What Makes Horror Games Scary?

By Andrew Groen Published 29 October, 2010

Why we fear the fake.

You'll probably never happen across a person raving about a survival horror game by saying how hyperactive their amygdala was, and how their rostral anterior cingulate cortex was powerless to dampen the emotional stimuli.

Nevertheless, modern science tells us that's precisely what's going on inside our domes when we see or experience something scary. And as we've seen over the past two decades, game designers can use these phenomena to wrap us around their little finger.

The key to the horror experience is that our brains -- amazing though they may be – can often only barely tell the difference between media and reality.

"The physiological reaction to frightening stimuli is pretty much the same whether it's real or [in the media]," says Dr Andrew Weaver. He's an assistant professor at Indiana University whose research focuses on the psychology of media consumption.

"As audience members we're pretty good at engaging in suspension of disbelief. At some level we can choose to essentially forget that what we're watching or playing isn't real so that we can become fully transported into the story.

"If we do become immersed in a story, then the empathetic bonds we create with the characters will cause us to feel the fear they experience - much the same way we would in real life."

Television, movies and videogames are relatively new inventions. From an evolutionary perspective, our ape-like brains haven't gotten used to seeing things on screens yet. This is true for all forms of media, but are games better at manipulating the mind than other mediums? Is the controller enhancing or inhibiting our ability to be frightened?

"Having control over the situation mitigates some of the fear, because you can usually win or turn off the game," says Dr Jamie Madigan, psychologist and author of the Psychology of Video Games blog.

"But a lot of times fear is born out of empathy for other characters, and making choices about how you interact with other characters has been shown to increase empathy."

1

Rouse's The Suffering wasn't exactly known for Kubrickian subtlety.

Richard Rouse III, lead designer on the 2004 Xbox horror game The Suffering, says other forms of media have specific strengths over games - but that games have strengths of their own.

"The kind of creeping dread you feel in a good Lovecraft story is different than the startling scares and disturbing imagery of film horror like Psycho or Ringu, just as the more tense horror you experience playing Silent Hill or Left 4 Dead is unique to games," he observes.

"I think games have the definite advantage in terms of immersion and raw tension, because in a well done narrative game the player starts feeling like it's them in the world and starts feeling threatened themselves. Other mediums simply can't deliver that type of horror in the same way."

Much has been made about the psychological implications of the avatar becoming an extension of the player's "self", and this issue is particularly relevant to the survival horror genre. Game designers seem to be particularly skilled at instilling fear in the player, more than they are at generating emotions like joy and sadness.

"It's not that games can't explore those emotions at all," says Rouse, "it's just that game-delivered emotion is fundamentally different than what film or literature can provide. Designers need to recognise that difference and play to the strengths of their medium. So too with fear."

But this doesn't answer the question of why the horror genre exists in the first place. Why do so many of us seek out experiences that will scare the hell out of us?

It is strongly believed that animals (humans included) developed the ability to experience fear as a survival mechanism. This doesn't quite explain why some people are terrified of clowns, but it's a pretty good explanation for why many people try to avoid heights, snakes and Pyramid Head.

However, some of us actively engage our fears. Some people afraid of heights ride roller coasters, some orphidiophobes watch Snakes on a Plane and many gamers afraid of Pyramid Head will still play Silent Hill 2.

"Fear in and of itself is not an enjoyable emotion," says Weaver. "In fact, from an evolutionary perspective we're strongly motivated to avoid the stimuli that cause fear, because those stimuli are generally dangerous.

"That said, there are a few reasons people might actively seek out frightening games or movies."

One of the reasons Weaver proposes is that people use those experiences as a way to gain a sense of control over stressful times in their own lives. He notes that research has shown horror to become most popular during periods of widespread stress such as violent crime waves, high unemployment or when national security is threatened.

A large part of the audience for horror media is adolescent males, and Weaver suggests that gender roles could play a part in this. He says that young males feel a need to watch or play horror games and films. The idea is that they are proving their manhood to others and themselves by showing they aren't troubled by experiencing these scenarios.

"Even though males experience the same physiological reactions and aversive feelings that females do, males feel a disproportionate need to consume this content and, when they do, to not look away or act in any way that would signal that they were uncomfortable with it," Weaver says.

Madigan, who also writes about psychology for US magazine GamePro, says it could be a question of taste. "Psychologists think some people are just sensation seekers who like to be emotionally aroused.

2

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is the frontrunner to win the 2010 award for 'Most Pants Defiled.'

"Similarly, other people seem to be attracted not to being scared, but to the chance to see social norms violated in ways that they'll never encounter in real life. They don't necessarily want to repeat these acts themselves, but they find it exciting to experience it vicariously through others."

