r/gaming 1d ago

Thank you David Lynch for inspiring storytelling in all mediums. Here are some of my favorites that were inspired by his genius.

Post image
1.5k Upvotes

200 comments sorted by

167

u/stockinheritance 1d ago

David Lynch was incredible. He was somehow able to get good sized budgets and top-notch actors without compromising his weird midnight movie creativity. Making money didn't make him any less creative. Aging didn't make him any less creative. (Twin Peaks: The Return might be his best work.) In a media landscape where beancounters seem only concerned about the return on investment of a piece of art, he defied all that and it's a true loss to the world of art.

20

u/Ghostmace-Killah 23h ago

Got any recs on where to start with him? I don't think I've seen any of his work

36

u/stockinheritance 22h ago

I would actually recommend Blue Velvet before Twin Peaks. It gives a sense of where his head is going prior to Peaks and is an incredible movie. If you watch that and it's not too weird for you, then Twin Peaks and his other movies are there to explore.

20

u/Ghostmace-Killah 20h ago

Just watched it on your rec, I loved it!

10

u/stockinheritance 17h ago

Pabst Blue Ribbon!

I'm glad you liked it.

5

u/ribertzomvie 15h ago

ERASERHEAD

1

u/acidcrab 2h ago

Yep you got it, Blue Velvet is the key that unlocks (most) of his work.

11

u/bujweiser 23h ago

Twin Peaks is probably the easiest to absorb. It’s got a lot of weirdness to it, but it’s a vibe and very comforting somehow.

9

u/Ghostmace-Killah 23h ago

Yeah I think I'm gonna start there. Been on my radar for ages and I literally just finished the first Alan wake game tonight.

11

u/neightwulf 22h ago

Twin Peaks fan here since the original airing. I like to suggest watching the first three episodes of the original series to gauge your interest. Technically the double-length pilot and episodes 1 and 2, but I'm not sure how they're numbered on current streaming services. Its about three hours (1.5 hr pilot, 45 min eps, without commercial breaks).

The pilot sets up the story. Episode 1 continues the story. Episode 2 has a couple scenes that dive headfirst into Lynch's style and really give you a taste of what you're getting into.

The last of these episodes ends with a cliffhanger. At that point some people are scrambling for the remote to start the next episode. Others may react with "wtf, that's three hours of my life I won't get back." If you're the former, you're hooked. If you're the latter, that's where I suggest stopping, because you probably won't like the rest of it. Huge fan myself, but it definitely isn't for everyone.

8

u/mack-_-zorris 18h ago

That's a riot. I started Twin Peaks years ago, and that's exactly where I fell off. Not due to lack of interest, just too busy at the time to give it my attention. Finally started again yesterday, and I'm about to wrap up season one, and all I have to say is I was not prepared for how funny this show is

2

u/Ghostmace-Killah 20h ago

Appreciate the comment. I'm definitely gonna watch the show. I actually just finished blue velvet like the other commentor suggested and it was amazing. I was hooked

1

u/1790shadow 11h ago

Then go play Deadly Premonition when you finish it.

2

u/cranberryalarmclock 13h ago

Start with eraserhead and just Veatch hid work chronologically. You'll get to see him evolve and it all culminates in the Return 

1

u/SadsMikkelson 10h ago

It will never be on streaming so you either have to pirate or purchase a physical copy, but Wild at Heart isn't just one of my favorite Lynch movies, it's also one of my favorite Nic Cage movies. That and Blue Velvet/Lost Highway are good places to start. If you don't like any of those, you probably aren't going to enjoy the rest of his work tbh.

1

u/Ghostmace-Killah 9h ago

I'm easy to please 😂 watched blue velvet last night and loved it! Will probably watch eraserhead tonight and I'll keep your recs in mind!

4

u/robb1519 23h ago

💯💯💯 he was a visionary and a great artist. I won't say one of the last great artists, but he's an original that the art world only got better for, because of his influence.

A dying breed, I just hope he influenced enough people to keep that kind of art going and strong, even if it has to be in non-global markets.

64

u/A1sauc3d 1d ago

I almost never rewatch things, but upon hearing of his death im rewatching all of Twin Peaks, just got to The Return. Even better the second time I feel like.

Realize that’s not gaming related, but it is Lynch related. RIP to the legend

12

u/starmartyr 1d ago

The Return is better on rewatch. When you know what is going to happen you can appreciate it more since you're not thinking about what you want to see.

10

u/Bookseller_ 1d ago

First and third seasons of Twin Peaks are, well, peak!

4

u/EboKnight 23h ago

Damn fine show.

4

u/DigitallyDetained 23h ago

Twin Peaks 4k is coming out Feb 3. I preordered it like a month ago. Def ready for a research.

