Horror games and new IPs

[bug_of_war]

So as far as I am aware most people seem to want more original ideas. We're now bored with most games and can't seem to wait for the next gen and new games like Watch Dogs to hit the shelves. It seems most were unimpressed with recent horror games such as Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 due to lacking, well, horror. Yet something happened just 5 minutes ago that made me think, "Wait...WHAT!?". As I was reading this article here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123394-Bethesda-Reveals-The-Evil-Within

And reading the comments I began to get confused as to what the general consensus of the video game markets is. People ask for new IPs, yet in the comments people are saddened/annoyed that the game is not Fallout 4. People ask for true horror, yet instead of talking about the content found in the trailer and the possibilities we get people showing little interest.

So I ask, what is it that YOU personally want to see. Do you want a new IP? Or a sequel to a franchise? Do you want to see horror return? or would you prefer something more mainstream?

Edit: Because a few people seem to be confused as to what my question was I will simplify what I want to know right here:

Do you want new games/horror found in older games? Or are you happy with sequels to well established franchises/horror as depicted in Dead Space, Resident Evil 5 and 6 etc.

 

[shrekfan246]

I stopped trying to understand what the community thinks long ago, because everywhere you look are conflicting opinions and contradictory statements. I'm usually the first person to start pointing out that different people have different opinions, but sometimes it honestly seems like the "gaming community" literally can't come to a consensus on anything.

Anyway, I'm not the biggest fan of horror games, myself. But at the same time I'm not really a fan of anything Bethesda does, so in that particular situation I've got no stake and therefore little opinion. In a more general sense, though, I'm looking forward to Watch Dogs, and desperately hoping that they don't make third-person shooting the main fallback mechanic of the entire game. I'd probably still like it even if they do, but I feel like it has the chance to stand a cut above the rest by focusing on hacking and information gathering as the central, core gameplay. I know that's what they're saying they're doing, but it's not always how it actually turns out in the end...

On the other side of the coin, I like "spiritual sequels" or sequels that use the universe to build off in another direction more than direct sequels, I've found. I don't care if they use a name on a game, so long as the game provides me with entertainment. Game developers using a single franchise shouldn't be forced to only ever make the same thing with slightly more refined gameplay and a wholly contrived "new" story every time, and games like Bioshock Infinite shouldn't be called "not a real Bioshock game" just because of the differences between it and the first one.

 

[DoPo]

And reading the comments I began to get confused as to what the general consensus of the video game markets is. People ask for new IPs, yet in the comments people are saddened/annoyed that the game is not Fallout 4. People ask for true horror, yet instead of talking about the content found in the trailer and the possibilities we get people showing little interest.

I see why you're getting confused - you're trying to generalise too much. People ask for new IPs in general, at this moment in time, concerning Bethesda in particular, they were waiting for information about Fallout 4. The two, however, are not mutually exclusive - one can be waiting for a game they like and also prefer new games, too. No conflict there, aside from what you tried to force. People ask for true horror and people show no interest in horror - either the hivemind is having mood swings or those are two different groups. Also, there is another alternative - horror comes in more than one variety. Oops, maybe I should have warned you to sit down before I said that - I hope you didn't get too hurt. Well, at any rate you are down now - either sitting from before or fainted from the shock from before, so I can also say that people may like different kinds of things, too. So, again, no confusion there, either.

So I ask, what is it that YOU personally want to see. Do you want a new IP? Or a sequel to a franchise? Do you want to see horror return? or would you prefer something more mainstream?

Yes.

 

[TheIronRuler]

I want a New IP Horror game that doesn't involve fiction and is grounded in reality. Less monsters, more real people.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I think the general consensus regarding the new The Evil Within trailer, was that it isn't anything original and just the same horror shlock that's being played out since the first Silent Hill.

"Oh look, barbed wire. Oh look, a creepy girl with long hair. Oh look, Pyramid Vault Head." This is treading ancient ground, and from someone like Shinji Mikami I expected more.

Also, the worst way you can tease a new IP, by a renowned game creator no less, is by making it live-action.

 

[Mikejames]

I do like the idea of a fresh IP, and as niche as this genre is I'll probably be keeping an eye on the project.

