Other then my previous post: every insect on this planet. And gaming wise: those child ghosts from Prey.
What does it take to scare you?
- Thread starter Luca72
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The Punisher. Fuck all the believes about having a good soul and what not, the sole reason I am a decentish human being is that I don't upset or offend the Punisher in anyway. That dude is just fucking inhuman, he does thing to people, bad things.
Also Sam Winchester can be a scary ************ at times.
Also Sam Winchester can be a scary ************ at times.
Not much I am easly startled (which in turn means its super easy to jump scare me 
) I dont want to even think what could happen if I played a game like Amnesia
I am trying to desentise myself though...
) I dont want to even think what could happen if I played a game like AmnesiaI am trying to desentise myself though...
I'm glad this thread came back up because I thought of something yesterday. A film can scare you by putting characters you care about in danger. That doesn't work automatically in video games because they tend to be about kicking "dangers'" ass. If you can respawn, or backpedal while unloading a shotgun with 20 shells, anything ceases to be scary after long enough.
What works is taking away a players' safety net. Remember Resident Evil: Nemesis? I'd played Resident Evil 1 and 2, so I knew that there's one safety mechanism I can always rely on - loading doors. No matter how bad the threat got, if I could make it to a door, I'm safe. Even in the Remake, with those Crimson Heads, I would just make sure I knew which door I was looking for and sprint.
So Nemesis comes along - big monster, kills a dude in a cutscene, yeah yeah. Then I get to the Police Station, solve some puzzles, and Nemesis jumps through a window. So I promptly drop what I'm doing and head for a loading door. I get into the next room, collect myself for a moment -and Nemesis explodes through the door, the crazy chase music starts going, and he charges at me. I couldn't even think at that point, I was just running through every door I could find. I don't think I even had a plan until I somewhat accidentally stumbled on a Save Room.
Another example is X-Com. I'm used to RPG's where you're supposed to read up on a boss before a fight and level up your characters. Basically, do some studying so you come out on top. But in X-Com your constantly dropped into an absolutely real threat - you can't see the enemy, they're just as dangerous and ruthless as you, you don't know how many there are, and if they kill you, you lose a character forever. Not just random RTS infantry, but characters you have put time and effort into molding. I was more tactical than I've probably ever been in a game because I really didn't want to get caught by surprise, and those moments where you really don't know what to expect are some of the most tense I've ever seen in a game.
So the idea is that you define the dimensions of the puzzle a player must solve, and then you take away the safety mechanisms. In Amnesia I had just begun to suspect the game was all bark - creepy sounds, insanity effects, scripted monsters that don't actually interact with you. But then the game showed its teeth, and it didn't let up until I was done.
What works is taking away a players' safety net. Remember Resident Evil: Nemesis? I'd played Resident Evil 1 and 2, so I knew that there's one safety mechanism I can always rely on - loading doors. No matter how bad the threat got, if I could make it to a door, I'm safe. Even in the Remake, with those Crimson Heads, I would just make sure I knew which door I was looking for and sprint.
So Nemesis comes along - big monster, kills a dude in a cutscene, yeah yeah. Then I get to the Police Station, solve some puzzles, and Nemesis jumps through a window. So I promptly drop what I'm doing and head for a loading door. I get into the next room, collect myself for a moment -and Nemesis explodes through the door, the crazy chase music starts going, and he charges at me. I couldn't even think at that point, I was just running through every door I could find. I don't think I even had a plan until I somewhat accidentally stumbled on a Save Room.
Another example is X-Com. I'm used to RPG's where you're supposed to read up on a boss before a fight and level up your characters. Basically, do some studying so you come out on top. But in X-Com your constantly dropped into an absolutely real threat - you can't see the enemy, they're just as dangerous and ruthless as you, you don't know how many there are, and if they kill you, you lose a character forever. Not just random RTS infantry, but characters you have put time and effort into molding. I was more tactical than I've probably ever been in a game because I really didn't want to get caught by surprise, and those moments where you really don't know what to expect are some of the most tense I've ever seen in a game.
