Question of the Month: October 2018 edition
It’s time for a new Question of the Month, one which will see us attempt to answer a quandary that has been puzzling the gaming community since they first realised that eating mushrooms could have unexpected benefits. But first let’s find out who won September’s challenge!
The winner
Last month, Ian from Adventure Rules asked: You’ve been tasked with making the Ultimate Video Game, but there’s a catch – you can only piece it together from parts of other releases. You can choose separate titles for visual design, sound design, storytelling, and gameplay. What four games would you use to make the Ultimate Video Game? He reviewed all the answers submitted in response and here’s his judgement:
“Yikes, talk about a difficult decision! There have been lots of good submissions, and I loved seeing the unique direction that all of the different bloggers considered. Some folks made their ultimate video game while others made everyone’s ultimate game – it’s been really interesting. I have it narrowed down to maybe two, so let me re-read them quickly and I’ll get back to you right away… Did I say two? I meant… like… five. This is really close, in my view, but I do think I can pick a winner.
“Okay, here we go. I am going to choose Brandon of That Green Dude. The game he proposed checks a lot of my boxes when it comes to things I’m interested in: investigating crimes, catching killers, and getting creeped out while doing it. He chose four games that work well together to accomplish that goal and I think his game would be a blast to play. If honourable mentions are a thing, HannieBee Games and Guardian Acorn both had great interpretations of my question, the former taking the four elements from games where that feature was the only good thing about it, and the latter remaking one of her four games using the elements from the other three. I thought those approaches were super clever and I enjoyed reading them a lot!”
Congratulations to Brandon and thank you to everyone who joined in with September’s question! Now let’s find out more about our latest star blogger along with the challenge they’ve set us for October 2018.
The blogger
Megan hails from a small town in Alabama but is currently living in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. She’s been blogging for around five years now and I’d be very surprised if you haven’t stumbled upon her or A Geeky Gal yet: she’s one of the sweetest bloggers in the community and always has a positive word to say. Head on over to her site if you’re a fan of video games, anime, cosplay and other geeky interests because you’re bound to find something to pique your interest among the wide range of posts on offer.
Looking for a review of a television show or comic? Megan’s got you covered. Need help with a costume? Check out her advice for those discovering cosplay. Been hiding under a rock and need to know what’s been happening in the world of geekiness? Her round-up posts will bring you up-to-date in a flash. That’s not all however because there’s a more personal side to her blog too, and you’ll get an insight into her weight-loss journey, mental-health, and immigration journey with her husband from Ireland.
Megan has a pretty wide range of taste when it comes to video games and her preferred genres are RPGs, hack-and-slashes and survival-horrors. Don’t let the girly exterior fool you: this is one tough lady! Favourite titles include God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Fatal Frame 2, Silent Hill 2 and Animal Crossing – a few of which fit in nicely with this month’s question. In a break from video games, she’s been working her way through a 30-day anime challenge so take a look at A Geeky Gal to read through all of her answers so far.
The challenge
The question set for us by Megan is: In honour of Halloween, tell me what video game scared you the most. What is it about the elements, environments, music, or characters in the video game that scared you?
If you’d like to get involved, publish your answer to Megan’s question at a time that suits you before 28 October 2018 and leave us a link in the comments below. There are no rules on word-limit or format so you can be as creative as you like: write a post, record a video, create a drawing, or impress us with another unique idea.
Our star blogger will then choose their favourite entry and the winner will be announced at the beginning of November. Good luck to everyone who’d like to participate this month!
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Kim View All
Video game lover, Later Levels blogger and SpecialEffect volunteer. Big fan of wannabe pirates and fine leather jackets.
Thanks for the honorable mention. And I think I know what to do for my answer.
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On second thought, I may not be able to participate in this month’s QOTM. The “scariest” game I’ve ever played literally makes me suicidal whenever I remember its content and I’m not prepared top put myself at risk. For those morbidly curious I have reviewed the game in question a while back. Not sure if I can count it as an entry though. https://guardianacorn.com/2017/11/02/starless-nymphomaniacs-paradise-where-the-stars-dont-shine-detailed-review-extremely-nsfw/
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No, don’t do anything that’s going to put yourself at risk – your well-being is top priority!
I’ll leave it to Megan to decide whether to include your link as an entry. 🙂
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Scariest game we’ve ever played, eh? I’m not sure a horror game is gonna make my list – I’m curious to see if other people end up feeling the same way!
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I know which game I’m going to write about for this QotM and although it has horror elements, I wouldn’t have necessarily said it was an entry in the genre. It’s often the things which shouldn’t be scary that are the most frightening!
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Reblogged this on A Geeky Gal and commented:
Super excited to see all of your answers this month!
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As someone who doesn’t play horror games because they scare her I think my answers from the horror genre boil down to one game, however I have options from non-scary games that have scared me in other ways. It’s an interesting thought.
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Megan’s question may seem simple at first, but I think we’re going to see a wide range of answers that include games which we’re not expecting. Looking forward to seeing what you decide to go for!
