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‘Scratches’ Dev Reveals Official Adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft Novel, ‘The Case of Charles Dexter Ward’
I’ve often complained about the bizarre lack of games that take from the rich well of unnerving stories that is the works of legendary horror fiction author H.P. Lovecraft. Indie developer Senscape seems to have heard my pleas, as they’ve just announced their plans to bring us an official — yes, official — adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s short novel, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The team behind Scratches and Serena have returned to Kickstarter, where they hope to raise an ambitious $250,000 to realize this dream project.
Usually, I’d be fully on board, and, for the most part, I am. I need more Lovecraftian games, and I’d prefer they be in the competent hands of a team that’s familiar with his works and the horror genre, which Senscape clearly is.
The one thing that’s keeping me from fully geeking out over this is their other horror adventure game, Asylum, which accrued an impressive $119k on Kickstarter nearly two years ago. They’ve continued to offer updates on the state of the game since, but donating to a second crowdfunding campaign from a developer that still hasn’t (not that they won’t!) delivered on their first isn’t an easy to choice to make.
It’s a decision that’s entirely up to you. To help you decide, here’s a trailer.
If you’d like to support this game, head on over to its Kickstarter page.
The best part about engaging with collaborative genre fiction on the internet is that anyone can get in on the action, with worldwide accessibility often resulting in absurd story beats that wouldn’t be possible if any single person was responsible for the entire narrative. And while Kane Parsons’ Backrooms film is definitely the young filmmaker’s own unique take on the infamous creepypasta, it’s fun to see other creators join the Backrooms sandbox now that the big screen adaptation is getting ready for a record-shattering opening weekend.
As if cleverly timed releases like Puppet Combo’s The Backrooms game weren’t enough (not to mention that Scary Movie poster poking fun at Parsons’ flick), McDonald’s official social media accounts have now released an analog horror video of their own celebrating the liminal terrors of the McRooms – complete with a familiar purple surprise at the end of the footage.
While it’s funny enough to see the world’s most recognizable Fast Food giant engage with internet-borne Found Footage thrills seemingly out of the blue, the video is actually referencing a long-running gag among the Backrooms fandom where creators jokingly talk about there being a fully functional McDonald’s restaurant hidden somewhere in level 0 of the infamous liminal labyrinth.
Now, would it be too much to hope for a moist-carpet-flavored McShake to tie in with the film?
Backrooms is now playing only in theaters from A24.
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