Thinking about all the classics in thehorrorgaming sphere – games likeResident Evil,Silent Hill,Dead Space,and the like – the setting is just as crucial as any of the characters featured in the story. It’s the entire foundation of a story, after all.
For Americans like myself,games set in the United Statescan invoke all kinds of feelings, even subconsciously. It’s familiar, a connection to home that we can relate to on a base level. The thing is, American culture is incredibly regional, distinct in climate, landscapes, food, even language.
The five regions of the U.S. – theNortheast, theSouthwest, theWest, theSoutheast, and theMidwest– might as well be their own countries; and that’s not even considering the state-by-state differences.
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Many games that take place in the United States are, of course, in all kinds oficonic cities– New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, all those heavy hitters. Sometimes, they’re insmall townsall around the coasts; however, there’s one area that’s painfully neglected as a video game setting:the Midwest.
The Midwest may look relatively plain on the surface, but as a Midwesterner, game developers are missing out on a huge opportunity:it’d be an excellent backdrop for a horror game.
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If you were to look at video games taking place in Midwestern settings, you’d be shocked (and devastated if you’re a fellow Midwesterner) to see just how few games actually are there.
Any game that just so happens to cross along the Midwest is typically a highlight in aCabela’shunting game, anadaptation of a movie, or a fishing game. I live in Indiana, and I kid you not, there are only nine games that take place here – three of which wereOver the Hedgeadaptations.
About the only original game that takes place in the Midwest isDetroit: Become Human, and as someone who also used to live in Detroit – it’s certainly a setting. Suffice to say,there are so few games set in the Midwest, much less horror games.
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Look, I’m not going to lie and say that the Midwest has anything exciting for the most part, but it’s a far more unique setting than people give it credit for – you just have to dig. The Midwest consists of12 states according to the U.S. Census Bureau; however, there’s a clear divide –The Plainsstates andThe Great Lakesstates.
The Plains states would be Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa; while the Great Lakes states would be Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Basically, there’s a scale, leading to all kinds ofdiverse biomeswhen put into a gaming angle – a significant amount of potential developers are missing out on.
Yet, those in the Plains can only somewhat relate to games featuring theWest, just like for those of us in the Great Lakes states can best identify withEast Coastcontent … on the other side of theAppalachianMountains(which is what divides the two regions in the first place).
How long will it be before we can finally relate to a game in our own home?
The Importance of Setting in Horror
A Character In and Of Itself
Perhaps the most important thing when it comes to laying out a horror story’s foundation is the setting in which it takes place. It’s a character in and of itself when it’s fleshed out wholly, and it represents the core, the nucleus, of the story. Take the town of Silent Hill and how it is in its games, for example – thick in fog andeffortlessly permeating the underlying themes of loneliness and isolation.
Setting in horror, simply put, is essential. So at first glance, a middle-of-nowhere area like the Midwest seems like it would be a basic setting, especially with how it consistently slips under the radar. I can tell you,as someone who used to work the crime beat in Indianapolis, there are nightmares lurking around every corner.
Of course, wherever there are humans, there is a horror story, but here in the Midwest that story is distinctly unique, ripped from our childhoods and local fears. It’s an odd blend ofreligious superstitions, countryside isolation, the uncanniness of liminal spaces, and otherhauntingly ordinary fears.
To put it simply, the Midwest is a hidden gem of pure atmosphere.
Think about horror movies likeChildren of the Corn(which is set in Nebraska) for example, and how the atmosphere is wholly suffocating and unsettling. It’s oppressive in every sense of the word – and that kind of atmosphere would thrive in a horror game.
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With this in mind, let’s look at the Midwest as a setting overall: right off the bat, the region has a humid continental climate, meaning that our summers are hot, and ourwinters are brutal and unforgiving(which is a horror situation in and of itself). The temperature fluctuates, which limits the kind ofcrops we grow on our farms– obviously, we can’t be growing peaches like Georgia since we don’t have that kind of environment.
Instead, we’re shrouded in corn, soybeans, and wheat with endless fields, not knowing what lurks between the stalks and hidden in the bushes. Growing up, I’d watch these fields become painted in fog every autumn equinox, or refreshed with a sprinkling of dew during the spring. It’s quiet out here, the kind of silence where you may heareverything,yet without any inkling of where the sound is coming from.
These fields, terrifyingly, almost feel alive, like they’re watching your every motion and awaiting the perfect time to swallow you whole. Basically, the Midwest would be a masterclass in setting a horrific tone, relying on the very uncanny reality that we’ve become so uncomfortable with.
So, when considering the Midwest as a setting for these types of games and genres, there’s an abundance of options that will fill players with an unwavering dread.
Local Folklore Has Always Lingered
Folklore has been integral to human culturesince humans have been able to communicate with each other. It’s how they explained the changing of the seasons, the nature of flora and fauna, life’s lessons, even; but most importantly – it was a desperate way to understand the senseless world around them, a world that takes everything unfairly and offers no comfort in return.
Folklore existed to try to make sense of everything that made no sense – to make sense of tragedy, to find solace through crippling grief.
Of course, it snowballed from there, becoming more life lessons and ways to scare children into behaving, but its roots can still be felt in the stories. Midwestern folklore, in particular, pulls a lot of overlap from other parts of the U.S. (Bigfoot is a predominant example), but we also have our own unique tales, such asBessie, the Lake Erie Monster–thirteen volumes of it, at least.
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Plus, geographically, there is a lot of overlap with the Appalachian Mountains, with many of those folktales seeping into our states from the mountain range (such as theNot Deer). Otherwise though, our legends mainly stem from Native American folklore (with creatures such as theWendigoandSkinwalker), religious fears, and whatever other cryptids people found in the dead of night.
Notice how most of the cryptids I’ve mentioned in this region so far all have an air of uncanniness about them, how they’re monsters in familiar skin, trying to trick us with our own fear. These are beings that aren’t human, aren’t the animals that they’re supposed to be. They’re not normal at all.
This is a kind ofsupernatural horrorthat would thrive in a horror game, the kind that would make players tremble in fear at just how unreal the whole situation seems. Plus, most of the people here aren’t doing anything crazy – they’re justsome average persontrying to live their life, which will add to the helplessness that these games need to properly terrify.
Midwestern Horror Will Be Terrifying
Delivering an Entirely New Lived Experience
Now imagine, if you will, what a horror game in the Midwest would be like – isolated, mostly landlocked states with an uncanny ambiance. Right off the bat, it’s enough to keep players on edge, enough to make them second-guess if they want to move forward. Whatever structures you do see are desolate, rusted, and run-down –teeming with historyin a land that time forgot.
It’s an excellent atmosphere right off the bat, and that doesn’t consider the plethora of monsters and other creatures that can be derived from our folklore. Then again, that’s if there are even any fictional creatures at all. After all, some of the most gruesome and horrific stories I’ve ever had to work with as a journalist were done by humans (especially here in Indiana) – things that couldn’t even be fathomed for a horror game.
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Of course, the story, scares, sound design (and subsequent soundtrack), and all other elements in a horror game are crucial for making a terrifying experience, but the setting is where it all begins … and ends. Not only would a Midwestern setting be unsettling and creepy, but it would invoke feelings of helplessness and isolation that you can’t really get anywhere else in the States.
Regardless, suffice to say we’re lacking in Midwestern content, and that’s just a darn shame. So for any aspiring developers (or current developers) looking for their next big horror idea, it might be worth your while to see what the Midwest has in store for you.
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