However, these effects aren't necessarily permanent. Our brains grow with us as we age and horror junkies are constantly teaching their brains to differentiate between real and media, building mental defences in the process. According to Madigan, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"There's a school of thought that people are attracted to scary situations because they help them prepare mental strategies for dealing with real-life situations that may be not quite the same but which still deal with the same anxieties," he says.

"It seems to be human nature to seek out these "practice runs" through fiction, play fighting and other safe venues. Our brains may be wired to simultaneously know that what we're perceiving is fictional, but to still get an emotional punch out of it because it's ultimately beneficial to our mental well being."

Even if we're not consciously aware of the causes, the elements that allow game developers to instill fear in players have yielded incredible results, from the earliest survival horrors like Resident Evil to modern evolutions like Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

It seems likely designers will continue to learn from their predecessors to create even greater horror experiences. Whether it's merely an adolescent proving ground or a form of terrifying catharsis, horror has earned its place within gaming.

Picture of Andrew.

About Andrew Groen

Read more articles from Andrew by visiting the Andrew Groen archive page.

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Comments (68) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • MiniAmin #1 2 years ago

    Great article Andrew.

    One game which scared me was Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube. It had an endearing and engrossing story, excellent graphics (at the time) and creative use of sound effects/music. It also had the terrific and original "Sanity meter" - if the meter was depleted then it'd produce effects which broke the forth wall - like lowering the TV volume, and introducing enemies who'd vanish after a single attack. It was a great way to create an illusion of reality merging with the game, and it was pretty scary too!

  • rebelradiouk #2 2 years ago

    Got to agree with the comment above also loved the little tricks like making you believe your memory card was wiped blue screen of death and to be continued in eternal darkness 2.
    Edited by rebelradiouk at 29/10/10 @ 14:16

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #3 2 years ago

    One of the scariest moments in videogames for me is the Zombie dogs jumping through the window in Resident Evil 1 on PSX

    Of recent times it was Dead Space as a whole.

  • The_Amazing_Potato #4 2 years ago

    An intelligent and well-written article. Shame it's so short!

    The Suffering game me a serious case of the willies, and when I first played resident Evil 2 and went down some stairs, mistakenly thinking a 'clacking' noise was someone at a typewriter...oh boy!

  • kangarootoo #5 2 years ago

    Good article, and a bit of a pet subject of mine (I mean I'm interested in it, not that I'm necessarily any good at it).

    One thing the article didn't cover is how the observations can translate into an entire scary game (rather than a scary moment within a game), and how they can fail to translate if not applied wisely.


    Number one rule for me (open to critique of course) in making a game scary from start to finish - give security, and then take it away.

    Giving security is vital. Just like your brain will become less sensitive to a loud noise that is constant, fear in a game will lessen if the terror persists. Silent Hill showed that one of the scariest moments in a game can when the player walks from a safe room into a room that appears to be dangerous. The room doesn't even need any monsters in it, it is just enough for the player to know "this room isn't safe".

    The save points in Silent Hill were always placed in distinctive locations. The save point was always bright red, the room was always well lit, a rule was established early on that you would never be attacked in a room containing a save point, and even the audio changed to a more calming timbre. After the fearful encounters that had preceded, the save room was like an oasis in a desert (cliched I know), and I would imagine that if you find an oasis in a desert after a harrowing crossing, the scariest thing you can do is leave it behind you.

    I personally think that dragging the player between the two extremes of terror and security is the best way to leave them with the memory of "a very scary game". Although another game might provoke a stronger reaction at any given time, the lack of contrast means the game won't leave its mark in the same way. Some of the strongest fear comes from anticipation rather than the reveal, anyone who watched the recent Mark Gatiss documentary about horror cinema might be familiar with the Luton Bus :) effect, which works because it drags you from one extreme to the other (almost leaving you guard down when the true shock arrives).

  • Buztafen #6 2 years ago

    The most emotion ive shown when recently playing a game was with Reach...god dammit why do they all have to die! WHY!! :'(

  • OllyJ #7 2 years ago

    sound design is probably the one thing that freaks you out the most. gore, monsters....not so much.

  • sunjumper #8 2 years ago

    Another motivation to subject oneself to scary situations using all kinds of media and in this case especially games is that while being scared is not a nice feeling, survival feels awesome.
    As Kangarootoo wrote, safe environemts in which the player can relax are very important to mantain a scary atmosphere as it prevents getting used to what ever causes the fear. But they allso allow the player the rush of having survived and beaten what ever horror he was trying to escape.

  • spekkeh #9 2 years ago

    Excellent. More game research articles would make this website even more awesome. And thanks for pointing me to Jamie Madigan's blog.

