Phobias and videogames?

[system11]

Spiders.

I can remember the first one in a game which was realistic enough to trigger the fear response, and that was Mountain King on the Atari 800. If you descended to the lowest level of the mountain, a giant spider lived there and it would chase you.

[Ed Oscuro]

You know, I'm not quite at the point where I'd let earwigs run on me, even though they are pretty damn harmless (they just have the upsetting tendency to run into dark places, since they want not to be squished and they like to live in rotting wood to begin with). But for them all you need is typically just something dark you can put them in (even a wadded-up napkin) and then you can set them loose elsewhere.

Most spiders are pretty energetic so they can be hard to catch and release, but it's doable. I just typically don't bother.

I'm not some kind of crazy person who loves snakes or smelly rodents but I did some kid internship programs years back with a zoo - I don't know how I'd say you should approach something if you can't force the fear to the back of your mind, but you should try. In the case of a giant milipede, I was able to focus on just their rather wormy exterior and their tiny tickly little feet - they aren't offensive at all. A giant centipede, on the other hand, simply looks freaky. Things that have lots of hands or legs which resemble blades tend to be freaky.

Back to the story about heights and video games, I've been messing around with Super Mario Sunshine and I haven't been having any feelings about heights at all - maybe it's just the camera but there are plenty of times you're on top of a very high pinnacle in that game. I think that a common thread in some of these issues is having enough details for a frame of reference - so I wouldn't be surprised if some game with much fewer or sparser details (again the Castlevania 64 games) would still trigger a response (or a bigger response) when something with more details wouldn't. But so far I didn't notice any feelings like this when playing Banjo Tooie or Donkey Kong 64, either.

I know I have some real-world fear of heights still; I got a little kick from it recently when I looked over a railing, so it just made me take a step back.

[drauch]

DRAUCH'S CATCHING INSECTS/ARACHNIDS STRATEGY GUIDE

Cover evil six or eight-legged demon with a clear cup or glass that you can see through.

Slide piece of thick paper (preferably high gloss, stiff ad paper or something you get in the mail) under the glass.

Flip glass upside down. Viola! Creature is caught.

Dispose of outside.

I've currently got a high score of like 234,234,556,234 (2-ALL). It's really easy to master. Super easy patterns. Usually they just scurry under shit and you need to be faster.

Don't play the ports, though; way too much slow down.

[Ed Oscuro]

Once you feel you've mastered that, move on to catching flies with your hands (no horseflies, though, that'd be bad). I am still working on being as consistent as the legend of my great-grandfather. He would've no-missed Fire Shark for sure.

[drauch]

On ground I mastered the patented TWO FLY AT ONCE catch a few years back. I'm decent at air grabs, although I'm not good at juggling my combos.

[BIL]

Cover evil six or eight-legged demon with a clear cup or glass that you can see through.

You know what's odd... we get scorpions and centipedes where I grew up too, but I've no problem with them whatsoever. Well, I mean I do have a problem with them since they're venomous and can sting your ear/eye while you're asleep, but it was never a thing to grab a machete and go for the new Centipede WR (one chop = one kill - we go for accuracy, not quantity! respect the onscreen shot limit!).

I don't think I could bear to attack one of our harmless yet horribly wiry brown spiders man-to-arachnid, I'd puke when the blade connected. Selective phobia? Murder weapon of choice is a well-used Sanwa broom for loose yet effective contact with the enemy.

My best friend's dear ol' granny from Jamaica was petrified of lizards, of all things. Not just iguanas, which admittedly can be a bit imposing - these poor little guys! WTF? I think she thought they were The Devil. Wonder how she would've gotten along with Komodo Dragons and Gila Monsters. We don't get those.

[system11]

Dispose of outside.

Haha, what? For a moment I thought you suggested not KILLING THE SPIDER WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE.

[BIL]

Another Bad Thing that brings to mind: creepy crawlies that actively try to get back into your house, going so far as to pick their way through screen doors, and which as a last spiteful move stink like rotten fish if smashed. This is why Hysteric Empress grosses me out slightly.