A New Look at the Among Us Game
A kid I was talking to had lots of Among Us merchandise. It is a game that has died down in popularity but still has millions of users worldwide. The Among Us character looks like this.
Picture source: https://southblueprint.com/22154/frntpge/which-among-us-character-are-you-really/ , retrieved Nov 17, 2024 , all picture rights to their respective owners.
It’s a game where they are infiltrated by shapeshifting imposters who look exactly like them and kill them suddenly.
When they die, their organs ( usually just a key-like structure) are exposed as they are cut in half and shown to flatline.
The death can be reported and the character marked as dead on screen or until the player leaves. Nobody grieves. No funeral is held.
Doesn’t it strike you as strange that kids are so into Among Us characters which look like little colored walking eggs with no mouths, no eyes, and just a silver visor on the face.
The aim of the game is to complete tasks to advance.
It’s so creepy.
A game is not a cartoon or comic but games like Among Us and movies like the Minions have seemingly gazillion identical characters.
Partial screenshot from screenrant.com , retrieved on Nov 17, 2024, directly above screenshot’s copyright © 2024 Valnet Inc
Many impressionable young minds or adult users play Among Us Monthly and the largest category of players is the age group 20- 30 which would probably be classified as adults. Food for thought?
Image above from Among Us Usage and Statistics 2024 section on https://helplama.com/, accessed Nov 17, 2024. All image/ statistics credits to their respective owners and can be removed upon request.
Image above from https://helplama.com/, accessed Nov 17, 2024.
All image/ statistics credits to their respective owners and can be removed upon request.
Based on my impression, cartoons and comics people and kids used to watch looked like Asterix and cartoons similar to the Flintstones. Each character has a different personality. Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles has a relatively developed plotline and characters with personalities. Even now, popular movies like Avengers has a plotline and individual character personalities.
Screenshot from https://asterix.fandom.com/wiki/Asterix , captured 17 Nov 2024 , all images related to Comic Books, Character Designs and Logos are © to their respective copyright holders and can be removed upon request.
Image above generated by Substack tool
My point isn’t that Among Us is violent. Numerous video games are violent and have contentiously debated themes.
My point is that Among Us seems to be creepy at least at times.
Attention and eyeballs are gripped by little oblong figures walking around with no easily identifiable facial characteristics or body shape features. Then the characters flatline, often violently on screen, when killed by imposters who infiltrate them.
Popular movies like the Minions fill up screen space to the brink with non-distinguishable minions wrecking havoc. Is this just simplified on-screen characterization that people seem to think are cute, or is it creepy?
This is not a comprehensive analysis. Just some musings. Hopefully it’s a useful read and sparks some beneficial discussion. Support to encourage more articles and further in-depth analysis. 👋✍(◔◡◔) XO