  • MiniAmin #10 2 years ago

    @Buztafen

    Well, Jun is still alive, but he's MIA That might cheer you up a little, even though he was a boring turd who couldn't snipe for peanuts

  • Eraser #11 2 years ago

    Funny. Here they say how violence (violent times) leads to interest in horror games while usually the claim is that an interest in (horror) games leads to violence.

  • rodpad #12 2 years ago

    Fatal Frame III. I dare thee not to shit one's pants.

  • DeadlyByDesign #13 2 years ago

    Hands down one of the most intelligent horror games I have ever played was Silent Hill 2. Anyone remember being stalked by Pyramid head in the maze of dungeons? The absolute terror and futility of the riunning from the nightmare as a whole. the standout cast and the other psychological terror. The only game that has come close to it recentl is Dead Space. Dead Space is that bad that i don't want to play it any more lol...maybe I am getting old!

  • jack24 #14 2 years ago

    @Kanga

    I watched that Mark Gatiss thing, twas rather excellent. It's a shame he seemed to dismiss most forms of horror this decade (probably fair enough considering we're on like the seventh saw >_>;) I would have loved to see him on Dead Space or something, am sure a fair few luton bus' made their way into that.

  • FogHeart #15 2 years ago

    For me, it hasn't been any kind of macho 'this isn't scary' or 'I can stomach it' reason to enjoy horror media. Nor was it ever about enjoying seeing the violation of social norms. For me, along with the science fiction genre, it's about experiencing a sensation I can closest describe as - but not quite pin down as - awe.

    To step outside at night and see a sky where another planet occupies half its area - or to see ghostly shapes gather themselves from shadows in a dim and dusty attic - to see biological impossibilities unfold before you like living origami - that sensation of witnessing the impossible - that's what I adore.

  • kangarootoo #16 2 years ago

    @jack24

    I think Mark Gatiss has more of a fondness for the stuff he grew up on - his golden age if you like - and if he were 20 years younger, he would probably have a different opinion on which films were his all time favourites. I think he did admit as much himself when he said that his tastes have changed as he has gotten older, and he has lost his taste for gore, preferring "spooky" these days.

    I wonder what he would make of Silent Hill (I suspect Dead Space might be a bit too sci-fi for him to give it a fair run).

  • Buztafen #17 2 years ago

    That does cheer me up a little MiniAmin. Cheers...

    But Emile though...and Carter...Kat!...JORGE! Noooooooooooooooooooooo! :(

    /has flashbacks
    Edited by Buztafen at 29/10/10 @ 14:45

  • lavalant #18 2 years ago

    I Thought Clock Tower(PS1) was very scary, it was more the stories and rumours of Scissorman than the Scissorman himself and knowing he could be watching or round the next corner.

    When he did appear it was panic scary but not eerily scary like when listening to the stories or when you hear a noise upstairs in the docs house. It's what you don't know that scares you, your mind kind of fills in the blanks with all sorts of possibilities to freak you out, which is why the build up is very important, more important I think.

    Can't think of any games this gen that have done it right, anyway nice article, Happy Halloween.!
    Edited by lavalant at 29/10/10 @ 14:44

  • kangarootoo #19 2 years ago

    @rodpad

    "Fatal Frame III. I dare thee not to shit one's pants."

    One's own pants I would imagine, or am I underestimating just how scary FF3 really is?


    Reminds me of a variant on that Tommy Lee Jones line in Under Siege.

    So scary "you will shit your pants, and the pants of the man next to you"

  • Evolution #20 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    They used that concept of security in Silent Hill IV, first half of the game you could go back to your room to save and get your health back, so you'd feel it was a safe haven of sorts. Later this would be completely subverted and you'd have to be on your toes there as well.





  • FogHeart #21 2 years ago

    "I personally think that dragging the player between the two extremes of terror and security is the best way to leave them with the memory of 'a very scary game'."

    I remember first playing Resident Evil...recall that dread when a graphic is shown of the door being opened/stairs ascended before the next room is shown? And then the screen comes up, you immediately scan the new room for moving shapes as some menacing music starts...but then you might enter a room, and instead there's gentle, beautiful, melancholy music, and there's a typewriter. Safe room. You're ready for slap, you get a tickle. Here's your 'security'. And you can feel yourself physically and mentally unclench. That music being your cue. It's no accident that it's sweet and sad.
    Edited by FogHeart at 29/10/10 @ 15:11

  • sonicyoda #22 2 years ago

    I absolutely hate horror movies but horror games tick all the right boxes for me. I really can't explain why either because I always thought I hated horror movies because they make me jump but that exact same experience is so much more exciting in a video game. I remember when that early zombie in Dead Space tries to get in the elevator with you being a massive burst of adrenaline. I think it's down to the fact that I love a game that does something different and puts you in control of that moment. The hand severing in Dead Space Extraction and finger cutting in Heavy Rain were 2 such moments and they were absolutely thrilling. I really didn't know if I actually wanted to make the character do it. Surely that is the sign of a good game.
    Edited by sonicyoda at 29/10/10 @ 15:01

  • butler` #23 2 years ago

    The answer to the question for me lies with two games: Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

    Silent Hill never follows up on its promises, and loses any suspense in the process, where as Resi Evil (2), imo, does a better job of providing legitimate scares/threats to your life throughout to keep the suspense/keep you giving a shit.

