A Thought on Icons

[Tobias]

With the talk of people hoping to see icons again and the rumored "Propmaster" icon that's probably not going to happen this year, it got me thinking about previous icons and I noticed something. While the event has had some great icons in the past, they've also had a good amount of icons who felt more of a face for marketing, and either wern't used much anywhere else and/or they wern't that strong in whatever house, scare zone, show they were used in.

Here's how I personally rank the icons, and keep in mind I'm looking at everything they've been used in besides the usual marketing.
There's three icons which stand out on top for me. (Also, I'm not including Eddie or Cindy in this since they've never hosted a event.)

Jack - Weather one likes or loathes how many times he's been featured, one can't deny he's been in a lot of things around the event. He's been featured in houses, scare zones, shows and even a couple rides. I feel the event has gotten great use out of him, and quite frankly I wouldn't mind if he popped up again sometime in the future.

The Caretaker - For me the Caretaker has always had a nice presence whenever he's around, and I feel that when it comes to an' Icon house, the ScreamHouse's have been the strongest icon houses out of all the others. Any time a icon has a strong house that revolves around them, it helps make them a stronger icon/character.

Bloody Mary - When it comes to having a presence in the event, Bloody Mary was all over HHN 18. She would show up in scare zones in a couple ways, she also popped up in various houses. Speaking of houses, there's Reflections of Fear...while it has the severe downside of being an' overall terrible house, I will give it this. It was a house that was focused on Bloody Mary's backstory, I really appreciate they did something like that, it's just too bad the excecution wasn't good. Either way, it was still another thing which made Bloody Mary have a strong presence.

So that was my top three in terms of icons, now for the bunch where I feel they really were just a face for marketing.

The Storyteller - Gee Hollywood, thanks for forcing an' icon onto the event who just didn't fit whatsoever into elaborate Terra Cruentas world created that year. Besides a banner or two, you didn't see the Storyteller anywhere in IOA for the event. She was only in a blip of a cameo in the Where Evil Hides house, and I don't think she fit even in that. She's popped up a couple times like in the arrival show at HHN 16 and hosted the Dungeon of Terror...but the only interesting use of her I've seen was a creepy video of her telling a story about a guy who lost a ring in the garbage disposal. Other then that, she's just not a strong icon.

Fear - I will say I like the idea behind Fear, but ultimately he was just a stilt-character photo-op in one scare zone. For someone who was supposedly in control of everything, he didn't have much of a presence in the event. Hell, I thought his minons were cooler then him.

Lady Luck - Another prime example of why you shouldn't force an' icon on the event. Didn't have much use in the event, and she only had a scare zone. But you know it's really bad when that scare zone somehow finds a way to suck in Sting Alley. This was another case where the minons were cooler then the icon, wasn't too hard considering the Lady Luck masks were terrible, seriously I felt bad for all those who had to wear the bug eyed anime masks.

Now for the remaining two, they're not the best, but also not the worst.

The Director - First off, I do know he's a big fan favorite of a icon. Heck, I really like the concept of him. But I feel his potential has never really been tapped into. There are bright moments here and there like him hosting Infestation in HHN 13 and his little bit in the Arrival show of HHN 16. But the main thing he's a part of is the All Night DIE in houses...which let's be honest here, the main star of those houses are whatever IP's are being featured in it. The Director just shows up in the beginning and end, and that's it.

I would personally love to see a house showing the Director filming his own films, like his whole backstory and concept entails. But until then, he's an' icon with great potential, but is given a backseat to IP's.

The Usher - Personally I put the Usher above the Director, even though house-wise Silver Screams falls under the same problem I have with All Night DIE in...however Silver Screams does feel a bit more tailored to it's icon with it being hosted in the Universal Palace Theater. The theater is connected to the Usher's backstory and it even shows his demise in it. Also, when it comes to connecting an' icon to IP's, I feel it works better with the Usher since said IP's would be shown in a theater.

So those are my thoughts on the icons the event has had before, while some have been fantastic...others offer a good argument that an' icon is not needed if it's not given much use in the event.

[Cooger and Dark]

I agree with most of this, but I also think there are ways of making the icon tie into all the houses if you give it a little effort.

The Usher did tie his whole event together in a way that was fairly easy for the GP but with a nice backstory online he also had a bit of depth to him. His house was also not a WTF just happened affair which helps. The problem with the marketing icons (I am going to use Lady Luck for this example) is that you HAVE TO look up the online stuff to see how it all ties together. It was not at all easy for the GP to figure out how Lady Luck tied into ANY of the houses that were on offer and only the avid fan could see the connections (which in some cases were pretty loose).

Now comes the hard question: is it possible to have a non movie based icon tie the event together in a way that both the GP and the avid fan can relate to?

I am going to say yes.

To steal an idea: The Puppet Master

All we need for the GP to realize he is ruling the event is a puppet of one of the creatures we will see inside a house hanging on the facade somewhere. If I had my way, each house would have an interior facade and the doors to enter the house would be dressed with stage like red curtains and a puppet hanging beside them (this would be a bit harder with the non SS houses, I will admit). Heck, each house could have its own mini icon and that could be the marionette we see outside, while inside we see the real creation.

For his house we get to enter his puppet theater and see his horrible creations. The house would be accessible because, lets face it, puppets by their nature are scary and a creepy puppet master is pretty easy to connect to whether or not you understand his motivations/bacstory.

The website at this point would function as a way to flesh out both the icon and his minions.

This sort of icon could also easily accomodate any IPs as all it takes to tie it in is a marionette hanging outside the house entrance and it automatically ties in.

