A CRT-Monitor emits existential threat, right? Well, not really.
Nevertheless, outmoded technology exerts a certain threat, it is used again and again in horror films and video games as a stylistic device.
In contrast to their more developed counterparts, old devices seem absurd and often over-dimensioned, which
makes them popular among hipsters on the one hand, and makes them interesting for horror authors on the other.
But right at the beginning I have to say:
I do not expect anyone to get sweats when they see Windows XP.
The old has always been a theme in horror literature:
ghosts in cemeteries,
white women on battlements,
mummies in abandoned pharaohs graves.
All places with a certain background.
Both are mentioned in Eponymous and Paratopic:
in Eponymous CRT monitors appear again and again,
in Paratopic, a storyline revolves around the smuggling of apparently illegal VHS tapes.
A theme reminiscent of the film v/h/s.
Here a group of hooligans are supposed to steal a videocassette,
in both cases, in both, v/h/s and Paratopic, the cassettes are of course cursed and always kill the viewer.
The cursed video cassette is the modern version of the haunted castle.
Well, v/h/s uses its found-footage cursed videotape style to disguise most of its production values and cover up bad effects.
A lousy special effect, such as the piercing of a skull via throwing knife looks much better
when the whole is shown in cassette recorder resolution, with film grain turned up to 180.
Paratopic and Eponymous embrace a similar style.
Paratopics graphics are reminiscent of the PS1, grainy and pixelated, with bizarre character models.
Eponymous graphics behave similar, only using simpler level geometry and displaying an even greater love for the pixel.
Of course, both graphic styles were created partly for budget reasons.
Eponymous and Paratopic are still indie games.
However, the own graphic style also pursues a different goal:
To explain that, let me take you to one of my absolute favorite games: Thief: The Dark Project.
The Looking Glass classic from '98 is known for its notoriously simple character models.
And with simple, I mean very bad. How bad?
The fans of the game are still arguing whether an opponent is a monkey or a rat person.
Surprisingly, Dark Project's miserable character models even benefit the game:
in the many horror levels Dark Projects, a multitude of low-res opponents appear, ranging from pixelated zombies to undead warrior monks.
But the terrible character models make them even more sinister. After all, one does not immediately recognize what the character is supposed to represent.
Fear of the unknown, a psychologist would say.
Each poorly rendered Silent Hill monster is far more fear inducing than any Outlast opponent of the highest graphical fidelity.
One aspect that Eponymous and Paratopic nail masterfully.
But let's get to the aspect of why I made this video. Because:
CRT monitors and PS1 graphics are not unique selling points that make it worth to create a video solely about them.
Because the story of Paratopic and Eponymous is fascinating and is the reason why I think the two little works of art are so remarkable.
The story of both games is vague at best and sometimes not even coherent.
I cannot even really tell you what Eponymous is all about. It feels like a pseudo-philosophical tribute to a half-dead developer studio.
Context:
Kyle Pittman, the man behind Eponymous, is a member of Minor Key Games, an indie studio originally composed of 2 people, him, Kyle Pittman, and his brother David.
David Pittman was forced out from the indie market by bad-selling games.
Eponymous shows scenarios reminiscent of the game of the dev-duo, one room looks as if it been ripped straight from David Pittman's cyberpunk stealth’em-up NEON Struct.
Kyle has apparently even built a bust of himself.
Paratopic is less vague, but still isn’t that easy to decipher.
It's about cassette smuggling, urban exploration of a rusty factory and an assassination,
all in a morbid world where you do not know if the Apocalypse has already occurred or is about to happen.
While Eponymous dwells in pseudo-philosophical allusions and little developer Easter eggs, Paratopic delights in its oppressive atmosphere.
This narrative style where the story does not really tell a story but simply serves to create atmosphere has something very David Lynch-like.
But why does it work so well?
Why is an opaque story so good for the horror medium?