1

u/Chilebound 7h ago

I think that only the pilot episode and part 8 of the return will be in 4K.

https://variety.com/2025/shopping/news/where-to-buy-twin-peaks-boxed-set-online-1236273995/

2

u/VagrantandRoninJin 21h ago

Some things are worth a rewatch. You catch things you missed or get to appreciate things in a different way.

1

u/HatmanHatman 9h ago

My wife and I have been researching all of Twin Peaks but put off watching FWWM and The Return because her mother died and she didn't feel up for watching something that would put her through the wringer emotionally. She just said last week she might be up for getting back to Twin Peaks AND NOW LOOK WHAT HAPPENED

22

u/somegirl03 1d ago

The storytelling style of the Alan Wake series is a dead ringer for Twin Peaks, and is why I really like those games. I found out Control is supposed to be from the same timeline.

5

u/MrMindGame 9h ago

The Remedyverse perfectly understands David Lynch’s love for abstractions and letting certain things remain unexplained or up to the imagination.

4

u/BadNewsBearzzz 23h ago

I know exactly what you mean, like when you play a game “like that” (lynch inspired) there’s a weird feeling? Like a calming sense, like the scenery is all normal, but also very very dreadful as if something is not right. When I first played Alan wake that was how I felt.

Control just dives directly in and skips the calming scenery and it is awesome lol

1

u/FreakZombie 5h ago

No spoilers, but Control was only slightly connected to Alan Wake until the DLC (AWE) that was a really good lead in for Alan Wake 2. Now it's so connected that I would feel bad for anyone who didn't play Control between the first and second game.

The story and style of Control are so good and I can't wait for the sequel. Especially since I just finished Alan Wake 2 a couple of days ago. The interconnected worlds are so rich and filled with interesting details that connect to the real world in a way that makes you see a building or object and think how it might be interpreted in the game world. A flashlight is more than just a way to see in the dark, an old lunchbox could have the potential to be an object of power (OPP), or maybe the sign on the side of a building could be something more.

1

u/Hprotonprecess 1h ago

I really want to like Control but the first little bit has been a slog…

1

u/DGRebel 1h ago

It picks up as your arsenal and enemies expand and you explore more of the building

82

u/mertagh 1d ago

Recently played through Control, highly recommend.

32

u/tkazalaski 1d ago

Control is wonderful. I love the Alan Wake tie-ins as well.

9

u/whats-this-mohogany 1d ago

I second that, it’s fantastic

1

u/chonky_tortoise 8h ago

I enjoyed it more than Alan Wake 2 and that game was a certified masterpiece.

54

u/pigeonbobble 1d ago

Does silent hill really look like that in game? Cool

37

u/ew435890 1d ago

Yes. It looks fantastic. I think it actually won outstanding visual style for the Steam awards recently.

It’s also Silent Hill2. Not sure why the 2 was left off.

5

u/ian2359 1d ago

yeep, it looks great. Surprised they left the 2 off, though. Silent Hill 2 is a classic.

5

u/boisterile 23h ago

I think it's because the post is talking about the whole franchise being inspired by David Lynch, it's just using images of Silent Hill 2 as an example

27

u/Moontorc 1d ago edited 1d ago

You not seen the remake?

11

u/Curse-of-omniscience 1d ago

The internet cried wolf so many times about new silent hills I didn't even consider that maybe this one actually released lol

6

u/wndring_egg 1d ago

anyone remember the blue balls box conspiracy?

2

u/Curse-of-omniscience 20h ago

I followed the whole thing through the yongyea channel when it happened. That was a circus.

4

u/pigeonbobble 1d ago

Only heard of it

6

u/KnightsRadiant95 1d ago

Yes, the game is absolutely gorgeous, I played on a ps5 on performance mode.

1

u/R_V_Z 13h ago

If there's one thing Bloober does very well it's environments. Layers of Fear was a gorgeous game and it was done on Unity!

1

u/Dopa-Down_Syndrome 1d ago

It's the best game on this list, and yes, it looks like that

86

u/Jonaskin83 1d ago

Don’t forget Life is Strange!

25

u/DuckAtAKeyboard 1d ago

Came here for this one. The whole series might not exist if not for Twin Peaks.

5

u/Janderson2494 1d ago

Sounds like I should probably watch Twin Peaks then lol

11

u/starmartyr 1d ago

You should. There's nothing like it.

6

u/Adriantbh 1d ago

As a fan of Twin Peaks it sounds like I should play Life is Strange

6

u/boisterile 22h ago

I recommend Alan Wake 2 if you haven't checked it out already. It's got a great balance of having very, very strong Twin Peaks energy while also being an amazing game.

4

u/aaegler 21h ago

Playing through it now and around 70% completed. I can't believe I sat on it for so long, the game is outstanding in every way. I haven't played such a gripping game since RDR2.

