Official Trailer and more Lore! news - Half-Rats: Redridge mod for Half-Life

Wowie, that was fun, wasn't it?

Okay, so I thought I'd go ahead and deconstruct the horror aspect of Redridge today - as I said I would in the past:

First of all; the setting is designed to place players in an uncanny valley of its own. I chose the year 1999, in a remote area for a reason. It doesn't take place in the distant past, yet it doesn't take place recent memory. To those alive in 1999, they may very well remember that year, but vaguely - and they most likely did not experience those times with the mind of an adult. To those born much later, the setting will take them back to a time they never experienced, but most things will still be familiar - though with a haze of the outdated. The goal is to take the player out of their own experience, but not too far - just enough to put them on edge.

The one-two-three punch would not be complete without the remoteness and run-down condition of the buildings and environments. These aren't fancy high-rises, high-tech facilities, etc. - they are lonely highways, forests, dirt roads, and unimpressive, beat-up structures. It's got the small-town feel - but at the same time, with a dark twist. Red Ridge may have a lot of cozy wood paneling, (now, and even then, in some cases...) vintage beer ads and worn carpet, but it's the kind of place you could get stuck for life and end up dying in.

Finally, the time of year the game takes place is the final punch...The summer is dying, and a long, cold winter is approaching, the crickets are out, and the player character is between two major events in life. He's out of school, but between employment, spending the summer in his parents' old cabin getting drunk and mulling over his choices.

It will soon be the year 2000, a new millennium. The setting for this game I believe to be very liminal.

The rest of the story aspects and visuals are pretty self-explanatory. You have an interdimensional rift open up in some podunk and a bunch of monstrosities are coming through. Pretty classic horror stuff!

Enjoy!