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{{Short description|1998 video game}}
{{unsourced|date=September 2008}}
{{in-universe|date=September 2008}}
{{lead too short|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox video game
{{cleanup|date=September 2008}}
| title = CarnEvil
{{Infobox VG
| image = Carnevil arcade flyer.jpg
|title = CarnEvil
| caption = North American arcade flyer
|image = [[Image:Carnevil.png]]
| developer = [[Midway Games]]
|caption =
|developer = [[Midway Games]]
| publisher = Midway Games
| designer = Jack Haeger
|publisher = [[Midway Games]]
| released = {{Video game release|NA|October 31, 1998}}
|distributor =
| genre = [[Light-gun shooter]]
|designer =
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]
|license =
| producer = {{ubl|Neil Nicastro|Kenneth J. Fedesna}}
|series =
| programmer = Samuel Christian Zehr
|engine =
| artist = {{ubl|Scott Pikulski|Samuel Lewis Crider|Martin Murphy|Rowan Atalla|Martin Martinez|Jack Haeger}}
|version =
| composer = Kevin Quinn
|released =
| arcade system = Midway Seattle hardware
|genre = [[Light gun]]
| platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]]
|modes = [[Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|Multiplayer]]
|ratings =
|cabinet =
|arcade system = Midway Seattle hardware
|cpu = Main CPU: [[R5000]] @ 150 MHz
|sound = Sound CPU: [[ADSP2115]] @ 16&nbsp;MHz<BR>Sound Chips: (2x) DMA-driven @ 16&nbsp;MHz
|display = Horizontal<BR>640 x 480 resolution<BR>57&nbsp;Hz refresh rate<BR>65536 palette colors
|platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]]
|media =
|requirements =
|input =
}}
}}


'''''CarnEvil''''' is a [[Shoot 'em up#Tube and rail shooters|rail shooter]] [[arcade game]] using a [[light gun]]. Released by [[Midway Games]] on [[October 31]] ([[Halloween]]), 1998, CarnEvil is noted for its graphic content and strong lifelike violence which was peppered with heavy amounts of black humor. CarnEvil is a portmanteau of "The Carnival of Evil" and was inspired by the 1962 movie ''[[Carnival of Souls]]''. It is the most successful [[light gun]] style game produced by [[Midway Games]].
'''''CarnEvil''''' is a 1998 [[light-gun shooter]] [[arcade game]] released by [[Midway Games]]. It is often noted for its heavy use of [[graphic violence]] and [[dark humor]]. It is Midway Games' most successful light gun shooter.
==Gameplay==
[[File:CarnEvil_Gameplay.png|thumb|left|An example of gameplay in ''CarnEvil'', during the Rickety Town level]]
''CarnEvil'' is a [[light-gun shooter]] game in which the player, as an unnamed teenage [[everyman]],<ref name="Story">{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-story-of-carnevil-an-arcade-frightfest-once-called-the-most-twisted-video-game-ever-created/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118211805/https://www.gamesradar.com/the-story-of-carnevil-an-arcade-frightfest-once-called-the-most-twisted-video-game-ever-created/ |title=The story of ''CarnEvil'', an arcade frightfest once called "the most twisted video game ever created" |website=[[GamesRadar+]] |last=Sullivan |first=Lucas |date=November 15, 2018 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=April 15, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> must clear four levels by eliminating waves of various gruesome creatures such as [[evil clown]]s, [[Freak show|sideshow freaks]] and [[Krampus]]'s [[Christmas elf|elves]].<ref name="OpManual">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/arcademanual_CarnEvil_2Player_Dedicated_25in_1640069101_Nov_1998/page/n21/mode/2up |title=''CarnEvil'' Operation Manual |year=1998 |publisher=[[Midway Games]] |page=19}}</ref><ref name="GamePro">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_113_December_1998/page/n135/mode/2up |title=Hot at the Arcades: Arcade World '98 |author1=Johnny Ballgame |author2=Major Mike |magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[International Data Group]] |date=December 1998 |issue=113 |page=132}}</ref> The first three levels can be played in any order with no effect on the gameplay,<ref name="TipsTricks">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/Tips_Tricks_Issue_049_March_1999/page/n25/mode/2up |title=Arcade Strategy: ''CarnEvil'' |last1=Wilson |first1=Jason |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Tyrone |magazine=[[Tips & Tricks (magazine)|Tips & Tricks]] |date=March 1999 |pages=28–34}}</ref> with the fourth level being accessed upon their completion.<ref name="Story"/><ref name="OpManual"/> Each level opens with a sardonic greeting from Umlaut, a floating [[jester]] skull who serves as the game's host.<ref name="Story"/><ref name="OpManual"/>


