Daniel's fear of the dark

[Jace]

So this little "argument" has been rolling around in my head for a little while and I wanted to see what the rest of the community thinks.

To me, Daniel's fear of the dark makes little sense. I get that the dark is scary because its hard to see and you never quite know whats in it but in Daniel's case, he knows exactly whats in it and he's not completely blind in the dark either. Daniel knows there are "monsters" roaming around the castle in the dark and some may argue that that's the explanation for Daniel's fear. Well, my counter-argument to that is the monsters have very poor/minimal night vision themselves and while they can see Daniel perfectly fine in well-lit areas, Daniel can literally hide right next to one in the dark and it would walk right past him. To me, if I was in Daniel's position, I would take some comfort in that fact and any fear I had about the dark would almost dissipate immediately. Secondly, while Daniel doesn't have as far of a vision range in the dark as he does in a lit area, he can still see far enough to warn him of any danger nearby and the monsters aren't exactly quiet either. You'll know when one is nearby.

That was what I've been thinking and am interested in see how the community responds. Fantastic game, don't get me wrong, but this little "feature" always struck me as odd.

[Crtomir]

Well sure, Grunts and Brutes are pretty blind when they lurk in the darkness, but I think Daniel wasn't completely sure how many monsters there are roaming. You would always feel insecure in a scary castle, you never know what lurks in the darkness.

I'm sure it's only the fact that the darkness means the unknown. Anything could grab Daniel while he was hiding in the shadows. Unless you finished/spoiled the game, then you are certain.

[DRedshot]

I always felt more uneasy in the darkness, it's a natural defence mechanism to fear the unknown. As much as it's true to say that Daniel would be wise to use the darkess too hide, it is hard to think rationally in a situation like that.
Think of it this way -- If you woke up in a pitch black labarinth, and found a source of light in the distance, you would naturally move towards it, because it is generally thought that light = safety, and you wouldn't venture much furthur than the lamp anyways...
In black hallway, you cannot tell if you're alone until it's too late, In a well lit hallway you can tell if you're alone as soon as you enter the room...

The point is, you don't act rationally in a situation like that. You would go insane, and start hearing things in the darkness. You must also consider what the amnesia potion has done to his already weakened mind due to all of the inoccent people he has killed...

[Hionimi]

Well, I'm afraid of the dark, something I can't help, and perhaps Daniel is too and Frictional is trying to make you experience what it would be like to be afraid of the dark. And really, you could try and play hide and seek with the Servants by hiding in the dark and risking a lot, but lets not forget that loosing means dying in this story. Now imagine this in real life, would you still feel so comfortable if you hide near these creatures with no form of defense and being discovered would very much increase your chances to die?

[Jace]

(09-09-2011 10:23 AM)DRedshot Wrote:  I always felt more uneasy in the darkness, it's a natural defence mechanism to fear the unknown. As much as it's true to say that Daniel would be wise to use the darkess too hide, it is hard to think rationally in a situation like that.
Think of it this way -- If you woke up in a pitch black labarinth, and found a source of light in the distance, you would naturally move towards it, because it is generally thought that light = safety, and you wouldn't venture much furthur than the lamp anyways...
In black hallway, you cannot tell if you're alone until it's too late, In a well lit hallway you can tell if you're alone as soon as you enter the room...

The point is, you don't act rationally in a situation like that. You would go insane, and start hearing things in the darkness. You must also consider what the amnesia potion has done to his already weakened mind due to all of the inoccent people he has killed...

To be honest, I didn't take the Amnesia potion into consideration when I started to question Daniel's fear of the dark. And it might be a plausible explanation behind it.

And yes, if I were to wake up in a dark labyrinth and see only one light source, I would start moving towards it. However, if I were to later find that there are creatures roaming around that can see me in well-lit areas but not so much in dark or poorly lit areas, I would say I'd spend the majority of my time in the dark. If I can't defend myself for some reason but I can hide, that would give me some much needed comfort in that situation.