That is just one idea, but there are many creative ways to tie an icon into the event (as necessary) and still offer depth to the die hards and accessibility to the GP.

[JackTheREAPER]

Jack is just an icon that was fun to have on the streets. His personality was great and he had a scare factor to him as well. He was PERFECT for the streets. As for Lady Luck... my god so much regret. (What's next, Mother Nature?!?) They tried too hard with her and the thing about it was that Lady Luck was 100% marketing. The Caretaker was just a really cool and spooky/ dark character. Definitely a top icon. Fear was just so well designed and who wouldn't love a giant evil creature and "master off HHN" as an icon? The Director kind of let me down, as he was very dull and had basically NO story to him, but he held the event together and it was cool to see how he tied in all of the IP's for "Ripped From The Silver Screen". I would also add Eddie to the list because, even though he never made it to the event (because of major last minute changes), he ended up being super popular, and I think if they kept him, he would've been the top icon. With such a strong back story and horror factor, I think he needs to appear as an Icon in the future. Those are my opinions!

Edited June 21, 2014 by JackTheREAPER

[Guest]

In my opinion, Eddie is the best Icon they have ever made, his videos were creepy and he looked cool... Plus HE SEES U!

[JackTheREAPER]

In my opinion, Eddie is the best Icon they have ever made, his videos were creepy and he looked cool... Plus HE SEES U!

I 100% agree, and I have a feeling we will see him appear at HHN sometime in the future. He was just too good of an icon to just scrap for good... Someone said that next year, (HHN25) will be an anniversary year for some reason, so maybe he'll star in it. They'll bring him back. I guarantee it.

[JDW]

Tell me how these tie to Jack (aside from the obvious 2).

There wasn't any back story, build up, videos, or detailed websites but the public got it, loved it, and wanted more.

Anxiety in 3-D Location: Sound Stage 22

Enter the 3-D virtual reality of The House That Jack Built, and find yourself trapped in a malfunctioning 3-D video game.

Dark Torment Location: Earthquake Queue

After riding Earthquake, you'll descend to the labyrinths of a nightmarish underworld where hordes of evil demons torment you at every turn.

The Fearhouse Location: Nazarman's

Try and make your way through a carnival where mirrored hallways, darkened corridors and hideous creatures make your escape unlikely.

Total Chaos Location: Sound Stage 22

Wander through a top secret underground military base where captured aliens are on the loose and thirsting for blood.

Universal Classic Monster Mania Location: Earthquake Queue

There's something disturbing about this small town mortuary. The bodies just don't want to stay dead - and they don't want YOU to leave!

[Guest]

was that 2000?

[JDW]

yeah

[Legacy]

Here's the problem with the icons, and it stems from the nature of HHN itself as well as a misunderstanding (of most people) as to how the event is developed.

The "connections" that icons have with "all" the houses, and the connections between the houses themselves, are typically ridiculously tenuous. That's a result of the connections a lot of times being shoehorned in to a wide variety of house concepts that are necessary in creating an event with enough variance for the general public. If we are looking strictly at icons who are capable of easily fitting a wide swath of houses that are the Storyteller and the Usher, ironically two of the more poorly received icons.

In order to make a highly developed icon, they have to create a full backstory. But the more developed the backstory is (especially for realistic icons like Caretaker and the Director), the less variety you allow. They didn't try to adjust the story in 2002 for all the islands to fit like the (loosely) did for Cindy because it would have been absurd for an murderous mortician to care about comic books and dinosaurs. At least it would kinda work for an 8-year old girl. The idea that all of the houses in 2003 were the Director's movies works for the most part, but when you establish him as a snuff film director and then bring back the house of a previously successful icon (let alone let his house be a slasher-best of) you undercut the story itself.

Even Terra Cruentes suffers, with a single land consisting of biker bars, monasteries, and public schools. Visually, they don't tie together. If the story didn't say they were connected, they wouldn't be. And then we have the "perfect" 2008, where we were suppose to have houses based only on Urban Legends and get a post-apocalyptic movie tie-in, an Event Horizon rip-off, two returning franchises, and photographs. Yeah, they put Bloody Mary in every house... but again you're playing with the continuity of it all.

The connections, artistically, narratively, and logically, don't exist except for the fact that we're TOLD they exist (with the exception being 2009). The Storyteller, if they had done away with the whole Terra Cruentes angle, could have worked better as telling a bunch of different stories. And I'll also say that Lady Luck was a valiant attempt, but the story connecting them all was so convoluted it was hard to take seriously.

[Guest]

I dont know about most of you guys here but i have never really thought about the houses themselves at each icon event.

You do bring up a good point in that the houses have never really fit in a singular theme and maybe that is what some of the people who want icons want? i dont know about that, i can only speak for myself when i say that I want an icon solely because Jack, Eddie, Albert, and Paulo felt like living beings, they felt as if Universal had literally hired psychopaths to run there event. There were a few ads I remember reading thinking is this dude real? That was the fun in it. Mary Agana's story is probably the most fun but it felt like a story, then we got Julian and again he felt like he could have been a person that the creators of HHN knew and brought in for the event.

Finally, the last two years of icons we got people with little to no backstory that if im not mistaken never even received a name let alone a legitimate backstory, Fear felt half-assed from the jump and Lady Luck felt cool in concept but it was like they rushed it to get it out... IDK, maybe the thinking is solely my own and no one else feels this way but I felt a connection to the characters and to this day re read the backstories of a few of them. Its not about interconnecting the houses and scarezones with the overall story for me, its about creating a memorable experience and the "ICONS" do that. For me at least...

Edited June 22, 2014 by MMMU