The cabinet comes with two [[pump action]] shotguns that can be reloaded by either physically cocking the gun or pulling the trigger off-screen.<ref name="OpManual"/><ref name="GamePro"/><ref name="EGMPreview">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-111-october-1998_202212/page/n205/mode/2up |title=Arcade Previews: ''Carnevil'' |last=Hain |first=Mark |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |date=October 1998 |page=202}}</ref> The gun fires single shots much like a pistol,<ref name="OpManual"/> and most of the enemy characters are dispatched in four shots.<ref name="TipsTricks"/> The player can temporarily upgrade their gun by shooting bullet-shaped symbols, granting it the quality of a shotgun, [[machine gun]], [[flamethrower]], or [[Acid attack|acid rounds]].<ref name="OpManual"/><ref name="GamePro"/><ref name="TipsTricks"/> Enemy attacks drain the player's [[Health (game terminology)|health]], which can be replenished by shooting heart-shaped symbols.<ref name="OpManual"/>
== Plot ==


The player's [[Score (game)|score]] is displayed on the upper side of the screen and is constantly updated.<ref name="OpManual"/> Extra points can be earned by eliminating enemies attempting to victimize the [[non-player character]] Betty.<ref name="OpManual"/><ref name="TipsTricks"/> However, if Betty is shot instead, the player incurs a health penalty.<ref name="OpManual"/> When a level is cleared, shooting accuracy percentages are displayed for the players.<ref name="OpManual"/> Upon the conclusion of a playthrough, top scorers can use the shotgun to write their initials or name, which will be displayed in a high score table.<ref name="OpManual"/><ref name="TipsTricks"/>
The game is set in the fictional town of Greeley Valley, [[Iowa]]. The main character, Jacob, joins a tractor-drawn trailer called Spooky Sam's Ghost Tour on its path through a cemetery. According to a legend, if a golden token is inserted into the jester's mouth on top of the tombstone of Ludwig von Tökkentäkker, a haunted amusement park will rise from the earth. The main character leaves the tour with his friend, Lisa, and approaches the tombstone. A golden coin falls into a small hole on the tombstone, and surprised, Jacob inserts the coin into the jester's mouth, resulting in the legendary undead carnival rising from the ground. Wielding a [[shotgun]] from the [[shooting gallery]] at the entrance, Jacob, and Lisa if there is a second player, fights through hordes of monsters, zombies, and insects until they eventually escape. The game consists of four levels, each ending with a boss fight. The bosses are all in the form of carnival attractions as well as some European archetypes. After defeating Tökkentäkker, the man who owns the undead carnival, and surviving the explosion of the airship, Jacob awakes the next morning in a pile of leaves next to Lisa, and finds himself back in the cemetery. Jacob, after standing up with Lisa sees the coin fall into the hole again and decides to re-summon CarnEvil for a second round, much to the horror of Lisa, who screams as it awakens once again.


==Gameplay ==
==Plot==
<!-- Per Haeger's commentary in the GamesRadar+ article, the protagonist is male. -->
{{Inappropriate tone|section|date=March 2008}}
In the fictional town of Greely Valley, [[Iowa]], an [[urban legend]] claims that if a golden token is inserted into the mouth of Umlaut, a jester's skull on top of the gravestone of a [[Ringmaster (circus)|ringmaster]] named Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker, his haunted [[traveling carnival|carnival]] will rise from the earth. As a group of teenagers take a hayride tour through the Greely Valley cemetery, the unnamed protagonist separates from the tour and approaches Tökkentäkker's tombstone to find a golden coin sitting in its slot. The protagonist inserts the coin into Umlaut's mouth, resulting in the haunted amusement park rising from the ground. Trapped within, he takes a shotgun from the [[Shooting gallery (carnival game)|shooting gallery]] and uses it to fight off hordes of zombies and other undead monsters in order to escape. After fighting through the [[Haunted house|Haunted House]], [[Amusement park|Rickety Town]] and the [[Freak show|Freak Show]], he enters the [[wikt:big top|Big Top]] and fights his way through in order to face Tökkentäkker directly aboard his airship.
The players shoot enemies on the screen while progressing through four amusement park-themed horror environments while avoiding civilians. Shooting civilians earns a life penalty, but does not garner any long-term consequences or changes to the game. Power-ups such as extra health, clip increases, and gun power-ups are among other possible rewards for shooting non-civilians. Grabbing these power-ups also provides bonus points. It is said to be "the most twisted video game ever" by the LA Weekly. In this game you battle undead elves, fast food workers, freaks, and many others. The weapon is a pump-shot gun which can be powered up to a machine gun, a double-blast shotgun, a flamethrower, and even an acid shooter. This game contains blood and gore, intense violence, and disturbing images but still manages to maintain a sense of [[cartoon]]ish albeit dark humor. For example, in the Rickety Town level, you can hit a target that will have one of the zombie fast food workers dunked in a vat of boiling oil and fried undead.


