Suggestion, if it's not too late: Arachnophobic Mode

[Fayd]

...Oh that's bothering me. I can't figure out WHICH demon clown is in that gif.

 

I know mods are one way to do it, I suppose... Does anyone know if a mod interface/tools are incoming?

[jackjack]

I believe we have Tolkien to thank for giant spiders, (though I could be wrong), along with a large number of other overused, tired fantasy tropes. I wouldn't mind this as a simple toggle switch, but it's certainly not a high-priority item.

[egosavar]

I can confirm that there's a considerable amount of arachnophobic gamers who want to buy and enjoy this game but unfortunately no one has come up with a solution for this.

[Fardragon]

I believe we have Tolkien to thank for giant spiders, (though I could be wrong), along with a large number of other overused, tired fantasy tropes. I wouldn't mind this as a simple toggle switch, but it's certainly not a high-priority item.

I think we have some people being afraid of spiders to thank for giant spiders.

 

If you want to invent a scary monster, you are going to base it on something people are scared of, aren't you?

 

I seem to recall Ariadne being changed into a giant spider back in ancient Greek times.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Well I'm mildly arachnophobic as well (there's no way in hell I'm going anywhere near spider-related quests in Skyrim with a melee character), but PoE's spiders didn't really leave much of an impression.

[R.Alexander]

I guess I am mildly arachnophobic. Small spiders don't bother me, but large, hairy ones freak me out. While going through the endless paths, I had fun killing all the spiders, but then I saw the spider queen and turned around and left. I haven't been back there since.

[EdwinP]

Insect creature suggestion:

 

Giant ants (with bite that does constant damage until the ant is killed and the bite is released)

Giant flying wasps (they can fly over your tanks).

[Gromnir]

based on the title alone, we thought this were gonna be an appeal for an all-spider version o' poe... which would actual be kinda funny. have all foe models be replaced with one o' the various spider or vithrack models.  is likely not what the genesis poster wants, but is at least as funny as big-head mode, though considerable more work.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Krajzen]

I don't want to be rude but IMHO the real solution should be to treat phobia itself I suffered on very deep social phobia years ago (almost not talking to anyone except few people and being extremely awkward, extremely anxious) but managed to get rid of it almost completely to the point of 'doing socially fairly well'. There are psychologists, there are therapies, often free and often online.

 

Are you going to run away from all amazing stories and unique experiences just because there is a <harmless IRL> little animal somewhere in them? This is not a solution, this is being defeated by mental issue. I unfortunately used to run away from my depressive/anxiety disorders for years before finally kicking them out.

[Barleypaper]

I could understand not wanting to fight spiders in a first person game. But this is isometric and party based; surely you're too far disconnected (psychically and mechanically) from the action to be bothered by it to the point of unplayability. Maybe I'm underestimating the phobia.

[Hrrunstar]

Irrational fear is irrational fear and no fun if it stops one from playing.  Building additional art assets, dialogue, etc. for critters that could mimic <spider, snake, etc.> and provoke a similar atmosphere?  That may be to corner case for the devs to devote much time for; given the budget required for bug stomping and game improvements.  If a modding community is allowed/encouraged, then it seems the perfect place for this kind of alteration.  Though it would be interesting to know the percentage of phobic individuals wanting to play these types of games, since that would be very informative to people who would want to serve that community in a commercial product.

[Krajzen]

Irrational fear is irrational fear and no fun if it stops one from playing.  Building additional art assets, dialogue, etc. for critters that could mimic <spider, snake, etc.> and provoke a similar atmosphere?  That may be to corner case for the devs to devote much time for; given the budget required for bug stomping and game improvements.  If a modding community is allowed/encouraged, then it seems the perfect place for this kind of alteration.  Though it would be interesting to know the percentage of phobic individuals wanting to play these types of games, since that would be very informative to people who would want to serve that community in a commercial product.

Personally I'd kick spiders the hell out this game for another reason:

 

*groan* Oh come on, again giant spiders in fantasy setting?!

 

Same with idiotic concept of slime enemies. I have never understood D&D obsession with such retarded enemy types: spiders, slimes, ants, giant wasps; they are all stupid, not serious, boring as lame.

 

I am thankful PoE doesn't have rats at least. In Drakensang the most difficult to defeat enemy was not one of 3 dragons you encounter, not necromant wizard or demon lord but rat queen in a cave under a city, surrounded by respawning rats. But that could be expected - Drakensang was so incredibly bland, unoriginal fantasy it was giving me nausea with blatantly copying each and every asset from class C fantasy books.

[Clicks]

I support this simply because I'm bored of fighting spiders in RPGs! I hope for the sake of our arachnophobic friends that a mod emerges.

[Fardragon]

I think we should have a mod that removes all dungeons for people who are claustrophobic, all outdoor areas for agoraphobics, and all ladders, mountains and deep holes for acrophobics.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

I think we should have a mod that removes all dungeons for people who are claustrophobic, all outdoor areas for agoraphobics, and all ladders, mountains and deep holes for acrophobics.

 

How original.

