Jimquisition: Scare Tactics

Baresark

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Good show. And no finer points was ever made about the psychology of jump scares. I used to fight and my coach used to ask me, "when you hurt someone enough times with a tactic, what do you do?" To which I would respond, "keep doing it?". At which point he would say, "no, you go ahead and let them think it's coming and you hurt them in other ways". There was this part in FEAR. You get the radio distortion like Alma was going to jump out at you and I would frantically look around for her. The distortion goes away and I think I missed it. I go to go down a latter and as soon as I turn around, BAM! I jumped out of my seat. It was masterful. Being able to anticipate them lets the game set the pace. And when it doesn't come,you let your guard down, and that is when it happens.
 

Do4600

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rembrandtqeinstein said:
Honorable mention goes to STALKER SoC for the underground levels. No scarier moment than when
the controller first attacks and the camera zooms in on his face
By far one of the most frightening moments I've experienced in gaming.
 

Verkula

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What jumpscares? Dead Space had 1 jump scare, at the end. Plus whoever said every room had predictably the same scares is just wrong. There were a lot of times in that game were the developers are just fucking with you. Probably my favourite is at one of the workstations, now i did NOT expect that, at all.

Now Dead Space 2...that was indeed predictable. I remember in DS1 i was waiting when they play the "necro jumps into the elevator from the vent above", and it never happened. It did in the second game just as expected.

By the way, Silent Hill 2 wasnt scary either...no, i mean its one of my favourite horror games but just as other games has their own way of predictable scares, SH games has the same with the "usually nothing happens even though the music and sound effects are fucked up" style.
 

Alssadar

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The episode reminded me of when I was playing STALKER SoC yesterday, and I was doing the part with the Brain Scorcher.
I'm not sure whether it was scripted or not, but it just so happened to be night time, but there was a thunderstorm out. Nonetheless, the Scorcher.
Basically, the screen gets static, sounds are muffled, and you start seeing things. And when I mean seeing things, it's mirages of beasts that attack your mental life--rendering your vision (and sanity) frayed. You gotta shoot them in order to make them disappear, but my silenced weapons were running low on ammo. Therefore, I had to use normal guns, alerting everyone in the complex to my location. And it's not enough that Monolith has a couple crack-shot snipers on your ass...
Nonetheless, Lab x-10 beneath the scorcher also held its fear. Being knowledgeable, I knew there was going to be Bloodsuckers (Invisible mutants that 2-shot you), all I needed to do was lure them to me so I could kill them. Running through the halls, waiting for that blood curling scream was a real horrifying experience.
Also, after getting lost, I read on the Wiki that there were 4 Bloodsuckers in the lab. I only found 3.
Where is the last one Right behind you.
 

Jimothy Sterling

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Massive thank you to everybody who enjoyed my Scarecrow performance on Jimquisition today. He's my favorite comic book character so it meant a lot to me to do him even a vague sense of justice. One person said it was his second favorite version after Arkham Asylum's, which is a massive honor.

So yeah, quite happy this day! :D
 

Mahoshonen

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Hmm..Did Jim call out Yahtzee with this one?

I think we need some artificial drama on the Escapist and have Yahtzee and Jim Sterling engage in a melodramatic slap-fight that only serves to massage their egos!



Actually, no that would be stupid.
 

KrystelCandy

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I find Doom 3 a funny examples, the jump scares came so often that you could predict when and where an enemy was going to pop out after a while. That kind of undermines the 'scare' part when you know when and where they are likely to happen. Jump scares are good... I think DS1 and DS2 did pretty good jobs with it, but jump scares when done too often, and I didn't say predictable, but too often will simply lose their impact.

I hate all jump scares that involve an incredibly loud noise too. Hurts my ears more than it frightens me.

<3 the Scarecrow rendition too!
 
Jan 27, 2011
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Here's the thing....

Jump scares are usually easy to prepare yourself for. Especially in a shooty game.

As much as Dead Space 1 was a GREAT game, and is actually worthy (IMO) of being called a survival horror game, I was only scared by it twice. The first time involved me keeping an eye on a corpse in the morgue that (Being the genry savvy gamer I am) I was sure was going to come to life...only to get sneak attacked from behind (after which I wasn't taken by surprise again because I would occasionally check behind me once in a while). And the second time was when the first "speed demon" thing came screaming around the corner incredibly fast, and I was like "HOLYSHITWHATISTHATHOWDOIKILLITDIEDIEDIE".

Now, I'm willing to give Dead Space a pass, because it at least TRIED to have good atmosphere, and although I switched to my "expect and counter all incoming ambushes" mindset almost immediately, it kept trying to unsettle me. It failed, but it made such a good effort that I give it a pass. It was a great game, and it at least kept me stressed, on my toes, and properly paranoid at all times.

Maybe it's my fault I wasn't scared at all because of the "hyper focused, paranoid, expect all ambushes and counter them" mindset I developed and immediately find myself slipping into whenever I play a horror game. Then again that's the only reason I can even PLAY horror games. I used to be a total wuss and would not be able to SLEEP after playing the RE1 remake for a half hour at a friend's place. Without that mindset...I wouldn't be able to play scary games AT ALL. The only thing that can crack it is to pull the silent hill style "make the player doubt everything" thing and REALLY build up the tension until I'm thinking "DAMMIT SOMETHING ANYTHING ATTACK ME I NEED TO RELEASE MY PENT UP REFLEXES" and then hit me.