Soon after killing Tökkentäkker, the protagonist falls from the airship as it explodes. In the morning, he and the only other survivor, Betty, wake up in front of the tombstone, where the token falls back into its slot. The protagonist re-inserts it into Umlaut's mouth, causing him to laugh wickedly as Betty screams in horror.
== Environments ==
In Corresponding order:


==Development and release==
* '''Rickety Town''' - A traditional [[carnival]] setting focusing on familiar sights such as [[amusement rides|roller coasters, a ferris wheel, bumper cars, flat rides]], [[game stalls]], and even a food court. The most prominent ride is the [[Christmas]]-themed "Slay Ride" roller coaster which delivers the player to an ice [[skating rink]] to face the boss character.
''CarnEvil'' was conceptualized by Jack Haeger in 1988 when he was working on the video game ''[[Narc (video game)|Narc]]''. As part of the development team's experiments with live digitized footage for video games, Haegar began working with [[stop motion]] puppets in an attempt to recreate a cinematic experience. Haegar was fond of the classic horror movie premise of a teenager daring a friend to run through a graveyard, and sketched a concept piece based on this idea titled "Horror Show". The sketch, primarily depicting a decrepit haunted house, featured a poster with the "CarnEvil" name and a prototypical version of Umlaut named "Smeek". Although Haeger was aware that technical limitations at the time made the concept impractical, he saw potential in the "dark carnival" theme.<ref name="Story"/>


Midway Games approved Haeger's concept following the successful releases of the light-gun shooters ''[[Terminator 2: Judgment Day (arcade game)|Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]'' (1991) and ''[[Revolution X]]'' (1994), which Haegar co-directed. The game originally had a tone similar to [[The Haunted Mansion]], and featured an old caretaker character with a [[Punch and Judy]]-style puppet. After this version was harshly reviewed by Midway's management, the development team revamped the concept with characters that were more aggressive and darkly humorous. This tone was set by Haeger's conceptual character Hambone, a large brute with a [[goaltender mask]] and a [[gatling gun]] arm who would become the [[miniboss]] of the Haunted House stage. Over 40 characters were created and modeled in [[3D Studio Max]]. Artist and 3D modeler Scott Pikulski recalled that "Many ideas for characters and level content came from us just joking around while working on the game. It always felt like the project would be cancelled at any time, so we worked on it like we had nothing to lose. Jack has a great sense of humor, and many of the great ideas came from his head".<ref name="Story"/>
* '''Haunted House''' - A Victorian-style [[mansion]] surrounded by a graveyard and posing as a [[dark ride]]; filled with [[zombies]], [[ghouls]], [[spiders]], [[bats]], and other [[Halloween]] favorites. The player enters through the foyer and fights their way through the den, hallways, and kitchen before ascending to the second floor and onto the roof where one of the wagons knocks the players into the [[graveyard]] for the boss fight.


The spindly, angular qualities of Haeger's concept sketches were influenced by ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', while the expressive and disturbing qualities of the characters' faces were inspired by a black-and-white photobook titled ''Fellini's Faces''. The ''[[The Avengers (TV programme)|Avengers]]'' episode "Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers...", which features a pair of murderous clowns, was also an influence. The [[Fatality (Mortal Kombat)|fatalities]] in Midway's ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' pushed the development team to increase the game's graphic violence, with Pikulski responsible for many of the game's goriest effects.<ref name="Story"/> However, in response to objections from potential distributors, the development team installed a [[DIP switch]] that would allow operators to replace the giant infant boss character Junior with a giant [[teddy bear]] character named Deaddy.<ref name="Story"/><ref name="TipsTricks"/> The opening and closing cutscenes were created by [[Blur Studio]] under the direction of [[Tim Miller (director)|Tim Miller]].<ref name="Story"/> The music and sound effects were created by Kevin Quinn.<ref name="EndCredits">''CarnEvil'' (arcade) end credits</ref> Haeger voiced the game's opening narration as well as the characters Umlaut, Tökkentäkker, Hambone and Krampus. The enemy character Muertito the Bat Boy was created and voiced by artist Martin Martinez.<ref name="Story"/>
* '''Freak Show''' - Boardwalk-style [[sideshow]] of the bizarre and astounding featuring a host of deformed opponents which make this stage particularly disturbing. The player begins in the freak exhibition and from there fights monsters in a museum of oddities, a monkey cage, and then a [[Tower of London]]-themed torture exhibition. A macabre [[assembly line]] beneath the Chamber delivers the player to a gigantic play pen to face the boss.