I can't say whether or not I'll be interested in this particular game's style yet, and the trailer didn't exactly reveal anything too groundbreaking, but I'm always hopeful for a potential psychological horror.

I want a New IP Horror game that doesn't involve fiction and is grounded in reality. Less monsters, more real people.

So, like Condemned but less trippy?

 

[TheIronRuler]

I do like the idea of a fresh IP, and as niche as this genre is I'll probably be keeping an eye on the project.

I can't say whether or not I'll be interested in this particular game's style yet, and the trailer didn't exactly reveal anything too groundbreaking, but I'm always hopeful for a potential psychological horror.

I want a New IP Horror game that doesn't involve fiction and is grounded in reality. Less monsters, more real people.

So, like Condemned but less trippy?

.
That was spot-on, although some level of trippiness (is that a word?) is required for a horror game to be... a horror game.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Well, I think it looks cool. I would have liked a Fallout 4 teaser but I'm ok with this. I'm a bit of a horror junkie, though, so they kind of had me hooked from the start of the trailer. Well, not hooked but they had my attention.

I don't think this live action trailer is enough to judge any creativity or originality yet so I wont comment on that front but it's obvious they're going for something a little more horror related than the crap that's been calling itself horror lately. Besides, you're not supposed to judge it yet. This teaser's doing what it's supposed to do already; it's making us talk about it and speculate.

 

[kailus13]

I do like the idea of a fresh IP, and as niche as this genre is I'll probably be keeping an eye on the project.

I can't say whether or not I'll be interested in this particular game's style yet, and the trailer didn't exactly reveal anything too groundbreaking, but I'm always hopeful for a potential psychological horror.

I want a New IP Horror game that doesn't involve fiction and is grounded in reality. Less monsters, more real people.

So, like Condemned but less trippy?

.
That was spot-on, although some level of trippiness (is that a word?) is required for a horror game to be... a horror game.

So, the kind of trippy where you can't tell if your hallucinating or not?

Also, the worst way you can tease a new IP, by a renowned game creator no less, is by making it live-action.

I think that making anything videogamey live-action is a bad thing. If I was going by the adverts I'd have never played Borderlands 2, the live-action trailer was so boring.

 

[rasputin0009]

I think everyone is confused. Bethesda Softworks is a publisher foremost. This game is from the creator of Resident Evil's development team. Not Bethesda Game Studios, which is probably working on Fallout 4 as we speak. Everybody seems to get their panties in a bunch over nothing.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

In this particular case I think it's more of a lack of crossover between genre fans. Bethesda's fan base is rabid for a new Fallout and doesn't seem too keen on horror games so the reaction there is understandable.

I'm interested in new horror like you wouldn't believe...but I'm hesitant on this because I'm not overly fond of Bethesda and their last horror game that I played (call of cthulhu) was kind of a mess.

In short I think you'll find a lot of interest in new horror IP's out there just not in this specific situation.

 

[Legion]

I honestly do not care either way. The quality of the game matters more to me than whether or not it is a sequel or something new and original.

I like new IP's if they are imaginative and not just trying to cash in on the current trends, but I am happy with sequels if they put some effort into making it a unique experience and worth paying the money for.

For example while Mirrors Edge was a flawed game, it attempted something interesting. I had a few issues with it, but for the most part I enjoyed trying something I hadn't before, and I felt that it was worth my money. It was trying to give us something we hadn't really seen before, and I liked it for that.

Halo 4 on the other hand was beginning of a new trilogy, and they couldn't have played it safer if they had tried. They put absolutely no effort to differentiate it from older Halo's, and almost all of the new things that they added were already featured in other titles anyway. The game wasn't bad, but there was nothing special about it at all, and it's not memorable at all.

 

[sarahvait]

I think the general consensus regarding the new The Evil Within trailer, was that it isn't anything original and just the same horror shlock that's being played out since the first Silent Hill.

"Oh look, barbed wire. Oh look, a creepy girl with long hair. Oh look, Pyramid Vault Head." This is treading ancient ground, and from someone like Shinji Mikami I expected more.

Also, the worst way you can tease a new IP, by a renowned game creator no less, is by making it live-action.

