Are there depressing retro games about nihilism, absurdism and existentialism like Lars von Trier's Melancholia?
NES,SNES,PS1,N64,Dreamcast,Sega,Gameboy(Color)?
I must think of all Final Fantasy titles, even the modern ones, mainly JRPGs.
Mostly Final Fantasy VI - Kefka
>Life… Dreams… Hope…Where do they come from? And where do they go…? Such meaningless things… I’ll destroy them all!
I hate how nihilism has been trivialized.
Say anything remotely nihilistic and internet meme-spouter will be the first ones to reply with some "witty" comment trivializing it like "tips fedora", etc.
>>2783134
what?
![250px-Screamcover[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Tce8DWo.jpg "250px-Screamcover[1].jpg")
Son...
>>2783134
>nihilism requiring recognition
>>2783137
Dude!!! You wont believe it°! I am even playing this at the moment. I bought this on steam this summer. I play it occasionally, but haven't finished it yet- I really love this game!
>>2783142
Exactly. This thread chose a supremely interesting topic and then proceeded to introduce it in the most cringe-worthy manner possible.
One that comes to mind for me in Phantasy Star 2 actually. Aspects of the Mother Brain bring up questions of the value of action in a deterministic universe.
Though, perhaps some would feel that that is a bit of a stretched reading.
![alter-ego-male-1[1].gif](https://i.imgur.com/bYHTxWB.gif "alter-ego-male-1[1].gif")
>>2783143
Shall we go deeper then? More primitive? More pure? What is the point of a life, Anon? What does our free will benefit us in the end?
>>2783147
There's nothing interesting about it.
>>2783142
where did I say it requires recognition? if anything I'm complaining that it DOES get recognition, in a retarded, memestic, trivial way.
>>2783129
Shadowman
not only is it grotesque and scary as fuck it`s just raw nihilism.
In a comedic way Postal 2 is arguably nihilistic. It certainly seems to posit a world without reason, meaning, or value.
>>2783152
>There's nothing interesting about it.
Explain why.
![a-mind-forever-voyaging(boxart)(front)[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/F8Aa9tU.jpg "a-mind-forever-voyaging(boxart)(front)[1].jpg")
>>2783157
Be still, Child. Only dreams now.
>>2783171
*tips fedora*
pssh, nothing personnel
A lot of horror games cross over into this territory as well.
http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/
>>2783152
>>2783161
>>2783167
>>2783171
thanks guys. I will check those games out!
>>2783194
Sourceforge is not a nice source. Can you get it from somewhere else?
btw I didn't introduce my topic to this board with the meme/tips fedora post, that was someone else.
And sorry that I forgot to include PC in the list and only listed retro consoles. Thankfully you guys didn't see this and already posted alot of PC games.
![[DBNL]M.D._Geist_Director's_Cut_[x264][2639BBE0].mkv_snapshot_45.15_[2015.04.10_22.26.58].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/KlHE7mf.jpg "[DBNL]M.D._Geist_Director's_Cut_[x264][2639BBE0].mkv_snapshot_45.15_[2015.04.10_22.26.58].jpg")
>>2783134
I hate how overused it is for anything remotely dark. I've lost count at how many retarded reviewers claimed MD Geist was nihilistic.
Silent hill in a way, and probably the unlocalized early Suda51 games
>>2783676
Any attempts at translating the infamous Fire Pro game he worked on?
>>2783129
You've probably played it already if you're posting here but the first Diablo has an incredibly bleak atmosphere and tone.
Silent hill 2 is the closest i can think of
![tumblr_kqvzua7Zie1qzqgkn[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/2BaANDj.jpg "tumblr_kqvzua7Zie1qzqgkn[1].jpg")
>>2783676
I assume you're mainly referring to the Twilight Syndrome trilogy. I'm a weeb from way back and I still have a pretty piss-poor understanding of Japanese but I suspect those games, like Killer7 may actually be better if you don't fully understand what's going on. Dude's a better director than writer.
Alien 3 is a totally different gaming experience.
>>2783129
I'd argue, any game you can't win, from Space Invaders to Tetris. If you want a game that actually makes it part of the theme, though, play Missile Command.
I'm gonna have to be that guy here, but can someone explain nihilism to me? I read the wikipedia article once but it didn't mean much to me.
>>2784410
there is no god and everything sucks
>>2784415
so Kirby then?
![atlantis2600Screen2[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/RNIj1UZ.jpg "atlantis2600Screen2[1].jpg")
>>2784410
Profound pointlessness, simply put. Reactions to this vary.
>>2784323
Good argument, especially Missile Command, and about a hundred similar Atari games (I liked Atlantis).
>>2784416
I think you might be on to something
>>2784124
>Dude's a better director than writer.
I always thought of it the other way around. He always came off as the polar opposite of Kojima where his writing is damn good but his direction is all over the place meanwhile Kojima is fantastic on focusing on the big picture but his actual writing is a total mess.
>>2784124
killer7 is amazingly written though. what don't you understand?
>>2784410
Imagine the life of someone who shitposts 24/7.
>>2784421
That Atlantis plot flowed into Cosmic Ark blew my fucking mind.
>>2784457
I understood it fine once I played it in English. I just wish I hadn't, since the story I had made up to go along with all the slick stylish imagery was much cooler than what it turned out to be.