In September 1998, ''CarnEvil'' was showcased at the Amusement & Music Operators Association Expo in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="GamePro"/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_48/page/n19/mode/2up |title=Arcadia: Games Galore |last=Webb |first=Marcus |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=48 |date=December 1998 |page=18}}</ref> It was released on [[Halloween]] 1998, and it was considered a competitor to [[Atari Games]]'s ''[[Area 51: Site 4]]'' and [[Namco]]'s ''[[Time Crisis II]]''.<ref name="EGMPreview"/> In 1999, Midway confirmed that the game would not be ported to consoles.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/psm-issue-27-volume-3-number-11-november-1999/page/n181/mode/2up?q=carnevil |title=Letters |last=Frost |first=Stephen |magazine=[[PlayStation: The Official Magazine]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=November 1999 |issue=27 |page=182}}</ref>
* '''Ludwig von Tökkentäkker's Big Top''' - Immense [[circus]] tent swarming with undead [[clowns]], [[mimes]], and [[circus animals]] - this is the main attraction of the nightmarish carnival. Ascending the big top by means of cannon, trapeze, and tightrope allows you to reach Ludwig von Tökkentäkker's zeppelin where the final battle takes place.


==Reception and legacy==
== Characters ==
Mark Hain of ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' praised the game's visuals and comfortable pump action gun, but was disappointed by the lack of extra gameplay features and hidden background secrets compared to [[Atari Games]]' ''[[Area 51 (1995 video game)|Area 51]]'' and ''[[Maximum Force]]''.<ref name="EGMPreview"/> Jason Wilson and Tyrone Rodriguez of ''[[Tips & Tricks (magazine)|Tips & Tricks]]'' also praised the graphics, writing that "the stunning 3D environments are portrayed in such gruesome detail, you will think you're trapped in a horror film".<ref name="TipsTricks"/> French magazine ''Player One'' gave the game a score of 69%, regarding it as a ''[[The House of the Dead|House of the Dead]]'' clone, but commending the gun's design and precision as well as the gory graphics.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=L'Arcade Dépasse les Bornes!: ''CarnEvil'' |language=French |magazine=Player One |publisher=Média Système Édition |issue=96 |date=April 1999 |page=79}}</ref> Adam Bregman of ''[[LA Weekly]]'' proclaimed ''CarnEvil'' to be "undoubtedly the best of the genre" and "perhaps the most twisted video game ever created".<ref name="LAWeekly">{{cite web |url=https://www.laweekly.com/cruising-for-zombies/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809001837/https://www.laweekly.com/cruising-for-zombies/ |title=Cruising for Zombies |last=Bregman |first=Adam |website=[[LA Weekly]] |date=July 14, 1999 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=April 15, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>
=== The Good ===


According to Haeger, the game's sales exceeded those of ''[[Mortal Kombat 4]]'', which encouraged Midway's arcade team to conceptualize a [[4D film|4D ride]] adaptation that ultimately never materialized. ''CarnEvil'' was never ported to home consoles despite the success of ''[[The House of the Dead]]'', ''[[Time Crisis]]'' and ''[[Point Blank (video game series)|Point Blank]]'' on those platforms. Pikulski claimed that a developer had intended to create an original home console game that bore the ''CarnEvil'' title.<ref name="Story"/> Bregman observed that by July 1999, the game had disappeared from most [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] arcades, which he attributed to the game's perverse presentation.<ref name="LAWeekly"/>
* '''Jacob - '''A local teenager and the protagonist of the game. He wears a red jacket with blue jeans and carries a flashlight in his hand. After hearing the legend of CarnEvil, he takes Spooky Sam's Ghost Tour through the local Greeley Valley Cemetery to see whether the stories are true. When he sees the professor's grave, he ditches the Ghost Tour and foolishly puts the token into the mouth of the Jester Skull. As Tökkentäkker and his minions emerge from the depths of Hell, Jacob learns that CarnEvil is beyond anything the legend described and grabs a pump-action shotgun from the shooting gallery, realizing that he must either fight his way out or die in the evil amusement park. He's played as Player 1.


In September 2015, the [[fansite]] "Greely Valley Cemetery" was created as an archive for the game's concept sketches, promotional art, music tracks and voice clips. Lucas Sullivan of ''[[GamesRadar+]]'' considered ''[[Killing Floor (video game)|Killing Floor]]'' and [[Killing Floor 2|its sequel]] to be [[spiritual successor]]s to ''CarnEvil'', and he saw a thematic influence on the "Loony Park" level in ''[[Painkiller (video game)|Painkiller]]'''s ''Battle Out of Hell'' expansion pack and ''[[Until Dawn: Rush of Blood]]''.<ref name="Story"/>
* '''Lisa - '''A contemporary teen age resident of Greely Valley Iowa, Betty reluctantly agreed to go along with her friends on the "Spooky Sam Ghost Tour" through Greely Valley Cemetery. Little did they know that this would be the night that CarnEvil would return. Betty is now helplessly trapped within the twisted walls of CarnEvil. Do you have what it takes to save her?


