New Horror-Game Mechanics

[rabidmidget]

How about one where you play as a blind/psychic/whatever person who's only way of seeing the environment is through sound. What I mean by this is that everything is pitch black, but making noise emits light for a short amount of time. This would be an interesting mechanic to do with enemies as, you have to choose between using the darkness to evade the enemies, or using noise to find your way around, without attracting the enemy. This could also add to the scariness of enemies as you could be walking along when you make a noise to inspect the surrounding environment, when you realize that some uncanny valley-esque creature is standing right next to you, or having an enemy roar, lighting up the room and, for a short amount of time, revealing his grotesque, lovecraftian form.

I would like to see how well this idea would work, as it plays on people's fear of the dark.

 

[Sygmist]

I personally love the feeling of going bonkers in a game. Voices start to play inside your head, you start to see things, you get tunnel vision... I've only experienced it in Call of the Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and I loved it. There was one game I read about that I can't remember the name of in which static actually started to go on the screen. The game wasn't just making your character seem insane, it was actually screwing with you. There was also an affect where you were walking on the ceiling, I believe. Real trippy.

I haven't had experience with first person non-shooters, but not for lack of trying. Amnesia: The Dark Descent looks haggard!

 

[Estocavio]

How about have the antagonist as a regular human being for once? I can guarantee that humans are more malicious, deadly and psychotic than any deformed monster.

So, what "Condemned: Criminal Origins" should have been? No offense, I liked the game but thought that the cult bit was pointless (and just a way to explain a sequel...seriously though, you're serial killer hunter after serial killers, do you really need to add that other stuff? How many people watch "Criminal Minds"?). The parts where it was more about the psycho were scarier than the whole cult bit which seemed kinda added on. Have you seen the infamous Tibbits scene? Check that out on Youtube. That was pretty scary. It's too bad they felt the need to continually break up the slow suspense with quick combat action which, kinda took away from the eerie bits.

Basically, yep. Having played Condemned, it does have alot of potential. What i don t get is why this hasnt been done...

 

[Valkyrie101]

may need a snip here

Wall of text much? But great idea, up until the part with the console failure; I don't like the idea, and it'd probably get a lot of people to turn it off and stop playing before they realise. And I'm not sure the red light thing is possible.

But that aside, I really like the idea of things changing and no one in the game world taking any notice. I'd extend it, not just NPCs but also the environment too. Obviously it'd need some consideration about when the changes take place without using cutscenes or similar, but definitely something that could work well.

 

[Madkipz]

I want to take the F.E.A.R to the next level, odd warning signs like suddenly your partners face suddenly has this creepy smile and raspy sound and the sounds growing larger, with a heartbeat music and the world growing increasingly odd like people vanishing in thin air or you crashing into invisible walls.

Temporary blindness or removal from your squad where all you have is sound and the knowledge of something utterly evil and menacing stalking them.

Toilet-scare is mandatory.

A ghost boss that can stop time, your team of ghost hunters dying instantly while a menacing laughter eccoes in that abandoned hotel floor.

Being assigned 4-8 different anti ghost, nightmare pills with suspect content that either work or let you see oddities in varying degree depending on how much of each and in what combination you swallow. XD

what i do have a problem though is coming up with a plot, a story etc.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I want a return of the sanity meter in Eternal Darkness.

 

[swolf]

How about have the antagonist as a regular human being for once? I can guarantee that humans are more malicious, deadly and psychotic than any deformed monster.

So, what "Condemned: Criminal Origins" should have been? No offense, I liked the game but thought that the cult bit was pointless (and just a way to explain a sequel...seriously though, you're serial killer hunter after serial killers, do you really need to add that other stuff? How many people watch "Criminal Minds"?). The parts where it was more about the psycho were scarier than the whole cult bit which seemed kinda added on. Have you seen the infamous Tibbits scene? Check that out on Youtube. That was pretty scary. It's too bad they felt the need to continually break up the slow suspense with quick combat action which, kinda took away from the eerie bits.

Basically, yep. Having played Condemned, it does have alot of potential. What i don t get is why this hasnt been done...