    The zombies in the corridor and the licker through the one way mirror being two examples.

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #24 2 years ago

    I totally agree with what OllyJ says about sound design - that was spot on in Dead Space, and one of the main reasons it was so bloody scary.. Knowing when to use sound and when not to is vital in crafting a scary videogame.

    A game/film doesn't always need a full orchestra playing in the background to build tension. I don't remember the last time i walked down a dark passage in real life to find a 12-piece orchestra sitting at the end playing a scary tune.

    Also, Fatal Frame 1 scared the shit out of me - when the ghosts appear just on the edge of vision. Proving you don't always need blood/violence to make a scary game

  • spekkeh #25 2 years ago

    @sonicyoda
    maybe it has something to do with the fact that people in horror movies are nearly always morons, making nonsensical decisions. This happens in horror games too, but then at least you feel the protagonist is not a moron who gets what's coming to him, because you play that person and of course you're not a moron.

  • mfnick #26 2 years ago

    Horror games are a dieing breed. So disappointing as some of my favourite games are horror ones.

    Everything has to be action now. My heart sank when I heard Dead Space 2 was going to be more action orientated. I thought the first leant that way just a bit too much anyway so im really disappointed about that. Although im sure it'll still be a great game.

  • Harmonica #27 2 years ago

    This is cod psychology at its finest. (no pun intended)

    There's reams and reams of writing on horror and why and how it affects us, all of a much greater depth than this article. I don't tune into EG for a dose of psychology game theory, but at the same time, if you're going to write about the subject then why not dig into it a little more technically. Vague comments about horror being a genre for boys and boys proving their machismo through watching horror films is the absolute surface detail of appreciation that you'd get from talking heads on Newsround or something.

    "From an evolutionary perspective, our ape-like brains haven't gotten used to seeing things on screens yet."

    That's not how evolution works.

  • Markusdragon #28 2 years ago

    You know what's terrifying? The first time you play Minecraft survival.

  • Benno #29 2 years ago

    really good read

    and +1 on the minecraft talk, that game is very scary at times

  • Shinetop #30 2 years ago

    I'm disappointed that neither the article or any of the comments so far mentioned Shalebridge Cradle.

    Like OllyJ said: sound design. That's all. Walk up that winding staircase to the pounding on the door at the top and try not to absolutely shit yourself.

  • Markitron #31 2 years ago

    If you wanna be truly terrified by a game, I got some advice: Become an arachnaphobic. When spiders are done properly in games (Resi 1+2, Demons Souls) they are the height of videogame terror. Lately it seems lazy designers are just shoving them into games to get cheap scares (Killzone 2 and the new castlevania spring to mind)

  • sonicyoda #32 2 years ago

    @Markusdragon

    Tell you what, I did actually jump out of my fucking chair playing Minecraft when I turned around and I came face-to-face with a spider and it did the little hiss. Fucking hate spiders.

  • Orikk #33 2 years ago

    For me 'Project Zero' on the XBOX scared me to death.

    Sitting in a lit room, with other people present I still jumped out of my skin and shivered when a ghost appeared.

    It's more about the atmosphere created by the game itself. Either through the the music/sounds used or the emotions it evokes by drawing you in.

  • DiamondIce #34 2 years ago

    "This doesn't quite explain why some people are terrified of clowns"

    Have you watched Poltergeist? Plus they are all too happy to drop their trousers. Or have I been watching the wrong types?

    I don't mind admitting that I get freaked out quite easily. Condemned really was a hard game to play due to the atmosphere.

    Dead Space was quite foreboding. The worst bits was expecting something to happen and it didn't. Oh and the lift bit.

    Edit: not scary as such but the spider in Limbo was really well done. The legs looked too authentic for my liking!
    Edited by DiamondIce at 29/10/10 @ 15:32

  • I\'mListening #35 2 years ago

    condemned
    Edited by I\'mListening at 29/10/10 @ 15:34

  • DiamondIce #36 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Giving security is vital. Just like your brain will become less sensitive to a loud noise that is constant, fear in a game will lessen if the terror persists. Silent Hill showed that one of the scariest moments in a game can when the player walks from a safe room into a room that appears to be dangerous. The room doesn't even need any monsters in it, it is just enough for the player to know "this room isn't safe".

