matt wrote:One of the things I'm experimenting with (at least on paper) is to keep them unnaturally brief. I think that will help with the nightmarish feel. Rather than creating a realistic conversation between two people, it'll be almost like fragments of a conversation collapsed into a short exchange.
Yeah I like the sound of that! Sounds like a great way to express the dialogue and conversations in the game
matt wrote:I am definitely looking at Silent Hill 2 and David Lynch movies for inspiration, so I think it will have that stilted nightmarish quality.
I re-watched Barton Fink today (fantastic movie by the way, I always call it the best David Lynch film that he didn't make. Not on Netflix streaming right now, unfortunately), and there's a part towards the end where John Goodman is giving this speech to Fink, and although they're not in the same shot together (the camera cuts back and forth between them), and there's no way of knowing for sure, you get this strange feeling that John Goodman isn't really looking at Fink, he staring at some point past him, up and to the left. It's surprising how incredibly subtle and seemingly insignificant things can make a conversation seem nightmarish.
Hey, since we're talking about inspiration, I wanted to ask you whether religion ever played a role in your issues and/or will play a role in the story of NN. I saw The Binding of Isaac again recently and remembered how the creator explained about the role his upbringing in a rather extreme form of Catholicism (especially from his aunts and uncles) played in both his own experiences and in the game. Did you experience something similar? Will there be religious symbolism in NN (apart from gravestones, I suppose)? Anything planned on that, or a DevDiary?
Religion is something important to me and will have some influence on the game. I'm not quite sure how much it will just yet. In the demo, there are some religious elements. "My God, why have you forsaken me?" is written on the wall in blood. That is a quote from Psalm 22, which was echoed in the New Testament as Jesus was on the cross.
I think the Bible is really interesting as a piece of literature - whether you believe in its divine roots or not. It has endured for thousands of years and many apocryphal books have been dropped to collect the cream of the crop so to speak. Even if you don't believe in God, I think the image is extremely powerful, so I felt like it would be a great choice for conveying the feeling I wanted to. It's hard to beat language that has survived (granted through many translations) for thousands of years...
I'm not sure how I feel about doing a developer diary on discussing religion. It is a very polarizing issue, and I'm not sure I want to potentially color people's views about the game by my personal beliefs. While I am pouring a lot of myself into the game, I'm not quite sure how much of my religious beliefs would shine through. I did do a developer diary a while ago about guilt and forgiveness, which I think my feelings on guilt and difficulty dealing with it were in part because of being Catholic:
Although, maybe I'll post an inner circle about my personal religious views. It seems like a better fit for the Inner Circle than a developer diary.
Thanks for your interest! Hopefully I didn't bore you with all the details.
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
LOOK UPON MEEEEE! I'LL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIIIIIND!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH LOOK UPON MEEEEE!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH I'LL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIIIIND!
I'LL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIND!
I'LL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIND!
I! WILL! SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIND!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Yeah, that was very interesting, matt! I'm kind of fascinated by religions and various beliefs of the supernatural, so I enjoy symbolism and the like. I'd say you certainly don't have to put your beliefs out there, but letting them influence the game is a good idea. That said, sure, I'd appreciate an inner circle video on this topic.