If I had to guess why, I'd say $ and controversy (even though, as Vince Mcmahon says "controversy creates cash". BTW, according to Forbes.com [see http://www.forbes.com/2001/06/22/billdropoffs_print.html ] on Aug 2000 [in my opinion, that was around the "peak of the WWE"], his wealth was $1.1 billion and is "now" $700 million. My point being, when they were controversial, he became obscenely rich and, while they "clean up their act" his wealth has decreased). Anyways, for the most part (Rockstar had controversy with GTA and Manhunt but are also trying to "clean up their act"), game companies want to avoid controversy because it may give them a bad image. This is complicated by all the watchdog groups who still believe that games are for children and brainwash every person who plays them gets trained to become ruthless killers. So, yeah, creating a game with an "ultimate villain" human would be controversial. Also, they would probably be pressed to explain why that person acted the way they did or be considered "unrealistic". Um, I would also guess that it has to do with macho, ego, machismo (whatever you want to call it). I think the companies are trying to outdo each other with "who can make the bigger/grosser monster?" I would like to see this trend change but I won't hold my breath. I would also like to play a video game with a 360 projector, accurate motion controls, and a surround sound system which accurately reacts to the direction that I'm facing (it wouldn't make sense to view something on a 360 degree projection if the sounds still react as though you're facing in one particular direction). So, yeah, those are some of my thoughts.

Edit: Consider that last bit as my contribution, please? Thank you. (I would have talked about a "human antagonist" but somebody already ninja'd me to that response).

 

[Dark2003]

sandbox zombie-infested city, no slow moving zombie either, limited ammo, limited population, and no way out

 

[Zetsubou-Sama]

A scare-meter, that makes you lose the grip of your weapons, as well as killing you when you get too scared it would work like the longer you fight the more scared you'll get as well as making some of the exploring have frightening bits to make the player question if he should investigate or not, another thing would be that whenever a player let's go of a certain button in panic events the weapon or flashlight would drop and you would be in complete darkness until you found it again.

 

[Harkonnen64]

How about a survival-horror game that actually emphasises the survival aspect? I played both Bioshock and Fallout 3 (both excellent games by the way) under the guise that I'd actually have to be concervative on ammo, but once the game started I could literally find ammo just laying there in plain sight. What if there was a game that really did well at limiting ammo, and made melee much weaker so that in the event you ran out you would only have a chance of holding off (insert horrific enemy here) if it happened to be a very small group, otherwise you would have to run to save yourself?

 

[andeve3]

Dont show the player the antagonist(s), we fear the unknown, so it makes absolutely no sense to reveal the identity of whatever horrible monstrosity the player is facing. Oh, and do not give the player weapons.

 

[Wedlock49]

Use a mechanic similar to Eternal Darkness, but instead of the sanity depleting you suffer hallucinations all the time and you can never tell when something is real.

 

[A Playful Shark]

Arbitrarily removing the player's already limited health is stupid, I just had to point this out. Even if they don't get attacked. It's not scary, just tedious and annoying.

Enemies that can adapt to your weapons would be something that would be nice to add. Perhaps the game has shadowy monsters you never quite see since they attack you in the darkness and all you make out are their vague forms, but lets say you have a fondness for the shotgun. As you attack more and more of them with it they'll get larger, start keeping distance and start growing chitinous armor, making your weapon less effective. Meaning you'd have to use more then just one weapon to get through the game or you'd end up gimping yourself because by the end they'd be virtually immune to the best weapons. Ultimately this means running away would probably be the best tactic overall, but this too would mean they'd grow faster and eventually be able to over power you as they spent more time chasing you.

Exactly! I'm not sure of this would make the game scary or not but i'm sure it would make an epic game!

An action game with this mechanic would be... awesome.

 

[Wedlock49]

sandbox zombie-infested city, no slow moving zombie either, limited ammo, limited population, and no way out

I think it'd be a lot more interesting if you did this with slow moving zombies in an open world.

The slow zombies will only ever die from a head shot. Add a mechanic where you build, much like the Halo Forge except you need to find your parts and be able to physically get where you want to build with your player, you can find NPC's if you explore who will join you and help fortify your hide-away, Ammo will be very limited and you wouldn't be much of a marksmen... you'd start of weaponless and decide if you want to go and get weapons, find friends or just sit in a room crying.

Have the game be timed, the longer you hold out the higher your score same goes for zombie kills. Have 8 player online co-op and make it so that you have to find Walky Talkies to be able to communicate over distance, make events randomly generate, like military drops and biker gangs.

When creating the game you could set what you want, Zombie speed, Zombie toughness, Zombie numbers, anything that will really alter gameplay, each mode you select will put you into different leaderboards. Have it so that games can last weeks if you're careful and allow a system to save the online multiplayer progress so that once everyone is ready to play again it'll put you back in the world.