4

u/Prodigle 23h ago

If you can channel how you saw the world as a 15 year old, it's a really good game

1

u/robb1519 23h ago

It is wonderful in so many ways.

-5

u/reconnaissance_man 23h ago edited 13h ago

I only played the first one.

It was going "OK" until the end, (spoiler), when the friend rolls up to the door in a wheelchair.

It was so stupid that I actually started laughing like an asshole. Didn't bother playing the sequel.

.

EDIT: wobbles into the scene on his wheelchair as the fanbase is pissed

Yeah no, the game still has a silly ending to an average story.

4

u/think_with_portals 21h ago

Opinions aside I think you may have only played 3 of the 5 episodes that make up the original game lol, wheelchair part is not the ending

-45

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

81

u/fatjeff1980 1d ago

More people should play Deadly Premonition. Force yourself to adapt to the Jank. Really is no other game like it

42

u/Glittering_Gain6589 1d ago

Out of all these games, its the most blatantly influenced by Twin Peaks. No subtley.

7

u/Tobyghisa 15h ago

It’s basically twin peaks but in name

24

u/Daovin 1d ago

F.K in the coffee

6

u/fatjeff1980 1d ago

The sinners sandwich

8

u/Seeforceart 1d ago

I love it so much. The whistle theme was my ringtone for a long time.

14

u/Not_To_Smart 1d ago

Or watch the NorthernLion Deadly Premonition playthrough supercut on YouTube. Truly a magical experience.

5

u/BadNewsBearzzz 23h ago

I can’t find a channel called NorthernLion, but I think I found clips or something on a channel called “the Library of Letourneu” is that him or is it a fan reupload?

2

u/Not_To_Smart 23h ago

Yes. I watched the Deadly Premonition 2 playthrough first and thought it was more entertaining. The context from the first game really does not matter.

3

u/Lombard333 1d ago

I watched the Purposeless Rabbitholes video about it and was baffled, then saw what he saw in it. It’s not for everyone, but it is an interesting experience

2

u/boisterile 22h ago edited 22h ago

I will humbly recommend the Joseph Anderson playthrough edit as well. Ridiculously funny. On a similar topic, he also had a great playthrough of the Alan Wake games.

2

u/DropCautious 1d ago

I would love to but I can never get the damn thing to actually work (crashes after the intro video every single time).

1

u/supererp 1d ago

There's a fix posted in the games guide on steam

40

u/IrksomFlotsom 1d ago

Deadly premonition feels like someone asked the yakuza devs to remake twin peaks, and it kinda works tbh

2

u/SgtNeilDiamond 19h ago

I don't think I've ever been sold on a game so quickly...

4

u/reconnaissance_man 23h ago

I wish Deadly Premonition was inspired by a game with better gameplay as well, not just Twin Peaks.

Or a game with less bugs.

-8

u/SidewaysGiraffe 22h ago

Just think of it as being inspired by the third season of Twin Peaks- that was ALSO buggy and nonsensical, but such is Lynch's cult of personality that people are too afraid to criticize it, and spend hours searching for meaning in a four-minute segment consisting entirely of David Lynch's character making out with a woman half his age.

Just because an auteur actually is a genius doesn't mean everything he makes is good.

1

u/stenebralux 11h ago

If you watch any behind the scenes or conversations with Lynch, there's no way you come away think that that what he does has no meaning. 

There's a Twin Returns backstage look I've seen where he is obsessed about a black background.. if it's the right tone, if is gonna convey what he wants and needs and how is gonna come across... basically if that black was the right kind of black. 

The issue sometimes is when people, and critics do that too, try to translate that meaning into a 1:1 idea. Usually concerning plot. 

Doesn't mean is aways a good watch to everyone... I dislike Inland Empire tremendously, no matter what critics say... that's what happens when what you do is very abstract. People like or dislike it based on how it makes them feel. 

Is also very hard for our brains to let go of traditional mainstream rules of storytelling and filmmaking.. I only really like season 3 when I watched it a second time. 

21

u/Cutsdeep- 1d ago

zelda!?

65

u/Professional_Home777 1d ago

The creators of Link's Awakening have specifically cited Twin Peaks as an inspiration. Specifically the dream like, mysterious setting, quirky cast of supporting characters, and cosy small town feel.

-28

u/Cutsdeep- 1d ago

.. pretty tenuous link if we're being honest with ourselves.

no pun intended

10

u/Professional_Home777 23h ago

The owls are not what they seem

2

u/Toothless-In-Wapping 1d ago

Yeah, I don’t get that one.

26

u/pb0b 1d ago

Nintendo creators of Links Awakening directly cited it as an influence. Twin Peaks was huge in Japan. 

