Demogorgon - Idea for a Functional Clone
So I was just watching some DBD gameplay videos and my chosen YouTuber was set upon by a Demogorgon long after it was removed from the store. I lamented, having never had the spare dosh to nab the killer before it was made unavailable, and began thinking of how the gameplay aspect of the Demogorgon could be made available to new players and unlucky ones such as myself once again..
Then it hit me.
That leaning gait, the bestial nature, the pounce attack...
Why not a velociraptor?
Of course, I'm not talking about the historically super-accurate ones we've come to know, what with the feathers and smaller size and whatnot. I'm more talking a classic raptor a la Jurassic Park or Riptor from Killer Instinct. I reckon that, with the fact that DBD is a game primarily based on "thrill of the hunt" style killers in movies, a ravenous dinosaur would be a perfect fit in the universe.
I suggest a dinosaur in this very specific case because... Well, you can't own a license to a real thing, long-dead or not. It feels like a very good fit for Demogorgon's kit.
But how do we justify this raptor being so slow compared to the rest of its kin? Well, I could easily go with "THE ENTITY THAT'S WHY", but this is a chance to work in some depravity and such. That's what a killer is meant to be in this game, after all! How about... Hmm...
How about we say the raptor is slow not just because they were born large, but also because of how prolific a hunter they were. Something sparked in their relatively-primitive mind. They found killing... Well... Fun. Fulfilling in a way. So they did it more and more, gorging on all the extra food these additional hunts provided. Eventually, they grew heavier and slower, until they were too slow to kill enough prey to sate their bloodlust. In the end, they resorted to killing one of their own kind. You don't need to be too fast with the element of surprise at your side, after all. One quick, decisive strike upon an unsuspecting rival was all that was needed. The rest of their pack didn't take kindly to a member turning on them, and tore the scaled glutton apart. That's where our new friend's primal depravity would have ended were it not for the Entity.
But what about the upside-down portals, I hear you ask? I've got a fairly simple solution, which might also be justified by a bit of aid from the Entity. Our raptor will dig at the ground, and the Entity will pull open a bramble-lined, vine-covered hole in that spot. From there, the raptor can simply dig between each of these holes. This skill can be justified flavour-wise by the sorts of tactics that this particularly large example of an ancient reptilian hunter had to resort to, especially in the later years of their unhealthily prolific life.
An idea I adore about this kind of character, as well, is just how engorged and depraved designers might be able to get away with on a frickin' dinosaur. It's already a beast, but since it's got a spark of intelligence that grew into the same kind of depravity we see in the rest of the killer cast, there's so many design opportunities to make this beast look somehow more beastly! A beast's beast, as it were. An engorged abdomen, perhaps well-placed cyst-like protrusions much like other killers... There's a ton of ways to represent this character's journey from hunter to full-blown monster.
Also, there's a few justifications and ideas for skins that come to mind (on top of the obvious feathered raptor alternate-look). In fact, since raptors are toted to have the intelligence of young humans and brains like corvids, one could imagine the raptor mimicking humans it has seen in the Entity's playground. Wearing glasses it's stolen from victims, draping ripped clothing over itself in an attempt at primitive garbs, hanging the bones of its victims off of itself... And maybe some sillier, more light-hearted stuff, too. Mrs Doubtfire costume, anyone? Maybe even an ugly sweater?
I think it would be neat to have a beast character, much like how it's fun to have beast characters in fighting games! Sure, a lot of games would go for the token furry character, but I'm leaning towards full-on wild animal here! Just tainted enough with the depravity and sapience expected from a popular slasher character to justify its walking around and placing people on hooks.
Well, that's about all I can think of for this particular suggestion. It feels like a good way to have a bestial killer, to preserve the mechanics of killers lost AND to create fun design opportunities. One could even say that the mechanics and balancing side of things is already complete, though it's been a long time since I've worked on UE so I'm not the MOST sure on how easy it might be to pop a fresh coat of paint on a previously-devised set of mechanics. But hey, at least there's like a bajillion references one can look up for velociraptors! That might make the art side a bit easier!
Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you like my idea!
Comments