Ixnay on the Arachnidae ! : V - Skyrim

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:59 am

What's a scarier idea... a giant tarantula or a giant eagle with lazer vision and telekinesis?

The tarantula hands down. Look at those legs... those bloody HAIRY legs!

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:20 pm

I hate spiders too, but I am happy they are in Skyrim. I like video games to immerse me and entrance me as much as possible. I am looking forward to having giant spiders scare me to death, because I think that will be fun.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:55 pm

Relax, guys, spiders aren't usually aggressive in real life. Staying out of their caves would be a good start (you will know which cave is a spider lair from the silk on the walls).

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 12:41 pm

Hey, Think of it this way, they can't hurt you, and if you go owning their asses, what is there to be afraid of? I am (slightly) arachnophobic but will still fight giant spiders simply because I hate them so much I want to kill them. Also, killing them all may actually help you with your arachnophobia. :gun: :banana:
*The banana represents a spider*

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:21 pm

Spiders are in the games for the exact purpose to scare the [censored] out of people, and I like this. As someone said, you could easily avoid their lairs, I think asking them removed is not a well thought demand. First, the devs included them as they thought they were cool. It's their choice, their vision. I'd feel sad if I were the one who had the idea to include spiders reading these "remove spiders" threads. Second, Bethesda doing a mod/fix to remove some of their artistic content? Lolz. They didn't make a mod for the level scaling, which was a much more serious thing affecting much more people. That's what modders do.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:48 pm

But it IS taken into account. Why do you think they went with a giant spider over a small spider or a giant spider over a giant bunny? Spider's are SUPPOSED to be scary and giant spiders are that much scarier. Anything that doesn't go by the two legs and two arms rule is pretty scary but if you add in multiple eyes and bristly hairs you've got yourself a monster, one that man has been freaked out by for centuries.

Now, I'm betting they didn't need to consider any of this consciously but they thought "Spider's are scary, let's put in a few huge ones, that'd be cool!" And there you have it. They are in the game DUE to their frightening nature and most likely will not be removed for the same reason. Be thankfull Arachniphobes, I would love to be as scared as you will be when I see them.

There is a difference between being scared of something and being phobic of something. Being frightened or being scared is a rational response to being threatened. Being phobic is an irrational and persistent fear, meaning even when there is no threat (the spider is just chilling out, reading a magazine, and doesn't notice you), the adrenaline surges, and the fight or flight response kicks in. Something as benign as an image can trigger it. While lots of folks may see a spider, cringe, and then say "Ewww, kill it with fire", people with arachnophobia will often "shut down" completely, paralyzed by anxiety. I've seen it, and it is debilitating.

It's like clowns: I find them scary, but if I saw one, I wouldn't curl up into the fetal position, or feel the need to breath into a paper bag...well, maybe a little. :sweat:

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:57 pm

I'm boobsophobic, when a girl flash some legs or boobs I'm not myself for a long period. Please make the women ugly like in Oblivion so I can play the game.

That would be boobsaphillic. A boobophile. briastophile. . . . something with phillia at the end. Anyway. I HATE spiders as well. And thus, none that I see shall be allowed to survive. I will kill them all. svcks that they probably re-spawn. Hated the mud-crabs to. But the meat was good. lol

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:42 am

I for one am glad that they are trying to scare the [censored] out of people with giant spiders. You're going into a unknown dungeons, you SHOULD be scared and creeped out. If you don't want to, get a mod that turns spiders into cuddly plush dolls.

There should be more emphasis on created deformed and terrifying monsters..

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:36 am

There is a difference between being scared of something and being phobic of something. Being frightened or being scared is a rational response to being threatened. Being phobic is an irrational and persistent fear, meaning even when there is no threat (the spider is just chilling out, reading a magazine, and doesn't notice you), the adrenaline surges, and the fight or flight response kicks in. Something as benign as an image can trigger it. While lots of folks may see a spider, cringe, and then say "Ewww, kill it with fire", people with arachnophobia will often "shut down" completely, paralyzed by anxiety. I've seen it, and it is debilitating.

It's like clowns: I find them scary, but if I saw one, I wouldn't curl up into the fetal position, or feel the need to breath into a paper bag...well, maybe a little. :sweat:

Clowns can be creepy, like Pennywise. .. but ( and I speak as one whom spiders give the total creeps, but not as an aracnaphobe. . . i am not paralyzed by them so much as driven into a violent and determined frenzy of arachnicide. . . which, admittedly is fear based. . . but have you seen what a brown recluse can do? Disgusting), spiders, even in a game, can really make people spaz out. Some people really cannot stand to look at the nasty little extra-terrestrials. ( I said it, they are not from Earth. Nothing that hideous is natural) lol

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:34 am

I have minor arachnophobia and rather severe necrophibia (dead people really, really creep me out) I I feel there should be more emephasis of both of them.

You hear all these stories about medusa and other such mythological monsters, and some of them were said to be very very scary, horrific or ugly, yet you can't imagine them.. Some of the dungeons should really play into people's various phobias to create that sense of foreboading and even terror when you enter specific dungeons. I hope there are some "ruins" and the like that contain your standard weapon wielding monsters, but there really should be a few ominous dungeons that contain some genuinely terrifying monsters.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:48 am

PLEASE don't take spiders out, because then other people with other phobias will want other stuff out and... You see where I'm going? That would svck.

I want them to make spiders, zombies, etc even MORE life-like, I love getting the bejesus scared out of me, I love that adrenaline feel (you could sat say I'm an adrenaline junkie.)

If yah don't like something in game, don't petetion it to Bethesda to get it removed, just mod it out.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 10:33 am

I'm afraid of being killed. Never stopped me playing a game where death was a possibility.

Seriously, it's a game. They're not real. They're a collection of tiny little coloured lights on a flat screen. Are you afraid of photos of spiders?

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:07 pm

It is an extremely common phobia, and I admit I am a little surprised that it isn't taken into consideration when coming up with monster encounters, given how widespread it is. While I am not arachnophobic ( well, not where entertainment media is concerned- if I see one in my kitchen, I am less than delighted) I have two severely arachnophobic friends, and I know how much it can interfere with enjoying things that many of us take for granted.

I think when the game is finally released, people will be able to share info on what sorts of encounters can be found in the various dungeon types, ala Morrowind or Oblivion. Ie- avoid ancestral tombs if you don't like undead, avoid caves if you don't like will-o-wisps. Then you can plan your explorations around that info. Or of course, on the PC, you can mod them away, which seems like the best option to me.

I hope you can find a way to enjoy the game when it is released.

I can understand the phobia. I know many people who are just as scared of snakes, and giant snakes, yeah forget about it. But it is supposed to provoke feeling, and if that feeling is fear or terror then imagine how relieved you'll feel after killing a group of them off and finding safety. Got to keep it in context. It is just a game, same as if it were a book, movie, or song.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:15 pm

"There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time,"

Cant please everyone without ruining it for someone.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 11:57 am

Have you tried http://www.guidetopsychology.com/sysden.htm? It worked for a friend of mine, who had been scared of heights. You can do it yourself if you have some free time once a week or so for a while.

» Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:37 am

Have you tried http://www.guidetopsychology.com/sysden.htm? It worked for a friend of mine, who had been scared of heights. You can do it yourself if you have some free time once a week or so for a while.

This is a constructive post. Thank you.

Unfortunately, I've had to delete a few non-constructive posts, and since the answers to the OP's original query are all boiling down to the same few responses, I think this topic has run its course. Time for a lock.