==References==
* '''Spooky Sam - '''The tour guide in Spooky Sam's Ghost Tour. He speaks with a [[Southern accent]]. He and most of his passengers are [[murder]]ed when CarnEvil emerges from the grave.
{{reflist}}


==External links==
=== The Bad (and the Ugly) ===
* {{official website|https://web.archive.org/20000302181056/http://www.carnevil.com/}}
==== Rickety Town Enemies ====


[[Category:1998 video games]]
* '''Tinsels - '''Twisted little elves in Rickety Town; attack by throwing presents and stabbing with sharpened candy canes. They resemble the [[Green Goblin]] and are respectively seen on the "Slay Ride" roller coaster.
[[Category:Amusement parks in fiction]]

[[Category:Atari games]]
* '''Carnie - '''The mascot of Rickety Town, an evil, fanged version of [[Barney the dinosaur]] but blue-green in color. They can be seen around the "Dino-Rama" [[flat ride]] and emerge from the whirling dinosaur eggs.
[[Category:Arcade video games]]

[[Category:Arcade-only video games]]
* '''Buzzy - '''Small insects grown fat on bad carnival food. They have razor sharp mandibles.
[[Category:Cooperative video games]]

[[Category:Krampus in popular culture]]
* '''Smilin' Bob (Mr. Smiley) - '''An overly cheerful [[gas station]] attendant whose grin never wavers even after half of his head is blown away; attacks by swinging a gas can or punching. He primarily appears in the "Garage" where he attacks both on foot and in the bumper cars. Ironically, he is also a humble and helpful employee, but don't be fooled by his friendly and happy smile.
[[Category:Light gun games]]

[[Category:Midway video games]]
* '''Skeleteens - '''The zombified and pimple-faced teenage employees of the [[food court]] who toss [[pizza]], [[corn dogs]], [[burritos]], [[chicken|chicken drumsticks]] and a variety of carnival-themed food and drinks. They jump over the counter to punch. They have very fast attacks.
[[Category:Halloween video games]]

[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
* '''Krampus the Anti-Claus - '''Monstrous [[Santa Claus]] with reindeer antlers, talons, and ice skates. He serves as the boss character in Rickety Town. Krampus comes from behind a giant Christmas tree when it turns around to reveal the other side. He glides around the skating rink and attacks with his claws but also uses a sack full of coals. Upon being defeated, he falls over and starts bleeding on the ice as snow begins to fall.
[[Category:Rail shooters]]

[[Category:Video games about zombies]]
==== Haunted House Enemies ====
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]

[[Category:Video games set in amusement parks]]
* '''Rotten Robbie - '''[[Zombies]] that have overrun the Haunted House; can throw knives, torsos, or punch and swipe at close range.
[[Category:Video games set in Iowa]]

[[Category:Video games with pre-rendered 3D graphics]]
* '''Ghouls and Wraiths - '''Evil [[spirits]] who haunt the halls of the mansion. These vile entities are known to appear almost anywhere throughout the level and seem to vanish when blasted.

* '''Arachne - '''Giant spiders who stalk the dark corridors of the Haunted House and make shrieking noises when killed.

* '''Legs - '''Smaller spiders who dwell in the basement of the Haunted House.

* '''Batty - '''Large bats who like to take a bite out of visitors. Be careful of them, as they can fly very fast and can overtake you because they are always seen in large groups. Typically, only one of them will actually try to bite, often the last one of the group.

* '''Grabby - '''Dangerous hands that pop out of the walls in the Haunted House and claw at the player.

* '''Hambone - '''[[Jason Voorhees]] parodying maniac and sub-boss in the Haunted House stage. Hambone first appears at the mansion entrance to try and stop the players. He wears a hockey mask and bib overalls while sporting a chaingun arm. After being defeated once, he later returns as '''Hambone: The Revenge''', sporting a cannon that launches explosive skulls (three or six skulls depending on the number of players). The mask can be shot off.

* '''Evil Marie - '''Parody of [[Marie Antoinette]] and the boss of the Haunted House stage who emerges from her graveyard mausoleum. She appears as a [[vampire]] lady with pale violet skin, in fine dress, and powdered wig and heels. She sports a bloody [[axe]] and comically over-sized [[breasts]]. She loses clothing as she takes damage until ending in a corset, underwear, and stockings. Towards the end of the fight, Evil Marie summons a column of light which enables her to fire blasts of energy before being shot out of the air and impaled on the spire of her tomb.

==== Freak Show Enemies ====

* '''Human Fly - '''He is what his name says, a fly with a human head. He enjoys buzzing around the Fly Trap.

* '''Maggot Mike - '''Human-headed maggots who love to give visitors "kisses".

