5 ms·
I'm surprised nowhere in the article does it mention the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R https://en.wikipedia.org/wi
by pugworthy 5y ago
I'm surprised nowhere in the article does it mention the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.)
They are loosely based on the novel, however perhaps more well known (in the US at least) than the book or movie.
- res0nat0r 5y agoI wonder still if much of the popularity of said stalking above is directly related to this game.
- pugworthy 5y agoAs a US resident, both the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games and the Metro 2033 game series have fascinated me in their different style of storytelling than most "traditional" FPS games. I have to put them in the same group as the Half Life series in terms of replay enjoy-ability for the story and engagement.
- whatever_dude 5y agoI think it's a reflection of the culture from the general area. Russian sci-fi, for example, tends to be heavily introspective (Roadside Picnic, Solaris, etc). While most other western/American sci fi is more about extraordinary world building/future scenarios. To a lesser or different degree, you see the same approach in videogames, software development, etc.
- apocolyps6 5y agoFunny thing is that the Metro games are based on books by the same name. I tried reading the first one expecting horror and survivalism and action. Instead I got mysticism and philosophy. Half the book reads like Dante's Inferno. Like its not supposed to be taken literally, but I'm not the right audience to get the references.
- mattmanser 5y agoThey led me to go read the books, the metro series of books is great if you like post-apoc. And if you enjoy them, try the Night Watch/World of Watches series. It's supernatural, focused on a quasi-governmental department that keeps the peace between the light and the dark magic communities, very gritty. The Nightwatch/Daywatch films are really good too, such a shame they never made the third. There's a certain mind set in all of the Russian literature I've read that I find extremely appealing. I haven't read that much, but found that same mindset even in the older stuff like War and Peace, or Master and Margarita.
- xsmasher 5y agoThe game has an interesting "meta" aspect because it incorporates the Chernobyl disaster into its storyline, twenty years after after the Chernobyl workers incorporated the novel and movie into their mythology. Real "art imitates life imitates art" stuff.
- gear54rus 5y agoI don't understand why people associate Roadside Picnic with Chernobyl and what happenned there.. Is it only because of the game and its similarities to both novel and movie?
- xsmasher 5y agoNo. The cleanup workers after the Chernobyl accident noted the similarities between their "Exclusion zone" and the zone in the book and movie, and some started calling themselves stalkers. A dangerous zone, controlled by the government where only certain people are allowed to go, filled with invisible dangers. The game just expanded that connection, mashing up Chernobyl history and Stalker/Picinic details, and brought it to the western gamer audience. If part of Australia was overrun by biker gangs I'm sure people would start calling it the Max Max zone. Same thing.