The elaborate marketing for luxury apocalypse bunkers, designed to offer an "elevated lifestyle no matter what happens outside," presents an ideal, if unsettling, backdrop for horror video games. These subterranean enclaves, often disguised with opulent interiors and simulated natural environments, inadvertently mirror the enclosed and psychologically taxing spaces found in titles like Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Bunker and the Bioshock series.
The concept of the luxury bunker, catering to a wealthy elite concerned with various apocalyptic scenarios ranging from pandemics to asteroid impacts, is explored in an article from Rock Paper Shotgun. Companies like Vivos and SAFE construct these fortified residences, promising not just survival but psychological well-being. Marketing materials from Vivos list a litany of potential global catastrophes, while SAFE's designs feature simulated natural elements like "aeries" with pools that appear to be suspended high above, despite being potentially hundreds of feet underground.
These bunkers are designed to mask their true nature. Architects aim to prevent the spaces from feeling like traditional shelters, incorporating features like artificial sunlight and expansive views on screens to combat the sense of containment. Vivos even plans to recreate medieval churches and house art archives within their bunkers, aiming to provide a semblance of normalcy and luxury amidst imagined devastation. SAFE's proposals include robot massage parlors and sophisticated medical bays, all within a heavily fortified environment.
The article draws a parallel between these real-world luxury shelters and the design principles of video game environments, particularly 3D game spaces which are often described as self-contained bunkers. The marketing language used for these bunkers, with its blend of high-end amenities and existential dread, evokes the atmosphere of games where players navigate similar enclosed, perilous locations.
While games like Bioshock and Fallout are cited for their exploration of isolated, often dystopian, underground societies, the article points to Amnesia: The Bunker as a more direct thematic resonance. Unlike the satirical or grand-scale narratives of the former, Amnesia: The Bunker immerses players in the grim reality of a World War I tunnel network overrun by a monstrous creature. The soldiers within this setting express little illusion about the harsh conditions, contrasting sharply with the aspirational marketing of luxury bunkers. The game's environment, though utilitarian and grim, features moments that echo the deceptive visual richness of the luxury shelters.
For instance, Amnesia: The Bunker's "pillbox" offers a view of a ruined landscape that, despite its bleakness, is presented with a stark, almost Arcadian beauty on a wallscreen. This illusory spaciousness serves as a stark contrast to the player's confined experience, much like the simulated environments in luxury bunkers. The game also delves into psychological deterioration, exemplified by the character Toussaint Beaufoy, whose mind unravels amidst the horrors of war and the bunker. His descent into nihilism, marked by a poem reflecting a monotonous, inescapable cycle of dread, mirrors the exhaustive lists of potential apocalypses presented by bunker companies. Beaufoy’s eventual self-mutilation to escape his tormenting visions further underscores the psychological peril of extreme containment, whether in a war-torn tunnel or a gilded underground sanctuary.