Decrypting & Dehairing Frictional's 'A Machine For Pigs'
Breaking news, if you were reading the internet a couple of days ago. Following a brief ARG, a tiny, hopeful squeak of detail has emerged for the next game from Amnesia devs Frictional. Frankly anything is more useful than 'it might be set in China, possibly', but in this case we have a couple of pieces of creepy, bloody concept art and a possible title.
That title? 'A Machine For Pigs.' Which sounds ever so slightly like a change of direction for George R.R. Martin's reader-mocking novels, but also appears to refer directly to the abbatoir-esque scenes in the concept art. But is that the real name, or just a codename? I've done some research into animal-slaughtering equipment and come up with some EXCITING ALTERNATIVES.
'Top Abbattoir Products', according to this equipment-flogging site (which also boasts that its 'meat stimulator reduces meat hanging times by up to 50%!' Ugh ugh ugh):
Loading Bay Lift Arm
Low Voltage Stimulators
Hoists Bleed & Transfer
Tripe Processing Machinery
Hock De-Hairing & Cleaning
Tripe Cleaning Machines
Quarter Dropper for Loadbay
Stunning Equipment Electric
Meat Bi-Rail & Rollers
Hide Strippers / Pullers
Pig De-Hairing Machines
Rollers, Bi-Rail, Tubular & Flat Bar
Gambrels
Trolleys & Carriers
I see only one explicit mention of pigs in there, and that's for a de-hairing machine. Ugh ugh ugh. A pig de-hairing machine works like this - please note that while this video isn't particularly gruesome, it does feature a dead animal.
So... Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh. But there we have it. The next Frictional game is definitely called 'De-hairing Machine', and will be a maudlin tale about preparing bacon. In China. Probably. I've got all the answers, me.
One thing that has been declared is that this is due in Fall 2012. 'Fall' is what dirty, unwashed colonials who foolishly shunned the loving and not at all greedy or unentitled arms of their mother nation call 'Autumn.'
Oh yeah, here's the other piece of concept art:
You can see full-size, uncropped versions of both this and the above by clicking on the lines in the last line of the decoded site here.
The results of the ARG, meanwhile, are being collected in this fan Wiki, which has dredged up multiple strong hints that Dear Esther devs Thechineseroom may be involved with the project. Also dredged up was this spine-troubling line:
"THE EVIL MAY HIDE THE GREATER EVIL. BUT THE EVIL ALSO HIDES THE GREATER GOOD. THIS WORLD IS A MACHINE. A MACHINE FOR PIGS. FIT ONLY FOR THE SLAUGHTERING OF PIGS."
And the subsequent de-hairing of pigs, right?