You Don't Scare Me
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The Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3 was ridiculously frightening. Not only did it follow the formula you spelled out (give the player atmosphere, not constant death), but having not read many reviews of the game, I had no idea it was coming.
In a way, that kind of pissed me off, though. Here I was playing a fun stealth game and now all of a sudden it's The Ring. Come to think of it, I really didn't like that level at all, despite my admiration for it on a technical basis.
In a way, that kind of pissed me off, though. Here I was playing a fun stealth game and now all of a sudden it's The Ring. Come to think of it, I really didn't like that level at all, despite my admiration for it on a technical basis.
Not so serious answer: Fighting the final sister of faith in GoW 2. God she was hideous. Gave me nightmares man!
Serious answer: Fatal Frame 3 (Project zero 3) While I was walking around and I saw ghosts in the background. Scaaaaaary. This game didn't need much to get me immersed. Where was I? Why was I here? Who gives a fuck, this place is fucking haunted!
Serious answer: Fatal Frame 3 (Project zero 3) While I was walking around and I saw ghosts in the background. Scaaaaaary. This game didn't need much to get me immersed. Where was I? Why was I here? Who gives a fuck, this place is fucking haunted!
I don't play alot of SurvHor games, so I haven't really experienced a lot of 'scary' moments. I remember when I first played Half-Life (12 years old) I was pretty freaked out by the headcrabs popping in and out of nowhere (of course having seen 'Aliens' the night before didn't help).
The one element in games where I experience sustained dread (read: dread, not exactly fear) are water levels wherein my character is rendered all but defenseless, surrounded by all sorts of aquatic critters intent on doing him harm.
The fact that I am out of my element paired with enemies that are totally in theirs is a very nerve wracking experience.
The one element in games where I experience sustained dread (read: dread, not exactly fear) are water levels wherein my character is rendered all but defenseless, surrounded by all sorts of aquatic critters intent on doing him harm.
The fact that I am out of my element paired with enemies that are totally in theirs is a very nerve wracking experience.
Maybe it's a silly thing, but the moment that spooked me most was in the first Metroid Prime, in the Space Pirate base. After a harrowing first battle with a Metroid (during I spent half of which rolling around in terror from the dang thing, since I have no Ice Beam yet), I climb down a spiral pathway lined with cages which contain more of the buggers. I just know they're gonna bust out and eat me any second, but I make it to the bottom unharassed. So I grab the key item at the bottom and...
The power goes out. No or very low lights. No barriers around the Metroid cages. And I have leave the way I came. >.<
The power goes out. No or very low lights. No barriers around the Metroid cages. And I have leave the way I came. >.<
"What's your scariest gaming moment?"
In Siren: Blood Curse the moment where you play as little girl and need to get to the church. And when you get there it appears that this girl is attached to the bottom of horrific Shibito maggot. That was sick, I was actually shocked and scared. That's why Siren: Blood Curse is the only modern horror game - it makes you fear, panic. You're always afraid that you think you're saving your friend, but it's a monster, or it's being turned into monster right now.. And you can't be sure that you're still a human. You've just played as a human, and suddenly your character goes mad, or appears to be already a Shibito, fooled by unholy Kaiko powers to think he's still a human... Interestingly, game lets you play many roles and in the end you're really scared and confused. This game is easy, but it's incredibly scary.
Because you can't be sure that you're not a monster yourself...
A very interesting article, anyway. My thoughts exactly. A true horror game should be easy - death should be very rare and very scary.
In Siren: Blood Curse the moment where you play as little girl and need to get to the church. And when you get there it appears that this girl is attached to the bottom of horrific Shibito maggot. That was sick, I was actually shocked and scared. That's why Siren: Blood Curse is the only modern horror game - it makes you fear, panic. You're always afraid that you think you're saving your friend, but it's a monster, or it's being turned into monster right now.. And you can't be sure that you're still a human. You've just played as a human, and suddenly your character goes mad, or appears to be already a Shibito, fooled by unholy Kaiko powers to think he's still a human... Interestingly, game lets you play many roles and in the end you're really scared and confused. This game is easy, but it's incredibly scary.
Because you can't be sure that you're not a monster yourself...
A very interesting article, anyway. My thoughts exactly. A true horror game should be easy - death should be very rare and very scary.
Nice article.
When I was a kid I was always terrified when I had to fight a boss in Legend of Zelda games.
I had my cousin beat them
When I was a kid I was always terrified when I had to fight a boss in Legend of Zelda games.