I'm not counting it out yet. It had a very Saw/Hell Raiser/13 Ghosts thing going on, with some American Horror Story sprinkled in. And yeah, it's all familiar, but I see some great potential for some good flesh crawling creeps if they pull it off right.

And why is it so bad to make a live action trailer for a teaser? Early game teasers are usually just little sprinklings of what the game will be like, and barely tell anything about plot, characters, or game play. I think live action is a nice change from pre-rendered cinematics that won't end up even being in the game, and that sometimes don't even look like what will be shown in the final product (either because of design changes and/or graphical changes). Or maybe they're hiding the actual game cinematics and whatnot on purpose?

I'm inclined to be positive though, since this and A Machine for Pigs are the only big(ish) horror games coming up to feed my insatiable appetite.

There's some more info in here too.

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/04/19/the-evil-within-will-be-a-pure-survival-horror-game-about-a-detective/

I'm generally liking most of the ideas, but I hope the whole "traps can kill you or be used against enemies" thing doesn't veer to far into what was in the Saw games. It would feel...out of place? That's what is coming to my mind, for whatever reason.

 

[bug_of_war]

Oops, maybe I should have warned you to sit down before I said that - I hope you didn't get too hurt. Well, at any rate you are down now - either sitting from before or fainted from the shock from before, so I can also say that people may like different kinds of things, too. So, again, no confusion there, either.

Well...that was mildly insulting in a ways. I get that people like different things, hell I love Mass Effect 3 and the ending, and have had to fight for my view to be considered valid for a long time, but right here, just right in this instance it was almost as if the ENTIRE video game community was in agreement on something. Now I know this is an assumption and I should not presume that everyone was thinking the same thing, but all I heard last year on this website, IGN, random game related websites, youtube, friends etc. was that they were looking forward to something new/an actual horror game.

The same can be seen in other mediums, television/film and music often get blasted for not having an original concept, yet the moment one comes out people seem afraid of it.

 

[bug_of_war]

I think the general consensus regarding the new The Evil Within trailer, was that it isn't anything original and just the same horror shlock that's being played out since the first Silent Hill.

"Oh look, barbed wire. Oh look, a creepy girl with long hair. Oh look, Pyramid Vault Head." This is treading ancient ground, and from someone like Shinji Mikami I expected more.

Also, the worst way you can tease a new IP, by a renowned game creator no less, is by making it live-action.

Hey, I agree that they probably should have gone with in game footage with the trailer, but just because it uses elements from other horror games/clichés does not automatically mean it is unoriginal. Okay yes, the guy with his head stuck in a box and hammer is treading EXTREMELY close to rip off territory, but barbed wire and creepy girl with long hair is like looking at the Borderlands game and saying, "Oh look, a first person shooter and a soldier character, totally not original, terrible game". Maybe it's too early to make any real good or bad judgments so I'll just leave it here and hope that the next trailer/screenshots can sway the pendulum one way or the other.

 

[DoPo]

Well...that was mildly insulting in a ways.

Oh, and misrepresenting and overgeneralising individuals' opinions to appear asinine and really moronic is what exactly? Because that's what you did.

just right in this instance it was almost as if the ENTIRE video game community was in agreement on something.

No, no it really wasn't. That's a total lie. When I looked at the comments after you linked them, there were fourty something replies. Hardly anything you can call "the ENTIRE video game community". Unless you think there are few dozen gamers in total. Moreover, there wasn't an agreement at all - there were enough different stances to make the statement "the ENTIRE video game community was in agreement on something" a complete lie.

Now I know this is an assumption and I should not presume that everyone was thinking the same thing, but all I heard last year on this website, IGN, random game related websites, youtube, friends etc. was that they were looking forward to something new/an actual horror game.

So...assuming for a second one does indeed despise all sequels and established franchises, are they also obliged to embrace ANY new IP you toss at them from some sort of general principle? Because I don't think that's the case. I like horror, I don't like reboots and I'd rather see new franchises rather than an unnecessary sequel or a, indeed, a reboot. However, that trailer didn't impress me. Sorry I broke that rule I didn't know about but the trailer was simply nothing to me. Some live action scenes with lots of cuts between scenes, blood, and several monsters that actually seemed familiar (the girl from The Ring, albeit with 4 arms and made of blood and pyramid head with no pyramid and carrying a hammer). I'll try to follow some news around the new game, however, I'm not going to worship this trailer because I don't think it has anything substantial in it.