[Faerunner]

EDIT: I don't understand asking to censor something because it's scary, because I have a few phobias that show up in video games. Trypophobia, fear of large clusters of small holes, which appear in some monsters in some games (like the DAI Fade Nightmare), and intense horror at humanoid bodies without skin and/or with their muscles and organs exposed to the air, which is the case for Pillars reverants. But, I don't ask them to hide it just because it makes me uncomfortable.

 

I do agree with others though that giant spiders have become a very tired, overused, standard monster in fantasy settings. If they were removed (for whatever reason), I wouldn't mind.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Faerunner

[Yonjuro]

...I seem to recall Ariadne being changed into a giant spider back in ancient Greek times.

 

 

 Yes, but it was Arachne, a weaver who challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was turned into a spider (either as a punishment for challenging a goddess or, in some versions of the story, because she lost to Athena and the bet was that the loser would never weave again and so, Athena turned her into a spider out of pity so she could continue to weave. Uh, yeah, thanks for nothing Athena.).

 

 The name Arachne is where the word arachnid comes from. 

[aluminiumtrioxid]

I don't understand asking to censor something

 

That's not what the word "censorship" means.

[Jojobobo]

I'm afraid of crabs - would I care if I had to fight them in a fantasy game? No. Get over yourself.

[Tennisgolfboll]

There is people who are afraid of snakes, spiders, clowns, undead, bandits, soldiers, cops, criminals.

 

 

Remove all things people are afraid of. Nothing will be left. Problem solved for all the lobby groups. And everyone else suffers when game designers spend their time doing that.

[Gromnir]

there is a difference 'tween a phobia and a fear, no? people who is suggesting that the genesis poster's fears ain't reasonable is kinda stating the obvious.  see a black widow spider hanging from your rear-view mirror startles you into momentary panic?  am doubting that counts as arachnophobia.  by definition we are speaking of unreasonable and pathological fears with extreme reactions.  "get over it" is likely not an option for the sufferer.  

 

that being said, any kinda expectation that a computer game would needs be tailored to cater to those with real but unreasonable fears is, well, unreasonable. 

 

*shrug*

 

as we noted above, we thought this were gonna be an appeal for all-spiders.

 

as an aside, poe were being touted as an homage to the ie games.  the ie games had more than a few spiders. also, the beta had spiders in abundance. given the ie legacy nature o' the game and the actual presence o' arachnids in the beta, one cannot claim surprise, yes?

 

there is crpgs with no spiders or less spiders--  gaming alternatives for the arachnophobic crpg fan already exist.  am not being cold or flippant when we suggest that the genesis poster should try one o' those other crpgs.  

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Crucis]

I'm afraid of crabs - would I care if I had to fight them in a fantasy game? No. Get over yourself.

 

This is a really harsh attitude.  People with legitimate phobias don't just "get over" them, particularly if those phobias are really strong.  Someone who has panic attacks, like the OP writes, when they even see a depiction of spiders isn't going to "get over it".

[Crucis]

The problem that I see for an "arachnophobic" mode is this.  Sure, you could replace all the spiders with something else.  But IIRC, a lot of the maps where spiders reside have areas that look like spider nests, with webs and everything.  Does the arachnophobic mode adjust the maps to "tweak" those areas for whatever replaces spiders?

 

 

It's a real shame that some people have a legitimate arachnophobia.  But I'm not sure how one gets around not using spiders in a fantasy setting since, as others have pointed out, they're a common monster in such settings.  And beyond that, even if one was willing to have a "arachnophobia" mode, it would seem to necessary to make the maps more generic so that replacing spiders with something else (crabs, bears, orcs, goblins, whatever) didn't also require changing a map to get rid of the spider nests and webs and such.

 

And beyond even this, what would the next phobia that would come along that would need a special mode?  Skeletons?  Wild animals?

 

 

I don't think that there's an easy answer to this issue.

[Fardragon]

 

I'm afraid of crabs - would I care if I had to fight them in a fantasy game? No. Get over yourself.

 

This is a really harsh attitude.  People with legitimate phobias don't just "get over" them, particularly if those phobias are really strong.  Someone who has panic attacks, like the OP writes, when they even see a depiction of spiders isn't going to "get over it".

 

But people can have "legitimate phobias" to pretty much anything. What is so special about arachnophobes that singles them out for special privileges?

[Crucis]

 

 

I'm afraid of crabs - would I care if I had to fight them in a fantasy game? No. Get over yourself.

 

This is a really harsh attitude.  People with legitimate phobias don't just "get over" them, particularly if those phobias are really strong.  Someone who has panic attacks, like the OP writes, when they even see a depiction of spiders isn't going to "get over it".

 

But people can have "legitimate phobias" to pretty much anything. What is so special about arachnophobes that singles them out for special privileges?

 

 

I didn't say that the game should be tweaked for people with this phobia.  I only said above that Jojo's comment was unacceptably harsh towards people with a legit phobia.  Seriously, it's not like people haven't heard of arachnophobia before.  And to tell someone with a legit phobia to get over themselves is quite frankly rather offensive.