Ben disappeared somewhere in the pitch-black Old World. A handful of streamers gathered to investigate the caves and corridors full of monsters, only to discover that their friend had disappeared. “Did Ben die?” one asked himself aloud, shortly before another spotted him with relief in his voice. “That’s no joke took “I,” Ben begins to say. “It carried me a mile underground.” One of his companions interrupts him: “Wai-wai-wait, shut up, shut up, damn it, shut up!” Now tell this story in front of the camera .”
“Oh, OK, OK,” Ben replies, getting into position. Someone shines a flashlight on him. The light hits a gelatinous monster behind him. It takes him away again before he can even finish his sentence. Luckily, this time his kidnapping is entirely on camera, and content creator videogamedunkey has a potential viral hit on its hands – both in-game and in-game. Content warningand on his real YouTube channel.
In the week since its release Content warning– a co-op horror game about filming (and surviving) monsters to get views on a fake YouTube – was a huge success for developer Landfall Games. Within the first 24 hours of release on Steam more than 6 million Players have downloaded it.
Built by a small team of five developers in just six weeks. Content warning has quickly become the latest trending topic in gaming because it appeals to exactly the gamers it was made for: game streamers who want to go viral and the fans who love watching them. A perfect meta-commentary on how far some influencers will go to win. On YouTube and Twitch, where the game’s fans are most visible, everyone knew what to do: film, film, film.
The team behind it Content warning They sensed they had something special when they first recorded a video of their expedition and watched it together. “It was immediately hilarious,” says developer Zorro Svärdendahl. It’s not that they did anything special – in fact, they mostly filmed themselves walking behind trees and playing peek-a-boo games – but the bones were there. They simply needed to make the videos of the game punchier.
In the game, players have three days to capture footage good enough to garner views online, but every time they enter the game’s Old World they are put at risk. Monsters tend to appear suddenly from the darkness, sometimes with shrill screams.
A finished video that the surviving team members gather to watch at the end usually has one The Blair Witch-ian found the footage to be high quality – shaky footage of running, lots of shouting and especially people barking things like “Let’s get this on film”. The game’s goofy aesthetic for its SpookTubers, whose characters resemble inflatable bounce houses and whose faces players create by typing emoticons, makes the whole thing even more entertaining.
Content warning is part of a long tradition at Landfall Games, which releases a small, fun game every year on April Fool’s Day. One year it was a “horse-driving-romance-road-trip-battle-royale”; On the other hand, it was a parody of Battle Royale. This year’s title is about the many players who have seamlessly adapted to the role of influencer. There is a big social element to the work, with people role-playing with their friends in the game. Sometimes it’s a YouTuber type. Sometimes it’s a news reporter trying to do something very turbulent interview. People become creative.