The same can be seen in other mediums, television/film and music often get blasted for not having an original concept, yet the moment one comes out people seem afraid of it.

So? Something being "new" doesn't equate to "good". In many respects, the fear of trying new stuff is justified. I played the demo of Kingdoms of Amalur last year and it bore me. I didn't feel the loss of 38 Studios was a huge loss for gamers. Yet, I played Mark of the Ninja and it was a superb experience. Magicka was not only a breath of fresh air, it's one of my favourite games ever - it's been one roughly 10 minutes after I started it. Sniper: Ghost Warrior was so bad, that I just feel slightly dirty at the thought it even got a sequel. Funny, since I came upon it straight after Sniper: Elite (the two are not connected sans being about sniping) and despite that game's shortfalls, it at least managed to provide enjoyable experience. These are all new IPs. Or were at the time they came out. I'm allowed to have preferences and use my own judgement, you know. And yet, I would always welcome more sequels to Heroes games, and I've been waiting for quite awhile for a new Might and Magic game, which seems to finally be happening. And so on. I am also allowed to hold non-binary opinions. You saying that not only me but apparently that vague, faceless, formless, nebulous "everybody", you keep ascribing motivations and opinions to, are incapable of these is rather not-nice thing to suggest.

 

[bug_of_war]

Oh, and misrepresenting and overgeneralising individuals' opinions to appear asinine and really moronic is what exactly? Because that's what you did.

What I did was not insulting. What I did was write, "This is what I have generally seen, yet in this particular article I was confused because I saw the opposite. So what do YOU personally want to see". At no point did I say either opinion was right or wrong, so I ask you how in the world my assumption could possibly be insulting as my comment neither shows or implies that either wanting new games/return to horror or more the same is wrong or right. In fact, what I did was more a way to ask random people what they want to see. So I am sorry that you thought this is what I meant.

No, no it really wasn't. That's a total lie. When I looked at the comments after you linked them, there were fourty something replies. Hardly anything you can call "the ENTIRE video game community". Unless you think there are few dozen gamers in total. Moreover, there wasn't an agreement at all - there were enough different stances to make the statement "the ENTIRE video game community was in agreement on something" a complete lie.

Your confusion on this part is my fault. When I said, "just right in this instance it was almost as if the ENTIRE video game community was in agreement on something." I was not talking about the article I linked. I should have linked forums/articles that showed support for new IPs/a return to horror in order to show that from what I have seen many people want something new. So yes, the article I linked in my initial post has currently gotten many differing opinions posted on it since my creation of this forum, and thus shows the community is skewed on the views of this game. Some like it, others despise it, and some don't care.

So...assuming for a second one does indeed despise all sequels and established franchises, are they also obliged to embrace ANY new IP you toss at them from some sort of general principle? Because I don't think that's the case. I like horror, I don't like reboots and I'd rather see new franchises rather than an unnecessary sequel or a, indeed, a reboot. However, that trailer didn't impress me. Sorry I broke that rule I didn't know about but the trailer was simply nothing to me. Some live action scenes with lots of cuts between scenes, blood, and several monsters that actually seemed familiar (the girl from The Ring, albeit with 4 arms and made of blood and pyramid head with no pyramid and carrying a hammer). I'll try to follow some news around the new game, however, I'm not going to worship this trailer because I don't think it has anything substantial in it.

I never said that people have to worship a video game because it is a new IP, I simply said that the assumptions being made about the game appear unfair as the game has not even come out yet. I agree that the trailer should have been in game content and not a live action trailer. The comments I saw however apon creation of this forum seemed unjustifiable to me as the trailer gave the audience a thimble of what is to come. Complaining about the game itself based on this one trailer is like complaining about an entire 3 course meal after having tasted one mouthful of your beginning dish.

