It seems like it's becoming more difficult to promote fear in games. Many games that are meant to be scary end up being more action oriented. Why? To make money. And with the not so recent change of the Resident evil series to a more action oriented gaming series I've began to wonder. Can scary games still do well?
Scary games. Can they keep up?
- Thread starter UncleWesker
- Start date
Well, the FEAR franchise is still going strong, with the recent release of FEAR Files, and Perseus Mandate. Also, the other half of the team is releasing its own FEAR project, dubbed Project Origin. The developers are promsining that Project Origin will stop treading the line of actual scary and dive in this time.
Condemned 2 was recently released, and after looking at just three screenshots, I can promise that I won't be playing that for a while.
Doom 3 was pretty scary, so perhaps Doom 4 (if it's ever made, which it better be) can continue the legacy.
Resident Evil 5 looks actiony, true, but there may be some actual good scares in there too.
I really hope that true spine chilling, palm sweating, holy-Jesus-I-didn't-know-I-could-scream-that-high, games will continue to be made for years to come.
Condemned 2 was recently released, and after looking at just three screenshots, I can promise that I won't be playing that for a while.
Doom 3 was pretty scary, so perhaps Doom 4 (if it's ever made, which it better be) can continue the legacy.
Resident Evil 5 looks actiony, true, but there may be some actual good scares in there too.
I really hope that true spine chilling, palm sweating, holy-Jesus-I-didn't-know-I-could-scream-that-high, games will continue to be made for years to come.
eh, personally i don't so much care, scary games have never been a high priority to me because its usually only scary so long as you can't fight back. once they give you a weapon it's hard to be afraid of something you can kill
AVP2 was IMO extremely scary because you could often hear the aliens screaming, or their claws skittering on concrete, long before they appeared. I think Monolith did very well in that game to create suspense. Likewise they did the same in F.E.A.R. But both are essentially action games.
Conversely, most of what is intended to be scary is, to me, just silly. Showing severed body parts to a populace raised on slasher movies is never going to work, and most of what is supposed to be scary in games is on that level, just an excess of gore.
I'd love a good, truly suspenseful 1st person shooter survival game, though.
Conversely, most of what is intended to be scary is, to me, just silly. Showing severed body parts to a populace raised on slasher movies is never going to work, and most of what is supposed to be scary in games is on that level, just an excess of gore.
I'd love a good, truly suspenseful 1st person shooter survival game, though.
It's all in what scares you. Lots of people thought Doom 3 was scary, but the formula of "enter a room/lights go off/monsters appear" repeated through the entire game, and it just stopped working after the first level for me. Likewise, I thought that FEAR had an interesting take on "scary" content, but the fighting was never scary, and the "scary" was almost never actually dangerous. Basically, every time scary stuff started happening, I would relax, because I knew nothing was going to be shooting at me for awhile. Generally, the whole idea behind scary is that I should fear harm.
I thought AvP did a good job with the creepy, thanks mostly to the 180 degree motion tracker, but I'm straining to come up with anything else that's actually been frightening lately. Maybe I'm getting too jaded in my old age.
EDIT: Oh, and Silent Hill 2 was creepy. Not really "scary", but it provided a constant sense of vague unease, which is really much better.
- J
I thought AvP did a good job with the creepy, thanks mostly to the 180 degree motion tracker, but I'm straining to come up with anything else that's actually been frightening lately. Maybe I'm getting too jaded in my old age.
EDIT: Oh, and Silent Hill 2 was creepy. Not really "scary", but it provided a constant sense of vague unease, which is really much better.
- J
I think with resident evil 4 they could have had it both ways. I found regenerators to be terrifying when I first met them and didn't have the thermal scope (I made it even worse by blowing off the legs thinking this would help me get past them). Unfortunately (if you want to be scared) you get the scope really soon after you meet these enemies. Then you can kill their slow asses pretty easily and they're not scary any more.
These guys were kind of wasted in the game by limiting them to such a short moment in the spotlight. There could have been other enemies like this spread through the other areas in the game in between action sequences. Maybe the double bladed chainsaw guy comes after you in a larger version of the mendez home slicing down doors or walls you approach just as you think you've lost him. Something like that for the quiet suspenseful areas.
These guys were kind of wasted in the game by limiting them to such a short moment in the spotlight. There could have been other enemies like this spread through the other areas in the game in between action sequences. Maybe the double bladed chainsaw guy comes after you in a larger version of the mendez home slicing down doors or walls you approach just as you think you've lost him. Something like that for the quiet suspenseful areas.
I second the vote for AVP2, damned good when it came out.werepossum said:
I'll even admit that Half Life 2 did a few good jobs of making me jump. Are the rabbits in Rayman creepy to anyone else?
I've played few horror games that genuinely frightened me, though F.E.A.R and the expansion packs definitely had moments that made me jump - in fact, one area where the expansion packs are better than the original game is the frequency and quality of the scares.
