Silent Spiral

Gameplay Overview:

This is a walking simulator game with horror elements, consisting of three levels. Controls: WASD to move, E to interact, Shift to run.

Inspiration and Original Intent:

The inspiration comes from Mark Fisher's definition of horror, aiming to construct an alternative horror game scenario. In his definition, modern horror often doesn't stem from traditional ghosts or supernatural phenomena, but from the alienation of daily life itself, the oppression of social structures, and the "invisible horror" of capitalism. It kills our sense of future, internalizes depression and loneliness as individual failure, and uses cultural stagnation and intellectual fatigue to make us accept that the world cannot be changed. This is a kind of invisible ideological horror.

So what would happen if this form of abstract horror became a game setting? It would likely differ from traditional horror games based on ghosts and zombies, creating an entirely new "deeply disturbing" type of horror game experience. It aims to explore new forms of horror, using the walking simulator as a vehicle, allowing players to experience horror elements through interaction with levels that aren't inherently frightening on the surface.

Level 1: Work Loop

The endless repetition of work as an end rather than a means traps individuals in inescapable productive anxiety - constantly busy yet meaningless. While seemingly "freely" choosing work hours and self-improvement paths, people have actually internalized market logic completely. Work is no longer connected to belonging or value, but to performance metrics, rankings, and KPIs. The result is widespread mental illness (anxiety, depression, emptiness), viewed as personal failure rather than a systemic problem.

This endless work cycle is designed as a looping level where players repeatedly open doors with a constant déjà vu feeling. The experience is intensified through blurred visuals, flickering effects, and oppressive horror soundscapes that gradually push players toward panic and emotional breakdown. After a certain number of repetitions, the level ends, allowing players to realize the true nature of the cycle.

Level 2: Debt Loop

Under consumerist pressure, individuals maintain a "standard lifestyle" through loans/installments/student debt, constantly falling deeper into debt while being told this is normal. Credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans extend the relationship between individuals and capital indefinitely. You believe you'll pay it off "someday," but that day never arrives. Fisher notes that capitalism's promised "future reward" never materializes, yet we sacrifice our present believing in it.

This concept is realized as a firefighting level where players must constantly fetch water from the bathroom to extinguish fires appearing throughout the house - an abstraction of earning wages to pay off debt. Players experience mounting tension as fires generate faster than they can be extinguished. Eventually, players discover the water supply is exhausted while fires continue spreading, symbolizing the inevitable outcome of debt cycles.

Level 3: Loss of Consciousness

The "pseudo-reality" created across life, media, and politics immerses people in illusions where they believe they have free choice and awareness, while structural reality remains unchanged. In "Specters of New Materialism," a type of horror is defined where familiar environments develop unsettling absences or anomalies that, through brainwashing, people are forced to accept. Capitalist society shapes people's thinking through technology, media, and consumer culture until they cannot imagine alternative ways of living.

This concept is realized as a level filled with anomalies where players must count and report them to a terminal. Regardless of their answers, the system always indicates errors while gradually reducing the number of visible anomalies. Only when players realize all anomalies have disappeared do they understand - this process mirrors capitalist brainwashing where anomalies continue to exist, but players eventually become unable to perceive them.