I agree with you completely. I loved the fact that Amnesia was a game that took the horror into a more Lovecraftian direction (even to the point of not being able to look at the monsters for long), but there were few times that I felt legitimately scared because it became a stealth and waiting game. I'm really looking forward to Machine for Pigs though to see how they improve on the model.Mr Companion said:
Ideas for a really scary game?
- Thread starter Sean Hollyman
- Start date
Open world, domestic environment like a vacant suburb at night (where you can go int all the houses), killer/killers/monsters stalking the area at random. Clunky combat, limited ammo, limited health recovery if any, up to you to figure out where to go.
I squealed in glee when I heard that the Dear Esther people were working on MfP.
Agreed. The scariest part was in that cellar where the enemies don't go away and you have to work your way past them. In all the other areas they disappear after about a minute.Joshua Hochstetler said:
I squealed in glee when I heard that the Dear Esther people were working on MfP.
The idea of being stalked by some bloodhound whose can always track you down, even if you think you lost it is a scary idea. Of course, the stalker is always scariest if you don't get to see them. Maybe they just make noise every now and then, or a shadow, or leave a trail when you turn around to look sometimes. Even the notion of the invisible Hell Hound from Supernatural could work with this idea. No target to counter attack.
Of course, the stalker doesn't need to be bad to get under someone's skin. Like a real stalker, they could be an admirer, who leaves you 'love' notes. Of course, when one of these notes suggest they were in the same room as you, perhaps a room you heard a noise in and saw nothing, you'll suddenly get that creeping coldness up your neck as you wonder: are they here now?
The nice thing about being watched is, people try to push this thought out of their head instinctive, thinking that'll take away their fear. But in a game, you need periods where player lulled into a sense of false security, in order to have anything to take away and surprise them. With a stalker, the player is all too willing to put themselves in this feeling safe state, even if you try to convince them the threat is constantly there. Any excuse they have for feeling safe, they'll take. So you only need to be inconsistent with when you choose to remove this feeling of safety.
Just remember, eventually the player will prepare themselves to expect finding something stalking them. And this is when you can give them the scariest thing of all for them to find, something they're not prepared for: nothing at all. Let them examine an area in such a way that it must convince them, that they have to be alone -that the room is empty, they've had time to examine it fully, and there is only one path in, and they can see the path leading up to them for a long way, and know nothing has passed through or is coming towards them. Then, as they turn back or take the only advancing route left -bang, they get hit from behind as it was there all along.
Of course, the stalker doesn't need to be bad to get under someone's skin. Like a real stalker, they could be an admirer, who leaves you 'love' notes. Of course, when one of these notes suggest they were in the same room as you, perhaps a room you heard a noise in and saw nothing, you'll suddenly get that creeping coldness up your neck as you wonder: are they here now?
The nice thing about being watched is, people try to push this thought out of their head instinctive, thinking that'll take away their fear. But in a game, you need periods where player lulled into a sense of false security, in order to have anything to take away and surprise them. With a stalker, the player is all too willing to put themselves in this feeling safe state, even if you try to convince them the threat is constantly there. Any excuse they have for feeling safe, they'll take. So you only need to be inconsistent with when you choose to remove this feeling of safety.
Just remember, eventually the player will prepare themselves to expect finding something stalking them. And this is when you can give them the scariest thing of all for them to find, something they're not prepared for: nothing at all. Let them examine an area in such a way that it must convince them, that they have to be alone -that the room is empty, they've had time to examine it fully, and there is only one path in, and they can see the path leading up to them for a long way, and know nothing has passed through or is coming towards them. Then, as they turn back or take the only advancing route left -bang, they get hit from behind as it was there all along.