* '''Flap Jack - '''The upper bodies of conjoined twin [[acrobats]] connected at the waist, seen in the Freak Show. When you shoot the other half of the body, the opposite half will laugh; if you kill it and wound them, Flap Jack will laugh (and choke) when dying. They are the [[genetics|genetic]] marvels of the Freak Show and often attack with giant clubs while performing on stage.

* '''NikNak - '''Deadly eight-legged "spider monkeys" created by cross-breeding those two creatures; very fast and agile. They all wear [[fez (clothing)|fez caps]] and are fought within a giant cage.

* '''Tort and Rodz - '''The badly mutilated inmates of the Chamber of Horrors. They are so badly tortured that a few shots will make the body drop fast to the ground. As such, they are slow-moving but still pose a threat to you with jagged swords and may distract you from smaller enemies. They are also found in the hazardous assembly line beneath the Chamber.

* '''Eyeclops - '''[[Cockney]] speaking sub-boss of the Freak Show. You must defeat him before entering the Chamber of Horrors. Eyeclops appears as a two-headed [[ogre]] giant donning light armor, sword, and shield. He sports one [[eye]] on each head, three on his chest, and several others on his arms and legs. These are obviously his weak point and taking them out will reduce the greatest amount of his health. Use the rapid-fire tactic to take out every eye on his body so that he falls quickly.

* '''Junior - '''Gigantic [[infant]] sewn together from parts unknown and brought to life by lightning like [[Frankenstein]]. He carries a rattle made from human skulls. He's the boss of the Freak Show level, fought inside a gigantic playpen where he attempts to crush the players. He uses a vomiting attack which is nearly impossible to avoid. Ultimately, he is forced back into his crib where he is electrocuted and killed.

* '''Deaddy - ''' An extra boss in the arcade version, the game creators made Deaddy in case Junior was too 'scary' to children. Deaddy is a giggantic [[teddy bear]] that's been turned into a zombie and has all of '''Junior's''' attacks. Deaddy, according to the strategy guide, is actually supposed to be stronger than '''Junior''', but those who have played against him have felt it's the same.

==== Big Top Enemies ====

* '''Mortito - '''Small, imp-like, bat-headed creatures who speak mostly [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and carry tridents the size of their own bodies. They are usually seen in flight or launched out of a cannon. One of the Spanish phrases they use is the same phrase used by [[Speedy Gonzalez]].

* '''Big Johnny - '''Ironically, small clowns who wield knives or fling bowling pins and wear classic red, white and blue attire. Their favorite line is, "That's show business!"

* '''Marcello - '''A famous mime resembling [[Marcel Marceau]] who just seems to get in the way.

* '''Little Mugsy (Mister Ozob) - '''Giant men in clown suits who make strange squeaking noises when hit. They attack the players with giant mallets or brass knuckles.

* '''Yippy - '''Undead rabid poodles in clown attire. They resemble [[Cujo]] and perform amazing feats!

* '''Dr. Giggles - '''A crazed [[surgeon]] who likes to "clown around" with his patients. He wants your brain (to put in the body of the "[[gorilla|Great Ape]]")!

* '''Skeleton Crew - '''Numerous skeletons who appear during the final battle with Tökkentäkker. They are the Professor's crew members and will prevent the players from reaching their master.

* '''Umlaut - '''He first appears as a petrified Jester Skull on Tökkentäkker's grave. When Jacob feeds him the gold token, he comes to life and summons CarnEvil. Upon selecting a level, Umlaut appears to give a brief rhyme to describe what's in store. Umlaut returns as the sub-boss during the final battle on-board Tökkentäkker's airship. The player must defeat him before facing off with Tökkentäkker. His bite attacks aren't especially damaging, but his small size and quick motions make him a difficult target to hit.

* '''Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker - '''The [[German language|German]]-accented master of the "Greatest Show Unearthed" (pun of Greatest Show on Earth) and all of its horrors. Appearing as an eccentric gentleman in a brilliantly colored [[ringmaster]]'s costume with five bell-shaped coat buttons and wearing a CarnEvil token as an eye patch, he commands from his [[zeppelin]] over CarnEvil, staffed by a skeleton crew. He wields a musket(which is very powerful)and randomly teleports during the fight, leading the players on a chase throughout his ship. Toward the end of the fight, he summons a barrage of fireworks before finally being knocked into his own ship's propellers, causing the zeppelin to explode. Tökkentäkker's name is a portmanteau of "token taker" and he closely resembles the [[Insane Clown Posse]] Ringmaster.

== CarnEvil original soundtrack ==
The original score was composed by Kevin Quinn.

