Kitty Horrorshow

Last updated

Kitty Horrorshow
Occupation Video game developer

Kitty Horrorshow is the pseudonym of an independent video game developer. Releasing her games on the distribution platform itch.io, she specializes in the psychological horror genre, with her games focusing on surreal and atmospheric horror in the aesthetic style of early 3D videogames.

Contents

Career and style

Though Horrorshow wanted to become a game developer when she was younger, her initial attempts led her to abandon game development, finding it too complex, leading her to focus on creative writing instead. [1] Several years later, Horrorshow became interested in game development once again after playing Arcadia by Jonas Kyratzes, made using Twine, an interactive story creation piece of software. [1]

Horrorshow's art style is influenced by early 3D video games, such as Doom , Hexen: Beyond Heretic , Thief: The Dark Project , and EverQuest , citing their ability to create immersive worlds while still remaining unmistakably computer-generated. [1] [2] In an interview with Boing Boing, Horrorshow explained that the world of Silent Hill served as "more of a home" than anything she had experienced in reality, and that the works of Porpentine had greatly changed her outlook on videogames. [3]

Owen Vince of Kill Screen compared the stylistic, low-polygon graphics in Horrorshow's games to the aesthetics of German Expressionism, specifically The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari . [4] Her games often lack characters with whom to interact, but focus instead on dreamlike scenes to explore. Horrorshow avoids jump scares and player character death, explaining in an interview with Slate that she found them uninteresting, instead using elements of psychological horror, such as leaving disturbing scenes unexplained and open to interpretation, to scare players. [5] Commenting on the lack of jump scares in Horrorshow's games, Brendan Caldwell of Rock, Paper, Shotgun wrote, "These games creep up on you slowly and rattle your brain, not your instincts." [6]

In 2017, Horrorshow was one of four game creators featured at the "No Quarter" exhibition hosted by the New York University Game Center. [7]

Games

CHYRZA

Originally published in October 2014, CHYRZA is a game about exploring a vast desert populated with large monoliths that surround a deserted village. A narrator describes the scenes, but in the first person voice of a traveler in the desert, detailing their disturbing encounters and backgrounds. Fears around a large pyramid that continuously looms in the distance is also repeatedly referenced. The structures found throughout the desert have their sources revealed to the player by the narrator when reaching the top of each one in an increasingly paranoid and unhinged manner. [8] [9]

Chris Priestman of Kill Screen compared the atmosphere to The Twilight Zone 's initial episode titled "Where Is Everybody?", saying it evoked the "feeling of being watched and isolated" and being slowly driven mad by the delusional psychosis. [8] Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Philippa Warr compared the setting to one of the bizarre news items that could be found in the fictional narrative podcast Welcome to Night Vale , especially one event where a "mysterious philosophical pyramid" arrives at the town. [9]

Anatomy

Released in 2016, Anatomy is a game focused on exploring an empty house and finding voice tapes within it as the house begins to change around the player. Initially, collecting these tapes is the only component of the game, but the program eventually glitches and closes itself; when reopened, the house has changed radically, with static on the game screen and audio distortion occurring. These shutdown events are repeated as the house continues to degrade more and more upon continued playing of the game. [10]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Steven Messner described Anatomy as "the rare kind of game that exploits our comforts — chiefly the feeling of being safe at home". [11] Wired writer Julie Muncy described the game as "[pushing] you to think about why scary things are scary, what deeper psychology is at work when you're afraid of the dark room at the end of the hall or what might be behind that locked door." [12] Jacob Geller for Game Informer described Anatomy as the "scariest game I've ever played" and that the lo-fi nature of the graphics and audio contributed significantly to the game's experience. [13] Playboy 's Suriel Vazquez commended the game for not relying on monsters and jumpscares, leaving it "anything but predictable". [14]

Adam Smith of Rock, Paper, Shotgun referenced the Lovecraftian quote "fear of the unknown", reinterpreting it for Anatomy as "fear of the familiar", whereby even familiar spaces can seem frightening in the dark and the quiet of night. [15] PC Gamer 's Steven Messner discusses how the quarantine of 2020 that everyone has had to experience heightens the disturbing nature of Anatomy and increases the sinister nature of everyday household objects. He loved how the game "takes the simple pleasures of a life spent indoors and forces you to see it as something to fear". [16] In a quest to find a game that evokes "true terror", Tom Faber in Financial Times decided that Anatomy was ultimately that game, concluding that the inscrutable nature of the house was what made it terrifying and that what's "scarier than a monster operating as a metaphor is a monster that refuses to mean anything at all". [17]