Still, I've often wondered myself why, no matter how intricate, evil and disturbing a game's setting or atmosphere is, no game has managed to be consistently and genuinely terrifying. I'd have to answer that it's the gameplay itself that is to blame. The early Resident Evils relied on jump tactics, and the sense of helplessness was more the sluggish, imprecise controls and inclusion of an absolutely useless knife weapon than anything else. As for Resident Evil 4, that's about as scary as a labrador puppy. Silent Hill suffered the same fate of wonky controls, despite having some deeply disturbing storyline topics, but that too failed in the scare department as far as I'm concerned. Yahtzee hit the FEAR series right on the head with his review, stating that nothing's too scary when you've got a full arsenal of weaponry to guide you, and the shooting and scare sections occur with an almost audible clunk. And Condemned's scares were once again, jump tactics, and the horror element seem to be more about violence and brutality than genuine psychological threat. Bioshock (not typically a horror game, but scary to some) made the almost unforgivable mistake of having absolutely no long-term punishment for deaths, although made the best decision in horror so far by taking things into the first person.
Which brings me to my personal contender for scariest game ever, System Shock 2. It made you jump without relying too heavily on contrived set-pieces, the weapons would break with overuse, not everything was useful to you as your character only levelled up on certain skills, and nailed the sound effects - by far the most important aspect in a horror game - to great effect.
I always have been, and am always going to be a keen follower of horror games, as they do have a distinct feel to them and I'm sure one day, a developer will nail it perfectly, but for the time being, it seems developers are scared to take chances with the genre in order to create a game that will be renowned for its sheer terror factor. I'm hoping the new Alone in the Dark hits all the right buttons - I doubt it'll be the ultimate brown trousers gaming experience, but I must admit, it's looking incredible.
Still, I've often wondered myself why, no matter how intricate, evil and disturbing a game's setting or atmosphere is, no game has managed to be consistently and genuinely terrifying. I'd have to answer that it's the gameplay itself that is to blame. The early Resident Evils relied on jump tactics, and the sense of helplessness was more the sluggish, imprecise controls and inclusion of an absolutely useless knife weapon than anything else. As for Resident Evil 4, that's about as scary as a labrador puppy. Silent Hill suffered the same fate of wonky controls, despite having some deeply disturbing storyline topics, but that too failed in the scare department as far as I'm concerned. Yahtzee hit the FEAR series right on the head with his review, stating that nothing's too scary when you've got a full arsenal of weaponry to guide you, and the shooting and scare sections occur with an almost audible clunk. And Condemned's scares were once again, jump tactics, and the horror element seem to be more about violence and brutality than genuine psychological threat. Bioshock (not typically a horror game, but scary to some) made the almost unforgivable mistake of having absolutely no long-term punishment for deaths, although made the best decision in horror so far by taking things into the first person.
Which brings me to my personal contender for scariest game ever, System Shock 2. It made you jump without relying too heavily on contrived set-pieces, the weapons would break with overuse, not everything was useful to you as your character only levelled up on certain skills, and nailed the sound effects - by far the most important aspect in a horror game - to great effect.
I always have been, and am always going to be a keen follower of horror games, as they do have a distinct feel to them and I'm sure one day, a developer will nail it perfectly, but for the time being, it seems developers are scared to take chances with the genre in order to create a game that will be renowned for its sheer terror factor. I'm hoping the new Alone in the Dark hits all the right buttons - I doubt it'll be the ultimate brown trousers gaming experience, but I must admit, it's looking incredible.
Have you played Haunting Ground? You basically play hide and seek with a bunch of freaks and the closest thing you have to a weapon is a dog who won't listen to you half the time. It's a good game. Anyhoo, horror games are my favorite kind of games. As long as they are good and creepy.nightmare_gorilla said:
Really, jumps are what fear is about. Atmosphere and suspense are the ways they make jumps and spooks and attacks seem imminent. The reason they're good for horror is that they hype the upcoming jump, if there is any, or make you believe yourself mad, which is just another suspense before a jump, the jump being the moment of realisation that you are mad or aren't.brazenhead89 said:
Basically, replace "jump" with "showing the monster" and you've got fear down to a T.
You can't complain about "Jumps" in relation to fear. They're the bricks which build the house of fear.
It seems like most modern "horror" games are much like modern "horror" films, they are only scaring you through shocks and suprise. While this is one way to induce horror, I've always found that suspense ala Alfred Hitchcock was a much more effective technique.
That was the problem I had with Doom 3. While it was scary at first, after the 50th demon jumps out at you, it really ceases to be very scary.
I wish more games would use psychological fear rather than surprise fear.
That was the problem I had with Doom 3. While it was scary at first, after the 50th demon jumps out at you, it really ceases to be very scary.
I wish more games would use psychological fear rather than surprise fear.
There were some really tense moments for me in Bioshock. I've walked into a room, I'm looting it...now what? All I can hear is vague Bobby Darin off in the distance. I start to sweat. Surely, any moment now, something is going to pop out, right? But nothing comes. It's amazing when a game can make something out of nothing at all.