I had my cousin beat them
Doom 3 is the scariest game I've ever played, which already says lots about my gaming habits; I don't play that much horror. Nonetheless, the sound in that game was amazing, which was also what made it so scary for me. I wasn't scared once the cat was out of the bag and it was me and a BFG9000 verus 10 Imps, but rather those moments in between. From where will the next hideous demon try to bite my ears off? When will it chose to do so? Is it a new type of demon?
A particular scene springs to mind. Somewhere in the beginning of the game, I was running through a series of corridors. Not seen anything for a while. Lighs flickering, almost complete silence. Upon walking through a door, I start to hear moaning. It gets louder and louder as I move along. Changes to subtle screaming. The turn before the source of the screams, there is one last loud shriek. By this point, I was shitting my pants. I didn't want to see what was on the other side. I wanted to run away.
I stood there for a good few minutes. Collecting courage. Reloaded all my guns. I take a deep breath, and I step around the corner.
What followed was a cutscene, where a scientist was impaled upon spikes on the cieling. The cutscene followed his dying breath and after that a new type of demon appeared. My pulse probably dropped by 50 during this cutscene, because I now knew what it was. What I felt during those ~5 minutes was genuine fear. Afterwards I asked myself why I didn't turn it off the game and safe myself some sleep, but back then I was so immersed in the game it never crossed my mind.
So there you go, there's my scariest gaming moment.
Sadly, I wish I could comment more on the article itself rather than your question, but as I stated, I'm not into horror at all. But Resident Evil, survival comedy? I sort of laughed at that, mainly because I was midly scared during RE5 at times. Oh well.
A particular scene springs to mind. Somewhere in the beginning of the game, I was running through a series of corridors. Not seen anything for a while. Lighs flickering, almost complete silence. Upon walking through a door, I start to hear moaning. It gets louder and louder as I move along. Changes to subtle screaming. The turn before the source of the screams, there is one last loud shriek. By this point, I was shitting my pants. I didn't want to see what was on the other side. I wanted to run away.
I stood there for a good few minutes. Collecting courage. Reloaded all my guns. I take a deep breath, and I step around the corner.
What followed was a cutscene, where a scientist was impaled upon spikes on the cieling. The cutscene followed his dying breath and after that a new type of demon appeared. My pulse probably dropped by 50 during this cutscene, because I now knew what it was. What I felt during those ~5 minutes was genuine fear. Afterwards I asked myself why I didn't turn it off the game and safe myself some sleep, but back then I was so immersed in the game it never crossed my mind.
So there you go, there's my scariest gaming moment.
Sadly, I wish I could comment more on the article itself rather than your question, but as I stated, I'm not into horror at all. But Resident Evil, survival comedy? I sort of laughed at that, mainly because I was midly scared during RE5 at times. Oh well.
Horror is more or less a dying genere. By definition being scared is a negative, uncomfortable feeling, although it can be thrilling after the fact. The problem today is that people who can't enjoy their fear (at least retroactively) wind up getting to have a lot of say in what is made. Thus, it's impossible to be really "freaky" any more or push limits (which horror should do) because in the end someone will complain, and our society takes them too seriously when they do.
As a result you see a lot of people who say "I like horror movies, but nothing with graphic violence in it". Oftentimes followed by a lot of stuff about implied terror, etc.. etc... but it's been my experience that those people are rarely ever truely scared by the movies they watch. They like seeing something vaguely creepy, extremely cheezy, or fairly dark, but do not want something that really scares them or gets under their skin.
I think for example the "SAW" franchise and all of the so called "Torture Porn" movies out there succeed in scaring people, and capturing the imagination. People complain that they are greatly disturbed by the thought that someone could do the things shown in those movies to another person, as well as by the fact that someone could be entertained by seeing it. Those people are of course both missing the point of horror, and at the same time defining it.
When it comes to games it's the same thing. Right now most "horror" games are simply stylized Zombie/Alien shooters because that's horror-like within the accepted boundaries of not actually scaring anyone. Game companies being increasingly unwilling to push the limits of actually scaring someone due to censorship and complaints from people outside the target demographic.
Truthfully, I am reluctant to say there are ANY real horror games out there anymore, including Silent Hill. Silent Hill, like many franchises STARTED as a horror game, but right now pretty much re-cycles what is commonly accepted they can get away with, without much criticism. It's turned into recycling popular Icons like Pyramid head to the point where they really aren't scary anymore, and even most of the surrealism comes within an expected format. Silent Hill 4 (which was not originally developed as a Silent Hill game) being really the only SH game I personally consider "horror" except for maybe the first two. I say MAYBE because I know after the first one they started making concessions to not scare/offend anyone too badly. The removal of the flayed child-bashing as a result of the Silent Hill 2 Demo sticks in my mind.... the truely freaky beginning of Silent Hill 1 where such children "kill" the protaganist being to me one of the defining moments of horror gaming, and pretty much what the genere should be striving for.
