Study Declares Dead Space 2 "Scariest 360 Game"

Barbalute

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Jan 4, 2010
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Study Declares Dead Space 2 "Scariest 360 Game"

A study by UK-based videogame "user experience studio" Vertical Slice has declared that Dead Space 2 is the 360 game most likely to make you scream like a little girl.

The study, performed across four games (Alan Wake, Dead Space 2, Condemned: Criminal Origins and Resident Evil 5) on six participants between the ages of 20 and 42, attempted to discover exactly which moments of the games were frightening and exactly how frightening they really were by using a combination of interviews, post-play analysis and biometric measurements.

Each participant of the sample group was classified as either a "casual" (rarely or never playing games) or "core" (playing at least five hours a week) player. While many of the study's findings were common sense, some were more interesting: cutscenes, though frightening for some casual players, were usually seen as a moment of relief from actual danger. The study also found that the more scripted the game was, the more it frightened casual players; conversely, the less scripted it was, the more it frightened core players.

To measure fear, Vertical Slice had each of the participants play about 30 minutes of each game in a counter-balanced order to reduce bias. During play, the participants were asked to think out loud; at the same time, their heart rate, skin surface temperature, Galvanic Skin Response (which measures excitement or frustration) and, in some cases, respiration were measured. After playing, the volunteers were asked to analyze their experience. Throughout the process, Vertical Slice used interviewing techniques to elicit feedback as well. Below, you can see the "Biometric Storyboard" for each game, which graphs all the gathered information.

[gallery=257]

Perhaps the most interesting discovery, made through Dead Space 2 (the scariest game of the four for both casual and experienced players) was that fear and frustration are often linked. One of the more intensely frightening moments was when the players were chased by enemies and had difficulty navigating - however, repeated failure removed the fear and left the scene simply unpleasantly frustrating for players unable to complete it on the first few tries. Similarly, the players who had the most difficulty wielding the game's telekinesis gun experienced more frustration, but also the most fear.

Studies such as these may help game designers make better games by identifying exactly which design elements are linked to which emotions and while not flawless (the study had a small sample group of both players and games), it's nice to see the application of scientific techniques to game design.

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Flailing Escapist

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Apr 13, 2011
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Unlikely. Dead Space was much more frightning than Dead Space 2, it was also quite a bit longer. And any other Resident Evil game is scarier than Re5. I personally thought Condemned: Crimminal Origins was the best of the bunch, but thats just my 2 cents.

Edit: Dooooop, 360, 360, 360, 360, 360, 360. Still DS1 was worse than DS2 in my own opinion and C:CO was worst than that
 

AwesomeFerret

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Apr 28, 2010
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I notice they didn't include Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which probably skewed the results a bit, because from what I hear, that game is way scarier then Dead Space 2 is.

EDIT: Sorry, a typo was bugging me.
 

Assassin Xaero

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Jul 23, 2008
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I haven't played Dead Space 2 yet (still on the first), but I find that hard to believe. Well, until I reread the title and saw "360" in it. FEAR was scarier than Dead Space (1) was, and I actually found Dead Space more funny than scary. Amnesia (yes, I know it isn't on 360) puts pretty much any other "scary" game I've played to shame.
 

therandombear

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Sep 28, 2009
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Only played RE5 and DS2 out of those games....how did they even fall into the horror category?

I was more scared by Bioshock 1 then I was of RE5 and DS1/2.
In RE5 and DS2 it's more of a "startle" scare then "make-you-scream-like-a-little-girl" scare, seriously, every other dead body in the hallways you hadn't killed yourself was alive and waiting for you. It was predictable.
 

Assassin Xaero

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AwesomeFerret said:
I notice they didn't include Amnesia: The ark Descent, which probably skewed the results a bit, because from what I hear, that game is way scarier then Dead Space 2 is.
You did the same thing I did... title is about 360 games, Amnesia is PC exclusive...
 

ShadowsofHope

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Nov 1, 2009
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To be fair, Xbox 360 titles do not offer a lot of horror genre to choose from. Dead Space 2 and Dead Space are decent enough for what limited choices you have in that genre when owning that certain system. Although personally, the first Condemned (especially in the beginning levels when you have no fucking idea what is going on save rampant psychopaths running about) takes the cake of the scariest Xbox 360 title.

..Also, the Seekers always scared the living fuck out of me (or whatever they are called again, the zig-zag-charge dinosaur-like necromorphs) playing Dead Space 2. Hear the screaming, hear the footsteps, and then.. BAM! Right in the fucking gut..
 

A Tasty Burger

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Apr 16, 2010
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Condemned was easily the scariest of those games. RE5 and Dead Space 2 were barely horror games and I haven't played Alan Wake.

Also considering someone hardcore because they play 5 hours a week is funny. I'd consider them more hardcore if they knew their shit about games and didn't play Call of Duty for 5 hours a week.
 

Waaghpowa

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Apr 13, 2010
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I thought Dead Space was scary, but I played on PC. So far my list goes Condemned 1 and 2, Amnesia, Dead Space series, then the original F.E.A.R
 

vrbtny

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Sep 16, 2009
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At first I was like "Naw, that's bollocks. Dead Space 2 ain't scary."

Then I looked at what it was up against, and.... yeah. Have to agree.....
 

DJ_DEnM

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Dec 22, 2010
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Dead Space 2 wasn't scary >_>. Dead Space 2 isn't scary. Like Yahtzee said, they use gore so much it's funny (or something along those lines). Nor was Resident Evil 5. I havent played the other two, but still. And if they port Amnesia then we know the NEW scariest game.
 

AwesomeFerret

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Apr 28, 2010
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Assassin Xaero said:
AwesomeFerret said:
I notice they didn't include Amnesia: The ark Descent, which probably skewed the results a bit, because from what I hear, that game is way scarier then Dead Space 2 is.
You did the same thing I did... title is about 360 games, Amnesia is PC exclusive...
Ah, I didn't realize that, my mistake. Still, Dead Space 2 is by far not the scariest thing on that console. Freaky, not necessarily scary.
 

Zac Smith

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Apr 25, 2010
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It depends what you class as scary, actually being scarred or just something going boogy woogy woo and jumping out from behind which is what most games seem to do, even Amnesia to an extent
 

Echo136

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Feb 22, 2010
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What a terrible study. Dead Space 2 was an Action game that only seemed like a survival horror. Dead Space 1 was way scarier. Its a shame Amnesia isnt an Xbox game because that game is way scarier than anything currently on the Xbox.
 

unacomn

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Mar 3, 2008
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What?
Honestly, what?

There were only two moments that were genuinely trying to be atmospheric and scary in Dead Space 2. The rest is the equivalent of me writing "BUGABUGABUGABUGABUGA" now and again in a comment and expecting you to be frightened.
 

JUGGERNAUTBITCH

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May 20, 2011
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i think we are underastimating DS. We are all veteran gamers. so we know that after every corner an enemy can pop up. this takes away 90% of the scary.if you never play games OR have never played a scary game, then believe me DS can be hella scary.