You could have mechanics where you can be the looting bikers, just allow you to hot wire cars and stuff, make the game truley free roaming and make it an RTS, the view could be changed between first and third person and as time goes by if you don't look after your character they will start to degrade and get skinny and weak so food and water are essential. also have a mechanic where you can only hold so much in a certain type of backpack and the more you carry the slower and more easily tired you get, add a fitness meter so that overtime your character will become stronger... it also should have a player drop in function so that if a player dies they'll have to rejoin the game and take over a different character rather than just respawning.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Oy... I've been thinking about this for a while now. Here's a breif list, but most of these are only used individually:

-Make ammo only available at the start of chapters. The player will have to plan how they use their ammo through the chapter.
-Make a game where the only type of guns are pistols, and very, very limited shotguns. I've always found it strange how some games have SMGs or maybe even stronger weapons in places that they had no business being in. Make it melee only and a few handguns.
-A fear meter. There are obvious drawbacks to it filling, like you fire off more rounds than you intended, your aim is affected, melee attacks have more recoil because you swung harder, you reload much slower because your hands are shaking, you take more damage, ect. But there are some positive aspects, like melee does more damage, you run faster because you're scared out of your mind, and any damage affects are slightly negated due to adrenaline. But if the meter fills completely, you can't move due to being paralyzed with fear.
-A game with no weapons at all. Your only option is to run.
-A game that lets you chose different characters, each with different skills, like better weapon skills, better melee skills, faster running, better healing, ect.
-A game with no enemies. The only thing that can kill you is the environment, the bosses, who also can only be killed via the scenery, and traps in any urban setting.

Finally,

sandbox zombie-infested city, no slow moving zombie either, limited ammo, limited population, and no way out

Make this a downloadable game. There are leaderboards for whoever can survive the longest. Also an optional multiplayer mode, emphasis on the optional.

 

[Harkonnen64]

What if, in certain areas, there is a chance of being ambushed, and to build up suspense the game adds stuff like suspenseful music and creepy shadows moving along the walls. I know what you're thinking, "That's already been done." BUT WAIT! What if there is also a chance that around the corner, there is nothing at all, giving the impression that the character is so stressed, that they are begining to hallucinate. BUT WAIT ONCE MORE! What if there is again a chance that once everything is all clear in the area and the music and shadows have died down the (insert horrific creatures here) is actually waiting around the next corner to ambush you. This way, the player is always on their guard.

 

[teknoarcanist]

@silver I would love a game with a realistic inventory system like that, where guns actually add to your bulk and affect the ways you can move (and not just a Bethesda-style slider where more weight decreases your walking variable). That would add some great moments of tension with baddies closing down on you, and you're unloading into them with a shotgun, and you have to decide: keep firing, or drop the gun and make a break for it?

Would like to see that come up with plot-related items too. Think you can outpace the sociopath in the shadows while dragging the MacGuffin Briefcase?

I would also just love to see a very immersive sandbox zombie game. Slow moving. Huge numbers. No cutscenes and very few NPC story characters.

 

[SnowdensOfYesteryear]

A game where you are the good guy for a bit, and then you become the antagonist.

Say, there's a big-ass demonic figure haunting the Earth, killing everyone he sees. As the game goes on, you start running out of food and such, so you hunt and hunt and hunt, before you start noticing the hunting supplies are decreasing. So you start killing people and taking their supplies in the name of survival, and after awhile, you realize that you ARE the demon - as soon as people see you, they run in fear, stuff like that.

Just a random idea.

 

[Wolfram23]

A scare-meter, that makes you lose the grip of your weapons, as well as killing you when you get too scared it would work like the longer you fight the more scared you'll get as well as making some of the exploring have frightening bits to make the player question if he should investigate or not, another thing would be that whenever a player let's go of a certain button in panic events the weapon or flashlight would drop and you would be in complete darkness until you found it again.

I like this, but maybe without the actual meter. And also based on context. For example, let's say you have a pistol. A zombie is approaching. You fire off 6 bullets and it doesn't flinch... that's an "oh shit" moment and your character then begins to act scared. On the other hand, if you fire 2 bullets into it's face and it drops... no problems.

 

[teknoarcanist]

Here's an idea that I know hasn't been tried before: Flight simulation horror! I don't even know if that would be any good; I just know it would be original.

Wikipedia Charles Lindbergh and his flight to Paris. THAT would make one hell of a suspense/horror game.