That scene bothered a lot of people apparently, they weren't comfortable with it, and that is exactly the point, and why stuff like that has to be in a horror game or movie. If you can just easily forget about something and move on, with it occupying little of your psyche when/right after it happens, then it wasn't doing horror right. When I first saw that scene it stuck with me for a long time. The fact that I can still sit back and say "that was freaky" is what makes it classic horror.
As a result you see a lot of people who say "I like horror movies, but nothing with graphic violence in it". Oftentimes followed by a lot of stuff about implied terror, etc.. etc... but it's been my experience that those people are rarely ever truely scared by the movies they watch. They like seeing something vaguely creepy, extremely cheezy, or fairly dark, but do not want something that really scares them or gets under their skin.
I think for example the "SAW" franchise and all of the so called "Torture Porn" movies out there succeed in scaring people, and capturing the imagination. People complain that they are greatly disturbed by the thought that someone could do the things shown in those movies to another person, as well as by the fact that someone could be entertained by seeing it. Those people are of course both missing the point of horror, and at the same time defining it.
When it comes to games it's the same thing. Right now most "horror" games are simply stylized Zombie/Alien shooters because that's horror-like within the accepted boundaries of not actually scaring anyone. Game companies being increasingly unwilling to push the limits of actually scaring someone due to censorship and complaints from people outside the target demographic.
Truthfully, I am reluctant to say there are ANY real horror games out there anymore, including Silent Hill. Silent Hill, like many franchises STARTED as a horror game, but right now pretty much re-cycles what is commonly accepted they can get away with, without much criticism. It's turned into recycling popular Icons like Pyramid head to the point where they really aren't scary anymore, and even most of the surrealism comes within an expected format. Silent Hill 4 (which was not originally developed as a Silent Hill game) being really the only SH game I personally consider "horror" except for maybe the first two. I say MAYBE because I know after the first one they started making concessions to not scare/offend anyone too badly. The removal of the flayed child-bashing as a result of the Silent Hill 2 Demo sticks in my mind.... the truely freaky beginning of Silent Hill 1 where such children "kill" the protaganist being to me one of the defining moments of horror gaming, and pretty much what the genere should be striving for.
That scene bothered a lot of people apparently, they weren't comfortable with it, and that is exactly the point, and why stuff like that has to be in a horror game or movie. If you can just easily forget about something and move on, with it occupying little of your psyche when/right after it happens, then it wasn't doing horror right. When I first saw that scene it stuck with me for a long time. The fact that I can still sit back and say "that was freaky" is what makes it classic horror.
Just the recent? Whatever happened to the first game's hilariously bad voice acting and writing?Shamus Young said:
And the other games in the series haven't exactly won any golden writer's award in seriousness.
Well, you do have a good point certainly. If those games are meant to be horror, why is the survival part so necessary? Like you said, it mostly creates anxiety and stress. Horror games don't need to be difficult. Silent Hill 2 wasn't difficult at any rate. And yet, it caught on quite a bit with its audience and as a plus sold well.
Eternal Darkness is quite high on my list on games NOT to play alone and in the dark ever again. The insanity effects almost drove me insane. Another moment that almost made me have a heart attack was at the 1st Condemned game where an interesting surprise awaits you inside a locker at the school stage.
System Shock 2, 4 AM on a Thursday night. 3 rounds left for the pistol, out of everything else and desperately trying to scrounge up ammo or a recharge station. Around the corner I hear a roar and a Rumbler is bearing down on me.
I start screaming "DIE DIE!" at the top of my lungs.
. . . . And my room mate barges into the room screaming "What the F*** is going on!!"
Then I realized that the game had gotten me.
I start screaming "DIE DIE!" at the top of my lungs.
. . . . And my room mate barges into the room screaming "What the F*** is going on!!"
Then I realized that the game had gotten me.
Penumbra, which you oh so subtly mentioned. 30 minutes in and i've still not seen even one enemy. By that time i was so scared of something suddenly becoming violent, i had to take breaks.
Also, i think survival horror can exist, but only if you apply rogue-like saving. Come to think of it, i believe gaming in general would only benefit from a broad return to permadeath and save=quit methods. And there i go tangenting off...
Also, i think survival horror can exist, but only if you apply rogue-like saving. Come to think of it, i believe gaming in general would only benefit from a broad return to permadeath and save=quit methods. And there i go tangenting off...