So? Something being "new" doesn't equate to "good". In many respects, the fear of trying new stuff is justified. I played the demo of Kingdoms of Amalur last year and it bore me. I didn't feel the loss of 38 Studios was a huge loss for gamers. Yet, I played Mark of the Ninja and it was a superb experience. Magicka was not only a breath of fresh air, it's one of my favourite games ever - it's been one roughly 10 minutes after I started it. Sniper: Ghost Warrior was so bad, that I just feel slightly dirty at the thought it even got a sequel. Funny, since I came upon it straight after Sniper: Elite (the two are not connected sans being about sniping) and despite that game's shortfalls, it at least managed to provide enjoyable experience. These are all new IPs. Or were at the time they came out. I'm allowed to have preferences and use my own judgement, you know. And yet, I would always welcome more sequels to Heroes games, and I've been waiting for quite awhile for a new Might and Magic game, which seems to finally be happening. And so on. I am also allowed to hold non-binary opinions. You saying that not only me but apparently that vague, faceless, formless, nebulous "everybody", you keep ascribing motivations and opinions to, are incapable of these is rather not-nice thing to suggest.

I agree, something new does not make it good, it has to be able to stand on it's own merits, but if you read my initial post carefully you will see that I neither imply that the game is good or bad.

"And reading the comments I began to get confused as to what the general consensus of the video game markets is. People ask for new IPs, yet in the comments people are saddened/annoyed that the game is not Fallout 4. People ask for true horror, yet instead of talking about the content found in the trailer and the possibilities we get people showing little interest.
So I ask, what is it that YOU personally want to see. Do you want a new IP? Or a sequel to a franchise? Do you want to see horror return? or would you prefer something more mainstream?" Read that carefully. What I wrote was that I am confused as to what people want. I want to know what people want. I want to know whether you want to have more sequels to franchises or a new IP. I want to know if you want horror to make a comeback, or if you are happy with the way recent horror games such as Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 have gone. At no point did I say anyone was wrong, or even imply it. My question was, "what is it that YOU personally want to see".

I'm sorry that you did not read my post well enough to understand that I was trying to find out what people want, not so I could tell them they were wrong or right, but so I could get a better understanding of what some people want.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I think the general consensus regarding the new The Evil Within trailer, was that it isn't anything original and just the same horror shlock that's being played out since the first Silent Hill.

"Oh look, barbed wire. Oh look, a creepy girl with long hair. Oh look, Pyramid Vault Head." This is treading ancient ground, and from someone like Shinji Mikami I expected more.

Also, the worst way you can tease a new IP, by a renowned game creator no less, is by making it live-action.

Hey, I agree that they probably should have gone with in game footage with the trailer, but just because it uses elements from other horror games/clichés does not automatically mean it is unoriginal. Okay yes, the guy with his head stuck in a box and hammer is treading EXTREMELY close to rip off territory, but barbed wire and creepy girl with long hair is like looking at the Borderlands game and saying, "Oh look, a first person shooter and a soldier character, totally not original, terrible game". Maybe it's too early to make any real good or bad judgments so I'll just leave it here and hope that the next trailer/screenshots can sway the pendulum one way or the other.

The thing is, this trailer is supposed to represent the game and wet our appetites. And in that case it's really not doing a good job by scrambling together a bunch of old horror tropes. Now, Shinji Mikami is heading this game so we're going to get at least a decent quality product. But this trailer seems to suggest that he's playing it just too safe. And that while the guy has made a career of working on a game well into the production, and then suddenly scrapping it and starting from scratch.

 

[bug_of_war]

The thing is, this trailer is supposed to represent the game and wet our appetites. And in that case it's really not doing a good job by scrambling together a bunch of old horror tropes. Now, Shinji Mikami is heading this game so we're going to get at least a decent quality product. But this trailer seems to suggest that he's playing it just too safe. And that while the guy has made a career of working on a game well into the production, and then suddenly scrapping it and starting from scratch.

That is totally a fair judgement call.

 

[Tallim]

I don't get excited about games from trailers unless they are actually showing gameplay footage. Horror games actually depend on the mechanics to be a good horror *game* so this trailer is extremely disappointing as there is literally no information to go on and so no cause to be excited at all.