Slenderman the Game. Market it as a game for Everyone with a subtle, subtle ad campaign and wait for the parents to call, pissed off at their traumatized children.Sean Hollyman said:
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I would try breaking the fourth wall. There has to be some way to break the fourth wall in a manner similar to how Eternal Darkness did only...take it to a different extreme. Eternal Darkness could 'delete' your memory card data. A hypothetical horror game (it would have to be on a future-gen console) would insert in-game monsters or, characters onto the dash-board menu or overlay it on whatever you may be watching on netflix or whatever. Something that insists itself upon you but doesn't say 'ooga booga' so much as watch you. People under-estimate the power of a silent stare.
Another idea...
Creepy Pasta the game: Coming to Xbox Live and PSN Halloween 2012.
Edit to add a quote!
I would play that because I have always wanted to live a life without sleeping.Mr Companion said:
In Silent Hill, the "other world" aspect always happens at certain points. But what if we took that concept and made it random? Like a modifier that sets when the world shifts and the googly-eyed monsters come out to play. Obviously it can;t occur to frequently or it will stop being scary but still.
An overwhelming feeling of loneliness with a dash of helplessness in the face of danger, a tablespoon of claustrophobic areas and a garnish of darkness, this will help bring out the helplessness. It's a good thing.
The afore mentioned lack of ammo. I'd love to see a survival horror set near a military base or even local police station where it's clear they held out until the ammo was gone. Guns everywhere, but maybe five rounds in the whole place. I think that would be both really creepy and also give a rationale for why you can't just run into the nearest Wal-mart and pick up a thousand rounds.
An extremely cruel health system. Either no regeneration or something like it costs a huge amount of XP for a small return of health. Make it so getting hurt is extremely bad news. Maybe a Fallout mechanic where hurt legs slow you, hurt arms give your weapon wobbly aim, etc.
A variation on Dark Souls, maybe when you die, your corpse, with all equipment you had on you, shows up in another person's game where you died. So your loot from boss fights would be the corpses of other players who died trying to beat them.
Finally, though it would be easily open to abuse, I think it would be awesome if there were an option for multi-platform stuff. I'm imaging a scenario wherein the game IMs or texts you information as you play. Particularly if you couldn't pause the game, it would be awesome to have that choice of looking away from the monitor long enough to read whatever useful info the game is sending you, but knowing that you might get jumped while looking away. My cell ringing at the wrong time in a game has often caused me to jump 10 feet in the air, doing so intentionally would be awesome. Assuming you have a free texting plan.
That said, as a fan of high engagement games, I love games that don't allow you to pause. As a father of two kids under 4, I loathe them.
An extremely cruel health system. Either no regeneration or something like it costs a huge amount of XP for a small return of health. Make it so getting hurt is extremely bad news. Maybe a Fallout mechanic where hurt legs slow you, hurt arms give your weapon wobbly aim, etc.
A variation on Dark Souls, maybe when you die, your corpse, with all equipment you had on you, shows up in another person's game where you died. So your loot from boss fights would be the corpses of other players who died trying to beat them.
Finally, though it would be easily open to abuse, I think it would be awesome if there were an option for multi-platform stuff. I'm imaging a scenario wherein the game IMs or texts you information as you play. Particularly if you couldn't pause the game, it would be awesome to have that choice of looking away from the monitor long enough to read whatever useful info the game is sending you, but knowing that you might get jumped while looking away. My cell ringing at the wrong time in a game has often caused me to jump 10 feet in the air, doing so intentionally would be awesome. Assuming you have a free texting plan.
That said, as a fan of high engagement games, I love games that don't allow you to pause. As a father of two kids under 4, I loathe them.
Sounds like Scissorman in Clock Tower, one of the only horror games I really enjoyed. All sorts of tension-building sound effects can be used for such an enemy, showing how far away they are and whether or not they've detected you (goes faster when they have, and louder the closer they get to you). It also had a nicely creepy theme that played when you were getting closer to a new threat that wasn't Scissorman.Sean Hollyman said:
The new Devil May Cry won't be a horror game, but seeing the Limbo concept in the trailer made me think of a fair number of nightmares I've had involving similar concepts. You're in a city or town that looks totally normal at first, but you gradually notice things aren't quite right, that all the civilians are actually wandering corpses with blank faces, or that the buildings they're wandering into are in fact eating them, or that everyone has tentacles hooked up to their necks that are part of an eldritch abomination taking up the sky... and when this nightmarish city eventually detects that you're not part of the system and have seen through the illusion, it turns nasty. Militarized subconscious from Inception kind of nasty.
