Liminal Horror
Liminal Horror is something that I have an interest in seeing in dead by daylight. I feel like one place horror and creepiness are largely ignored in dead by daylight is the maps. There are very few maps in the game that I would describe as creepy, with most of them just kinda being the place where the action happens.
Liminal Horror could be a good opportunity to put a bit of horror into the maps themselves. I'm sure when most people think of Liminal Horror they think of the backrooms, the poolrooms and the such. While these are certainly well known examples of liminal horror they are not the only examples.
One classic horror movie that is cited to be an example of utilizing liminal horror is The Shining. The Overlook Hotel is definitely a "normal" place, but something about it just feels off. That feeling of the place being kind of off is a large part of what makes The Shining so scary.
One thing that can contribute to that "off" feeling of liminal horror is that feeling of "hey, aren't there supposed to be people here?" Being alone in a place that's usually populated can create a feeling of loneliness that feels really off, since you don't usually feel that way in that place. And once that feeling of lonliness, that's when the fear that you're not actually alone can begin to take hold. This especially is something I would like to see explored more.
I definitely think Liminal horror would be lore friendly in Dead By Daylight too. One of the big things about the trials is that where they take place are areas in the real world, created by the entity, but it doesnt get these spaces quite right. I think it's perfectly plausible that the entity failing to properly recreate a place could make it seem more liminal.
I certainly think liminal horror could have a place in DBD, and I'd love to see it in the future. I'd like to know y'alls oppinions on it though. Do you think Liminal Horror has a place in DBD, and is it something you'd want to see?
Comments
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Love this idea, liminal horror could definitely work very well in this game IMO
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As long as they don’t ruin it with an ugly color palette and horribly dark lighting I see it working.
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My only problem is that liminal spaces are usually hard to tell where things are.
but of course there are some like abandoned malls or schools that could work a little more.
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A backrooms map could be pretty nifty.
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I think they would work. I have two maps designed for two of my creations which are specially interesting to me. One would be your 'typical' desolated office during nighttime: malfucntioning lights, dark areas, the constant buzzing from lights and computers, etc. I feel like the sound design there is what would actually make it work. Whereas the other one consists of a maze of alleys and huts in a cold, dark, foggy day, a bit similar to what you could find in a Silent Hill game. It may not exactly be the same to what you are proposing, but they both are places which should normally be bustling with activity and are in that moment oddly silent and calm.
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A liminal space map would be awesome.
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I find liminal spaces very comforting. I wouldn't be against a liminal inspired chapter, especially if they can make the killer creepy. I feel like a killer for a liminal chapter could potentially be iconic and meaningful for a lot of players.
Although Pyramid Head already gives me a liminal vibe, I wouldn't mind them taking it a step further.
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Wouldn't be against a map inspired by any of these, but it wouldn't really be "liminal" anymore with generators and crying injured survivors and screaming Nurses.
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A liminal killer would definitely be really cool. The devs typically go for very human, identifiable killers, with dredge being the main exception that comes to mind. I definitely would love to see what they might come up with for a largely featureless killer.
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That does make a lot of sense, the atmosphere of those places feels distinctly different from what they should typically feel like. Admittedly I've never actually played a Silent Hill game, but I would definitely be down for another SH chapter. At that point it wouldn't even be debatable that in recent history BHVR has done more with the Silent Hill license than Konami has.
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I like liminal spaces but they wouldn't fit DBD in anyway. First of all the whole premise of liminal spaces is built upon psychological horror, while DBD focuses more on the slasher/serial killer genre. The closest thing we have to psychological horror in DBD is the Silent Hill chapter and while I liked the adaptation it is VERY different from the games, just look how buffed Pyramid is compared to his version in SH2.
The map to feel liminal would also have to be insanely huge and confusing to navigate, which would feel annoying to most of the playerbase. Things like generators sounds, the killer's terror radius, pallets and loops would also ruin the whole atmosphere.
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I could definitely see the heartbeat messing up the liminal vibes, but on the flip side I could imagine stealth killers being especially scary to face on liminal maps.
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Yeah, they definitely would, but stealth killers are like only 5 out of all 30.
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