The Common Mistakes of Horror Games
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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- Apr 1, 2009
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wait? so yahtzee wants more quick time events? I mean because thats what happens when you do an interactive cinematic... most of the time, it almost always comes down to press so and so button suddenly to not die, granted thats really what video games are but shut up
Oh, if only every developer out there listened to even some of your suggestions, Yahtzee...the world would be a MUCH better place.
I absolutely agree with the cutscenes and taking control away from the player - in Assassin's Creed, I enjoyed the interplay between Altair and the AC head honcho, but, I tells ya, every time I had to sit through the world spinning around me as I reached an eagle's view during the game, was just another reason for me to set the controller down even sooner. Why was that necessary, to sit through 20 seconds of head-spinning every time you did one of the most enjoyable things in the game, reaching higher ground? I can look around just fine on my own (and often would, once the game let me). It would have been a lot better if I got a little pop-up upon reaching one of those spots, telling me of my feat, only without taking up half the screen space and forcing me to sit through yet anOTHer cutscene in a game that's already plagued by loading times and storytelling
I absolutely agree with the cutscenes and taking control away from the player - in Assassin's Creed, I enjoyed the interplay between Altair and the AC head honcho, but, I tells ya, every time I had to sit through the world spinning around me as I reached an eagle's view during the game, was just another reason for me to set the controller down even sooner. Why was that necessary, to sit through 20 seconds of head-spinning every time you did one of the most enjoyable things in the game, reaching higher ground? I can look around just fine on my own (and often would, once the game let me). It would have been a lot better if I got a little pop-up upon reaching one of those spots, telling me of my feat, only without taking up half the screen space and forcing me to sit through yet anOTHer cutscene in a game that's already plagued by loading times and storytelling
*Portal Spoilers*
Speaking of Valve being masters, in the last obstacle course level of Portal, a platform starts whisking you into flames while GLaDOS happily extells you that you don't need to worry, the portal gun will be fine. I completely believed that I was actually supposed to die here, since it would fit with the game's black humor.
Where the game shines though, is that any other developer would have put in a cutscene there, wherein Chell looks around and manages to portal here way out of immediate danger and transition into the next phase of the game. However, Valve doesn't. As I entered the flames, I just looked around, I found myself desperately searching for a way out and finally found places where I could portal to safety. It made for a hectic experience that worked out much better than any cutscene. Sure I might have died, but you have to trust your players to figure it out eventually.
Speaking of Valve being masters, in the last obstacle course level of Portal, a platform starts whisking you into flames while GLaDOS happily extells you that you don't need to worry, the portal gun will be fine. I completely believed that I was actually supposed to die here, since it would fit with the game's black humor.
Where the game shines though, is that any other developer would have put in a cutscene there, wherein Chell looks around and manages to portal here way out of immediate danger and transition into the next phase of the game. However, Valve doesn't. As I entered the flames, I just looked around, I found myself desperately searching for a way out and finally found places where I could portal to safety. It made for a hectic experience that worked out much better than any cutscene. Sure I might have died, but you have to trust your players to figure it out eventually.
See, the thing is I don't consider Alan Wake to be a survival horror game. All of its decisions in game design come together if you consider that it wasn't made to scare the player, just ratchet up the tension. Instead of imagining it as horror, just see it as a suspense-thriller and everything makes sense.
P.S.: Yes, I know this argument is pretty bad but I still support it.
P.S.: Yes, I know this argument is pretty bad but I still support it.
On the subject of camera control being taken away, part of me wonders if something similar to Fable 2 could be made to work. Where you can choose to push a button to do a focusing zoom in the direction of something happening. It wouldn't be perfect, and the big flashing button icon makes it more like solving a problem(losing immersion) by introducing something that gets to the exact same problem a different route. Still, I'm sure there must be a way to adapt it, possibly some sort of equipment, or audio hint that lets you know that if you want, you can push a button and your character will turn towards that spooky noise and you see the creepy as hell stuff thats happening over there on the right, just as planned...or not. Its still a bit lazy, but combined with times where there is no hint, or stuff is right in your face and unmissable...*shrugs*
'Like to live in yahtopia, I would.
And yes I agree completely.
I gave the Evil Dead Game Trilgy A pass, but then again those were fooking Evil Dead.
And yes I agree completely.
I gave the Evil Dead Game Trilgy A pass, but then again those were fooking Evil Dead.
For the music, take your cue from some of the good horror films - establish a "scary" track, that plays when danger is approaching. You'll signal a few scares, but it's setup. After a few repetitions to train scary music = danger and other music = safety, start fucking with the player's expectations - play the scare music when they're safe, have them attacked when the safety music is playing.
Have the scary music play when they're just walking along, keep playing it, build it up and up, then nothing. Cut to silence. Nothing attacks. They walk further and the safety music starts. So hopefully they're on edge, but heartrate is returning to normal, then spring the monster, preferably from behind and completely without warning. Make it loud, make it get up in their face, make them need a fresh pair of pants after the encounter.