# CarnEvil Introduction- 1:38
# CarnEvil Superbeast- 0:30
# Select Your Doom- 1:03
# Christmas Wonderland- 1:06
# Big Bunyan Ride!- 1:22
# The Garage (Bumper Cars) - 1:30
# Krampus- 1:31
# Haunted House- 1:07
# Freak Show- 0:52
# The Chamber of Horrors- 1:25
# Junior- 1:24
# Ludwig von Tökkentäkker's Big Top- 1:04
# The Final Ring- 1:04
# The Baron's Airship- 1:17
# Credits- 2:35

== ''External links'' ==
*{{KLOV game|id=7285}}
* [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=393 Arcade History: CarnEvil]

[[Category:1999 video games]]
[[Category:Arcade games]]
[[Category:Horror video games]]
[[Category:Midway Games]]

Latest revision as of 22:27, 27 November 2024

CarnEvil
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Midway Games
Publisher(s)Midway Games
Producer(s)
  • Neil Nicastro
  • Kenneth J. Fedesna
Designer(s)Jack Haeger
Programmer(s)Samuel Christian Zehr
Artist(s)
  • Scott Pikulski
  • Samuel Lewis Crider
  • Martin Murphy
  • Rowan Atalla
  • Martin Martinez
  • Jack Haeger
Composer(s)Kevin Quinn
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
  • NA: October 31, 1998
Genre(s)Light-gun shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemMidway Seattle hardware

CarnEvil is a 1998 light-gun shooter arcade game released by Midway Games. It is often noted for its heavy use of graphic violence and dark humor. It is Midway Games' most successful light gun shooter.

Gameplay

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An example of gameplay in CarnEvil, during the Rickety Town level

CarnEvil is a light-gun shooter game in which the player, as an unnamed teenage everyman,[1] must clear four levels by eliminating waves of various gruesome creatures such as evil clowns, sideshow freaks and Krampus's elves.[2][3] The first three levels can be played in any order with no effect on the gameplay,[4] with the fourth level being accessed upon their completion.[1][2] Each level opens with a sardonic greeting from Umlaut, a floating jester skull who serves as the game's host.[1][2]

The cabinet comes with two pump action shotguns that can be reloaded by either physically cocking the gun or pulling the trigger off-screen.[2][3][5] The gun fires single shots much like a pistol,[2] and most of the enemy characters are dispatched in four shots.[4] The player can temporarily upgrade their gun by shooting bullet-shaped symbols, granting it the quality of a shotgun, machine gun, flamethrower, or acid rounds.[2][3][4] Enemy attacks drain the player's health, which can be replenished by shooting heart-shaped symbols.[2]

The player's score is displayed on the upper side of the screen and is constantly updated.[2] Extra points can be earned by eliminating enemies attempting to victimize the non-player character Betty.[2][4] However, if Betty is shot instead, the player incurs a health penalty.[2] When a level is cleared, shooting accuracy percentages are displayed for the players.[2] Upon the conclusion of a playthrough, top scorers can use the shotgun to write their initials or name, which will be displayed in a high score table.[2][4]

Plot

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In the fictional town of Greely Valley, Iowa, an urban legend claims that if a golden token is inserted into the mouth of Umlaut, a jester's skull on top of the gravestone of a ringmaster named Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker, his haunted carnival will rise from the earth. As a group of teenagers take a hayride tour through the Greely Valley cemetery, the unnamed protagonist separates from the tour and approaches Tökkentäkker's tombstone to find a golden coin sitting in its slot. The protagonist inserts the coin into Umlaut's mouth, resulting in the haunted amusement park rising from the ground. Trapped within, he takes a shotgun from the shooting gallery and uses it to fight off hordes of zombies and other undead monsters in order to escape. After fighting through the Haunted House, Rickety Town and the Freak Show, he enters the Big Top and fights his way through in order to face Tökkentäkker directly aboard his airship.

Soon after killing Tökkentäkker, the protagonist falls from the airship as it explodes. In the morning, he and the only other survivor, Betty, wake up in front of the tombstone, where the token falls back into its slot. The protagonist re-inserts it into Umlaut's mouth, causing him to laugh wickedly as Betty screams in horror.

Development and release

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CarnEvil was conceptualized by Jack Haeger in 1988 when he was working on the video game Narc. As part of the development team's experiments with live digitized footage for video games, Haegar began working with stop motion puppets in an attempt to recreate a cinematic experience. Haegar was fond of the classic horror movie premise of a teenager daring a friend to run through a graveyard, and sketched a concept piece based on this idea titled "Horror Show". The sketch, primarily depicting a decrepit haunted house, featured a poster with the "CarnEvil" name and a prototypical version of Umlaut named "Smeek". Although Haeger was aware that technical limitations at the time made the concept impractical, he saw potential in the "dark carnival" theme.[1]