Haunted Cities

Volume 1

Through funding from her Patreon, Horrorshow released collections of games under the "Haunted Cities" package, centred around the theme of virtual spaces and the potential for the disturbing nature of architecture and topography. The original release bundle included games officially published between November 2015 and February 2016. The games in the first volume of Haunted Cities included Leechbowl, featuring an abandoned midwestern factory town with an obsession with blood, Grandmother, a visit to a grandmother's house in a dark forest, Pente, an empty cathedral and the theme of suffering, and Circadia, a story made in Flash about "a girl trying to cure a cassette tape's infection". [18]

Volume 2

One of the games presented in the second volume is Scarlet Bough, which features an abandoned small town where each building hides gory secrets. Matt Cox of Rock, Paper, Shotgun pointed out that the game exhibited Horrorshow's stated design ethos of starting with the simple idea of a space and then populating it afterwards, commenting that the use of environmental storytelling and appropriate sounds helped to heighten the atmosphere. [19]

Volume 3

The third volume of the series included four games called Ghost Lake, Seven Days, Basements, and Castle Wormclot. A content warning for each game is included in the ReadMe file. The first game, Ghost Lake, involves driving a car around a decaying, abandoned city with disturbing imagery of rotting and breaking down buildings. Seven Days reflects several past games released by Horrorshow, by featuring the strange environment of a house undamaged by a storm and a flood that has destroyed the rest of the town. The player follows the occupant's diary on each day in the decaying location. Basements is a shorter game with more graphic and sensory-focused imagery about loss and the nature of humanity. [20] [21]

Unlike many of the other games in the package that have a greater focus on overt horror, Castle Wormclot features the subdued presentation of a candlekeeper wandering a castle to light candles in a slow and methodical manner, so others in the castle can travel those same paths. The lives of the other characters in and around the castle is shown alongside their fears and worries about what is happening inside the castle. Cameron Kunzelman of Vice compared the game to the plodding horror of political life in 2018 in their home state of Georgia, and having to wait for the voted-upon results of the election to be announced, though with everything potentially collapsing in the meantime. [22]

Works

Personal life

Horrorshow grew up in a self-described upper middle class household that was extremely intolerant toward minority groups and people outside what was considered normal in the suburban area. Due to this, she repressed discussing her transgender identity around her family, and it was only later in life when she began studying the practice of witchcraft and the usage of rituals that she became more accepting of herself. Her spiritual beliefs also expressed themselves in music and writing and were a primary impetus that led to her video game making career. [30]

Related Research Articles

<i>D</i> (video game) 1995 horror adventure video game

D is a horror-themed interactive movie and adventure game developed by Warp and directed by Kenji Eno. It was first published by Panasonic for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1995, later being ported to the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and MS-DOS. The story follows Laura Harris as she goes to investigate a hospital after learning her father went on a mass murdering spree and barricaded himself inside. The hospital morphs into a castle upon her arrival, which she must explore to find her father. The player controls Laura through computer generated full-motion video (FMV) sequences, and must complete the game within two hours without a save or pause function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Anthropy</span> American video game designer

Anna Anthropy is an American video game designer, role-playing game designer, and interactive fiction author whose works include Mighty Jill Off and Dys4ia. She is the game designer in residence at the DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media.

<i>Minicraft</i> 2011 video game

Minicraft is a 2D top-down action game designed and programmed by Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, for a Ludum Dare, a 48-hour game programming competition. The game was released on December 19, 2011.

<i>Catlateral Damage</i> 2013 video game

Catlateral Damage is a first-person video game in which the player plays as a cat. The goal of the game is to knock as many of the player character's owner's belongings onto the floor as possible. There are game modes in which the player can either race against the clock and get a certain number of items onto the floor as fast as they can, score as many points in a 2-minute time-frame, or a free play mode where there is no clock and there are no points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cara Ellison</span> Scottish video game critic and developer

Cara Ellison is a Scottish video game writer and critic.

