How can people like Amnesia?
- Thread starter Charles McGuffin
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Well it's pretty obvious. It's about atmosphere and you seem like that's not your thing so I suggest you find some games more suited to your style. Also only fools ask how people can like something. Tastes differ, not everyone has to like what you like.
Edit: Stupid escapist agreement forced a double post, can a mod get rid of one of them pls?
Edit: Stupid escapist agreement forced a double post, can a mod get rid of one of them pls?
Then you should play something else. Not sure what you expect people to reply in this thread. Some people find trying to sneak around, and eventually getting hunted by, unseen, invulnerable monstrosities in pitch black darkness scary. You don't. What do you want, a medal?Charles McGuffin said:
Not sure why you're not scared. -.-
I can just tell you I bought it, but i'm currently waiting for a weapon mod. XD
Seriously, when you play a game, or read a fiction book, or even watch a movie, if you want to truly enjoy it you have to regulate your internal perception of reality. Being a kid helps a lot, but adults can, too. Don't be costrained by the borderline of reality.
Also, Amnesia is not a game that just scares you. Games like "F.E.A.R." do that, or movies where a monstruos image of a bleeding monster appears for a third of a second while you're walking in the park. But i wouldn't define that scary, it's just a scaring trick. Amnesia doesn't use this cheap tricks. Creatures roam around free, and if you do as i've said above, you'll feel your heart pumping when you'll have "something" hunting you in a dungeon where you're slowed down by water and he gets closer...closer...will you turn?
I can just tell you I bought it, but i'm currently waiting for a weapon mod. XD
Seriously, when you play a game, or read a fiction book, or even watch a movie, if you want to truly enjoy it you have to regulate your internal perception of reality. Being a kid helps a lot, but adults can, too. Don't be costrained by the borderline of reality.
Also, Amnesia is not a game that just scares you. Games like "F.E.A.R." do that, or movies where a monstruos image of a bleeding monster appears for a third of a second while you're walking in the park. But i wouldn't define that scary, it's just a scaring trick. Amnesia doesn't use this cheap tricks. Creatures roam around free, and if you do as i've said above, you'll feel your heart pumping when you'll have "something" hunting you in a dungeon where you're slowed down by water and he gets closer...closer...will you turn?
Personally when I played it I was just exploring the dimly lit house jumping from lit area to another so my sanity doesn't go to pot. Then as was wandering about some sort of music/ambient noise started up and one of the creatures ambled past. For me that surprised the hell out of me.
I had read that you can't stare at them otherwise they'll notice you and if you stare too long it destroys your sanity as well as makes some sort of beacon for them to home in on. First reaction aside from the jump was to close the damn door, hope it didn't notice me and wait. a couple minutes in one of the closets told me it wasn't coming back. Fortunately I was right...that time.
The demo let's you play in the basement which becomes flooded and you get to play a game of cat and mouse with an invisible assailant that can only hit you while you are in the water. That first time scared the hell out of me. First, I didn't understand WHAT the hell was going on. Second, I was being attacked by something I had NO idea how to deal with. Sometimes not having enough info about a situation can lead to it being scary. Eventually I figured out how to clear the basement and when I bought it I made it through without incident and nary a surprise was to be had.
I think that amnesia is probably one of 4 games to EVER give me any sort of scare so it earns me a special place in my collection of games. Right there with Silent hill 1 and 2 and Clock Tower for the PS1
I had read that you can't stare at them otherwise they'll notice you and if you stare too long it destroys your sanity as well as makes some sort of beacon for them to home in on. First reaction aside from the jump was to close the damn door, hope it didn't notice me and wait. a couple minutes in one of the closets told me it wasn't coming back. Fortunately I was right...that time.
The demo let's you play in the basement which becomes flooded and you get to play a game of cat and mouse with an invisible assailant that can only hit you while you are in the water. That first time scared the hell out of me. First, I didn't understand WHAT the hell was going on. Second, I was being attacked by something I had NO idea how to deal with. Sometimes not having enough info about a situation can lead to it being scary. Eventually I figured out how to clear the basement and when I bought it I made it through without incident and nary a surprise was to be had.
I think that amnesia is probably one of 4 games to EVER give me any sort of scare so it earns me a special place in my collection of games. Right there with Silent hill 1 and 2 and Clock Tower for the PS1
"Hey guys, I have an alternative opinion and unless you prove me wrong, you're all idiots and this is a crap game".
Come on, seriously? If you don't enjoy the game, then you simply don't enjoy the game. Doesn't mean the game is crap because it doesn't appeal to you.
