I should have known better. I really should have. A couple of weeks ago, I challenged Massively OP’s readers to submit “disturbing, grim, or macabre” screenshots from their games. After sifting through many unsettling scenes, the one that shook my grasp on reality the most was the following clash of hues in ARK: Survival Evolved.
“What could be more disturbing than a dinosaur parade led by Hello Spino?” SC_Deadline asked. I know what you’re thinking. You’ve seen the black-and-white banner up there and figure all is well with the world. Well just you wait. Wait until after you shoot past the break and crash into the colorstorm that follows. You might want to put on a seatbelt!
Now that you’ve gargled your eye sockets with mouthwash to reset them, feast your eyes upon this mount abomination in RIFT. Oh sure, we are used to giant spiders in MMOs because developers are working through their collective childhood fear of the eight-legged beasties, but there’s something so very wrong about saddling up on one and casually going for a ride about the town.
Winterskorn doesn’t think so, apparently. I guess he’s OK with his ride occasionally wrapping a neighborhood kid up in a silk cocoon for later juice harvesting. Goes with the whole package.
“I recently returned to Anarchy Online,” Chris writes. “Having not played in years, I needed to basically re-learn the game. So I made a new Trader and found myself in a dark and dangerous place. After many challenging encounters, I managed to fight my way through to the end, claiming my reward! Still to this day, I have not played an MMO that generates dungeons on demand the way AO does.”
KirkSteadman shared this tableau from Black Desert: “My Tamer was exploring some underground caverns in the Calpheon region and stumbled upon whatever the hell this thing is. I prepared my self for battle but soon found out he was friendly and just wanted to teach me some lore. Black Desert is a truly crazy game.”
I have a soft spot for certain MMOs when it comes to screenshots, and for whatever reason, Firefall is one of them. I think I simply like the art style and palette, even when it’s mostly obscured as in this picture from LordOfBread.
Have we done intro zones and tutorials for a screenshot challenge? I bet we have at some point, but why not toss it out as a call to the community again? Submit your favorite pictures of the first areas you see in MMOs along with your memories of those moments.
Every week, One Shots shines a spotlight on the best community screenshots from your MMO adventures. If you have a great pic to share, email it to justin@massivelyop.com with the subject “One Shots.” Make sure that the picture is over 880px wide and comes with a description or story!