    That is really true. The sense of dread when leaving a safe location just heightens the fear / horror. Some of the best bits in games are those where nothing is actually happening. Your brain is just building up fear waiting for it.

  • FogHeart #37 2 years ago

    @butler: For me Silent Hill wins because the things that happen cannot happen. There's one horror you can never fight, and that's your own loss of sanity. No gun or spell can combat that. And with the freaky stuff in Silent Hill, a lot of which is deliberately not shown or built upon just to mess with your mind, is just to drive you mad.

    The other thing is having no control over your destiny. In Resident Evil, your enemies are horrible and dangerous but they obey certain laws of nature and physics and they will go down if you hit them right. In Silent Hill, there are no limits to what could happen, no solid ground to walk on. In a few seconds time you can find yourself in a fresh new Hell with no warning that it was coming. And your security can come just as suddenly and unexpectedly, so you really feel like your character is being played with by forces that can do anything at any time.
    Edited by FogHeart at 29/10/10 @ 15:39

  • azazel_fallenangel #38 2 years ago

    There will always be a difference between all out scares, like dead Space, and creeping tension and general atmosphere, like Eternal Darkness.
    The jump scares don't really do much for me, as enevitablily I'll shit myself, die, and repaet the section, where the same thing will happen. This doesn't happen in films whjere the film makers rely on jump-out scares, as the lack of contriol, means you can't fail, and have to waqtch the last 10mins straight. I probably won't ever watch Paranormal Activity again, as though I enjoyed it immensely, and I will admit, it scared me shitless, I know where the jumps are, and will expect them.
    Eternal Darkness will always have that unnerving centre to it, and is often changing depending how insane my charecter is. Replaying games such as this are always far more effective on me.

    P.S. Great article btw

  • Futaba #39 2 years ago

    I remember Nemesis in RE3 turning up throughout the game made for a scary experience. And even when he wasn't in your face, you were usually left with a tense feeling that he could be waiting for you around the next corner.

    Might give REmake another playthrough sometime soon, my favourite horror game is still Silent Hill 2 though.

  • kangarootoo #40 2 years ago

    @Evolution

    Interesting that the dev of SHIV changed the rules regards the safe room. I have to say I'm not sure that I approve, and I wonder if the original SH devs would have felt the same way. It feels like somebody didn't understand the rule and why it was there.

  • BuddyChrist #41 2 years ago

    @MiniAmin 1000
    Eternal Darkness on GC shit me up.

    I cant be scared in a game I'm good at. That's why the original resident evils were scary: because the shitty controls and limited resources made you weak.

    Eternal Darkness was immense....

  • Lionheart #42 2 years ago

    Watching Liverpool football club is the scariest thing I've seen recently.

    In all seriousness though, fantastic article. Funilly enough me and a friend were talking about Amnesia today, going to give it a go. Silent Hill on the Wii another cleverly scary game.

  • slivir #43 2 years ago

    I avoid scary movies like the plague but love horror games. I have no idea why. Is there anyone else out there like this?

    I know everyone thought Silent Hill 4 (The Room) was shit but it scared the willies out of me, even moreso that SH1 or 2.

  • Evolution #44 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    After your point about the save points being an oasis in a sea of scary, don't you think that subverting that idea works out well too? The fact that it starts off as a safe haven and then slowly changes into something else, doesn't that follow your number one rule of "give security, and then take it away?" :)

    @butler

    Agree with FogHeart here. I realize it comes down to personal taste ultimately, but I always found Silent Hill to offer a more psychological horror as opposed to Resident Evil's various monsters. I don't deny that Resident Evil is scary, but it's a different scary, a more direct scary.

  • kangarootoo #45 2 years ago

    @Evolution

    This is true, and I guess without knowing the context (I've not played SH4) I can't say for sure how it would pan out.

    I think to maintain the balance you always need "somwehere to go" if you want to turn up the fear factor, and keeping the safe place means you can "go scary" again without hitting a ceiling. But I admit it is flawed of me to assume that in letting beastie's into the safe rooms the devs didn't still keep plenty of other methods up their sleeves for achieving the same dynamic.

    Now I think on it more, the decision they made probably added variety without breaking the basic model.

    I think perhaps I am guilty of viewing SH1/2 with a bit of a blinkered "hero worship" attitude, because they are the best examples of the principle in action that I can think of. Good call :)

  • drhickman1983 #46 2 years ago

    For me, a good horror game, as with a good horror film, the things you don't see always seem scarier. It's why sound design is crucial in these games, a wierd, unintelligible noise can reck the psyche far more than seeing a horde of undead.