<i>Sylvio</i> (video game) 2015 video game

Sylvio is an indie-developed first-person horror adventure video game released on Steam in June 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and, OS X, utilizing the Unity engine. The game is about an audio recordist called Juliette Waters, who records the voices of ghosts through Electronic voice phenomenon. She finds herself trapped in an old family park, shut down since a landslide in 1971, and she now needs to use her recorder to survive the night. A sequel, Sylvio 2, was released on October 11, 2017.

<i>The Park</i> (video game) 2015 video game

The Park is a first-person psychological horror video game developed and published by Funcom. The game was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam on October 27, 2015 and is a spin-off of an earlier Funcom game, The Secret World. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 3, 2016 and Nintendo Switch on October 22, 2019. It was released in Japan on September 24, 2020. The game takes place in the Atlantic Island Park that closed back in 1980 for mysterious reasons that are gradually revealed throughout the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VoxelStorm</span> British independent video game development studio

VoxelStorm Ltd is a British independent game development studio, video game publisher and music publisher. The company was founded by Eugene Hopkinson, and is based in England and Scotland. VoxelStorm has developed and released several games, most notably AdvertCity and sphereFACE.

<i>Eidolon</i> (video game) 2014 video game

Eidolon is a first-person open world exploration video game with narrative and survival elements, developed and published by Ice Water Games. The game was released on August 1, 2014 for Microsoft Windows and macOS.

GRYPT is a multimedia horror-themed dark pop band from Los Angeles, California, best known for their hybridization of music with indie video games and interactive fiction. Described as "sound designers" and "interactive storytellers", they have released a "persistently disturbing" online choose your own adventure text game, horror audio dramas and, in collaboration with Duende Games, a "death simulator" music videogame entitled Tonight You Die, which was featured in Rock Paper Shotgun, Kill Screen, and selected as a PC Gamer free game of the week. They have also released music on labels Deathbomb Arc, Cleopatra Records, and Tundra Dubs.

<i>Ennuigi</i> 2015 video game

Ennuigi is an art, browser and fangame created using Pico-8 that combines Super Mario Bros. and boredom. Ennuigi is a portmanteau of the French word "ennui" and the name of Mario's fraternal twin brother Luigi. The game was designed by Josh Millard.

<i>Black Closet</i> 2015 video game

Black Closet is a mystery visual novel, strategy RPG and life simulation game developed and published by Hanako Games and released on September 16, 2015 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on the digital distribution service Steam.

Paloma Dawkins is a cartoonist, animator and video game creator who is known for works that blur the line between natural and game environments. Her works include Gardenarium (2015), Alea (2015), Palmystery and Museum of Symmetry. Her games from game jams include Paint Bug (2016) and Egg Boss (2014).

<i>Islands: Non-Places</i> 2016 art game

Islands: Non-Places is a 2016 abstract art game developed and published independently by artist and animator Carl Burton, best known for the animated GIF illustrations he created for season two of the Serial podcast. The game was released on November 17, 2016, on iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux, and consists of a series of anonymous, liminal environments – the eponymous "non-places". These scenes appear mundane at first, but become increasingly surreal as the player interacts with the scenery.

Dead Static Drive is a top-down driving meets survival horror video game developed and published by Reuben Games. It is planned to be released on Windows and Xbox One. The game has a "retro Americana" graphical style, and involves a road trip that takes a turn into Lovecraftian horror.

No Players Online is a short horror game released on Itch.io, a website for distributing indie games. It was created by Belgian university students Adam Pype and Ward D'Heer and sound designer Viktor Kraus as part of the Haunted PS1 Jam in November 2019. Initially intended to be a twenty-minute horror game, the developers continued to expand the game into an alternate reality game (ARG) involving cryptic messages and secret passcodes. Players quickly solved the ARG on a dedicated Discord server.

Murder Dog IV: Trial of the Murder Dog is a 2011 video game by Irish independent developer Stephen Gillmurphy, under the name thecatamites. Murder Dog is an adventure game which involves the player in a courtroom defense of the titular Murder Dog, a canine with a comically obvious penchant for murder. Whilst Murder Dog was satirical in nature, the game received recognition from many critics for its subversive commentary on the justice system.

