safe to say that they're isolated, so what does this mean?
Well, for one, it means they're no longer supplied with resources from the outside, at least, not significantly. Sure, they might have some guy drive a truck into the nearest town for stuff they couldn't make-batteries, fuel, metal tools, etc.-I can't imagine it's in a large capacity because this is a cult, and based on the fanaticism I observed, I find it unlikely that the leader would want them to have any contact at all-hell, the first outsiders in the game are violently attacked, so it's likely they're entirely isolated. This means they have to be self sufficient.
So, how do they do this?
Well, first off, they're in what seems to be a rural town, and I'm going to presume agriculture is the prevalent profession for most of its residents-I don't recall any hints of it being a mining town or the like, so that seems to be the case. This is a good start because it means they can grow their own food.
With corns, beans, and squash you can feed an entire population, and plus food stores/any tiny amounts of food brought in, it means you can feed a population. Add in livestock such as horses to help work the fields, cattle or goats and sheep for wool, milk for cheeses, leather, and meat, and chickens or other poultry for meat and eggs, and you have a situation where they can semi-reliably feed themselves without outside food shipments.
I can't say much for any crops they might be going-the game is set in the dark, but I think Mark wandered through a cornfield at one point so they have that, but it's the livestock part that bothers me.
So far in the playthrough, I've seen no living livestock. Just dead horses (might be more, I haven't played the game myself). I ask...why?
Killing them all-and not even butchering them might I add-is entirely detrimental. I could see a few being required as a sacrifice of sorts for this cult, but I find it hard to believe that the cult leader convinced everyone that their horses were harbingers of evil, should be killed, and thrown onto of a pile of rotting human corpses.
This just doesn't make sense, and damaged their long term prospects (more on this in a bit).
Now, there is an argument for them just being "insane, violent religious nutcases". Why should they care?
Well, it comes back to their professions and a difficulty in convincing people to kill valuable animals. The cult leader can convince everyone that they are the last pure people in the world (or whatever his schtick is), outsiders are evil and bear the coming of the Devil, bla bla bla, but I can't recall anything in the bible explicity stating horses and livestock are evil, nor is there really a prescience in culture for it.
So, I don't have a problem with them murdering people. Crazy people do that from time to time, and organized crazy people have committed so many atrocities throughout history. However, even fanatical zealots are usually okay with basic livestock. What's more, the murdering of all livestock in this game-and seen elsewhere in the genre generally for jump scares/shocks-is just freaking wasteful and doesn't make sense. It implies crazy people are stupid-which they most certainly aren't.
So, to conclude here, it seems like the devs are just falling back on a general trope of "crazy cult killing every living thing around them for cheap gore, and completely ignore that these people should also be concerned with getting to eat and long term survival/just eating through the winter.
But, that's such an important thing and requires a lot more nuance in thinking them out. No one's probably gotten this right, right?
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Resident Evil 4 did.
Sure, the villagers in the game are mind controlled/infected by horrific parasites that can and do hijack their bodies and have no regard for hygiene, but they do manage the village. I can't recall any fields, but they almost certainly had them, and they definitely had cattle, chickens, and fish ponds. All lovely things to ensure your populace keeps eating.
Oh, and a nitpick here, but the game is set during the day and still manages to be creepy and scary at times. So, Outlast being constantly in the dark isn't bad, per se, but more freaking variety would be nice.
This is very very true, but remember, game devs usually are not focused on building believable world. They are focused on creating the atmosphere and mood the focus groups told the board will make the game sell well enough for the board to constantly shit out an endless stream of money for the next year.
4509979 True enough, but that really bothers me. I like world building, and making a believable world is integral to a good series. And frankly, watching Mark's playthrough, I was more focused on the sheer number of bodies/killed livestock and the disease that has to be coming from so many rotting corpses then I was on the actual scares/atmosphere and plot.
4509997 I do too, but sadly, outcide of Bethesda titles and the Mass Effect crew, almost no one cares about world building in videogames. It's all setdressn to to most people :/ That's why I still love books.
Hmm... ehehehe, I do agree a bit with what 4509979 said below, I do like world building in games as well.
But I would be lying out my arse if I said I didn't appreciate a metric fuckton of absolutely pointless blood, maiming and gore.
Hehehe
4510330 No reason we can't have both. A simply overheard conversation, or visible slaughter of a horse showing that this cult thinks horses are daemons or something would do just fine to explain the irrational behavior. Let's face it, religion basically can explain away any behavior. "Why did that dude cut out that guy's heart and hold it up to the sun? WTF!? RUN BEFORE HE KILLS US ALL!" "Shhh, it's their religion." "Oh, right. Aztecs. My bad."
4510456
Hahah
Hahahah true, and lmfao you're very right