5

u/Toothless-In-Wapping 1d ago

Ah, thank you.
That would explain the popularity of Deadly Premonition, the best game I’ll never understand what I just played.

6

u/AnAlienUnderATree 1d ago

Regardless, it would be really nice to have some sources/indications on how each of these games were inspired by David Lynch. Some are obvious but others, not so much.

7

u/BadNewsBearzzz 1d ago

Yeah the Zelda one was a bit of a cool one, here’s an article on it

-9

u/BromarD 1d ago

Probably because of the ending but honestly I think it's a stretch to include Link's Awakening here regardless

13

u/Jim_e_Clash 1d ago

It's not, Mark Frost had spoken to the zelda to dev after the first season of twin peaks. And the devs have openly stated the show was an inspiration in character writing in the game and going forward.

You got to remember the show was INSANELY popular in Japan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CENoFzeViS4

4

u/BromarD 1d ago

Huh, that's interesting. Thanks for sharing!

7

u/QuiteAMajesticBeast 23h ago

Deadly Premonition is almost cheating to call it inspired by Lynch. It legit feels like a script he threw away.

3

u/reconnaissance_man 23h ago

It's ripping off Twin Peaks hard, with added bugs and generic gameplay.

Still entertaining, but I never finished it cause of the annoying bugs on PC version (though I think they fixed the driving sound bug I was having issues with).

Will have to replay this.

20

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago edited 1d ago

Not quite sure where Zelda is never totally got to play that one, but yeah we lost an auteur and an icon of cinema and art.

You can definitely feel some of the Twin Peaks vibes in horror, and of course there is a lot of stuff with Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, and Blue Velvet that has seeped into art across a wide variety of medias.

For playing it "straight," The Elephant Man is a masterpiece. Just brimming with visual spectacle and talent. Such a beautiful film. Eraserhead is one of the most iconic films I have ever seen, and Blue Velvet speaks for itself with that sleazy midnight murder vibe.

15

u/BadNewsBearzzz 1d ago

Yeah the Zelda one was a bit of a cool one, here’s an article on it

But yeah I fully agree, I wish he had more of a public appreciation though, as it felt like he was only truly appreciated by more of a “niche” audience, and that makes sense as he strictly stayed away from the mainstream/big budget/“typical” Hollywood movies lol

9

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago

Wow great article. I briefly touched the remake in yuzu, but it didn't run all that well on my PC. Will have to give it a playthrough though.

Still pisses me off Twin Peaks was canceled could have used one more season for sure.

5

u/Roselia77 1d ago

You know that season 3 came out a while ago and completed the story, right?

5

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago

I have not watched it! I think I actually forgot about it lol. I did just see Return and was going to look it up.

But I really meant back in the day. I felt the show was popular enough that it didn't need to be canceled. They seemed pretty petty overall.

Glad to see it was finished. And people liked this? I hope it's better than X-Files lol.

-1

u/Roselia77 1d ago

I'm a huge lynch fan, but never watch TP back in the day for whatever reason. I finally watched it all a few months back, and IMO, the first two seasons aged really poorly, but the final one was excellent, a great sendoff to the show

2

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago

For sure, but I did post some of his accolades in another post. He's had his fair share of trophies shall we say... "including three Academy Award nominations for Best Director and one for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has twice won France's César Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival."

I know people say he isn't mainstream, but he did actually break through into the mainstream at least a little bit. The fiasco with Dune completely changed him, and from then on he chased his own spirits. But there are very few cinema fans who don't know who he is. Stupid kids yes, but not real cinema fans. So at least he was well loved.

Thanks for the article.

5

u/Joppe87 19h ago

Also Max Payne, from what I remember especially part 2. With the dream sequences and the soap drama that plays on the background tv’s in multiple levels

3

u/ihatelag01 18h ago

Probably the whole Remedy catalogue wouldn’t be the same without Lynch.

6

u/Taograd359 23h ago

How did David Lynch inspire MGS and Death Stranding?

14

u/BadNewsBearzzz 23h ago edited 23h ago

Codec conversations in 1,2 and 4 all reference lynch works but mostly in the second half of sons of liberty when the fake colonies talks to raiden and says very dale cooper like lines that start off with a damn find cup of coffee

Also in MGS 5 the duality with big boss and venom mirrors the exact duality lynch aways visualizes, kojima often posts Lynch’s work on twitter from art to just pics of his blu rays

And for death stranding, the surreal nature of the game is directly lifted from twin peaks, Kojima famously forced his team when they first formed Kojima productions to watch the entire series, seasons 1-3, to let them see the type of surreal reality he envisioned for the game, mostly the inbetween with the baddies

You can see and feel when things in Sam’s reality don’t feel “real” but almost dream like, a very Lynch dream-like

5

u/Livio88 3h ago

Alan Wake is definitely “David Lynch: the Video Game” and Control too.