I agree with the previous posters. It's all about what you find scary. Also, weakness plays a big part. That zombie is all the more frightening if you know you don't have a chance of taking it down.
I agree with the previous posters. It's all about what you find scary. Also, weakness plays a big part. That zombie is all the more frightening if you know you don't have a chance of taking it down.
This all goes back to my theory that someone needs to get David Lynch to make a video game. Every single one of his movies (and Twin Peaks) had some genuinely disturbing and horrific moments. Yeah, he might throw the gameplay out the window, but I'll take an interactive horror experience made by David Lynch anyday.
Eraserhead still gives me bad dreams.
Eraserhead still gives me bad dreams.
As long as games don't go so much into the cheap scare or the "The Ring" rip off, then it's okay.
Wouldn't it be a good enough idea if people stopped making the association that fear = monster/supernatural being? How about natural fears? Phobias? I often feel scared with games that don't even have that intention. Take for instance FF7. Back in the days I was scared ******** when Emerald was inside the ocean and I had to go explore around in the submarine, something so tiny compared to a gigantic beast that could slowly materialize as he was heading towards you. Ok, so it goes back to the monster point, but I'm afraid of large depths. Even when Emerald was gone, I felt uneasy during that part. Creating a game that forced you into situations that could cause moments of claustrophobia and common fears wouldn't be bad. Even if you don't have that phobia you'd feel eerie once you notice the tunnel you're going into becomes shorter and shorter until you're left crawling inch for inch in a human sized hole.
Wouldn't it be a good enough idea if people stopped making the association that fear = monster/supernatural being? How about natural fears? Phobias? I often feel scared with games that don't even have that intention. Take for instance FF7. Back in the days I was scared ******** when Emerald was inside the ocean and I had to go explore around in the submarine, something so tiny compared to a gigantic beast that could slowly materialize as he was heading towards you. Ok, so it goes back to the monster point, but I'm afraid of large depths. Even when Emerald was gone, I felt uneasy during that part. Creating a game that forced you into situations that could cause moments of claustrophobia and common fears wouldn't be bad. Even if you don't have that phobia you'd feel eerie once you notice the tunnel you're going into becomes shorter and shorter until you're left crawling inch for inch in a human sized hole.
In my opinion Resident Evil 5 will try and lean more towards horror, Capcom did'nt anticipate what a success Resident Evil 4 would be but the one complaint most people had about it was that it was'nt a true horror game which I would agree with, save a few scary moments.
That being said I dont think its people attitudes towards scary games that have changed or the idea that people are becoming desensitized to horror.
Put simply there has'nt been a true horror game dedicated to being scary in years, one that has'nt been a half-assed "boo" fest like DOOM3 (Sorry people, but that game sucks ass).
There is a new game called "Dead Space" which I think is hitting the shelves this year which looks like a pretty decent horror game, lets hope that might scratch that itch for being scared, although keep in mind this is coming from a guy who is still scared shitless by the pixelated zombies in the first Resident Evil.
That being said I dont think its people attitudes towards scary games that have changed or the idea that people are becoming desensitized to horror.
Put simply there has'nt been a true horror game dedicated to being scary in years, one that has'nt been a half-assed "boo" fest like DOOM3 (Sorry people, but that game sucks ass).
There is a new game called "Dead Space" which I think is hitting the shelves this year which looks like a pretty decent horror game, lets hope that might scratch that itch for being scared, although keep in mind this is coming from a guy who is still scared shitless by the pixelated zombies in the first Resident Evil.
The problem is that "survival horror" has in essence become formulaic, and a genre. When you have this there are certain expectations and it is harder to instill fear in people. It takes a game that is a bit "out there" to create a good sense of fear.
I've always been a fan of fear inspired by the imagination - i.e. why Blair Witch was so initially successful. You never see the actual object of your fear but are forced to imagine it, making it a lot worse. This is why Silent Hill is still pretty good - the fog/darkness/whatever of its locale makes your imagination play tricks on your mind. I still get a little freaked out running through those darkened apartment buildings when I'm replaying the game.
I've always been a fan of fear inspired by the imagination - i.e. why Blair Witch was so initially successful. You never see the actual object of your fear but are forced to imagine it, making it a lot worse. This is why Silent Hill is still pretty good - the fog/darkness/whatever of its locale makes your imagination play tricks on your mind. I still get a little freaked out running through those darkened apartment buildings when I'm replaying the game.
The problem with survival horror is more often than not, it's not so much about surviving as it is about super soldiers thwarting Umbrella.
By definition, the goal of a survival horror shouldn't be to uncover deep mysteries about yourself or uncover some alien conspiracy but rather to NOT DIE. That's it, really. There's a zombie infestations and if you get infected you lose.
By definition, the goal of a survival horror shouldn't be to uncover deep mysteries about yourself or uncover some alien conspiracy but rather to NOT DIE. That's it, really. There's a zombie infestations and if you get infected you lose.