Come on, seriously? If you don't enjoy the game, then you simply don't enjoy the game. Doesn't mean the game is crap because it doesn't appeal to you.
The idea is that you are a helpless character in a situation somewhat outside of his control. The setting does a pretty good job of setting a creepy atmosphere that slowly becomes more oppressive as the game goes on. You have no ways to defend yourself and if you let yourself get drawn in, some of the encounters can really scare the shit out of you.
If you can't set apart your gaming mindset of "Why can't I just shoot these guys?" then you probably won't get into Amnesia and no amount of explaining will help, sadly. It is really one of those games where you are either hugely into it, or you aren't.
It is definitely a game that believes that less is more. Would you mind listing a game that you feel IS scary? It'd give me a better idea of what kind of games you like in that sort of genre.
If you can't set apart your gaming mindset of "Why can't I just shoot these guys?" then you probably won't get into Amnesia and no amount of explaining will help, sadly. It is really one of those games where you are either hugely into it, or you aren't.
It is definitely a game that believes that less is more. Would you mind listing a game that you feel IS scary? It'd give me a better idea of what kind of games you like in that sort of genre.
This game game is one of my preferred examples of one with great atmosphere. I assume since you aren't easily scared this would affect you less but saying they can't build it is a bit much imo.
The game builds up it's intensity. It doesn't flood you with monsters that jump out of closets from minute one. The scare is in the depressing atmosphere. The sounds of things walking behind/above/below you yet you never see them. The sound of your draining sanity. The knowledge that cosmic monstrosities lurk these halls but you don't know where they are and you certainly can't fight them. The fear that your only tool of survival is your wit and your ability to hide.
I love this game because the way it builds up and because it's so different from most horror games. I'd definitely suggest giving it a little more time to get going. But if you just aren't scared by this sort of thing then of course there might be alternatives.
Not an expert on horror games but i'm sure there's something out there to scare everyone ^^
The game builds up it's intensity. It doesn't flood you with monsters that jump out of closets from minute one. The scare is in the depressing atmosphere. The sounds of things walking behind/above/below you yet you never see them. The sound of your draining sanity. The knowledge that cosmic monstrosities lurk these halls but you don't know where they are and you certainly can't fight them. The fear that your only tool of survival is your wit and your ability to hide.
I love this game because the way it builds up and because it's so different from most horror games. I'd definitely suggest giving it a little more time to get going. But if you just aren't scared by this sort of thing then of course there might be alternatives.
Not an expert on horror games but i'm sure there's something out there to scare everyone ^^
Then don't fucking play it. It is scary because people do get immersed in it, the build up and your imagination lead to your fear. But maybe you don't get scared by what some other people do. People like it because it is one of the best games at atmosphere and it is scary. That is why, and me saying that isn't going to suddenly make you want to play it. That is why people like it and if you aren't like that then there is nothing you can do about it but not play it. Good day.
Maybe you're just not the kind of person that can be engrossed by a horror game because he's too detatched from the experience. If you can't willingly involve yourself in the game then it won't scare you because you don't feel a part of it and always remain concious that it is in fact "Just a game" I'm not saying you're in the wrong but maybe you just want to play a game for fun or to be told a story rather than to be scared by it.
I allowed myself to become immersed in it and I felt the atmosphere was acheived extremely well, I think the sound design of Amnesia alone is perfect, the game didn't terrify me into fits of screaming but I was very unnerved and scared by the experience.
It employs one of the simplest methods of ensuring that the enemies remain a threat to the player, not giving you a weapon, by being unarmed it throws out the traditional book of gameplay and this is done on purpose to make the player feel weak, we rarely play a first person game without having absolute control over combat so Amnesia removes what we're so used to.
As opposed to the likes of Dead Space (which is a fun game that I do like) Amnesia is a much better example of horror, I think besides the first 20 minutes of Dead Space I was never really scared because I became so sure in my ability with the Plasma Cutter to dismember EVERY enemy before they got close to me. As a player I was given too much power over the enemies and the final result was playing a shooter rather than a horror game.
The middle ground in this arguement would be classic resident evil which does arm the player but also employs strict limitations, you don't control firing rate, you have a poor movement arc (it's like driving a tank for crying out loud!) your saves are limited by typewriters and ink ribbons (because you have to fear not saving for a long time, this is was very intentional) and the camera is ALWAYS positioned to obscure what lays ahead, with these limitations Resident Evil became a good Survival Horror experience.