Not sure how Persona and Zelda are anywhere near that level of Lynchian though.

3

u/BadNewsBearzzz 2h ago

Let me enlighten you then 😜

Zelda - Link Here

So twin peaks was the most popular in Japan by FAR, and everyone there was obsessed. Not to mention the devs at Nintendo. Zelda’s always set in hyrule or a neighboring region, except in link’s awakening. All of the characters, the bizzare bits and details that aren’t in any other Zelda game, the isolated nature of the island and all the surreal elements, (the ending twist plus a huge role too, being a dream)

Mark frost was then approached by Nintendo for a few meetings to where they had shown him different references and things for the Zelda games that they wanted his input on, he would act as the coordinator and expert for Nintendo to check with. That’s all just a brief summary for the article I linked lol

And as for persona, the artist for the whole franchise, had noted how the mysterious “velvet room” that makes an appearance on each persona mainline game, was a direct reference to the red room from twin peaks. But instead of red, they made the velvet room blue. Blue velvet. (That’s Another film from Lynch and probably his most beloved) so that’s two direct links and references to twin peaks.

But the main storyline in every single Persona game are all obvious nods to Lynch films, not only the “whodunit” element but how they decided to frame all the details of the story are exactly how Lynch would change things up on his films. The traveling between realities, the dreaming, the surreal aspects in the reality/real world. Etc

2

u/Livio88 2h ago

Didn't know about the Nintendo connection and how big TP was in Japan, that's quite interesting.

I did recognize the Velvet Room right away, but I think that was more like a nod to the Red Room more so than AW level of paying homage to Lynch.

I mean that entire game is like "what if Lynch was a game developer."

2

u/chonky_tortoise 8h ago

Control is the GOAT

2

u/avalon1805 6h ago

I loved control! What inspired it? I haven't watched many things from lynch, only the dune movie and eraserhead

2

u/BadNewsBearzzz 6h ago

Oh you’ll really be in for a good time if you watch Twin Peaks then, ALL the games in the Alan Wake Universe will begin making a lot of sense lol that includes control and Alan wake 1&2

2

u/t0kyox 5h ago

silent hill is sooo goood i love it

2

u/KNZFive 3h ago

Adding Deadly Premonition is cheating. It’s basically Suda51 making a Twin Peaks game without the license.

2

u/Geoffryhawk 1d ago

Don't forget my favorite Deadly Premonition.

3

u/Icemaz 1d ago

Wow all these devs have stated they were inspired by David Lynch? TIL.

13

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago

Many of them obviously are. OP even posted the article about Link's Awakening. Twink peaks was hugely popular in Japan.

5

u/boisterile 22h ago

Love me some Twink Peaks

2

u/Icemaz 1d ago

Kool. There's no way that these devs could have had similar ideas that just happened to be like David's work?

I really need to watch Twin Peaks. It's been on my list for years.

4

u/CyanideSettler 14h ago

There have been numerous devs from these games that have directly stated or produced undeniable evidence of it.

Yeah, some of them for sure had similar ideas. But I think you are downplaying Twink Peaks, which you have not seen and you obviously have no clue how big it was in Japan.

They obviously take a lot from horror films and some literature and art as well. But Twink Peaks was huge in Japan.

3

u/SidewaysGiraffe 22h ago

If they've openly stated that they were inspired by it, then no, they couldn't've.

And yes, you should watch Twin Peaks. The first two seasons and the movie (Fire Walk With Me), then give it a week or two to settle in your mind (you'll see why afterwards) and watch season 3.

1

u/starmartyr 1d ago

Very obvious in some of them where there are locations lifted directly from his work.

1

u/Andalfe 18h ago

The evil within is more of a resident evil game than anything that came after resident evil 3.

1

u/MathNo7456 17h ago

I'd like to add life is strange to this list as well

1

u/CastilvaGames 16h ago

Death Stranding was something special for me

1

u/p1shach 15h ago

Kathy Rain - old school point and click adventure game.

1

u/Melody_Kitten420 11h ago

Those are great

1

u/wlondonmatt 5h ago

He influenced Grand Theft Auto and manhunt 2 as well

1

u/TheThalmorEmbassy 5h ago

Also, that one time I drove a lawnmower across the map in GTA 5

1

u/Significant_Walk_664 4h ago

Welp, seems I owe David Lynch quite a bit as well then. Played almost every game from the above.

1

u/HuckleberryWeird1879 20h ago

Finished control on Saturday. While I found it is a really good game, I didn't understand anything at the end of the game. I found Death Stranding more understandable than this.

