Editorials
8 Horror Games We Missed At E3!
If you’re a gamer, you’re undoubtedly already fully aware of how stupefyingly awesome last week was. If you’re not a gamer, than let me take a second to fill you in. Last week, nearly every video game company in the country migrated to Los Angeles so they could spend a few days blowing our minds.
They did this by showing off new hardware — including a saucy battle between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 — and announcing tons of exciting new games. Among these big reveals were a myriad horror games, both from indie developers and high profile publishers, that all look absolutely terrifying. Unfortunately, even though we saw from the likes of Daylight, Outlast, Dying Light and Dead Rising 3 — there were still many highly anticipated games that didn’t make an appearance.
After the break I have eight horror games I really wanted to see more from last week, but didn’t. Check them out, and let me know what I missed in the comments!
I am so bummed we didn’t hear anything from inSANE. It was a long shot, but come on, Mirror’s Edge 2 and Kingdom Hearts III were just as unlikely and we saw both.
It doesn’t necessarily mean director Guillermo Del Toro’s exciting foray into video games has been canned; Dead Island and The Evil Within (previously known as project Zwei) both went silent before we resurfacing again a year (or two) later. I do hope Del Toro finds a developer, a publisher, and all the money he could possibly need, because a Lovecraftian action horror game from the mastermind behind Pan’s Labyrinth sounds incredible.
This is a game we know little about, outside of the possibility that it may or may not feature creepy dolls. It might not even be a horror game.
What has me most excited for this is the developer behind it. It’s Climax! You know, the team behind two of the best (recent) Silent Hill games, Origins and Shattered Memories. They understand psychological horror, so if this does end up being a horror game that sees the light of day, I have full faith they’ll deliver something that’s truly terrifying.
Okay, yes, this is a little unfair. Bethesda is busier than ever promoting their current projects — an arsenal of hugely anticipated games that includes The Elder Scrolls Online (now coming to next-gen consoles, as well as PC!), Wolfenstein: The New Order and The Evil Within. Asking them to show us something from Doom 4 when they already have plenty coming is almost definitely asking too much. With that said, I don’t care, just show me the damn game already.
If you can’t do that, I’ll settle for an explanation as to what Endless Summer is, or even something related to Fallout. Maybe more on that Skyrim follow-up, too…
Robotoki is working on a post-apocalyptic survival game called Human Element. It sounds amazing, and not just because it has Robert Bowling, former lead and creative strategist on the Modern Warfare series, behind it. This is the only game on this list that’s coming to the Ouya console, so I hope they show us something soon. Last we heard, the plan was to launch an episodic prequel exclusively on the Ouya, followed by the “full” Human Element some time in 2015.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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