Music is potentially very powerful at yanking around our emotional state, if all you do with it is confirm what they already know from what they see (or warn them of what they're about to see) then you're not going to scare anyone. The scare comes when the music says one thing and the rest says something else. And as said, it can also be used to induce panic if you've already got them on edge.
The important part, don't let them feel safe too often, and then every so often make them feel safe right before you spring something, then they'll never feel safe again.
Have the scary music play when they're just walking along, keep playing it, build it up and up, then nothing. Cut to silence. Nothing attacks. They walk further and the safety music starts. So hopefully they're on edge, but heartrate is returning to normal, then spring the monster, preferably from behind and completely without warning. Make it loud, make it get up in their face, make them need a fresh pair of pants after the encounter.
Music is potentially very powerful at yanking around our emotional state, if all you do with it is confirm what they already know from what they see (or warn them of what they're about to see) then you're not going to scare anyone. The scare comes when the music says one thing and the rest says something else. And as said, it can also be used to induce panic if you've already got them on edge.
The important part, don't let them feel safe too often, and then every so often make them feel safe right before you spring something, then they'll never feel safe again.
I wanted Alan Wake really bad... But when Yahtzee showed me that the camera zooms in on the enemies every single time they appear on screen... Well. I lost my appetite. I hate every game that does that shitty move to bits! I don't want to know when, where or that the monsters are coming. I want them to scare me! I want the game to be surprising and fun... You know, my father always said; "You should never underestimate your audience... Never!"
All in all, I hate remedy for destroying my otherwise great impression of what I believed would be my #1 game of the year. I am so disappointed... Yet. I still want this game.
All in all, I hate remedy for destroying my otherwise great impression of what I believed would be my #1 game of the year. I am so disappointed... Yet. I still want this game.
Hmm... if the developers always opted to have the intense music playing, wouldn't the threat of a hidden enemy eventually lose its charm? It could possibly be better to let us know when a hidden enemy is about so we know we have something to fear. just my opinion, anyways.
Yeah, I mostly agree to everything you covered in your article. Not everything is blight in Yahtopia. For example, the only game that truly scared the shit out of me like no other game was Penumbra: Black Plague. It's the next part (episode, sequel, whatever) of Penumbra: Overture, but Black Plague was way scarier.
Most of the issues you mention are completely abscent here. The music, mostly, there is no music, only the creepy noises of metal tubes, the shambles or screams of your perseccutors. If there's any music, it always has a creepy tune that doesn't stop even if you have a monster chewing your face.
You don't have weapons or have an extremely limited disposition to use any. As for the camera, everything is in first person perspective and all the time you are aware of your character, because sometimes, the game pauses a bit and some text is displayed with a bit of a monologue from the character saying how he's feeling at that moment and a couple of interesting things.
Even if it's a couple of years old, you should give it a try and a review from you would be fantastic.
Most of the issues you mention are completely abscent here. The music, mostly, there is no music, only the creepy noises of metal tubes, the shambles or screams of your perseccutors. If there's any music, it always has a creepy tune that doesn't stop even if you have a monster chewing your face.
You don't have weapons or have an extremely limited disposition to use any. As for the camera, everything is in first person perspective and all the time you are aware of your character, because sometimes, the game pauses a bit and some text is displayed with a bit of a monologue from the character saying how he's feeling at that moment and a couple of interesting things.
Even if it's a couple of years old, you should give it a try and a review from you would be fantastic.
I really, really want to emphasize the last part
"Cutscenes should never contain action. Or at least, they should never contain action being performed by the playable character which we could have done ourselves within gameplay. Because we're not playing a game to watch a pre-rendered version of ourselves having all the fun."
As a corollary to that, I'd say; never show us cool action that we OUGHT to be able to do in game, but can't.
I'm looking at you, Metal Gear Solid 3. And some stuff I've seen in FF13 too.
"Cutscenes should never contain action. Or at least, they should never contain action being performed by the playable character which we could have done ourselves within gameplay. Because we're not playing a game to watch a pre-rendered version of ourselves having all the fun."
As a corollary to that, I'd say; never show us cool action that we OUGHT to be able to do in game, but can't.
I'm looking at you, Metal Gear Solid 3. And some stuff I've seen in FF13 too.
In any game that already lets you control the camera, there's no particular reason why they should take those controls away. Often times it's to patronizingly show you something happening mere feet away from where you are, you know, because you wouldn't be able to tell that giant dinosaur was angry unless there was a camera pointed right at it's face. Other times it's a cutscene with dialoque, after which they just talk to you outside of the cutscene while you follow/escort/kill them. I'm also seeing more and more of these cutscenes these days that can't be skipped. Didn't we perfect this technology decades ago? Why would I want to watch a half hour long cutscene every time I had to redo a mission? I thought game designers would understand by now how impatient players are, especialy considering how they hold out hands and keep us away from anything sharper than wet toilete paper.