One of the most significant quotes of the cult author HP Lovecrafts reveals the reason:
"̴̨͕̟̣̠̤̈́͐͊͛̀̋̌̎T̸̤̻̙̂͑ͅh̷̨͔̘́̑̽̆̈́̚ě̵̺̮͂̓̆͂̋̐̀̃ ̴͚̬̇̾o̶̢͎͓͇͗̑̋̏̅́͘͠l̷̨̩̲̜̗̖͚̤̼̎͑̀̾̃̄͘͝͝d̷̨̯͚̱̹̍̈́̔́͂̂̃̌͝ͅȅ̸̪̙̙͕̥̔̄̃̍͋̕̚s̸̘̱̮̊͒̏͋̔̍̚̕͝t̴̡̛̖̺̳͓͈͂̑̀̀̇̑ ̵͕̣͙̍͋̃͠a̸̖͙̬̩̭͗͂͗́n̵͚̭̥̟̣͓̍̍̍͊̃ḋ̶̨̼̙̤͖͔́̇̎̽̀ ̶̗̲̖̪̜̎̒̈́̿s̸͚̝͚̺̳̽̈́͊̆̈́̍̈́̊̚͘t̷̩͖͙̗̱͉̲̫̦͌̀̌͝ͅr̴̤̻̻̰͔̯̻̜͗̑̓̃͗̍̾̚͘ǫ̷̺̹͈͇̯͔̗̥̣̋̋̊̅̒̚ṉ̴̐̑͘g̴̛͇͉̜̟̼͋̂̍̈e̴̦̟̅͗͆͑̔̑̀̂s̷̤͉̓ţ̴̢̹͐̐̅͊͆̈́͝ ̷̢͍̩͈͖̰͓̽̿̔̑͘e̶͕̹͇̠̠͕̰̝̘̽͂̔̈́̚͠ͅm̵̘̭͕̈́͑̾͑ò̷̩̦̪̱̖̉̽t̴͔̳̯̦̗͇͙̞͈͌i̵̛̲͓͖͗̇̉̍͛͝o̶̼̅̈́̂́͠n̴̨̼̳̙̑̑̈́̕͝ ̸̰͝o̵̧̦̝͈̰̤͑̄̊́̉ͅf̸̙͂̊͗́̈́̏̕̕͠͝ ̷͈̱̦͓̫̟̣̝̼͎͐͌̓͆́ḩ̴͙̹̖̫̿̔̀̽̔́͋̐͘͠u̶̢̥̻̞̗̺̮̬̼͗͐m̴̠͓͎̠̜͙̳̫͖̰͒̄ȃ̵̡̨͎͖̦̖́̒̅̕͝͝n̶͈̝̳̎̈́͛̚į̸͕̥̥͓̰͖̩͆͆̍̓̇̀̏̚͘͝ț̴̨̙̪̤͙̔̈͑̉̔͒̔͂̑̚y̶̛͕̒͐ ̴̘͉̤̭̲̫̞̔̓͐̈́̽i̵̧̬͔̱͌͑̏̾̂̈́͆͜͝s̴̤̓̾͐͛͗́͘͝ ̶̧̭̭̼̭͕̮͌ͅf̶̪̪̙͖̲͎̲̺̣̋è̵̼ả̴͚͕͕͇̘͎̀͒̓͆̄̄͘r̸͓̥̗̰̯̩̹͎̣̀̌͌̈́̈̅̓́ͅ,̵̨͖̻̝̬͔̞͂̐̾͊̇̍̽̄ ̸̤͙̮͈̻͋͗̈́̏͗̍̀̓̌͝a̴̰̫͙̳͖͕̓͋̾̍͗͌̑͠n̷̘͇͖̮̦̳̞͂͊̎̀̒̅͘d̴͕̭̪͉̼͑̂̋̂̏̂͘ ̶͔̤̙̜̅͆̋̌̊̏͛̈́͠͠ͅt̵̝̙̥̗̩̔͋͆̓̊̕h̷̢̭̮̖̟̆̈́̅̍͌͝͠e̸̡̖͖͕͓͈̫̩̋̉͆͂̾́̾̋ ̴̗̟͈̟̥̯͕̌̏o̶̢̢̳̣̠̻̤͎̒͑̃̌̃̌͘̕̚ḻ̶̆̔̿͋̃̓͝d̶̨̩̦͙̆̎̑̉͘͠͝ẹ̵̺̝̤̹͎̘͈̪́̄͂̂̚s̶̫̗̦͇̹̙̲͔͊͋̎̚ͅt̴͕͙̐͗ ̸̢͕̮̰͇̖̝͓̪́̕͠ǎ̴̢̛͍͎͎̭͚̗͉̟͖̐͛͂͒̎͝͠n̵̢̛̥͎̫̪̣͔͊̊̇͋̏̒d̸͓̯͆̈́̐͘̚ ̷̺̓ś̵̡͍͉͈̝̠̻̠̹̾̓̀̔̊̋̓͗͝ṯ̸̳̰͍̣̲͙̾̈́͜r̶͈̭͙̰̮͂͑͝ô̸̱̦̖͈̞̻̫̒̀͗̌͒͠ͅn̵̻̮͊͂̈͘g̵̛͈͖̗̙͓̜͚̬͊̏͗̐̊͛͗̒͘ę̶̘̖̟̫͉̰̻̀͆͐͊̍̒͐̿̌̈́ŝ̶̭͓t̷̫̹̑̓̀̀̚ͅ ̷̨̨̎́͒͂͘f̷̤̭͚̱͇̜͕͇͐̃̀e̵͓̽̽͂̉̒a̸̛̛̺͇͐͌̀͆r̵̨͔͈̼̙̪͇̮͓͑͊̒̊̾̍͂͜ ̶͓͚̣̭̩͙̥̞̖̟́̔̇͒͝͠õ̶̢͉͍̫̪͐̐͒f̷̤̦͓͙͉̘̂͗̌ ̸͚͍̜̖̝͚̫͊̐͌͛̈́̐̌̚ḧ̵̨̛̯͎͉͕̺̃͊̑̓̑̔ų̸̤̙̥̦̈́̈͘m̷̫̑͠ả̸̰n̸̝̑̉̈͜i̵̛̞̭̥͔͜ț̴̗̣͚̬̲͕̤͔̊͝y̷̧̼͉̫̘̙̪͎͍͗͗̍͆̾̄̆͠ ̸̦̯̩̜̗̜̲͓̤́̓̃̅̊̂̅́̈̕͜i̵̡̨̱͙̝͔͖͇̫̠̓̎̎s̸̨̨̺͕̫̰͙̬̳̝͋̉̌ ̵̧̢̠̣̹͓̭̠͔̕f̵̫̤̺̞̎̐̐e̵̡̧̹̲͚͚̰̙͎̖̿̐͑͒̀͗̀͠a̴̪̬͕̐̑͐̒̍͂̊̂͝r̸̢̀̃͗̂̍̏͝ ̶̹̞̇̈͌̑̚o̸͇͈̭̔f̷̛̛͙̱̺̞͛͋̊̃ͅ ̶̛̦̻̭͓̹̖͇̱̰̌̆́̏̒̏͋̚t̴̪͊͘ͅh̶̨̛̝͖̓̈e̴͉͐̌͛̉́̉̃ ̶̠͚̻̭͆͊̓̄̈́̑͊̕͠ṳ̵̀͒͑͒͑̒̉̔̕̕n̴͖̺͌̓̎̈̀ķ̵̺̭̲͕̲͖͈͒̿̂́̂n̷̥͚̳͑͛̉̚ͅở̷̼̜̜̺̭̱̣͍͑͊̋̋͝ͅẘ̷̢͍̟̇̎́̓͗̾͝n̴̮̥͇̻͓̺͖̝̉̂̌͛͘ͅ"̴̡̡̩̭͉̼͇͛̍͒̚
And what is more unknown than a world where one cannot even follow the plot.
Paratopic and Eponymous acquire mystery and horror through disorientation.
That's why almost anything can happen.
A good horror movie focuses more on the moment before the jumpscare than on the jumpscare itself.
The anticipation of this is often more exciting than the adrenaline rush when the skeleton leaps out of the closet with a
Often, the moments before the jumpscare are accompanied by suitable music, so often the exact moment can be anticipated and one stays calm even the jumpscare occurs.
But what if you can not see the jumpscare coming, partly because you do not understand the context of the story.
Paratopic and Eponymous are committed to this mindset.
Not everyone enjoys this style of storytelling.
Eponymous is said to be too short, a story does not exist.
Paratopic's plot is too obscure to follow.
Not everyone can tip into the right mindset to appreciate Paratopic and Eponymous,
but for those who manage its one h̸̤̜̓̊̂̓̒͑͐e̸̪̼͆̒̎́̒̇̕͝ļ̶̺͍͍͔́͂͑l̵̘̱̱͉̮̤̤̪̈́̂̽͘͜͝of a 𝖗𝖎𝖉𝖊!