    Case in point: In Silent Hill 2, when you end up in the old prison. There is a row of cells, and organic noises can be heard in there. There appears to be something moving just in the darkness the other side of the bars, but you can't tell what. For the rest of that sequence I wa pretty damn paranoid that something would appear.

    Resident Evil, as much as I loved those games, relied more on jump! scare tactics, like things unexpectedly crashing through windows. It's an equally valid game design, and in some ways has a wider effect. Most people will be shocked for a moment when something noisy breaks the silence. But not everybody, it seems, can be effected by the tension that is built up by games like Silent Hill.

    In Silent Hill, it's the presence of a warped reality that often offers the biggest tension. When things are slightly off kilter, when things are just wrong, it leads to a sense of unease. Then when all hell literally breaks loose, the tension snaps and you run around in a panic. Interestingly, playing some old SH games saves, if I jump straight to a hell dimension stage later in the game, it's not as terrifying as it is when it's predeced by the increasingly odd "real" world.

    Of recent times, Dead Space has got me far more nervous than anything else I've played.

  • Darth_Flibble #47 2 years ago

    Decent horror games are dying breed, they are becoming all out action that rely of cheap scare tactics. imo to be aimed at the casual gamer who just want shoot things and make some retard "LOL" noise while they do. RE series has always been action game with horror but RE5 become dumb 3rd person shooter with crap AI. The Lost in Nightmares DLC was actually how the game should of been (but should had some slower moving zombies)

  • Lusterpurge #48 2 years ago

    I don't normally play horror games, but I did play Eternal Darkness and after that, I wouldn't go near a bathtub for weeks. Looking back, that was about the time when my friends people stopped talking to me...

  • Farzlepot #49 2 years ago

    I don't know about the rest of you, but Viva Pinata scared the crap outta me.

  • quadfather #50 2 years ago

    Good article

    @Kangarootoo +1 on everything
    @Fogheart +1 on everything

    After reading the article and the comments, I'm trying to narrow down the bit that makes your hands sweat and heart beat like mad, and I think it's a combination of what potentially is going to come through that dark corridor and the sound.

    I've just put project zero 3 on after reading this, and even though it was an experiment to check where the horror actually is I still shit myself repeatedly. The music/ambience is literally almost unbearable. This is at 11:40 on a bright and sunny day. However, turn the sound completely off and it's 50% less scary. Although I'll grant that that's not really playing the game properly when you can't hear anything.

    And I've just done the same with Amnesia - exactly the same results

    It seems (to me at least) that it's a combination of dark/unknown areas + sound

    I've turned Amnesia off about 10 minutes ago, and I can still feel the dread slowly ebbing away

    Though this article has made me ask myself - Why do I 'like' playing/watching horror games/films - and I don't actually have a full answer for that. Nearest I can think of is exploration of the psyche and the effect watching/playing horror has on the body/mind.
    Edited by quadfather at 30/10/10 @ 11:47

  • axman303 #51 2 years ago

    So is Amnesia actually any good then? It's going for £8.70 on Steam at the moment and wondered if it was worth a punt.

    Scariest horror games I've played thus far are: Silent Hill 2 (I actually couldn't cope with this and got rid of it), Resident Evil 1 (dogs jumping out of window nearly gave me a heart attack) and Eternal Darkness (when the on-screen volume meter came up, I nearly shit myself).

    Edited by axman303 at 30/10/10 @ 12:14

  • quadfather #52 2 years ago

    @Axman - if you had trouble with silent hill 2, I can almost guarantee you'll have trouble with Amnesia :-)

    And if the dogs caused issues in Resident Evil, you might also have problems with any of the project zero games

    Still, I'd highly recommend them both if you like the genre

  • flaming.carrot #53 2 years ago

    Blood Siren: The Curse had some proper scary moments - especially when you are the little girl walking round the manky old hospital and just being seen by any of the Shibito causes instadeath. Also being when chased and seeing yourself from the enemy POV was quite heart pounding stuff.

    Not sure the episodic structure of the game really helped it though - you could play the final chapter out of order, which kind of killed the sense of survival/achievement a bit.

  • IneptPercy #54 2 years ago

    I think the first project zero really got at me, it as the fact they could appear anywhere.

    Silent hill cashed in on the most basic human fear... darkness, we all have a level of fear of darkness which comes down more to the unknown (what is behind the darkness?)

    I think points in silent hill really did that, I still remember running away form something have no idea what it was while running in to the darkness I had no idea what was behind.

    Something like resident evil was good but it was more shock in making me jump at points, the zombies could be fought and I can take control of the situation.