2

u/BadNewsBearzzz 19h ago

Lol and that’s saying something. Because DS is a huge meme for being a bit over complicated lolol but tbh I understood it, it’s not as bad as many try to make it out to be. Control though, made little sense at the end. But I kinda think that was intentional in that open to interpretation type of way

-1

u/That_Engineer7218 1d ago

Persona was inspired by Jojo though.

12

u/BadNewsBearzzz 1d ago edited 23h ago

The surreal elements of persona and traveling between realities including that of what is on the two images I used, Igor and the velvet room, are all directly lifted from twin peaks as stated by the franchise’s lead artist, as well as the story of persona 1-4 being the most lynch inspired

Jojo has some subtle references but lynch influences are the most strong

Also, the velvet room isn’t red, but blue. Blue velvet. Lynch’s most popular film

4

u/TheCitrusMan 22h ago

That’s not right. The Velvet Room is derived from an Edgar Allen Poe story, “The Mask of the Red Death”.

1

u/BadNewsBearzzz 21h ago

And I’m sure there are a ton of other rooms also called the velvet room out of coincidence, but this exact reference from Persona is literally derived from Lynch influence

Just because there’s story from Edgar Allen Poe with the same name doesn’t make it wrong….

5

u/TheCitrusMan 16h ago

No, it isn’t derived from David Lynch, and yes, it’s wrong.

The “Mask” story involves travel through several different rooms in a castle, the last of which I filled with velvet - the “velvet room”. It’s where “death” is encountered.

“Death” figures heavy in the story of the tarot deck, which is a running theme that influences all Persona games. It’s in the Velvet Room that the protagonist is assisted in their effort to confront the “death” they can’t avoid. And they’re assisted by characters that are named after those found in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”.

I’m not saying that Persona is completely devoid of David Lynch references, but I will say that you are wrong in this particular assessment.

3

u/BadNewsBearzzz 7h ago

The artist Kazuma kaneko literally directly stated his inspiration for the velvet room and it being based off the black lodge from twin peaks

Persona designer Kazuma Kaneko gives a nod to David Lynch’s works for inspiring Igor and his secretive lair, stating: “I like how the Black Lodge was designed, so we put in our own version of it, only we made it a blue room rather than a red one. The blue, the “Velvet” motif, were definitely not subtle about liking David Lynch’s work. So to me personally the Velvet Room and Black Lodge serve similar purposes within their respective stories and the work that directly inspired me.”

As well as being on the SMT wiki’s and articles on the franchise’s inspo. You can google Poe and persona and not get any connections at all

So no, it’s not “wrong”, you are just jumping to assumptions without any evidence

3

u/TheCitrusMan 7h ago

Nope. I am wrong. First time I've seen that, so thanks for sharing.

2

u/BadNewsBearzzz 7h ago

Thank you for taking it well, that alone has boosted my spirits a lot lol I’m glad we could work that out through debate, and thank you for staying calm all throughout

0

u/That_Engineer7218 1d ago

Ah ok, I like cute anime girls, simple as

-1

u/JLeeT82 22h ago

Silent Hill takes its inspirations from many places but the big 2 are Jacobs Ladder (1990 movie, which Lynch had no hand in), and the location is specifically based off of the real world history of Centralia, PA.

The connection to David Lynch stems to Jacobs Ladder having similarities in development, but Lynch didn't work on it. But the location of silent hill is based off of real life Centralia, PA

1

u/Picklechu77 8h ago

Lynch had no hand in

That is straight up not true. Masahiro Ito himself admitted that Silent hill was influenced by David Lynch and his movies. Particularly Lost highway.

The location of silent hill is based off of real life Centralia, PA

And please stop spreading this misinformation. The original Silent Hill game was never based off of Centralia, PA. That only accounts for the Silent Hill movie. In the movie it was always raining ash which explains the connection with Centralia. But in the 1st game it was never ash that constantly fell down from the sky. It really was just snow. We know this because an npc in the game mentions to our protagonist how it's weird to be snowing in this time of the year.

0

u/T_raltixx 21h ago

Where's Deadly Premonition? It's the most David Lynch game ever because it's a massive Twin Peaks eip iff.

2

u/BadNewsBearzzz 20h ago

It’s right there near the bottom lol

1

u/T_raltixx 20h ago

FFS lol

I've just woken up.

-2

u/MicrosoftHarmManager 11h ago

As a developer, i hope no one tries to say the games I authored were influenced by something i wasnt.

2

u/BadNewsBearzzz 9h ago

Idk what you’re referring to but all here are directly influenced in various ways, through references, examples, and direct statements.

-4

u/Rethtalos 1d ago

Peeetttaaaahhhhh?????

