How is Slayer Shock similar to Westworld?

Slayer Shock, by all accounts, is a game most interested in aping Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a little bit of WWE thrown in. But what if it’s also a good example of why HBO’s Westworld is such a compelling show?

During our stream of Minor Key Games’ new vampire-hunting simulator today, we took a minute (or 20) to talk at length about our feelings about Westworld, and how player fantasies can collide with procedurally generated and scripted narrative design.

The two subjects wound up intertwining because as we played through David Pittman’s vampire-hunting immersive sim, we found some interesting similarities and differences to the ideas raised by HBO’s science fiction western. In Westworld, the park developers go out of their way to make sure players can exert whatever power they want over its fantasy world, while in Slayer Shock, Minor Key Games has created a scenario where the randomness of the story is easily interrupted by the randomness of the game 

Be sure to watch the full show for our conversation about these different kinds of narrative design, as well as our thoughts on what it takes to make Halloween and Christmas-themed games succeed. 

Also, you should subscribe to our Twitch channel for regular developer interviews and gameplay commentary, and watch last week’s stream with Elder Scrolls Online creative director Rich Lambert.