Why is MM8 so eerie?

[Secret_Holder]

I've been replaying MM8 for the last few days, and something hit me, that I didn't notice the first time. (Or I've forgotten it)

MM8 is a really eerie game. Everything about somehow unsettles me a bit: The music sets a dark atmosphere, and many of the NPC portraits are pretty damn creepy.

Is this just me?

[Sgt_BFG]

It's been a while since I played that one, but it probably is the darkest in the series. I believe you could have a vampire as a player character, along with dragons and necromancers in your party. visually it was darker than the mostly bright tones of VI.

[Arret]

It is mostly the artsytle and the music. There really aren't any bright zones. Even Murmurwoods is relatively dull except for the actual wisps.

The death of minotaurs and trolls in the opening and the main theme help set the tone and it really never changes the entire time.

[Variol]

..and the clerics in Murmurwoods have creepy eyes!

[Dharcness]

The loading screens. Man the loading screens of MM8 are so eerie.

And don't forget Shadowspire, it's dull, gloomy and dead (or undead whichever you prefer). Makes me want to just armageddon the entire place and get the hell out!

[Secret_Holder]

I'm of course not saying the eeriness is a bad thing. As an artistic choice for the game, it's bloody brilliant.

It underpins the whole sense of impending doom, which Jadame itself is threatened by, during the game. It's the game's biggest strength as a story element.

[Arret]

I agree that it is done very well. 8 has the best artstyle in the series and the music compliments it very well.

The only parts of the series that set such a strong mood are on the spaceships on Darkside and most of the dark path in MM7. The lighter graphics and tones worked much better in HoMM.

In MM8 there aren't any archetypical "good" factions, which is another reason the tone works so well. The Clerics are greedy and blatantly hypocritical. Dark Elves are out for money first. The dragon hunters are fine until you give them the egg, at which point it becomes impossible to look at them the same way ever again. The closest would be either trolls or minotaurs, and both of those were basically independent until they changed because of the Cataclysm.

The loading screens. Man the loading screens of MM8 are so eerie.

They never felt eerie and are part of what the game does worst, over the top fanservice that detracts from the setting.

[hellegennes]

It was supposed to be darker, but in my opinion it doesn't manage to completely demonstrate this aspect. Maybe it is because it feels a bit empty. It could be a really great game but for me it's just a very good game, as it stands.

Yes, it's darker than the previous titles but much of the eeriness comes from the fact that it's empty, something I don't think was the intention of the developers but rather a byproduct of a rushed release.

[Secret_Holder]

Empty? How so?

Of course it's smaller than the previous games, but I wouldn't say it's "empty".

[GrayFace]

I agree that it is done very well. 8 has the best artstyle in the series and the music compliments it very well.

Noo, MM8 has ugly interface and monsters that don't hold up to MM7 ones. The music is good ofc.
If anything, I'd rather describe MM8 atmosphere as 'dull' rather than 'eerie', but I can't judge it right now, because it just feels natural after playing it so many times. MM6 atmosphere will always be my favorite because of music, variation of dungeons and the fact it was the first RPG I played.

[hellegennes]

My first RPG was probably Daggerfall or Albion*. Both great games, btw. But MM6 was my first MM game, so it's special for me. But I always use objective standards when I compared it to the rest. It just happened to be the best in many aspects but it probably alienated old MM fans in some ways, due to its free-roaming and combat styles.


* which, looking at it retrospectively, looks like it's the exact source of Cameron's Avatar: An alien planet full of life, strange jungles and animals, a sentient cat race, taller than humans, who look exactly like Navi save for skin colour, and a plot revolving around a conspiracy of Humans who try to mine the planet, on which extra precious metals are found. The aliens even have the Navi interract-with-nature-interface thing, only it's positioned on their foreheads. Of course the Human spaceship is a super-advanced huge spacecraft.

Empty? How so?

Of course it's smaller than the previous games, but I wouldn't say it's "empty".

It's empty of text, the sidequests feel unworked, the dungeons are small (and less than MM6's and MM7's), there are literally many empty areas which don't have anything significant on them save for some monsters (which if you kill make the area look even emptier). It generally doesn't seem as vibrant as MM7 was.

[GreatEmerald]

I haven't noticed the game as a whole being eerie, but the soundtrack is definitely so. The only tracks that aren't eerie are the ones that play in Murmurwoods and Dagger Wound.

[Secret_Holder]

On a side note. Where do I find the "Divine Intervention" spellbook in MM8?

[hellegennes]

In Murmurwoods.

[Secret_Holder]

In the shop?

I couldn't find it in the shop, so I assumed you'd have to find it in a dungeon, as in MM6-7

[Arret]

Yes it is in the shop. It showing up is still subject to RNG like any other spell.

[BoardGuest808888]

I've been replaying MM8 for the last few days, and something hit me, that I didn't notice the first time. (Or I've forgotten it)

MM8 is a really eerie game. Everything about somehow unsettles me a bit: The music sets a dark atmosphere, and many of the NPC portraits are pretty damn creepy.

Is this just me?

Felt like walking alone in a dark alley didn't u ?

Wasn't really surprising. Unlike the past of MM series, the 8th dealt with what were leftovers of the whole thing. Those who tend to go in the gray area, those who didn't choose a side in the Erathian conflicts. Those who thought only their petty conflicts, incapable of seeing the greater things. These were the MM's society dump. Clueless people who passed the chance to shine in Erathian conflicts, now found themselves in a gloomy environment in Antagarich backwater.

As for Divine Intervention, IIRC sometimes u can also found it in treasury, most usually the ones that held rare artifacts and items.

[GreatEmerald]

Clueless people who passed the chance to shine in Erathian conflicts, now found themselves in a gloomy environment in Antagarich backwater.

Jadame. And they aren't clueless and all. It felt to me like they rather wanted some peaceful living away from it all, that's all.

[Secret_Holder]

Well if we were to look at some of the civilized races of Jadame, they include Lizardfolk, Minotaurs and Dark Elves.

They never seemed to be too welcome in Antagarich and Enroth, so why would they care?

PS: But how come there even are civilized minotaurs in Jadame. Weren't minotaurs created by that crazy wizard in Kriegspire?

[GreatEmerald]

Well if we were to look at some of the civilized races of Jadame, they include Lizardfolk, Minotaurs and Dark Elves.

They never seemed to be too welcome in Antagarich and Enroth, so why would they care?

PS: But how come there even are civilized minotaurs in Jadame. Weren't minotaurs created by that crazy wizard in Kriegspire?

Lizardmen are the backbone of the Tatalian armies. They are more than welcome, that's for sure. And Minotaurs were used by Nighon. Dark Elves - we never heard about those before, so no way to tell if they would be welcome on other continents or not. But they're traders, so why not?

Not all minotaurs were manufactured, that's for sure. There are minotaurs on other worlds, like XEEN.