Arachnophobia mode

[lil_thang]

I know it could sound rude but if a person can literally not stand seeing a spider in video game then... maybe the game isn't made for them? If video games have to cater to every phobia existing there wouldn't really be any game.

It's kinda like if someone doesn't want to see people getting killed in a war movie or dislike the sound of a cello in a symphony.

Of course there can always be mods made for that and it's optional but this shouldn't be a systematic requirement for a game.

this is exactly why i kinda wanted to know the extreme limits of this concept, as it appears philosophically similar to the 'accessibility' argument that exploded in headlines around TLOU/Elden Ring release time.

it felt like there came a certain point where people began to argue that their personal preferences were an accessibility issue. but le death of sincerity you can only get 0.5 serious replies out of this discussion without reddit top comment tier replies

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I just remembered that in Limbo there's a giant spider that is basically the first "boss" of the game as well as the first major moment as you need to fight against it.

How could you change that with an arachnophobia mode? I'm legit curious.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

It's not a philosophical problem tho. It's not even about design. It's just marketing. Some people don't want to buy games with spiders. Yet publisher and devs still want to sell.

I hate UI crosshairs, compass and minimaps and will always find a mod to remove them even if I have to shader hunt them in Reshade or Geo-11. They are accessibility features, tho. I can understand why people don't want to get lost in their open world. It completely ruins the very concept IMO, but as long as I get the option to play the game my way...

 

[TheSoulWalker TheSoulWalker]

I just remembered that in Limbo there's a giant spider that is basically the first "boss" of the game as well as the first major moment as you need to fight against it.

How could you change that with an arachnophobia mode? I'm legit curious.

This was one of the hardest pills to swallow, when I first played it the thought that it was like this by design trumped my thought of "Fuck, fuck, FUCK" running on repeat.

 

[trickybus]

I just remembered that in Limbo there's a giant spider that is basically the first "boss" of the game as well as the first major moment as you need to fight against it.

How could you change that with an arachnophobia mode? I'm legit curious.

Limbo didn't have that mode but it did have the option to censor the death animations for players who didn't want to watch a child character die. I don't recall anyone complaining about that one.

If the developers could have come up with an easy fix for implementing an arachnophobia mode, they probably would have. My guess is that such a mode would have been difficult to implement in Limbo when A) the spider is a major set-piece and not just an easily replaceable mook and B) the silhouette art-style limited the type of replacements the developers could actually use.

 

[moonbits]

I just remembered that in Limbo there's a giant spider that is basically the first "boss" of the game as well as the first major moment as you need to fight against it.

How could you change that with an arachnophobia mode? I'm legit curious.

that's a stylized silhouette

 

[TheSoulWalker TheSoulWalker]

Also, VR. Headcrabs had to be toned down in design in advance because the original design they latched to your face and had teeth in Half-Life: Alyx. Now they latch to your stomach instead. Also the VR Headsets in Boneworks latched to your face (I destroyed a controller flinging the damn thing away my first go around because it scared the ever living hell out of me.)

 

[lil_thang]

so is there an arachnophobia toggle for facehuggers in Alien Isolation VR?

why was this never a requested feature until recently? consumers never seemed to mind before. the game Spider for PS1 wasn't prohibited from public display.
why is it only arachnophobia?
do movies require arachnophobia warnings?

bizzarre phenomenon

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I would love to see a game where you smash spiders as a therapy.

 

[TheSoulWalker TheSoulWalker]

so is there an arachnophobia toggle for facehuggers in Alien Isolation VR?

why was this never a requested feature until recently? consumers never seemed to mind before. the game Spider for PS1 wasn't prohibited from public display.
why is it only arachnophobia?
do movies require arachnophobia warnings?

bizzarre phenomenon

I think you're taking it a bit extreme here. Like if I go see a horror/thriller, I am going in with the expectation of being scared over many phobias. In grounded, they didn't need to go and give us an Arachnophobia toggle but they did anyway and it's a nice gesture, it's good PR because it doesn't negatively impact the experience. None of us are saying you can't have this at all because 3% of earth's population has this phobia therefore you can't have this at all.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

Because the setting can have funny results and phobias can be crippling.

 

[RuckusMcGuckus]

 

[SBLAST91]

Its an accessibility feature that doesn't get in the way of my own gaming experience so I'm all for it

 

[blackfrostbufu]

I think it's reasonable, since some folks get sent into a frenzy when they see spiders, and they deserve the option to experience a game regardless of big freaky critters. Inclusivity is super important, it's kinda like colourblind modes in a way!

 

[MewFantasy]

I'm very afraid of spiders to the point of having panic attacks. I really appreciated the arachnophobia mode in Hogwarts Legacy because it allowed me to play the game and have fun instead of stress. And yes, when I see the Harry Potter movies I fast forward the spider part. But if you don't have a problem with spiders, what does it matter if the option exists? Just don't use it then?

 

[fake-kun]

I'm very afraid of spiders to the point of having panic attacks. I really appreciated the arachnophobia mode in Hogwarts Legacy because it allowed me to play the game and have fun instead of stress. And yes, when I see the Harry Potter movies I fast forward the spider part. But if you don't have a problem with spiders, what does it matter if the option exists? Just don't use it then?

For some reason, a lot of gamers feel personally slighted by accessibility features.

 

[JustCallMeConstantin]

I think spiders are cute

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

For some reason, a lot of gamers feel personally slighted by accessibility features.

There's accessibility and watering down video game while using "accessibillity" as an excuse from some publishers.

Resident Evil is an horror game series, adding an arachnophobia mode would go against the main theme of the game I think.

 

[fake-kun]

There's accessibility and watering down video game while using "accessibillity" as an excuse from some publishers.

Resident Evil is an horror game series, adding an arachnophobia mode would go against the main theme of the game I think.

Thanks for proving my point.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Thanks for proving my point.

What's your point? Resident Evil is meant to scare you.

Anyway, most should be put under a built-in cheat menu because some features are basically that.

 

[fake-kun]

What's your point? Resident Evil is meant to scare you.

Anyway, most should be put under a built-in cheat menu because some features are basically that.

For some reason, a lot of gamers feel personally slighted by accessibility features.