The Thing, as a franchise, has never made much of an impact in video games. There was a game on the PlayStation 2, but that’s all so far. However, The Thing has a lot to offer players, and the current systems available could make for an amazing experience.
The main antagonist of The Thing is the eponymous Thing, an alien lifeform that can change its cellular structure to resemble anything it has come in contact with. Both films in the series were set in antarctic research centers and focused on the crew trying to discover which of their number were aliens. The PS2 game followed a similar theme and had a mechanic where the player must deduce if any of their team had been replaced. However, it suffered from the limitations of the technology at the time.
One of the biggest elements to be perfected in any Thing game is the air of suspicion. The player needs to constantly be aware that anybody they come into contact with or have lost sight of at any point could be an alien in disguise. The PS2 game relied upon a fear trust system that could be influenced by the player’s actions. It also had scripted moments where NPCs would be infected by the Thing but made sure that there was a probability system in place where they could be infected at any point. The system was fantastic for its time, but it was possible to figure out what characters would be infected and when after a while. However, with the popularity of multiplayer games, this could be the main focus for a new game and allow the players to work against human intelligence and unpredictability.
Among Us also focused on player interaction and deception and was, in essence, a Thing game, albeit much more cartoony. The films used the environment and the lack of light to keep the watcher in a state of suspense, which could be used in a game. If the game takes note from the movies and is set in the artic, it would trap the players in a small area where they would have to survive while trusting that the other players are not aiming to kill them. However, the biggest difference would be the use of high-level graphics to truly portray the body horror that made the films so effective. The alien can transform itself into twisted versions of the forms it had taken. The PlayStation version of the game could only portray a few forms of the alien, but that wouldn’t be the case now. The players could construct their own characters and have the Thing version vary depending upon their choices. This would make each monster unique and add a sense of horror when players see avatars that resemble their friends turned into monsters.
Of course, there’s plenty more gaming tech that could expand upon the idea of The Thing. One of the biggest gaming upgrades in the last few years would be VR. Virtual Reality would allow players to feel the location’s immersion and the bleak landscape around them. It would also make any transformation of the alien more horrifying to see. One of the cinematic techniques that horror movies use involves audience perception; the monsters are never seen by the audience until the characters see them, which could be amplified by VR technology. The player might see evidence of the creatures and hear them, but they wouldn’t see them until the very last moment, which would only increase the tension when they come into contact with another player.
All in all, The Thing offers plenty of opportunities to be an excellent horror title. The advances in technology mean that concepts that were originally only dreamed by developers are now reachable. Hopefully, the series will be revived, and players can experience the fear and confusion firsthand.
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