I allowed myself to become immersed in it and I felt the atmosphere was acheived extremely well, I think the sound design of Amnesia alone is perfect, the game didn't terrify me into fits of screaming but I was very unnerved and scared by the experience.
It employs one of the simplest methods of ensuring that the enemies remain a threat to the player, not giving you a weapon, by being unarmed it throws out the traditional book of gameplay and this is done on purpose to make the player feel weak, we rarely play a first person game without having absolute control over combat so Amnesia removes what we're so used to.
As opposed to the likes of Dead Space (which is a fun game that I do like) Amnesia is a much better example of horror, I think besides the first 20 minutes of Dead Space I was never really scared because I became so sure in my ability with the Plasma Cutter to dismember EVERY enemy before they got close to me. As a player I was given too much power over the enemies and the final result was playing a shooter rather than a horror game.
The middle ground in this arguement would be classic resident evil which does arm the player but also employs strict limitations, you don't control firing rate, you have a poor movement arc (it's like driving a tank for crying out loud!) your saves are limited by typewriters and ink ribbons (because you have to fear not saving for a long time, this is was very intentional) and the camera is ALWAYS positioned to obscure what lays ahead, with these limitations Resident Evil became a good Survival Horror experience.
You don't like the game and didn't enjoy it, fine, but don't go pissing on other people and respect that people have different opinions. You're bringing nothing but negativity to a scenario where there shouldn't be any.
"Hey guys, I know taste is somewhat subjective, but could you stop liking things I don't like? k thanks."Zhukov said:
Having worked customer service, I find myself a bit jaded towards scary stories. I can really only appreciate the craftsmanship, and how well they perform. I tend to make a game out of predicting when and where things will pop up.
The part of Amnesia that appealed to me was discovering the true nature, not of the unnameable menace stalking him, but of himself. It is spelled out with little uncertainty in a final memo right before the final confrontation, but there are solid, consistent hints throughout. This game does justify the narrative beginning with a self-inflicted amnesia. I give it high marks for that. The chase sequence in the flooded basement was pretty decent as well.
I don't find things going "bump" in the night particularly frightening. Doom 3, the few moments when I was not jumped by something attacking from a narrow space as I passed simply served as a certain indicator that I'd be backtracking through that same section of the map later. There were no surprises. There was no overwhelming dread. It wasn't interesting.
The game that does the best to put the fear in me has to be the Fatal Frame series. You do get to fight back against the ghosts assaulting you. But you can never be sure when they will strike. They move oddly. And your most potent strike is to look directly at the scary thing at the very instant when it is trying to kill you. You are rewarded for taking pictures of not just the attacking spirits, but the background ones. The game rewards you for noticing everything it does to frighten you. And very little of it is accidental. One segment, before you are attacked by a ghost of a woman with a broken neck, involves seeing her spirit take a nose-dive off a balcony you're standing under. You've almost certainly saved the game a room beforehand. And, if you are the sort of completionist who must photograph every rare shot in the game, you have a very hard positioning yourself for this shot. So you must reload and attempt it... each time, this woman's ghost repeats the moment of its death before you. The sickening crunch coming repeatedly. You cannot save her. You cannot stop it. You can document it, or you can try to forget it and merely survive.
Horror is different from fear. Games are lousy at providing you with fear. Fear involves the unknown. The uncertain. You can, while walking through a bad neighborhood, fear assault. It isn't certain. You might make it out intact. Where there is fear, there can be hope. Horror comes from certainty. I'm certain many of us have experienced an echo of it in games when we unexpectedly stumble across a room filled with health and ammo... because we know this means a tough fight is going to hit us in the instant we leave. A game can give us dread and anticipation.. but if they could reliably produce real fear and horror... we would stop playing. We always have that escape route.
What I think the original poster is really trying to learn is the nature of fear. Possibly how to produce it, perhaps how to experience it. And that... is a detailed and intricate psychological inquiry. We don't know what you fear, any more than we know what strains of viral infection you are immune to. It varies greatly by individual. But it is hard to find one's fears. Your fears manipulate and protect you. You avoid going where you fear to tread. You do not even think about it. But now that you've asked the question, and read this far, you will begin to notice the moments in your life when you avoid something without knowing why. And you will hesitate. If you have time, you will investigate. You will venture down that oddly lit corridor at work. You will look behind that strange piece of equipment, or under the stairs.
Most likely, you will find there was nothing to fear to begin with. You'll question what little information you had regarding your aversion to such spaces. Eventually, you will cease to fear and avoid such...