<i>Bernband</i> 2014 video game

Bernband is a 2014 video game by Dutch independent developer Tom van den Boogaart, a member of the Dutch independent studio Sokpop Collective. The game is an open-ended walking simulator set in an alien city, with no objectives or milestones. Critics praised the design of Bernband for its immersive setting, with the game inspiring the parallel development of Hernhand by Australian independent developer Jake Clover in 2015.

Im Null is a 2014 video game by Austin-based independent developer Zak Ayles. Described as a "virtual horror art gallery", Im null is an experimental multiplayer game in which players explore wireframe environments. Im null received praise from critics for its experimental gameplay and themes of isolation and connection. After a period of incompatibility of Unity Web Player games on modern web browsers, Ayles restored the game on his personal website in August 2022 with the help of Ryder Cutler.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Priestman, Chris (1 August 2015). "Recapturing the low-res horror of early 3D worlds". Kill Screen . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  2. ↑ McKenney, Kyle (25 August 2016). "Kitty Horrorshow: Making Games and Breaking Minds". Paste . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (21 October 2015). "Meet the secret new horror mistress of video games". Boing Boing . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 Vince, Owen (9 December 2015). "Making sense of the static". Kill Screen . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Hudson, Laura (16 June 2016). "Scare Tactics". Slate . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Caldwell, Brendan (14 June 2016). "The Indie Devs You Won't Hear About At E3". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Meet the 2017 No Quarter Artists". NYU Game Center . New York University. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 Priestman, Chris (21 October 2014). "Fear The Pyramid With CHYRZA's Twilight Zone-Style Horror". Kill Screen . Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  9. 1 2 Warr, Philippa (21 October 2014). "Chyrza: A Short Night Vale-ish Horror Story". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  10. ↑ Macgregor, Jody (5 January 2020). "Great moments in PC gaming: Restarting Anatomy". PC Gamer . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  11. ↑ Messner, Steven (23 October 2016). "Have You Played… Anatomy?". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  12. ↑ Muncy, Julie (26 October 2020). "Anatomy Opens the Creaking Door to Haunted House Tales". Wired . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  13. ↑ Geller, Jacob (24 July 2018). "Inside The World Of Lo-Fi Horror". Game Informer . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Vazquez, Suriel (15 April 2016). "'Anatomy' Uses Subtle Body Horror To Freak Players Out". Playboy . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  15. ↑ Smith, Adam (5 July 2016). "VHS Horrorshow: ANATOMY". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  16. ↑ Messner, Steven (3 January 2021). "Why I love the subtle domestic dread of Anatomy". PC Gamer . Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  17. ↑ Faber, Tom (9 February 2021). "On a quest for games that deliver true terror". Financial Times . Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  18. ↑ Priestman, Chris (10 May 2016). "Visit the latest haunted cities from the queen of horror games". Kill Screen . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  19. ↑ Cox, Matt (2 November 2017). "Haunted Cities Volume 2 is a free four-pack of surreal horror games". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  20. ↑ Kunzelman, Cameron (20 October 2018). "A Free Horror Game Collection About Loss, Driving, And Candlekeeping". Kotaku . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  21. ↑ Castello, Jay (21 October 2018). "Kitty Horrorshow's Haunted Cities Volume 3 is here just in time for Halloween". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  22. ↑ Kunzelman, Cameron (9 November 2018). "Kitty Horrorshow's Latest Is a Horror Game For Our Scary Political Moment". Vice . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  23. ↑ Dimopoulos, Konstantinos (3 September 2014). "Freeware Garden: Dust City". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  24. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (22 July 2015). "This subtle desert horror fiction will haunt you". Boing Boing . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  25. ↑ Sykes, Tom (14 March 2015). "The best free games of the week". PC Gamer . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  26. ↑ Colosso, Luca (31 March 2015). "There's a Terrifying Mesa to Explore in Sunset Spirit Steel". IndieGames.com . Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  27. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (30 April 2015). "In this elegant ritual horror, giant hornets are everywhere". Boing Boing . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  28. ↑ Priestman, Chris (13 May 2015). "Kitty Horrorshow's most personal game yet is a trip through sad architecture". Kill Screen . Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "Body Horror: Explore A Spooky House In Anatomy". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . 27 February 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  30. ↑ Priestman, Chris (13 July 2021). "The Game Developers Who Are Also Witches". Kotaku . Retrieved 5 September 2021.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.