How Twin Peaks is inspiring video game designers The weird and wonderful world of Twin Peaks has an influence that reaches far and wide. Countless films and TV shows have […]

The weird and wonderful world of Twin Peaks has an influence that reaches far and wide.

Countless films and TV shows have aped its unique tone and offbeat themes. But increasingly, it’s the world of video games that are embracing David Lynch’s creation.

“Video games work well with bizarre worlds,” says Ron Gilbert, the legendary adventure game designer behind classics like The Secret of Monkey Island.

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“Exploration is a key element. And exploring the bizarre can be a lot more fun than exploring the known.”

Inviting some mystery

That’s certainly true in Gilbert’s latest project Thimbleweed Park, a game inspired “quite a bit” by Twin Peaks, and a lot by Lynch in general.

In it, federal agents investigate a murder in a small American town, one that seems dull and lifeless “before you start poking around”. Gilbert argues it’s the characters that really give it a Lynchian edge.

“On the surface, [they’re] normal looking people,” he says, “but they’re all odd and you start to wonder if you can trust them. Twin Peaks is very good at that.”

Kentucky Route Zero is another point-and-click adventure with elements of Lynch’s work. A “magical realist adventure game” about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky.

Designer Jake Elliot says it’s less about puzzles and more about “mysteries”; the distinction being that “puzzles are guaranteed to have solutions and mysteries are not”.

“Lynch’s work is like this,” he says. “By inviting some mystery we can get a fuller picture of what these games are capable of.

“There’s also a balance of human warmth versus alien weirdness in Twin Peaks, which we tried to reach.”

It is happening again

Jonathan Burroughs – writer and director of the narrative-driven game Virginia – says the link between Twin Peaks and gaming comes from a shared “audience of devoted fans with an interest in both”.

“So many [designers] are Lynchian nerds,” notes Gilbert. “Probably due to Twin Peaks. That was the gateway drug, then maybe Blue Velvet and Lost Highway, then you’re ready for Eraserhead.

“I love the bizarreness of his films and how he’s not afraid to do stuff that makes no sense, but you know it makes perfect sense to him.”

Burroughs says that Twin Peaks was a “a useful starting place” in the development of Virginia, a game about a graduate FBI special agent investigating the disappearance of a missing boy.

“We were drawn to the small town setting, building a story around a mystery,” he says. “We wanted to tell a story which had a degree of ambiguity, players free to find their own meaning.”

Elliot reveals the development of Kentucky Route Zero, which “didn’t begin with Twin Peaks in mind”, was similarly manipulated by the pull of Lynch’s work.

More Lynch-inspired video games: Mizzurna Falls (1998)

Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Alan Wake (2010)

Deadly Premonition (2010)

Puzzle Agent (2010)

Lone Survivor (2012)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014)

Life Is Strange (2015)

Kathy Rain (2016)

Oxenfree (2016)

Knee Deep (2017)

“There’s a moment when the characters visit a bar and one performs a song. We realised this had some parallels to Julee Cruise’s performance of ‘The World Spins’ in season two, so we added a few other overt references.”

That classic Twin Peaks scene is one that has cropped up in some form in a variety of games, Virginia included.

“There’s a scene involving a singer in front of some red drapes which wears its inspirations on its sleeve,” says Burroughs.

Though he hopes Virginia “isn’t seen as just a pastiche of Twin Peaks”.

Twin Peaks: The Game?

While Twin Peaks’ impact on gaming will be felt for many years to come, an official game based on the show is unlikely.

“The story is known,” says Gilbert, “so you’re just building theme and mood. It’s hard and not as creatively rewarding.”

Burroughs agrees, adding it’s improbable we’ll ever see Lynch himself make the jump to game development, due to the nature of the industry.

“Given how long it takes to learn the disciplines involved in making a game and the bureaucratic hoops one has to jump through, it could be a waste of Mr Lynch’s time.

“But I wouldn’t want to discourage David if he considered it a worthwhile pursuit!”

Gilbert would certainly be up for showing the veteran director the ropes. And not just for a Twin Peaks adaptation, either.

“It would be more fun to collaborate on an original game with Lynch…”

Thimbleweed Park is available now on PC, consoles and Android. Virginia is available now for PC and consoles. Kentucky Route Zero is available now for PC. It comes to consoles early 2018