Key Elements for THE Scariest Game Imaginable

[kane.malakos]

What I find the most scary in games is something that should be normal and mundane given a slight tweak so that it's not quite right. For example, one of the bonus missions in Splinter Cell: Double Agent has a room that is, for no discernible reason, upside-down. Especially in a game that presents itself as a realistic shooter, this is really disturbing. A similar moment happened in Thief: The Dark Project, where you're sent in to burgle some random guys house, and then you notice there are upside-down rooms, trees growing out of the wall, and other unexplained weirdness. This, to me, is a lot more psychologically scary than jump-scares or anything like that. You go into a situation with the expectation that it's normal, and then skew them to be weird.

Of course, therein lies a problem. Most people go into a horror game expecting monsters, a creepy atmosphere, etc. The key would have to lie in subverting expectations. Make it so that when they think they're safe, they're actually in danger. Maybe have a cutscene where the player thinks they're going to get the standard exposition and mission briefing, but half-way through, the person giving the briefing starts to change appearance slightly, or their mouth stops moving, but the dialogue continues. Just an idea.

 

[Slowpool]

What I find the most scary in games is something that should be normal and mundane given a slight tweak so that it's not quite right. For example, one of the bonus missions in Splinter Cell: Double Agent has a room that is, for no discernible reason, upside-down. Especially in a game that presents itself as a realistic shooter, this is really disturbing. A similar moment happened in Thief: The Dark Project, where you're sent in to burgle some random guys house, and then you notice there are upside-down rooms, trees growing out of the wall, and other unexplained weirdness. This, to me, is a lot more psychologically scary than jump-scares or anything like that. You go into a situation with the expectation that it's normal, and then skew them to be weird.

Of course, therein lies a problem. Most people go into a horror game expecting monsters, a creepy atmosphere, etc. The key would have to lie in subverting expectations. Make it so that when they think they're safe, they're actually in danger. Maybe have a cutscene where the player thinks they're going to get the standard exposition and mission briefing, but half-way through, the person giving the briefing starts to change appearance slightly, or their mouth stops moving, but the dialogue continues. Just an idea.

This is actually a really good point. I had a moment like that while playing Psychonauts (**SPOILERS** if you haven't played it); you're running through your dance loving psychic teacher's mind, learning the basics of movement abilities and such. Everything is just dandy, what with bright colors and upbeat music and dancing friends. I was under the impression that much of the game was going to have this silly yet fun atmosphere.

Then, near the end, you catch a glimpse of a room hidden off to the side. You hop up into it; it's nothing like the rest of the woman's mind. It's a small, dark room like you'd find anywhere. All it has is an empty cradle in the middle of the room surrounded my a few chairs, a chest in the corner, and a memory vault bouncing around. Open the vault and you find that this strong willed, carefree woman used to run an orphanage and she loved the children under her care as if they were children. One day she left to buy groceries, and the orphanage had burned down, killing all of the children. Knowing that, you open the chest and jump in. You're suddenly in a cage that's surrounded by nightmare shades, whispering in children's voices, asking the woman why she let them die.

I would have had to take a break for a little while after that if the woman's mental commentary hadn't dampened the effect.

 

[CityofTreez]

It'll have to include something like this:

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=20&weekday=tue

Have that in some sort of gameplay form and bricks shall be shat.

vkgvtgctgjukftgyctgyfcdgfhycthrds11!

WHAT WAS THAT? GOD DAMN!

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I would disagree with a detailed protagonist. Ideally the protagonist needs to be a blank slate so the player can project on to them. It also has to be vulnerable. A defenseless child is probably the most vulnerable character you can put in a horror environment in the mind of the player.

Games could do with taking some queues from internet creepypasta

That creature you have seen outside and appears to be getting closer to the glass? It's actually behind you.

Your friend finds a picture of a little girl making a peace sign with her hand. You find him dead later and the little girl is holding up three fingers.

Things like that creep humans out much more than jump scares or hidious beasts. Our own imagination can do a lot worse.

Slowpool and kane.malakos also make great points.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

It'll have to include something like this:

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=20&weekday=tue

Have that in some sort of gameplay form and bricks shall be shat.

Well, I guess I wasn't really planning on sleeping tonight anyways.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Not even scary at all.
Amnesia is true scary kids.

Not really, scary is different for everyone.

Honestly, I hardly found Amnesia scary. It got pacing right, but it wasn't that bad for me.

 

[Stuberfinn88]

Suspension of disbelief. We are scared of the unknown reality. If we can believe it could exist but don't know what it is, then it just makes it all the more scary, but the moment you give it form, and if it looks waaaaay to funky and over-the-top then its scare factor is null. Since you know a 200 ft speedo monster with a dolls face isn't going to happen, ever.....

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Not even scary at all.
Amnesia is true scary kids.

Not really, scary is different for everyone.

Honestly, I hardly found Amnesia scary. It got pacing right, but it wasn't that bad for me.

Although I hate to say it becuase I always feel like a massive spoil sport I didn't get scared either, the protagonist ruined it for me. His going insane and shivering and stuff was just totally distracting and broke the immersion for me.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Not even scary at all.
Amnesia is true scary kids.

Not really, scary is different for everyone.

Honestly, I hardly found Amnesia scary. It got pacing right, but it wasn't that bad for me.

If you say its not scary then u have never played it kid.

I have, and I didn't.

The teeth grinding was one of the most annoying sounds I've ever heard and I was very intoxicated through a majority of it, but I still didn't find it that scary.

The scariest thing I've half way played was Nightmare House 2. But I stopped after the room encloses around you.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I find that most great horror games I have played involve some element of mystery. You need to give a reason to make the protagonist and therefore the player keep moving through the nightmarish scenario. Curiosity killed the cat indeed.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Not even scary at all.
Amnesia is true scary kids.