    Out of interest are silent hill origins and home coming any good?

  • orangpelupa #55 2 years ago

    aww
    i love horror games but i never able to play it. I just force my friend come to my house, play the game for me. While i watch it behind a big Pillow to close my eyes when needed.....

    btw what really make me fear?
    the unknown.
    Edited by orangpelupa at 30/10/10 @ 15:12

  • orangpelupa #56 2 years ago

    @aerotact
    wow, you really hit the point.

    i was confused why i always scared on all horor game Exept Left 4 dead 1 and 2. In L4D1 and 2 im not scared at all, i even laughing usually. just fun fun fun :D

    now i understand the reason why i like that.

  • Harmonica #57 2 years ago

    I still personally get completely shitted up by even Left 4 Dead. I have an extremely low tolerance horror wise.

    Any asian horror kills me because they're pretty insidious (read: brilliant) with the way they manipulate the atmosphere and texture of the film. They tap into preternatural fears, and there's a sense that anything can and will happen at almost any moment. Prime example of that would be something like the fly from the video recording in Ringu/The Ring. They orchestrate things in such a way that such things are completely believable within the film's world. They also usually relate to culture clashes with modernisation versus traditionalism (potent idea in a lot of asian cinema but particularly horror), something that plays very well to those watching on DVD at home on their sofa. They know how to get at their audience, whereever they might be.

    There are things that scare me far more in games than any horror elements, and that's when glitches happen, like for example things in the skybox wrapping over the level, textures being mishandled, things glitching through walls, model animations screwing up (like the infamous donkey lady or cougar-man clips for RDR - although those are also very funny). That kind of gives me a creeping corporeal fear because I'm part of the game world so by extension it's almost corrupting me. No joke.

    This kind of squirmishness is the same sensation I get when my skin crawls in the cinema watching a great horror film, particularly the asian cinema mentioned above. It's the feeling of having been drawn into and made complicit in what's taking place. Not being a spectator or game-player, but existing in the same world as the film or game.

    I think that if game developers tapped into that aspect more often (you see it very rarely) they could really disturb people. I do think there's more of a line drawn in the sand with games because the suspension of disbelief is potentially working overtime and you're more entrenched than even the best horror films (and it's a different kind of relation to the action). Lowest-common-denominator films like Saw can peddle their trade on the screen, safe in the knowledge that although they might scrape the barrel of artistic integrity, their viewers are wriggling down in their seat with their hands in front of their faces.

    Gamers don't have that luxary. Devs might be wisest to avoid pushing the boundaries of what players can tolerate. There are some games I will never play, just as I will never watch some films again, but some people will always play a game that has been touted as being incredibly disturbing, and who knows if they won't experience actual psychological harm from it. You don't just watch games happen in front of you, you actually live them.
    Edited by Harmonica at 30/10/10 @ 15:44

  • Skirlasvoud #58 2 years ago

    I just recently played Thief: Deadly Shadows and I can promise you, odd sounds and weird lights have never been more frightening.

    I severely underestimated the horror moments in this later halve of the game. The monstrosities you face there may not be the most gruesome compared to every other horror game out there, but its the way in which this medieval stealth game presents them in its setting, that makes them so unsetteling.

    As a First-person stealth game, for the first halve you you face ordinary humans. You are taught that you are weak, cannot survive frontal confrontations, thus learn how to evade your enemies with situational awareness rather than face them. You are given the shadows, your only friend and comfort, to hide in. You are taught to pay carefull attention to sounds, light, your enviroment and your enemy's mood. No other game teaches you to rely on your senses quite as well, it really draws you in. You slowly learn to be comfortable with paying close attention and use your sorrounding, to rob the things you are familiar with.

    And then suddenly, BAM! You're dropped into a haunted orphanage, where the lights flicker, odd sounds echo through the hallways and things other than you are hiding in the shadows. Scary? Definitly. Especially when the game teaches you to be dependant on enviromental cleus. Lifeless dolls who make no sound and living statues that might as well be invincible, slowly shamble around gnashing in the darkness, promising a brutal death because they already know you - weakest character in the game - are there.

    With loud, graveling voice: "Find and crush, and find and crush, and crush, and crush, and crush and find.

    Just as you felt comfortable putting three of your senses at the mercy of a game you thought charming, it pulls the rug away and screws you over.

    Scardest a game has made me feel my entire life.

  • sega #59 2 years ago

    I can't really say I've ever been too scared playing a video game before. I've jumped, but it's more to do with not paying attention and a bit of panic that I'm not ready with my weapon - and it's weapons are the problem, as well as the fact I can just start over and change the outcome.