Midway Games approved Haeger's concept following the successful releases of the light-gun shooters Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Revolution X (1994), which Haegar co-directed. The game originally had a tone similar to The Haunted Mansion, and featured an old caretaker character with a Punch and Judy-style puppet. After this version was harshly reviewed by Midway's management, the development team revamped the concept with characters that were more aggressive and darkly humorous. This tone was set by Haeger's conceptual character Hambone, a large brute with a goaltender mask and a gatling gun arm who would become the miniboss of the Haunted House stage. Over 40 characters were created and modeled in 3D Studio Max. Artist and 3D modeler Scott Pikulski recalled that "Many ideas for characters and level content came from us just joking around while working on the game. It always felt like the project would be cancelled at any time, so we worked on it like we had nothing to lose. Jack has a great sense of humor, and many of the great ideas came from his head".[1]

The spindly, angular qualities of Haeger's concept sketches were influenced by The Nightmare Before Christmas, while the expressive and disturbing qualities of the characters' faces were inspired by a black-and-white photobook titled Fellini's Faces. The Avengers episode "Look — (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) — But There Were These Two Fellers...", which features a pair of murderous clowns, was also an influence. The fatalities in Midway's Mortal Kombat pushed the development team to increase the game's graphic violence, with Pikulski responsible for many of the game's goriest effects.[1] However, in response to objections from potential distributors, the development team installed a DIP switch that would allow operators to replace the giant infant boss character Junior with a giant teddy bear character named Deaddy.[1][4] The opening and closing cutscenes were created by Blur Studio under the direction of Tim Miller.[1] The music and sound effects were created by Kevin Quinn.[6] Haeger voiced the game's opening narration as well as the characters Umlaut, Tökkentäkker, Hambone and Krampus. The enemy character Muertito the Bat Boy was created and voiced by artist Martin Martinez.[1]

In September 1998, CarnEvil was showcased at the Amusement & Music Operators Association Expo in Nashville, Tennessee.[3][7] It was released on Halloween 1998, and it was considered a competitor to Atari Games's Area 51: Site 4 and Namco's Time Crisis II.[5] In 1999, Midway confirmed that the game would not be ported to consoles.[8]

Reception and legacy

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Mark Hain of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's visuals and comfortable pump action gun, but was disappointed by the lack of extra gameplay features and hidden background secrets compared to Atari Games' Area 51 and Maximum Force.[5] Jason Wilson and Tyrone Rodriguez of Tips & Tricks also praised the graphics, writing that "the stunning 3D environments are portrayed in such gruesome detail, you will think you're trapped in a horror film".[4] French magazine Player One gave the game a score of 69%, regarding it as a House of the Dead clone, but commending the gun's design and precision as well as the gory graphics.[9] Adam Bregman of LA Weekly proclaimed CarnEvil to be "undoubtedly the best of the genre" and "perhaps the most twisted video game ever created".[10]

According to Haeger, the game's sales exceeded those of Mortal Kombat 4, which encouraged Midway's arcade team to conceptualize a 4D ride adaptation that ultimately never materialized. CarnEvil was never ported to home consoles despite the success of The House of the Dead, Time Crisis and Point Blank on those platforms. Pikulski claimed that a developer had intended to create an original home console game that bore the CarnEvil title.[1] Bregman observed that by July 1999, the game had disappeared from most Los Angeles County arcades, which he attributed to the game's perverse presentation.[10]

In September 2015, the fansite "Greely Valley Cemetery" was created as an archive for the game's concept sketches, promotional art, music tracks and voice clips. Lucas Sullivan of GamesRadar+ considered Killing Floor and its sequel to be spiritual successors to CarnEvil, and he saw a thematic influence on the "Loony Park" level in Painkiller's Battle Out of Hell expansion pack and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sullivan, Lucas (November 15, 2018). "The story of CarnEvil, an arcade frightfest once called "the most twisted video game ever created"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l CarnEvil Operation Manual. Midway Games. 1998. p. 19.
  3. ^ a b c d Johnny Ballgame; Major Mike (December 1998). "Hot at the Arcades: Arcade World '98". GamePro. No. 113. International Data Group. p. 132.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wilson, Jason; Rodriguez, Tyrone (March 1999). "Arcade Strategy: CarnEvil". Tips & Tricks. pp. 28–34.
  5. ^ a b c Hain, Mark (October 1998). "Arcade Previews: Carnevil". Electronic Gaming Monthly. p. 202.
  6. ^ CarnEvil (arcade) end credits
  7. ^ Webb, Marcus (December 1998). "Arcadia: Games Galore". Next Generation. No. 48. Imagine Media. p. 18.
  8. ^ Frost, Stephen (November 1999). "Letters". PlayStation: The Official Magazine. No. 27. Imagine Media. p. 182.
  9. ^ "L'Arcade Dépasse les Bornes!: CarnEvil". Player One (in French). No. 96. Média Système Édition. April 1999. p. 79.
  10. ^ a b Bregman, Adam (July 14, 1999). "Cruising for Zombies". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
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