![]() ![]() ![]() You could play through an entire round of the game without seeing the Slender Man and still be at the edge of your seat thanks to its expert use of atmosphere and the constant thought at the back of your mind that at any moment, the Slender Man could teleport to you and get you. It's so unique in that the fear is built solely through the inherent horror of mere suggestion. And yet, this limited game-play is part of the reason why it is such an effective experience in horror. And the only mechanic in the game is simply to walk about, occasionally to stumble onto one of the eight pages you are seeking to collect, while being silently stalked by the dark figure of so much internet lore. It's localized to a singular open world map. It eschews virtually everything that modern gamers think of when they hear the words "survival horror." It lacks any and all combat. And one of the pieces of media that truly captures all of the fear this figment of terror is capable of is the elegant, simplistic and experimental computer game known as "Slender: The Eight Pages." It's such a fascinating piece of gaming culture. He is a symbol of virtually every fear imaginable. In many ways, he is sort-of the perfect diabolical monster. And the fact that he is often depicted as stalking and terrorizing children and adolescents remind us of our childhood fears. His abilities of teleportation harken back to the fear of supernatural forces that cannot be contained. His inhuman height and the inky tentacles that sprout from his back remind one of inhuman beasts. His pale, blank face and dark suit are indicative of the concept of death. He is the embodiment of many of the inherent fears that are common within everyone. He is amongst one of the very few new icons to emerge within the past decade that has been able to capture the imaginations of virtually all who learn of him. And the rise of this figure is for very good reason. He's quickly become one of the key new figures in both popular culture and the world of horror, haunting the nightmares of those who delve into the plethora of Slender Man related media, which now ranges from stories to web-series and even feature films. ![]() If the player loses all sanity, the game ends with the view being replaced with a static-covered close up of Slender Man.If there's one figure that has taken the viral world by storm in the past ten years, it most certainly must be the fabled force known only as the "Slender Man." Since his inception in 2009 as a sort-of "mythical figure" that stalks and torments those unlucky enough to encounter him, Slender Man has grown in public awareness at an increasingly exponential rate. Sanity loss is represented by static and distortion appearing on the screen. The player loses health (referred to as "sanity" in the original design) any time they can see Slender Man, or whenever Slender Man is too close to the player. The game also varies the background sound effects each time an odd-numbered page is collected. After 6 pages, he can teleport into the player's view. Each time a page is collected, or a particular amount of time elapses, the interval between Slender Man's teleports reduces and the maximum range decreases. If Slender Man obtains an unbroken line of sight to the player, he instead starts to move a distance towards the player each interval or half-interval, until he catches the player or can no longer see them. Once he has appeared, Slender Man teleports at regular intervals between randomly selected locations, within a maximum range of the player, that are outside of the player's view. The game's enemy, Slender Man, does not usually appear until the player collects their first page, although it is highly possible. The player cannot interact with the environment in any other way apart from the movement controls, the only controls available are to turn the flashlight on and off, pick up a page, and run. The objective of the game is for the player to find eight notes ("pages") which are attached to various landmarks around the environment. Dirt paths are present, but the player is able to travel in any direction and is only bound by fences which enclose the area. There are 10 different landmarks scattered throughout the woods including vehicles, a building, a giant tree, rocks, brick walls, a stone pillar, a tunnel, cut down trees, and fuel tanks. The player is able to jog for a short period before running out of breath. The player is equipped with a flashlight that has a battery which must be conserved. Slender: The Eight Pages begins with the player in a forest at night. ![]()
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