Huh. Who knew. Sense has presided out over unthought-out statements like "Banning all sequels". Good, glad you're not just blowing air out your ass and calling it an opinion anymore, Yahtzee. Good on you. Though, the trade off for that is that your analogies seem to suffer a bit for it, at times. You'd think as a critic of the games industry (a critic that some of them even occasionally pay attention to, mind) that you might even contemplate picking up a phone, or shooting an email to various studios, asking them to explain their various indiscretions to you, our vaguely benevolent dictator. You could bring up clothing choice, the appropriate use of consistency during combat and travel, how to pace a story and appropriate accompanying music snippets. Because, hey, why not try it, eh?
I'd say it's even worse when the action can't be performed by the playable character when we're playing ourselves. It's incredibly frustrating when you've seen your character kill a Giant Monster of Doom in an amazingly spectacular and stylish way while jumping thirty feet through the air in a cutscene, only to have to revert to standing next to the monster and pressing the "poke" button a thousand times when we've got to fight the beast ourselves.Yahtzee Croshaw said:
Games like God of War manage to find a cool middle-road when it comes to that. They keep the cinematic feeling of a cutscene while still giving the player the feeling that he's doing all those cool things. Unfortunately, many other games don't seem to get this.
Nice article. Although I really enjoyed Alan Wake, I will admit it wasn't that scary. Suspenseful yes, but not scary. The things you pointed out in the article were really good points, and I'd like to see Remedy incorporating those points into a sequel.
I agree wholeheartedly with the part about cutscenes. I can count on my hand how many games I've experienced where in a cutscene, right when the characters are done talking, they'll always cut to the game for the action parts.
I recall Jak II did this, and it was perfect for it. For example, I remember having to take control of a wild missile and Daxter was riding it. Once the task was finished, as soon as I crossed the waypoint, it would switch into the cutscene as a finisher.
I recall Jak II did this, and it was perfect for it. For example, I remember having to take control of a wild missile and Daxter was riding it. Once the task was finished, as soon as I crossed the waypoint, it would switch into the cutscene as a finisher.
Sooooo... what are the immigration policies in Yahtopia? I'm just askin'.
There have been a few action games that changed the music when combat was underway (Painkiller did this as well, and sometimes I was upset that it interrupted the beautiful ambient music of the level), and in certain cases the concept actually works well. But I agree completely that there are few things you can do to destroy the frightening moments more effective than telling me, in some way or another, that I'm supposed to be frightened at this moment. FEAR 2 had weird musical stings in places where I couldn't see anything unsettling, and it just left me wondering what the big deal was- and I couldn't hope to count the times Dead Space thought I saw something spooky that I actually didn't.
Also, a lot of games simply fail to understand the horror value of silence. Being alone in some dark, foreboding place, with only the sounds you make and the occasional faint background noise to keep you from believing you've gone deaf... just as the eyes can do in darkness, sometimes the ears will begin to hear what isn't there in an attempt to fill in the void. And nothing is more frightening than what your imagination thinks might be just around that next corner, lurking, waiting, hungering....
But then the ADHD twitch-reflex crowd would complain that nothing's happening and they haven't been able to scream "BOOM HEADSHOT!" for the last 15 seconds. There's no love for suspense these days, I tells ya.
There have been a few action games that changed the music when combat was underway (Painkiller did this as well, and sometimes I was upset that it interrupted the beautiful ambient music of the level), and in certain cases the concept actually works well. But I agree completely that there are few things you can do to destroy the frightening moments more effective than telling me, in some way or another, that I'm supposed to be frightened at this moment. FEAR 2 had weird musical stings in places where I couldn't see anything unsettling, and it just left me wondering what the big deal was- and I couldn't hope to count the times Dead Space thought I saw something spooky that I actually didn't.
Also, a lot of games simply fail to understand the horror value of silence. Being alone in some dark, foreboding place, with only the sounds you make and the occasional faint background noise to keep you from believing you've gone deaf... just as the eyes can do in darkness, sometimes the ears will begin to hear what isn't there in an attempt to fill in the void. And nothing is more frightening than what your imagination thinks might be just around that next corner, lurking, waiting, hungering....
But then the ADHD twitch-reflex crowd would complain that nothing's happening and they haven't been able to scream "BOOM HEADSHOT!" for the last 15 seconds. There's no love for suspense these days, I tells ya.
This.man-man said:
This is the point that should have been in the article. As it was - seemed like he was just going over a list of his past general complaints.
Another interesting point could have been made based on the latest silent hill - fighting with poor chance can be scarier than no chance.
One final bit on horror - prenumbra overture - of the recent humble indie bundle, now open source (minus the assets) this game had some okay maybe really one really cool idea, that you had to hide and that you couldn't look at the monsters, that was cool.