And we'll be waiting for you then, delicious friend.
The part of Amnesia that appealed to me was discovering the true nature, not of the unnameable menace stalking him, but of himself. It is spelled out with little uncertainty in a final memo right before the final confrontation, but there are solid, consistent hints throughout. This game does justify the narrative beginning with a self-inflicted amnesia. I give it high marks for that. The chase sequence in the flooded basement was pretty decent as well.
I don't find things going "bump" in the night particularly frightening. Doom 3, the few moments when I was not jumped by something attacking from a narrow space as I passed simply served as a certain indicator that I'd be backtracking through that same section of the map later. There were no surprises. There was no overwhelming dread. It wasn't interesting.
The game that does the best to put the fear in me has to be the Fatal Frame series. You do get to fight back against the ghosts assaulting you. But you can never be sure when they will strike. They move oddly. And your most potent strike is to look directly at the scary thing at the very instant when it is trying to kill you. You are rewarded for taking pictures of not just the attacking spirits, but the background ones. The game rewards you for noticing everything it does to frighten you. And very little of it is accidental. One segment, before you are attacked by a ghost of a woman with a broken neck, involves seeing her spirit take a nose-dive off a balcony you're standing under. You've almost certainly saved the game a room beforehand. And, if you are the sort of completionist who must photograph every rare shot in the game, you have a very hard positioning yourself for this shot. So you must reload and attempt it... each time, this woman's ghost repeats the moment of its death before you. The sickening crunch coming repeatedly. You cannot save her. You cannot stop it. You can document it, or you can try to forget it and merely survive.
Horror is different from fear. Games are lousy at providing you with fear. Fear involves the unknown. The uncertain. You can, while walking through a bad neighborhood, fear assault. It isn't certain. You might make it out intact. Where there is fear, there can be hope. Horror comes from certainty. I'm certain many of us have experienced an echo of it in games when we unexpectedly stumble across a room filled with health and ammo... because we know this means a tough fight is going to hit us in the instant we leave. A game can give us dread and anticipation.. but if they could reliably produce real fear and horror... we would stop playing. We always have that escape route.
What I think the original poster is really trying to learn is the nature of fear. Possibly how to produce it, perhaps how to experience it. And that... is a detailed and intricate psychological inquiry. We don't know what you fear, any more than we know what strains of viral infection you are immune to. It varies greatly by individual. But it is hard to find one's fears. Your fears manipulate and protect you. You avoid going where you fear to tread. You do not even think about it. But now that you've asked the question, and read this far, you will begin to notice the moments in your life when you avoid something without knowing why. And you will hesitate. If you have time, you will investigate. You will venture down that oddly lit corridor at work. You will look behind that strange piece of equipment, or under the stairs.
Most likely, you will find there was nothing to fear to begin with. You'll question what little information you had regarding your aversion to such spaces. Eventually, you will cease to fear and avoid such...
And we'll be waiting for you then, delicious friend.
I felt the same as you op after I realised I could bunnyhop quake-style and that holding large square objects in front of the monster made it blind.
It just felt too buggy to be scary. Breaks all immersion.
It just felt too buggy to be scary. Breaks all immersion.
I'm not sexually aroused by Ms. Johanson. Also, King Graham for the win.Blood Brain Barrier said:
Also, I'm a little disappointed that everyone can remember what was or wasn't scary about amnesia.
Personally, I don't get off on the 'atmospheric' horror games. I prefer the 'jump-scare' ones like Dead Space 2.
My friend kept going on and on and on about Amnesia, so he may have ruined it more than the general internet opinion of it, but boy was I unimpressed once I played it. The creepy moments early on aren't creepy, the pacing is terrible ("it needs x amount of time to get going" is never a good thing - I had the same problem with highly-acclaimed Witcher), it desperately needs more of a story-hook than "you have, guess what, Amnesia!", and the atmosphere didn't draw me in because it kinda just looks like Oblivion.
You know which creepy atmospheric game with barely a story and puzzle-survival-gameplay drew me in within the first 5 seconds? LIMBO. All the things Amnesia can't seem to manage in the first hour or two, LIMBO gets right by the time the first screen finished loading - which, as it happens, is immediately.
You know which creepy atmospheric game with barely a story and puzzle-survival-gameplay drew me in within the first 5 seconds? LIMBO. All the things Amnesia can't seem to manage in the first hour or two, LIMBO gets right by the time the first screen finished loading - which, as it happens, is immediately.