🐙 Cosmic Canvases: The Lovecraftian Legacy of Giger and Beksiński in Scorn and Indie Horror Game Design (forthcoming)

Abstract: In recent years, indie horror game developers have increasingly adopted the distinctive visual styles of H.R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, artists whose surreal and grotesque works have become closely associated with Lovecraftian horror. This essay uses the first-person horror adventure game Scorn (Ebb Software, 2022) as a primary case study to analyze how independent developers are explicitly leveraging these artists’ aesthetics not only to establish an atmosphere of cosmic dread but also to legitimize their games within the broader Lovecraftian horror game subgenre. Drawing on fan studies (Bailey & Dolan, forthcoming; Mullis, 2015), paratextual media studies (Seiwald, 2023; Wright, 2018), art history (Young, 2021), and independent and horror game studies (Thon, 2020), I argue that these developers strategically use Giger and Beksiński’s recognizable styles as visual paratexts—signifiers that appeal to Lovecraftian horror fans and reinforce a shared understanding of what “counts” as Lovecraftian in the realm of game design. This practice, in turn, helps solidify Giger and Beksiński’s posthumous association with Lovecraftian horror, shaping the visual language of the genre in ways that transcend their original artistic intentions. By analyzing the creative choices and marketing strategies behind these titles, this essay reveals how indie games are not only adapting but actively constructing the visual canon of Lovecraftian horror, blurring the lines between artistic homage and genre consolidation.

Keywords: Scorn, Lovecraft, H. R. Giger, Zdzisław Beksiński, independent game development, horror, appropriation, cultural legitimation

Recommended citation: Bailey, A. (2026). “Cosmic Canvases: The Lovecraftian Legacy of Giger and Beksiński in Scorn and Indie Horror Game Design.” In Eldritch: New Critical Developments in the Lovecraftian Mythos, edited by David K. Goodin, Lang Publishing.