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The creators of Callisto Protocol say that the use of intense dead cutscenes is a way to reward players for failing the game’s missions.
You are walking along a dark corridor of an abandoned spaceship. In the background she hears a growl. Suddenly, glass shatters to your left and a grotesque monster descends upon you. His hands scratch his face.
Welcome to The Callisto Protocolthe launch that promises to do what many have tried since the inception of video games: scare and shock gamers.
The advancement of technology has allowed the creators to develop one of the most gruesome gaming experiences ever and they haven’t looked back.
The work was banned in Japan because its creative team did not agree to edit the content to fit local rating regulations, which would require scenes to be edited and toned down.
Speaking to the BBC, creative director Chris Stone says it’s “without question” it’s “absolutely good” to put gory on screen.
Considering that some horror experiences rely on the player’s imagination to work, Stone and his team also took the opportunity to harness the graphics power of the latest consoles to show, in detail, what happens to the characters in the game when they meet an end sudden and bloody. .
He claims that fans of horror games “like that adrenaline rush”.
“It’s the same reason people jump with a parachute or bungee jump“, to complete.
“From a more morbid perspective, I think it’s the same reason people drive slow when they pass by a car crash. They like to see things from a distance, it’s a taboo they want to be a part of.”
Credit, EXTRAORDINARY DISTANCE
Callisto Protocol video game was made by many professionals from the team responsible for the Dead Space game series
For Louise Blaine, horror expert and show host Game sound from BBC Radio 3 in the UK, “it’s a real pleasure to be shocked by the blood”, if this is “justified” within the story told by the game.
Callisto protocol is the latest in a long line of titles like Resident Evil And silent Hillwho used fear and a lot of blood to entertain the audience.
“Games are capable of telling increasingly clever stories. And they can be as gory as they want to get the job done,” admits Blaine.
“Experiencing a moment of horror and then laughing at the feeling it gave is a vital part of experiencing horror. We have to deal with something else what’s the point?”
Like movies and television, games occasionally annoy some who find it unnecessary to display explicit content on screens.
The gaming world has increasingly moved away from these discussions, as have cinema and television. But publications like this are an opportunity for some to once again question the validity of graphic and violent content.
Blaine finds it frustrating that the horror genre is treated this way. “This debate emerges whenever someone dares to do something a little different, or tries to push the genre in a new direction,” he says.
“From Callisto protocol can justify all the gore, even if it’s for comic horror, I can’t believe the game causes that much outrage or elicits anything dark. I guess drenching ourselves in the blood of alien monsters can only be a good thing.”
“And the truth is, if you don’t like horror video games, no one is forcing you to play them. As long as it’s aimed at the right audience, people can watch and experience whatever they want.”
In much of the world, Callisto protocol is an over 18 rated game.
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But there is a key difference between horror games and their film or television counterparts.
In video games, the player is in control of the story and is responsible for creating the outcome. In this case, the consumer is not passive and actively chooses to open a mysterious door or walk down a scary corridor, making the experience more personal and the fears more intense.
Stone says the use of fear and violence is designed to reward kills in the game.
“The player’s imagination will always create tension, and there’s a lot of that in our game. The death scenes validate that imagination,” says the project’s creative director.
Dying is an integral part of the mechanics of many video games, both during a war mission and in call of Duty or when Mario can’t jump onto a platform suspended in the air. In this context, death is often an event to learn how to avoid a new failure in the game and overcome a challenge.
Stone argues that while it may be “morbid,” the creepiest moments of Callisto protocol they are “almost a reward for dying in the game”.
“There are many games where you die over and over the same way. With this one, you get tired and turn off the device.”
“That’s not what we want. We want the player to find the experience painfully rewarding, that way they’ll want to do it all over again and see what happens next. We put a lot of effort into creating all those horror moments.”
Actress Karen Fukuhara plays Dani Nakamura, a central character who leads a resistance group in a prison.
She is used to acting in projects with a lot of blood, as she also plays one of the main characters in the series. The boysalso Amazon Prime.
Fukuhara understands that horror experiences are popular because “people love to lose control,” especially if “they’re in a comfortable environment.”
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Josh Duhamel, from Call of Duty, plays Jacob Lee in Callisto Protocol
“There’s a spontaneity that comes with horror, because there’s these fears and tension building, especially in our game, which is so brutal. Obviously, these aren’t things you encounter in everyday life. Be being able to do that in a game, and having that kind of experience in a safe place, is what draws people to the genre,” he says.
“I love doing projects like this, which is fun because whenever I see other shows with so much gore I get scared! I’m always like, ‘Oh no, why did they show this?!'”
“But whenever I look at the results of the projects I’m involved in or when I’m working on scenes, I feel a kind of comfort. It’s fun to be on set to work on these crazy scenes that will make people crazy uncomfortable,” he concludes.
The Callisto Protocol was made by some of the masterminds behind the video game series Dead space and is seen as something of a successor to the franchise.
Whether you are a horror fan or not, one thing is for sure: the new game is not for the faint of heart.