    Horror films are generally scary because you're watching a vulnerable (usually unarmed) person going towards a sound or a place you wouldn't go yourself. In a game, you can just not go that way or, if you have to, you arm yourself up to the teeth first. On top of that you have the knowledge that if there is a monster in that room that kills you, you saved a few moments earlier so can just give it another go. I still love horror games, but I can safely play them on my own with the lights off.

    It would be interesting to see a survival horror where you have no weapons, no saves and one life - it'll never get made because it'd piss too many people off, but I'm sure you'd get much more fear out of it.

  • fluxdeluxe #60 2 years ago

    @kanga

    i agree with everything you say but i don't know if it's the best way. For instance alan wake took the concept your talking about and slapped you in the face with it. Light in the game was security, dark was danger, but when the theme was so transparently applied it did lose a lot of the impact for me.

    A great example of a game that offered you zero security but stayed damn scary was system shock 2. From the moment you started the game uncertainty and danger assailed you from every side but for me the intensity never dropped, even the breathing spaces in the game were revealing twists in the plot and adding to the sense of impossibility in the task ahead of you. Bioshock is also a good example.

    For me Bioshock & System Shock 2 are the finest examples of the genre far better than silent hill or resi evil. Levine is the master of this genre.

  • Goban #61 2 years ago

    I agree with Harmonica, an incredibly thin article. I appreciate its difficult to get much depth into a short piece, but a little more effort would have been nice.

    It started a discussion, which I suppose is something.

  • Harmonica #62 2 years ago

    @sega "It would be interesting to see a survival horror where you have no weapons, no saves and one life - it'll never get made because it'd piss too many people off, but I'm sure you'd get much more fear out of it."

    This is the fundamental basis of the niche but massively popular rogue/roguelike genre, and is why it is frequently scary or thrilling to play these games.
    Edited by Harmonica at 31/10/10 @ 12:25

  • jack24 #63 2 years ago

    @Fluxdeluxe

    Never would have considered bioshock a survival horror :/

  • Zebula77 #64 2 years ago

    Huge horror fan here, and my love for horror games began with Silent Hill. I remember playing it in black and white cos I'd imported the NTSC version. It still managed to creep me out something awful. I think it was a combination of a mysterious story where you never really knew what was going on or whether it was just a fantasy or reality.

    What creeped me out was not necessarily the monsters or the combat, but the bits in between - hearing your radio crackle and the industrial clanging noises get louder. Absolutely scared the shit out of me. Made me press "pause" just to get a breather sometimes.

    One thing which the bad graphics (well, they weren't great, even by PS1 standards) did was make certain shapes look very vague. I remember looking at what appeared to be a corpse hanging inside a cage thinking "what the F**K is that?!?". Excellent stuff. Also, the contrast between completely silent moments, where you'd only hear your own footsteps, and the loud, disturbing moments when you were faced with monsters was about the most effective moments I've encountered in a horror game so far.

    Silent Hill 2 upped the quality in almost every area (especially story-wise), but I still have the original one as the scariest game ever. It's a shame it's never (imo) been bettered.

    edit: typos
    Edited by Zebula77 at 01/11/10 @ 09:54

  • kangarootoo #65 2 years ago

    @fluxdeluxe

    Well, I guess my suggestion is just a concept and the implementation of that concept can be more or less successful (like all concepts given form). If AW was a bit heavy handed with its "this bit is safe, this bit isn't" approach, that would be the fault of the AW implementation rather than an issue with the concept itself, I suggest.

    As for SS2, I've played it many times over the years, and I would question whether the intensity dropped. There are many places in the game where your character will remain safe as long as you stay put. Some sections feature respawning enemies (something I hate personally), but this is not game wide. Some areas are safe once cleared, and some are safe from the off.

    And whilst BS and SS2 are both very fine games, I still maintain that for me personally SH1 gave me the scariest moment of any game, where I literally stopped being sensible, ran into a wall, and just hoped the bad things would go away. SS2 was also very scary, but I didn't find Bioshock to be on the same scale for fear at all (much as I loved it for many other reasons).

  • FTM #66 2 years ago

    I thought the first F.E.A.R. game was very atmospheric and had some unnerving moments..but then they milked it too much in the poor sequels

  • andromeda #67 2 years ago

    only game that has ever scared the wits out of me - the first alien vs predator way back in 2001 or something..

    that worked

    nothing has since. Dead Space was laughable, i don't see how anyone found it remotley scary..looked very nice though..

  • andrewjcmillar #68 2 years ago

    favourite scary moment was in dead space the first time i stepped on what i thought was a dead necromorph and it jumped up
    SHAT MY PANTS

    pretty much all my favourite horror moments in games this gen were dead space actually:/
    Edited by andrewjcmillar at 03/11/10 @ 00:29