I don't know what happened to the other thread like this :/
anyway i'l just post what I posted there:
A game where you're completely insane from the outset, and friendlies talk to you in soothing tones as if you're in a mental hospital. Unfortunately monsters are also able to talk to you in soothing tones to lure you off track, they can also appear as friendlies but with minor distortions you can't recognise until you're close. They can also make friendly npcs appear briefly as monsters.
Basically one big mindfuck where you have no idea what is what until it's just about too late most of the time and you end up making mistakes like running from npcs you're convinced are enemies or helping monsters through gates that then cause chaos or force you to run for your life.
There would be very few ways to be sure of one thing or another, and they are very limited (thinking anti psychotic medication for example as one way, or clues within speech where monsters are unaware of certain things or deliberately lie and if you're able to catch it you can see that they're wrong and then make the first move). Or you find that the character you've been trusting up to this point is actually just a vivid hallucination and that they were only telling you what you wanted to hear. That sort of insanity beats the crap out of blurry lenses and wonky cameras.
I also don't think horror games play up just how disturbing things with psychopathic grinning mouths full of sharp teeth that laugh hysterically at your pathetic attempts to survive really are. Imagine if the joker and venom had a child..
anyway i'l just post what I posted there:
A game where you're completely insane from the outset, and friendlies talk to you in soothing tones as if you're in a mental hospital. Unfortunately monsters are also able to talk to you in soothing tones to lure you off track, they can also appear as friendlies but with minor distortions you can't recognise until you're close. They can also make friendly npcs appear briefly as monsters.
Basically one big mindfuck where you have no idea what is what until it's just about too late most of the time and you end up making mistakes like running from npcs you're convinced are enemies or helping monsters through gates that then cause chaos or force you to run for your life.
There would be very few ways to be sure of one thing or another, and they are very limited (thinking anti psychotic medication for example as one way, or clues within speech where monsters are unaware of certain things or deliberately lie and if you're able to catch it you can see that they're wrong and then make the first move). Or you find that the character you've been trusting up to this point is actually just a vivid hallucination and that they were only telling you what you wanted to hear. That sort of insanity beats the crap out of blurry lenses and wonky cameras.
I also don't think horror games play up just how disturbing things with psychopathic grinning mouths full of sharp teeth that laugh hysterically at your pathetic attempts to survive really are. Imagine if the joker and venom had a child..
You have to convince me that every moment there might be a jump scare, but the secret is, there actually never is one.
Then guide me through some kind of creepy environment, like a hospital with corpses scattered around. Make me search for keys or something. A good sound scape would help, too.
As long as I believe that there might be a jump scare at every corner, I'll be at the edge of my seat, even when nothing ever happens.
Then guide me through some kind of creepy environment, like a hospital with corpses scattered around. Make me search for keys or something. A good sound scape would help, too.
As long as I believe that there might be a jump scare at every corner, I'll be at the edge of my seat, even when nothing ever happens.
fuck, i would shit myself in that kind of gameZhukov said:
enemies that in the the water that a have to go through always scares the shit out of me.
Captcha :Wing it
exactly what i do
Listening to Hotel California had kinda made me imagine this idea.