Not really, scary is different for everyone.

Honestly, I hardly found Amnesia scary. It got pacing right, but it wasn't that bad for me.

If you say its not scary then u have never played it kid.

I have, and I didn't.

The teeth grinding was one of the most annoying sounds I've ever heard and I was very intoxicated through a majority of it, but I still didn't find it that scary.

The scariest thing I've half way played was Nightmare House 2. But I stopped after the room encloses around you.

That game isn't even scary.

Like I said bud, scary is different for all of us.

 

[PAGEToap44]

If you combine Amnesia and Condemned, I will never go to sleep ever again for the rest of my life. Just sayin'.

Also, I don't think that there should be any weapons, really, or melee weapons that you can pick up that break after a few hits. Being helpless is a lot scarier than being able to defend yourself.

What he said.

It would have to be first person, for immersion and so you can't see what's coming up behind you. And maybe add lots of mist in places, like the Silent Hill games. This way you can have daylight levels, but they're still bloody scary. And then have enemies hardly ever attack, just make lots of scary noises. So on and so forth.

One cool feature would be to have the game ask the player what they are like at the start of the game. For example if there are guns, the game would ask, "do you own and gun ,and if so, choose the type from this list." So if you want to believably put yourself in the game and you own a shotgun for hunting then your on screen character will be more adept at firing, reloading and taking care of one than other guns found. Still limit the ammo found though. And every so often take the gun away from the player. For shits and giggles.
It could also say pick a martial art you know from this list, pick a profession, pick your gender, build, age. etc.

EDIT: And if you're a physically fit 20 year old in the military you win at the game.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

Lots of good points made here, but I have one that really needs to be emphasized.

BE MINIMALISTIC WITH GRAPHICS! DO NOT EVER SUCCUMB TO THE TEMPTATION TO FULLY RENDER AND LIGHTEN EVERY PIXEL JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN AND EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT!!

When modern horror games make their graphics as HD-like as possible, it removes the suspense. With early Silent Hill games, they put a layer of mist on the screen in order to hide the fact that they couldn't render the graphics well. And this added a layer of confusion and terror to the franchise. If the monsters' features are difficult to make out, then our imagination will make them that much more terrifying.

 

[SweetLiquidSnake]

Well lots of good input here so far, I guess to add in some of the best I see people like:

-Sound. I'd like to see tense build ups everytime you open a door or something, because you never know what's on the other side.

-Varying Scares. I like the idea of having randomly generated scare moments, almost L4D director-style. Like if you're going down a long windowed corridor, make it so one window will randomly smash open, but you'll never know which one.

-Scarce resources. Have ammo and health pick ups few and far between, makes you play smarter.

-Few varied enemies. If you walk in a room with 5 enemies you'll feel like some Arkham Asylum gang fight is about to erupt, but if you're being followed by one strange guy in a house and finally confront him it's much more tense (Fighting SKX).

-Being followed. Having a constant presence watching and following makes things worse, even having it so you can be attacked from behind, it's extremely unnerving since you never know when they get you.
- Oh, and having it so when you walk by a bed or a sewer drain and having a hand come up and grab your leg would always cause some pant-soiling. Even walking by a mirror and seeing a different or no reflection works too.

-Unexplained events. Having random screams, random dog barking followed by an abrupt whimper, having empty buildings with only one window lit, having you walk down a street and suddenly all the lampposts turn off, garbage cans tipping over, chairs rocking on their own, people huddled in the corner, muttering in fetal position, etc.

-Inspiration from other media. xXxJessicaxXx made a great point about taking ideas from CreepyPasta because I know after reading on there around 2am I'll never do that again. Lots of good scenarios and stories there.

Keep it going guys!!

 

[Exfil 22]

I personnally like the idea of subverting expecations, and stealing control from the player. Like in this:

It'll have to include something like this:

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=20&weekday=tue

Have that in some sort of gameplay form and bricks shall be shat.

Where the watcher assumes control through scrolling which is then stolen thru the animation. My personal reaction was to slam my laptop ad flinch away like IT would come out and get me. Something like allowing detailed character creation, then having the character mutate psychically, or cutting off a cutscene suddenly, or having the objective indicator lead you wrong. Fear is the unexpected

 

[individual11]

Single Player. Isolation is the scariest thing a non-sociopath human will experience. Leaving a lot to the imagination works wonders too. Multiplayer survival horror doesn't work, it just becomes a slow action game. Horror is psychological, jump scares are cheap, actual dread and foreboding is the goal.

System Shock or Silent Hill, not Doom or Dead Space.

 

[Voulan]

The idea of being chased or hunted/searched for is also a very good way to entice some fear. It would be wrong to constantly have those, however.

Some sort of impairment, such as never being able to fully see clearly (due to darkness, invisible enemies, fog, etc) or perhaps being unable to hear your enemies (could cause some heart attacks, though).

Frighteningly disturbing backstories may help here also. Anything particularly off-setting of your location (be it from an unexpected twist from normality or a sympathy-inducing story of a character being there before you) gives the player an unsettled feeling. This ties into the idea of highly emotional reactions, which are offsetting for the sake of making you react so much.

Turning what was once safe and reassuring into the exact opposite. Silent Hill 4 played on this a little, when your room goes from safe-haven to demon-filled leaving you nowhere safe, but I don't think it played on this enough. The idea of being tricked into reassurance will be completely upsetting and alarming to the player.

Playing on human irrational fears - giant faces, wide open spaces, unbeatable enemies, inability to defend yourself, inability to hide, dream-like moments of running slowly when chased, etc.

But as many people have already pointed out, imagination is key.