Cthulhu Mythos
Origin and History
The Cthulhu Mythos was initially developed by American fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft in 1928 and includes the setting, beliefs, themes and creatures of the stories of Lovecraft and other writers (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.). The mythos was expanded by other fiction writers who were inspired by Lovecraft’s literature, meaning that it is a shared fictional world that is continually expanded upon even to this day (The Arcana Wiki, n.d.).
There are three main eras of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Core Ideas and Values of the IP
The central idea of the Cthulhu Mythos is how humans are insignificant and totally irrelevant to the overall universe and to other cosmic beings/entities (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.).
Horror/thriller is paramount to this IP and to all related fiction. The universe does not care for human life or emotions as it is a detached concept where love, hate, good and evil are all constructs of a non-permanent humankind (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.). This purposeless existence of humanity plays into the psychological, philosophical and horror identity of the Cthulhu Mythos.
The first is the Cthulhu Mythos proper, which was expanded while Lovecraft was alive and was shaped mainly by Lovecraft himself and his work (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.).
The second era is known as the Derleth Mythos which refers to the fiction writer August Derleth and his major additions to the overall Cthulhu Mythos (Yog-sothoth, n.d.). The main difference between the first and second era was that August Derleth introduced the concept of good and evil and the struggle between the two extremes, which was absent from Lovecraft’s work (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.).
The third and most recent era refers to the modern categorisation of the Mythos with the different deities and the overall history of the universe, with more deities and lore being introduced to better holistically explain the Cthulhu Mythos (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.). In 1981, a roleplaying game known as Call of Cthulhu was created which further popularised the mythos to newer generations (RPGnet, n.d.).
Target Audience of the IP
The main target audience of the IP are individuals who enjoy horror/thriller (Keplar, 2019).
The target audience is also extended to role-playing gamers as seen with the popularity of the Call of Cthulhu RPG game and the relevance of this universe in that specific scene (Rider, 2020).
Furthermore, people who enjoy fiction (more specifically horror fiction and/or cosmic fiction) are also part of the target audience due to the relative popularity of the Cthulhu Mythos in the thriller fiction sphere (Rider, 2020).
The age of the target audience is between 15 and 30 since around 60% of the horror audience falls into this age range (Lang, 2016).
Emotional Connection/Meaning that Target Audience Holds for the IP
The Cthulhu Mythos contains strong thriller elements that engross the audience.
The imagination and insane amount of detail about the deities and their societies captivate the audience. There is compelling universe and background that is uniquely Lovecraftian (Shields, 2014).
Within the mythos there exists haunting stories that present horror in a way that is unique and not like most other stories in the genre (Shields, 2014). Horror in the Cthulhu Mythos is more about suspense and uncertainty and the stories are psychologically terrifying. The mythos does not rely on gore and shock to spook the audience, it is far more subtle and more focused on suspense (Keplar, 2019).
Insights
Game Genres that May Align with the IP
Kinds of Players of the IP
The Cthulhu Mythos has an established world that has been collectively worked upon by different writers and fans of the IP over many years (Yog-sothoth, n.d.).
Target Audience’s Gaming Motivations
Explorer type players would want to discover and traverse a unique world (Kumar, Herger & Dam, 2020).
Socialiser type players would want to interact with other players to experience fun (Kumar, Herger & Dam, 2020). The whole Cthulhu Mythos is built on the concept of collaboration and the sharing of experiences and ideas (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.).
Horror/thriller is the bread-and-butter of the Cthulhu Mythos’s appeal and identity (Keplar, 2019).
Gameplay Experiences that Best Suits the Target Audience
Horror/thriller is essential to the Cthulhu Mythos and the stories that pertain to that universe (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.). The most important experience for the target audience is therefore horror/thriller.
The focus of the horror should be on tension and suspense rather than shock, jump scares and gore (Keplar, 2019). This type of horror is a defining characteristic of the IP.
The mythos was developed through books and stories, and compelling narrative is deeply woven into the fabric of the IP (Yog-sothoth, n.d.).
The Cthulhu Mythos contains extensive amounts of detail about the universe, deities, creatures, characters and more (The Arcana Wiki, n.d.). The audience wants to be immersed in the unique world of the Cthulhu Mythos.
The IP has been built on the concept of sharing experiences and collaboration (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.).
References
Arcana.wikidot.com. n.d. Cthulhu Mythos - The Arcana Wiki. [online] Available at: http://arcana.wikidot.com/cthulhu-mythos [Accessed 20 March 2021].
Kumar, J., Herger, M. and Dam, R., 2020. Bartle’s Player Types for Gamification. [online] The Interaction Design Foundation. Available at: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/bartle-s-player-types-for-gamification [Accessed 21 March 2021].
Lang, B., 2016. Horror Movies Scare Up Big Bucks at Box Office - Variety. [online] Variety.com. Available at: https://variety.com/2016/film/news/horror-movies-1201900551/ [Accessed 22 March 2021].
PenguinRandomhouse.com. n.d. So You Want to Read Lovecraft: Here's Where to Start | Penguin Random House. [online] Available at: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/want-read-lovecraft-heres-start [Accessed 20 March 2021].
Quora.com. 2014. What are the demographics for people that read HP Lovecraft? - Quora. [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-demographics-for-people-that-read-HP-Lovecraft [Accessed 21 March 2021].
Reddit.com. 2019. Why do you love Lovecraft. [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/8qoemj/why_do_you_love_lovecraft/ [Accessed 21 March 2021].
RPGnet. n.d. Call of Cthulhu - RPGnet RPG Game Index. [online] Available at: https://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=20 [Accessed 20 March 2021].
The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki. n.d. Cthulhu Mythos. [online] Available at: https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos [Accessed 20 March 2021].
Yog-sothoth.com. n.d. Cthulhu Mythos - YSDC Wiki. [online] Available at: https://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Cthulhu_Mythos [Accessed 20 March 2021].
The Cthulhu Mythos is centred around horror/thriller and engaging/thought-provoking stories (The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki, n.d.). This means that the following genres would be suitable for a game of the IP:
Horror, survival horror, stealth, roguelike, open world, puzzle, role-playing game and story driven.
Therefore, explorer and socialiser player types describe the kinds of players that are interested in the IP (Kumar, Herger & Dam, 2020).
Lovecraft emphasised how mankind simply cannot understand all the complexities of the universe. The protagonists of Lovecraft’s work would often slip into insanity when witnessing these cosmic wonders that are beyond our earthly knowledge (Penguin Random House, n.d.). This is where the horror/thriller element of the mythos is most prevalent.
Therefore, players would want to be engrossed in a captivating universe and be absorbed in a compelling story (Shields, 2014). Discovering more about the creatures, quirks, characters and lore of the world would give them an incentive to play a game.
Therefore, the audience of the IP would enjoy the social aspect of a game.
Therefore, horror and thriller elements would also be another aspect that would interest the target audience of the Cthulhu Mythos (Keplar, 2019).
Therefore, rich story is important to capture the essence of the Cthulhu Mythos and to satisfy the target audience.
Therefore, rich lore is vital to the experience and there needs to be ways for the target audience to learn about the world and its intricacies.
Therefore, the ability to share an experience with other people (possibly cooperative play) is suitable for the Cthulhu Mythos.
Created by Garreth Botha
20108079