You break down at a hotel in the middle of nowhere, and need help. They are all so very helpful but never lead you to what you want, and pressure you to stay. But as you wish to leave they all very slowly seem hostile. Think the one scene from Call of Cthulhu. And the hotel slowly deteriorates but still showing that it once had charm. Throw in a subtle story showing how its punishing the main character. Bam
Just realized that sounds very silent hill-esque
You break down at a hotel in the middle of nowhere, and need help. They are all so very helpful but never lead you to what you want, and pressure you to stay. But as you wish to leave they all very slowly seem hostile. Think the one scene from Call of Cthulhu. And the hotel slowly deteriorates but still showing that it once had charm. Throw in a subtle story showing how its punishing the main character. Bam
Just realized that sounds very silent hill-esque
People seem to be rather preoccupied with getting stalked by something as a major factor of gameplay.
I'll always choose this: Lovecraftian horror, because that weird racist fuck got it so right they named a subgenre of horror after him.
but specifically to ideas: Have an aging private investigater come upon a cosmic conspiracy involving cults, weird creatures in the night, bizarre ritual killings and the like.
The kicker?
This is after he's diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that is so advanced it has metasticized to his brain. are all of the homeless people really staring at him? Did that businessman's head just explode and out came this thing of teeth and claws to devour a rat in an alleyway? Is he hearing some eldrich singing that's just around the corner?
Paranoia and uncertainty in an apparently normal yet inherently hostile world would be what makes this scary.
So to begin with, you get health, but each level your health bar gets incrementaly shorter. Eventually you'll need different remedies for different things, like cough-suppressants to let you aim without hacking every ten seconds, or anti-psychotics to deal with possible hallucinations.
You'll be working in a city, gathering clues, copying them and putting them in various places for others to find.
I'll always choose this: Lovecraftian horror, because that weird racist fuck got it so right they named a subgenre of horror after him.
but specifically to ideas: Have an aging private investigater come upon a cosmic conspiracy involving cults, weird creatures in the night, bizarre ritual killings and the like.
The kicker?
This is after he's diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that is so advanced it has metasticized to his brain. are all of the homeless people really staring at him? Did that businessman's head just explode and out came this thing of teeth and claws to devour a rat in an alleyway? Is he hearing some eldrich singing that's just around the corner?
Paranoia and uncertainty in an apparently normal yet inherently hostile world would be what makes this scary.
So to begin with, you get health, but each level your health bar gets incrementaly shorter. Eventually you'll need different remedies for different things, like cough-suppressants to let you aim without hacking every ten seconds, or anti-psychotics to deal with possible hallucinations.
You'll be working in a city, gathering clues, copying them and putting them in various places for others to find.
I've got an idea. You're a little boy who wants to play outside, but it's sunday and you have to run away from your mother who relentlessly stalks you to make you put on your little sailor costume.
I am prepared to pay an ungodly amount of money for another STALKER game.Soviet Heavy said:
On Topic: My horror game would be really subtle. It would be something relatively mundane initially, or on the surface, but there would be a level of uncertainty in the game; monsters in crowds, but when you look again, they're gone. Shadows of things that aren't there. Movement that isn't your own while you're alone in the dark. That sort of thing. Something that, on the surface, is relatively typical, but once you get to, say, a second or third playthrough, and begin to scratch the surface, you notice how truly horrifying the game-world is.
I'm not entirely sure who'd pull it off, though. And it'd be a risky development.
(Thanks, Cracked.com!)
Edit:
You. Are. A Genius!Skoldpadda said:
Edit Edit: I had this idea while watching Stargate SG1 yesterday. It would be an Indie Game, and nothing to big budget. You have no weapons or way of defending yourself whatsoever. You are placed in a randomly generated maze, at the centre, and have to find your way out. However, a Minotaur (or some other Monster) is dropped in the maze with you, but you aren't told when or where. There could be, say, three difficulty modes. Easy gives you a small maze and one monster, normal gives you a medium-sized maze and two monsters, while hard gives you a very large maze and three monsters to run from.
Also, powerups that can be found around the maze such as a guiding compass that points in the direction of the exit, a shield or weapon that has a one time use that stuns the monsters, boots that give you quicker movement speed, a kind of pendant that lets you sense when danger is near... so many things you could do with such a simple concept.A Raging Emo said: