The term "Gothic" has been used in many different ways to represent a variety of different things. Gothic could mean the skulls that some people have in their room. The black clothing people wear to associate themselves as individuals. Or maybe the grim movies that give off an eerie presence that just excites them and everyone else. Of all the different ways the gothic has been used by many writers, directors and fashion designers only a few that I've seen have been able to incorporate these themes in a video game. An example of a game that uses gothic elements as the main focus and an interesting result is the game called "Alice Madness Returns". This is a sequel to the game American McGee's Alice
where is has Alice going through Wonderland in her head through insanity. It's a psychological horror action adventure game where you control Alice going through the destructive world that was wonderland within the psyche of her mind. The style that the game uses are what most would consider gothic elements. It has the main weapons being a knife, a lot of blood, abnormal enemies with blood stained attire, etc… The landscape and environment give an unsettling feeling that many associate with gothic. All of of dark, bloody areas with threatening monsters are different with how people used to associate the gothic style that was back then. Some elements have remained the same like the dead corpses of people, the rusty chains, even the castles and dungeons have been retained for the world of today.
With the ways gothic is expressed, I've found this game to be the most interesting in terms of use since in combines a simple children's tale with a dark, unsettling theme to create a game that came of interest to today's society. With the different themes that represent gothic today, there is no question as to people agreeing that the dark style associated with death and insanity has been a recurring element to the lives of society. Whether it be books, films, fashion, and even video games, the term "gothic" will continue to grow but stay consistent.