Or, you make me ridiculously vulnerable.

I STILL am not able to play Amnesia or Slender.
 

SnakeoilSage

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malestrithe said:
Sorry to disprove your stereotype of me, but I have already done that. It still was not scary.

Hate to break it to you, but when you know where the scares are, you are prepared for them.

You may find it scary and that's good on you. But I don't. It does not matter how I play it.
I don't believe you, sorry.

The scares will wear off because obviously it's a video game. You can only go so far playing a game over and be surprised by what it throws at you. The same goes for any book, movie or any other medium that attempts to create fear.

Just the same, I like Dead Space, and for more than just the attempted jump scares, successful or not. If that's the only value you put on a video game, then word of advice; it might sound thrilling, but hanging yourself from a doorknob while having a wank isn't worth it. I learned this in college. Trust me.

*Laugh* I'm just joshing you. Seriously though. You could pop a blood vessel in your head.
 

Lord Hosk

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I was disappointed by the lack of a jump scare in the episode. :(

there were so many moments that would have BAHHHAHAH! but nothing.
 

crimson sickle2

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I disagree on how jump-scares work, if the closet is promised to scare you, you won't be as scared when it happens, you'll ready yourself. Inversely, if the monster jumps out of the floor behind you after you open the closet, then you will jump out of your skin due to how unexpected it comes out. Some people do get scared from Jack in the Box tactics, but others ready themselves in that time and the fear falls flat.

EDIT: that Scarecrow costume is simply awesome by the way
 

Vrex360

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Mar 2, 2009
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I love Dead Space but I can't agree with that example, I get the core of Jim's argument but honestly I don't think Dead Space applies. It takes all of ten minutes once you have arrived on the Ishimura and have just started to ask questions 'where is everyone' and 'sure looks like they packed up in a hurry' before you are suddenly mobbed by Necromorphs. Your marine support gets butchered and you are forced to flee without weapons while getting attacked. I mean okay it is very effective but also not what I'd call subtle.
And after that, once you have the plasma cutter, there just isn't really a sense of threat anymore. The monsters presence is always announced by loud orchestral shrieks and their signature guttaral scream as they lurch towards you. After a while the jump scares become far too predictable and even kind of annoying in a 'fuck off and leave me alone' kind of way.

I agree with the rest of the examples but I don't think Dead Space has the whole tense atmosphere thing going for it.

As for games that made me scared, I gotta be honest here, the level Sacred Icon in Halo 2 creeped me out a fair bit if anyone remembers. You were the [sub]mighty and sexy[/sub] Arbiter and you were looking for the sacred Icon in a forerunner facility and for almost the first hour you are completely alone. There is no music, hardly any sound, just you walking around in empty corridors with things floating around. You search for a piston that allows you to go a level lower whereupon you descend into the dark tunnel while the music becomes increasingly haunting.
You fight the occassional sentinel and eventually you find allies in the form of Jackals and Grunts which should ease the tension and lonliness but really only serve to increase it because for starters they don't speak english, Grunts only have a limited capacity to speak english and Jackals don't at all so you still feel alone. Second they die incredibly easily so at any moment your little team can be wiped out. Eventually you come across the flood and your rag tag group of Jackals and Grunts either die or abandon you and then you are alone again, descending deeper and deeper into the now flood infested territory.

It put me on the edge of my seat, I gotta say. Not quite so terrifying as the thought of Kinectonauts but still...
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Eh, I disagree. The fact that they're predicable and we know they'll happen is why some of us don't like them and aren't scared by them. I'd say it's much more scary to tease that'll happen, then not do it. Keeping things tense and unpredictable. "Wait, this should be a jump-scare. Why isn't there one? There has to be... if the monster isn't there, where is it? Is it behind me? Following me? Watching me? Waiting for the perfect moment to strike?"

Jump scares could be an effective tool, if used sparingly. But use them too much, like Dead Space and Doom 3, and they just lose their scare factor.
 

90sgamer

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Good work Jim. I really enjoyed this video. I was sort of expecting you to utilize a jump scare yourself during the shot of the stairs as you went on and on and why they are scary. Missed opportunity, but maybe next year.
 

malestrithe

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SnakeoilSage said:
I don't believe you, sorry.

The scares will wear off because obviously it's a video game. You can only go so far playing a game over and be surprised by what it throws at you. The same goes for any book, movie or any other medium that attempts to create fear.

Just the same, I like Dead Space, and for more than just the attempted jump scares, successful or not. If that's the only value you put on a video game, then word of advice; it might sound thrilling, but hanging yourself from a doorknob while having a wank isn't worth it. I learned this in college. Trust me.

*Laugh* I'm just joshing you. Seriously though. You could pop a blood vessel in your head.
You don't have to believe me. I'm telling you what I did. I played the game several times with weapons and without. Sorry, but it was not scary.

I do not play games to be scared. I play games to escape from reality for a time. Maybe it's just me, but when play a horror game, I expect it to scare me at least once. None of the Dead Space games ever did. It relied on too many jump scares and it killed any sense of horror for me.

As a fan of horror movies myself, I have seen more horror movies than most people have. When you've seen as many as I have, I tend to know where and when things are going to happen. I do not watch anything that is meant to disturb. I have not seen A Serbian Film, or anything of the sort because I don't like disturbing horror films. I'm a fan of less is more horror movies, like the original Texas Cainsaw Massacre or Halloween.