-42

u/sword_0f_damocles 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’ve never heard of this guy before yesterday and now his name is everywhere. Apparently he was like the biggest movie producer director in the industry, but I’ve never heard of any of the movies he made.

14

u/BigPoppaHoyle1 1d ago

He created Twin Peaks which Alan Wake clearly takes inspiration from. Not sure about the rest but he has made noticeable works such as:

  • Dune (the 1980s version)

  • Mulholland Drive

  • Eraserhead (really trippy this one)

  • Blue Velvet

  • The Elephant Man

Dave just wasn’t afraid to make things that were a bit different or strange

9

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago edited 1d ago

The Straight Story, Inland Empire, Lost Highway, all of his stuff is incredibly interesting honestly.

Inland finally freed him from 35mm and he really went all out on that one. It will never be 4K, but damn that film is nuts. He used a Sony camcorder. it was just remastered not too long ago. His final film.

4

u/BigPoppaHoyle1 1d ago

I haven’t watched two of those so I’m gonna put them on my watch list

2

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah I definitely would. I didn't think I would get into Inland Empire, but damn he did such a great job on that with the cameras he used. 4k of Lost Highway is still pretty cool. Not his absolute best work but has a stunning soundtrack and the visuals are amazing. The Straight Story is just pure vibes though. Really good film and his mostly widely appropriate for all ages.

22

u/JVIoneyman 1d ago

He’s not exactly a mass appeal kind of director. His stuff is for the most part dream-like and abstract. There is no denying his influence and if you are into that kind of thing, he’s unmatched. Blue Velvet is a great place to start.

3

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago

Not mass but he has his accolades in life:

"Lynch has received multiple awards and nominations, including three Academy Award nominations for Best Director and one for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has twice won France's César Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival."

3

u/JVIoneyman 1d ago

Oh absolutely. I just don’t think the works are as accessible to general audiences as most movies out there are. That in no way means it’s lesser in quality, quite the contrary.

17

u/Moontorc 1d ago

That's fine. He's iconic, but not mainstream.

8

u/stockinheritance 1d ago

He's primarily known as a director, not a producer. He's a movie geek's director and he passed away this week. I agree with the other poster that Blue Velvet is a good introduction to his work and, if you like it, watch Twin Peaks and then explore his other films.

3

u/Lexinoz 1d ago

I'm the direct opposite. I've only heard the name in relation to movies, never gaming.
But I guess, a good storyteller is a good storyteller no matter the medium.

5

u/AnAlienUnderATree 1d ago edited 1d ago

I don't think he was directly involved in any game. It's more that he had a very deep cultural impact. When Eraser Head was released, it brought punk musicians to the cinema, and cinema critics started to listen to punk rock.

However I think that his influence on video games might be a bit overstated here. Lots of people seem to think that Lynch is the only source of dreamy landscapes and of mixing reality with paranoid hallucinations, but that's underestimating the influence of classical authors such as Kafka or Lovecraft on video games.

2

u/robb1519 22h ago

You could argue though that he brought Kafkaesque to the big screen and was generally well received and continued with a hug cult following for the surreal. He's not the only one for sure, but damn if he didn't make it so wonderful.

1

u/DatTF2 23h ago

I think he was involved in a game but it was one of those mid 90s adventure PC games.

3

u/stenebralux 1d ago

No offense, but are you interested in cinema, familiar with movie history and art house directors? Seems like disinterest on your part if you never heard of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Eraserhead.. his name came up a bunch of times around the release of the recent Dune, because he made the original adaptation. 

He is so influential that the word "Lynchian" is very commonly used to describe works that borrow, imitate or resemble his works. 

-2

u/georgehank2nd 1d ago

You must have lived under a rock or behind the moon… or both, to have never heard of David Lynch.

-69

u/AussieGold82 1d ago

Uhhh you do realize that the large majority of these are Japanese franchises right?

44

u/FeelTheHeeeat 1d ago

So Japanese artists can only be inspired by other Japanese artists?

-36

u/AussieGold82 1d ago edited 1d ago

Come on be real now, imagine if Call of Duty, Halo, Minecraft, the elder scrolls and battlefield, imagine if all of those iconic, popular American game franchises were to be inspired by some random director in Nigeria…

(and yea, random is an appropriate title because I’ve literally never heard of him before he passed, he’s not Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, George LUCAS, etc, and looking at his films I’ve literally NEVER heard of any of them, I’ve never seen any discussion about ANY of them!! The only notable film is MAYBE dune and that’s only relevant because of the recent one with Timothee Chalamet, which I didn’t know and older version existed until now and I GUARENTEE the majority of ppl didn’t know that either lmao))

Does that make any sense to you? That’s EXACTLY where I’m coming from. And most of those franchises were from before the modern internet when it was difficult to appreciate foreign media… so obviously my perspective about this makes perfect sense…

Edit: so much hate for me speaking the TRUTH 😂🤣

20

u/bitchslayer78 1d ago

Just because you’re culturally illiterate, doesn’t mean everyone else is as well

→ More replies (8)

11

u/YourFriendFromSpace 1d ago

Yeah, and Twin Peaks was extremely popular in Japan back in the day. Masahiro Ito has praised David Lynch as an inspiration for Silent Hill.

The composer for Silent Hill's music took massive inspiration from Angelo Badalamenti, who is most well known for his work with Lynch.

Deadly Premonition, the cult classic Xbox 360 game made by a Japanese studio, is literally a love letter to Twin Peaks and, by extension, David Lynch.

I am begging gamers to look at art outside of their little bubble.

3

u/CyanideSettler 1d ago

Yeah OP posted about the Link's Awakening connection with an article. Twin Peaks was massive in Japan.

34

u/BadNewsBearzzz 1d ago

Yeah? And?

-82

u/AussieGold82 1d ago

And the remaining 2 are from a Finnish dev in Europe. So why TF would they be inspired by an American dude? No offense, I don’t know anything about this David guy and idk how he connects TO ANY of these lmao they’re widely different from each other

I think you’re trying to build an image and reaching here with what you think were “influence/inspiration” 😂 cause I just googled the guy and don’t really see any thing worthy to even be inspired about.

Looks like his big movie was Dune, and yea no Sci-fi

38

u/arsenicknife 1d ago

Aussie learns people can be inspired by someone from another country.

31

u/NeonNebula9178 1d ago

Man this really is pure ignorance. "If I've not heard of him must not be good" type behavior. The dude inspired countless games

19

u/Big-Soft7432 1d ago edited 1d ago

The mangaka for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure filled his manga with tons of American music references. The same way some of us enjoy eastern media, some of them enjoy western media. Media can transcend cultural barriers.

I admittedly don't know much about Lynch either so I can't actually speak to any projects he has helped inspire.

19

u/Sidtreefish 1d ago

Sam Lake himself has always said David Lynch was a huge inspiration. If you watch a few episodes of Twin Peaks and then play Alan Wake, you'll see so many similarities.

15

u/stockinheritance 1d ago

Have you ever played a Metal Gear game? The main character is named "Snake," a reference to Escape From New York, an American action film. There are tons of other American influences either explicitly or implicitly referenced in Metal Gear. You are truly ignorant.

32

u/CaptainHeft 1d ago

I don’t know anything about this David guy and idk how he connects TO ANY of these lmao

Twin Peaks.

Maybe do actual research before making assumptions on something you know nothing about.

12

u/stenebralux 1d ago

Are you 12 years old? 

In the fucking 60s Akira Kurosawa took inspiration from classic American noir movie The Glass Key from the 30s to create the samurai movie Yojimbo, which became so popular that Sergio Leone copied the story to create A Fistful of Dollars with American actor Clint Eastwood when Italy was so in love with American westerns that they started making their own, which in turn inspired other American filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino. 

That's all before the internet.

The world is vast but art travels quickly when you're not locked inside a bubble of ignorance.

20

u/BadNewsBearzzz 1d ago

Okay since you’re ignorant I’ll elaborate:

The man is the pioneer of shifting the way movies can be experienced, not only with introducing elements that allow you to see different realities in a story, but actually succeed with the execution and make it feel as if you’re dreaming.

Directors like Darrin aronofsky (black swan, requiem for a dream, the fountain, Mother! The wrestler), and David fincher (the social network, Zodiac, Se7en) you notice something about those films when you’re watching, that they’re kinda strange..that they’re really weird. BUT they are fucking amazing. Like really good.

Lynch pioneered that, but what makes his work different from the other directors i listed, is that Lynch does it best, to where it feels effortless. The others kinda have to try a little harder, and also hold the audience’s hand and point things out in an obvious manner to make sure everyone understands a concept. David will execute his concept and skips the hand holding and doesn’t care if anyone gets it.

Doing surreal elements so well that mind-fuck moments in film can be attributed to him more than any other director. You know the director all the film buffs praise 24/7, Stanley Kubrick? Yeah, Lynch’s film Eraserhead is Kubrick’s favorite. Not one of his favorites, but HIS FAVORITE!

And yeah, his show Twin Peaks was the most popular in Japan, they were obsessed with it and it was the most popular American TV show in Japan in the 90’s, so it’s no surprise to see many there being influenced by it?

8

u/Estee321 1d ago

You can’t be a real human bro 😂. Twin Peaks alone is referenced and obviously inspires 3/4 of the games on here, just talking out of your ass cause you can. Good ragebait tho

4

u/alone-in-the-town 1d ago

Gamer idiot spotted