But, as you've said, maybe Daniel's fear of the dark doesn't have anything to do with what he can or can't see in the dark but rather what the dark brings out of his fragile mind. If I had done the kind of things Daniel has done, I think my guilt would be far scarier than any monster.

(09-09-2011 11:29 AM)Hionimi Wrote:  Well, I'm afraid of the dark, something I can't help, and perhaps Daniel is too and Frictional is trying to make you experience what it would be like to be afraid of the dark. And really, you could try and play hide and seek with the Servants by hiding in the dark and risking a lot, but lets not forget that loosing means dying in this story. Now imagine this in real life, would you still feel so comfortable if you hide near these creatures with no form of defense and being discovered would very much increase your chances to die?

Daniel has no way of defending himself no matter where he's at. His only form of defense in this game if spotted by a servant or brute would be to sprint for the nearest room, hope there is no light inside, turn off the lamp and hide. In a game where you can't defend yourself and your only method of self-preservation when attacked is to hide in dark or otherwise poorly lit areas; fearing the one place that keeps you safe seems a little odd. Might be just me though.

[Cryaotic]

Fear of the dark, OH!


Fear of the dark!


I have a constant fear that something's always there!


To actually contribute to the thread - Daniel might have just had a childhood trauma that happened in the dark - maybe he was attacked by the family dog with rabies when he was going into the shed at night time? Maybe his father told him scary stories before bed and the shadows played tricks on him in his room alone at night? Innate fear of the unseen is quite common don't'cha know good s'ah!

[Hionimi]

I must add though, now that I think about it, it would be scary to be somewhere where you cannot see, in Amnesia though, you can pretty much always see something if you have set the brightness to the recommended settings.

[Hunter of Shadows]

(09-09-2011 08:40 AM)Jace Wrote:  So this little "argument" has been rolling around in my head for a little while and I wanted to see what the rest of the community thinks.

To me, Daniel's fear of the dark makes little sense. I get that the dark is scary because its hard to see and you never quite know whats in it but in Daniel's case, he knows exactly whats in it and he's not completely blind in the dark either. Daniel knows there are "monsters" roaming around the castle in the dark and some may argue that that's the explanation for Daniel's fear. Well, my counter-argument to that is the monsters have very poor/minimal night vision themselves and while they can see Daniel perfectly fine in well-lit areas, Daniel can literally hide right next to one in the dark and it would walk right past him. To me, if I was in Daniel's position, I would take some comfort in that fact and any fear I had about the dark would almost dissipate immediately. Secondly, while Daniel doesn't have as far of a vision range in the dark as he does in a lit area, he can still see far enough to warn him of any danger nearby and the monsters aren't exactly quiet either. You'll know when one is nearby.

That was what I've been thinking and am interested in see how the community responds. Fantastic game, don't get me wrong, but this little "feature" always struck me as odd.

You need to remember that Daniel is, when this story starts is...well, unhinged to say the least, he's no longer mentally stable in any way as we understand it, my theory is that is that his mind was a little damaged by the amnesia potion and the things he's gone through

So because of this, he's already slightly insane and therefore may have more fear of the dark then usual.

Also keep in mind some places of the Castle the darkness isn't entirely natural and is very...lovecraftian

Remember Storage?

"The Darkness down here feels strange and unnatural..."

[Hionimi]

(09-09-2011 08:09 PM)Hunter of Shadows Wrote:  Remember Storage?

"The Darkness down here feels strange and unnatural..."

I hated that place so much, the darkness was like black fog or something, now that was really a succesful way to scare me. :|

[UnseenLegend ( NL )]

(09-09-2011 09:46 PM)Hionimi Wrote:  I hated that place so much, the darkness was like black fog or something, now that was really a succesful way to scare me. :|

There was no Fog they used Diffuse Collor [Black] to make the light lower Like Your Latern is giving lower lights when your in the Storage