Dilbert's Desktop Games
>>2783143
You should check out Harvester. It explores some very dark subjects from pedophilia to cannibalism. It's also on steam.
>>2784593
>cooler
seems like you prefer style over substance. it is "stylish" one some level but that's not really the point.
>>2783187
Makes sense, since themes like existentialism can feel horrifying.
>>2784410
Nihilism means, life and existence are meaningless. There is no god. There is only nothingness in the universe. Nature is evil. When you die you will become nothingness. Your life was meaningless. It doesn't matter what you do or did,your life is meaningless. It doesn't matter if you kill yourselves or raise a family of ten. Life is futile.
>>2785107
There is nothing you need to know. You just need to know how to use a mouse. The rest is up to you.
>>2784860
No game has ever gotten under my skin quite like Harvester. It's so fucked up.
>>2784410
Nihilism is basically the idea that ideas like meaning, value and worth are subjective and that they don't exist outside of our minds. There is no meaning of life because that assumes the existence of a creator god who designed everything with a specific meaning, and there is no rational reason to believe in a god like that. A lot of people who are opposed to nihilism see this as being extremely negative and that's why the word is also used as a buzzword to describe anything dark and hopeless. But at the heart of it, it's a purely logical way of viewing life, knowing full well that there is no grand design and that your values are just as subjective as everyone else's.
The Sims, SimCity and other electronic toys have no win condition. They are existentialist in the sense that you either invent your own goals or quit the game.
>>2785267
it`s pretty retarded that nihilism is still a thing though
because genetics alone prove that we have a purpose which give us solid meaning. Thanks to nihilism we have this shitty relativism that is sweeping the western world, where everything is becoming so absurd and twisted that it`s not even funny any more.
>>2783129
I know Terranigma is often praised, but it's a seriously uncanny game. It's just such a bizarre take on the whole "save the world" concept, and leaves you with an anxious sense of catharsis. More games need to have a tone like that.
Shadow of Memories
>>2787121
Psh. To reproduce? All the "smart types" are going childless because the world is such a shitty place.j/k /pol/ please stay
>>2787121
Genetics don't dictate a solid purpose for the human race though, and much less is it a purpose for individuals.
It's just natural Will, and in the grand scheme of things, you could argue humans are more like a virus/disease.
Pic related for unhesitatingly pessimistic nihilist reading, as well as the author's large collection of short fiction.
As far as nihilist games though? I find it really hard to think of stuff that can get categorized under /vr/. Modern stuff like Spec-ops, Nier, Dark Souls, etc comes to mind, but few games on earlier consoles make the attempt.
So, here's what I can think of off the top of my head:
Silent Hill, especially the bad endings that are easiest to get.
The Dodonpachi series has quite depressing backstories, and the actions of the player are almost always shown to be the cause of catastrophic wars and genocide that they were trying to prevent.
Planescape: Torment, insomuch as it takes place in a very morally ambiguous world, and lets you do some awful, awful things. The game completely follows through on those options, without pulling any punches.
Noctis IV CE is a game which triggers some deep existential anxiety in me. You are wandering through a universe aimlessly, going from planet to planet through an empty void where there are no other sentient life forms to interact with, and nothing except a universe of planets with only small vestiges of life, and at best the ruins of some ancient dead civilization.
It's really hard to think of titles that might fit the bill.
>>2787208
Or alternatively skip the book and just watch the 1st season of True Detective
>>2787121
>genetics
>our purpose
I kek'd.
Surprised nobody mentioned Castlevania, especially Rondo of Blood, the dialogue between Richter and Dracula (which was later remade in SOTN and the english translation became the meme we all know and love).
Richter blames Dracula for torturing humans, but Dracula argues that it was humans themselves who resurrected him.
In SOTN Dracula's backstory was expanded and then you learn that he fell in love with a woman (Alucard's mother) and she was killed by fellow humans, which is also part of the reason why Dracula holds a grudge against humanity.
Richter defeats Dracula, but Dracula knows he will be resurrected again because humanity's degeneracy and lust for power and violence is something inherent to them.
>>2787197
yes they do, just because we can thing our way out of the gene pool does not change the fact that certain things are hardwired.
>virus/disease
not really, the same powers that gave us the ability to reason, allow us to not act like a virus. Reductionist thought does not work for whole of human experience.
>>2787184
>Psh. To reproduce?
no, to experience, we`re walking sensors and our brains primary function is to filter and make sense of these.
>>2787256
But "to experience" is so vague that it can hardly be considered a purpose.
In fact I'd say it's a very nihilistic thing to say.
>>2787260
well obviously the next step is to learn from the experience. Learning is the purpose.
>>2787262
The more you learn, the more you realize your individual self doesn't have a real purpose. Other than keep learning and becoming more and more aware of this, like a snake eating its own tail.
>>2787256
genes have nothing to do with reasons to exist.
you sound more like a hard facts scientist than a philosopher. you're a jerk. please leave this topic.
>crtl+f "I have"
>0
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Dos). Very dark and brooding, and the opening speech is probably more famous around here than the game itself (sadly).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EddX9hnhDS4
>>2787332
Literally the first recommendation in the thread, even with a picture.
Good choice though. Also try reading the short story it was based on
>>2787538
we are two people recommending, not one :)