It was about midnight after intense gaming in team fortress 2, a really good night, I was tired and I decieded i wanted to try a campaign in my newly steam downloaded L4D, No MErcy cause i like to follow the order. And ok it was pitch black in this big room except for the computer screen. Loads up, not to bad, until i hit the first groupings of the evil undead, I have no idea why, might have been the room, might have been the fact it was raining heavy outside, or maybe that i was tired enough to forget I was tired, but that is the only gaming moment I have pissed myself during, and I'm not ashamed of it. Scared the shit outta me.
I've been really nervous or aprehensive of loads of things in games, from an important match on FIFA to a make-or-break battle on Medieval II, or even a TF2 clan match against a particularly difficult rival clan. However, these weren't really "fear" as such, more a sense that these are important (as far as a game can be), and that losing will be a major setback.
I think that the actual "scariest" moment was probably the very first time I played Killing Floor (free weekends ftw!). It was the first map I'd played and I had just got to my first boss stage, but the game glitched and instead of going invisible to run away and heal, only to come back and attack later, the boss guy went invisible and stayed invisible. I had no idea where he was, but I could hear him running around. I kept going round and round in circles looking for him and was truly afraid that he would burst out of the shadows at any moment (the only game I'd played before that was L4D, which doesn't scare you so much as stress you). I must have spent at least five minutes looking for him, expecting him to attack at any moment, before I realised that he had glitched and was just running around in circles. In the end I could only kill him by spamming my Katana into thin-air. That was incredibly anti-climactic. But before then, when I didn't know if it was meant to be like that or not, was thhe most scary moment I've had in a game.
I think that the actual "scariest" moment was probably the very first time I played Killing Floor (free weekends ftw!). It was the first map I'd played and I had just got to my first boss stage, but the game glitched and instead of going invisible to run away and heal, only to come back and attack later, the boss guy went invisible and stayed invisible. I had no idea where he was, but I could hear him running around. I kept going round and round in circles looking for him and was truly afraid that he would burst out of the shadows at any moment (the only game I'd played before that was L4D, which doesn't scare you so much as stress you). I must have spent at least five minutes looking for him, expecting him to attack at any moment, before I realised that he had glitched and was just running around in circles. In the end I could only kill him by spamming my Katana into thin-air. That was incredibly anti-climactic. But before then, when I didn't know if it was meant to be like that or not, was thhe most scary moment I've had in a game.
top 3
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - when Ganondorf dies, and things are fine, and then pops out and turns into Ganondrof. yarbles.
Silent Hill 2 - the first time you see pyramind headjust standing there watching you from behind the gate covered in blood, and then you enter that room again and leave again, and the gate is gone, alon with the murderous entity. yeeshters.
Bioschok - the tape that documents the doctor' session with a nice woman. she is asked to break the neck of a puppy, she does so, but only because she is being forced by the use of a pavlovian response mechanism, and only because she is sobbing uncontrollably, probably due to the fact that she desperately does not want to kill the puppy. that part jacked me up.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - when Ganondorf dies, and things are fine, and then pops out and turns into Ganondrof. yarbles.
Silent Hill 2 - the first time you see pyramind headjust standing there watching you from behind the gate covered in blood, and then you enter that room again and leave again, and the gate is gone, alon with the murderous entity. yeeshters.
Bioschok - the tape that documents the doctor' session with a nice woman. she is asked to break the neck of a puppy, she does so, but only because she is being forced by the use of a pavlovian response mechanism, and only because she is sobbing uncontrollably, probably due to the fact that she desperately does not want to kill the puppy. that part jacked me up.
I remember when I was around 11 or 12 playing the N64 of quake (ya I know it was inferior).
There was a gold key that I needed, I finally found the room where it was.
Alright so I grab the key and suddenly A GIANT WHITE YETI THING WITH BLOOD DRIPPING DOWN IT'S JAW WAS THERE. HOLY CRAP. My little brother watching me was more frightened then me . I died the first time then I went back and decided instead of fighting it I'd run.
Suddenly I realized it could open doors O.O and I started chasing me around the level until finally I arrive on the gold door and I finish the level.
I've never been so scared in my gaming life.
In retrospect, it probably wasn't that scary but I was still a kid
There was a gold key that I needed, I finally found the room where it was.
Alright so I grab the key and suddenly A GIANT WHITE YETI THING WITH BLOOD DRIPPING DOWN IT'S JAW WAS THERE. HOLY CRAP. My little brother watching me was more frightened then me
. I died the first time then I went back and decided instead of fighting it I'd run.Suddenly I realized it could open doors O.O and I started chasing me around the level until finally I arrive on the gold door and I finish the level.
I've never been so scared in my gaming life.
In retrospect, it probably wasn't that scary but I was still a kid