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Oh, this one is easy for me. There’s one game that I played when I was a kid that terrified me so much that I was afraid of going anywhere near a certain item for a couple of months.
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Oh now that sounds like an interesting story… looking forward to reading it!
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Well here Is my QOTM Answers in a Nice Spooky Edition Blog Post!
http://www.bandicootwarrior.com/2018/10/10/qotm-spooky-edition/
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Ditto on your entry 3 ha ha! I think I played the game for maybe an hour before realising I was too much of a coward and putting it down…
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Haha I know what you mean Kim it scared me to hell :p
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Good choice on number 1 too – this game is going to feature in a post from me later this month. 😉
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Oooo I’ll look forward to reading it 😜
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I’m excited. This is one I can actually do!
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Excellent! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. 😀
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overthinkeryblog.com/2018/10/16/later-levels-question-of-the-month-october-2018-the-most-scariest-thing/ Here’s my response! I can’t stand horror games, at least not the ones where I’m expecting jump scares and that sort of thing, so (as I think a few other people have done) I’ve thought of something that wasn’t in a horror game but was perhaps even more creepy as a result…
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This month has been really interesting, because not many people have gone for straight-up horror games. It seems to be the more subtle things that scare us the most…
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I think the contrast helps. Expecting a scare means it’s just business as usual; being creeped out in a way that stands out from the rest of the experience is much more memorable!
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I think Megan is going to have a very hard time choosing a winner this month. 😉
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They always do!
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Posted my answer to this question at Games and Grappling…meant I had to go back and relive the scary moments again though!
https://gamesandgrappling.game.blog/2018/10/22/batman-arkham-asylum/
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This is such a good answer! Scarecrow is my favourite Batman villain because I find the psychology of the character fascinating and, quite frankly, he scares me a little bit.
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Thanks! Yeah the psychological aspects are pretty scary, though I could say that for most of Batman’s villians. There is so much detail to them that they fascinate me, even the obscure ones like Mad Hatter.
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That’s totally it: it’s some kind of morbid fascination that makes villains like these appeal. I guess in a weird way we’re attracted to the things that scare us…
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Jumping back into the game that scared me from continuing to play it, just so I can take some screenshots for my post in participation of this….
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Now that is some QotM dedication right there! 😀
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Really fun in a little scary to answer lol. Even thinking about that game gives me the willies. https://wp.me/pJr1x-2sA
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This is the perfect game to choose for an answer. I played it earlier this year and it scared the hell out of me – I’ve included it in a post coming up soon for exactly the same reasons you give in your response.
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I can’t wait to see that. It’s always the game I steer people towards if they want a really horrifying scare. It’s the paragon of the psychological/existential horror genre regardless of medium.
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… aaaaand I’ve thrown my slightly bizarre entry in to the ring. I bet you wouldn’t have thought vector graphics were scary… I think it depends on how old you are.
https://hundstrasse.com/2018/10/24/qotm-scaredstrasse-cosmic-chasm-on-vectrex/
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You totally deserve to win this month. Purely for the mention of chocolate mint alone.
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Ok my submission for the Question of the Month is up on my blog now:
http://mcwritestuff.com/2018/10/25/dear-later-levels-qotm-october-2018/
May the spookiest entry win
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I love the fact you’ve written this as a letter – the tone is perfect! 😀
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Here’s my answer 🙂
https://shoottherookie.com/2018/10/26/question-of-the-month-the-game-that-scared-me-the-most/
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Nice take on this month’s question, Pix! You’re totally right in that watching a scary game and actually playing one are different; I’ll happily do the former but am usually too much of a wimp to do the latter.
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Hope I’m not too late for this with my entry. Had to come up with the right game to choose…and that took longer than anticipated. The question really was quite interesting by Megan, so I had to do it justice with a good answer.
Here’s the link: http://triformtrinity.com/2018/10/28/throw-me-a-lifebuoy-question-of-the-month-october-edition-2018
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Such a good game to choose as an answer. It’s not one I would have thought of but now I’ve read your post, I’m surprised that nobody else has picked it so far this month!
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Why thank you Kim! Yes, this game may not be a fully fledged horror game, but there were so many aspects that not only was terrifying but also had my heart sink to a new low when you realize what happened to the people of Rapture and that you yourself are incapable of doing anything. Almost like you the player is the monster among monsters, unable to stop your actions by being asked very kindly.
Really… Nobody picked this? Thought that it would get mentioned. Nevertheless, there are some good choices of games from the other bloggers (which I will have to sit down an evening and read them all through).
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Aah I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there: the monster among monsters. Surely the scariest thing is the darkness that hides inside all of us? 😨
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That is why psychological horror will always be the best. How it plays with your mind and never truly reveals the monster itself 😁
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Yeah, you’re right there: it’s always scarier when you can’t see what’s hunting you. When horror is more visual, the effect wears off very quickly!
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