So the idea is that you define the dimensions of the puzzle a player must solve, and then you take away the safety mechanisms. In Amnesia I had just begun to suspect the game was all bark - creepy sounds, insanity effects, scripted monsters that don't actually interact with you. But then the game showed its teeth, and it didn't let up until I was done.
The more freedom my imagination has to fill in the blanks in a horror game, the scarier it is for me. I found Amnesia to be scary myself because for quite a while, I didn't actually see any of the monsters so my mind made it so much worse.
That, and the fact that you are so utterly defenceless in that game. The friend who showed me the game for the first time thought it would be funny not to tell me that there's no point in carrying around that saw. Needless to say he had a good laugh when I came across the first monster.
Oh, and the drums. Every time the drums started up I was conditioned to freak out. They were just cruel. D:
That, and the fact that you are so utterly defenceless in that game. The friend who showed me the game for the first time thought it would be funny not to tell me that there's no point in carrying around that saw. Needless to say he had a good laugh when I came across the first monster.
Oh, and the drums. Every time the drums started up I was conditioned to freak out. They were just cruel. D:
The movie Isolation has been giving me sleep trouble for the past week now.
TL;DR: Man eating cows.
I know that sounds awful, but the movie pulls of fear so well you don't care. Plus the acting/atmosphere/characters are all fantastic. The one haunting image I will never unsee from that movie was the...
I actually went back to the movie to screen cap those pictures, I hope I get sleep tonight.
Dan Reilly, a farmer working in rural Ireland, is propositioned by a local bio-genetics firm to assist in some experiments to make faster growing cattle. The experiments go awry and one of Dan's cows births a calf that is already pregnant with six malformed feti with fangs and exoskeletons. Orla, a local veterinarian, kills the calf and unwittingly allows one of the still living feti to escape during an autopsy. John, the scientist conducting the experiment, discovers that the cells of the feti are replicating far too quickly and that the missing fetal creature has the potential to infect cows as well as humans globally, causing a massive infestation of the bloodthirsty creatures. They are now on a mission to kill the creature before it escapes from the farm.
TL;DR: Man eating cows.
I know that sounds awful, but the movie pulls of fear so well you don't care. Plus the acting/atmosphere/characters are all fantastic. The one haunting image I will never unsee from that movie was the...
Examination of ultrasound of the pregnant cow, then at the end of the movie with a "What a twist!", inside one of the fucking people who is pregnant. It's that fear of sharp teeth and jaws of a predator, and the distortion of the ultrasound so you don't see past the teeth, like a piranha coming up from very murky water to bite you. Which is actually something that happens in the movie. Only you never see what "it" really is.
I actually went back to the movie to screen cap those pictures, I hope I get sleep tonight.
I don't scare easily. But the entire concept of the Reapers in Mass Effect? Yeah, that does it. Think about it. Imagine your friends, your family, maybe even your pets, all turned into mindless killing machines that come after you. And the thing that did it is indestructible by conventional weapons, and cannot be reasoned with.
I know I screamed at my first meeting with Super Mutant Overlords in Broken Steel.
But the only thing I can think of that really scares, bizarrely enough, is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyuNoCUm4Qw
I'm not even kidding, that mod scared the heck out of me!
I'll go against any foe in any game that I have to, but I draw the line at a creepy giant Fluttershy that has a constant look on her face like she plans to kiss me to death.
But the only thing I can think of that really scares, bizarrely enough, is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyuNoCUm4Qw
I'm not even kidding, that mod scared the heck out of me!
I'll go against any foe in any game that I have to, but I draw the line at a creepy giant Fluttershy that has a constant look on her face like she plans to kiss me to death.
Giant squids.
It's an odd one, yes, but I have legit reasons for it. Play through Skies of Arcadia for a while, get the Delphinus, and then cruise around for a while until you see this giant dark thing coasting about. It's bigger than the airship, and it's a massive uncomprehending predatory animal. It's a squid, and if you let it creep up on you, it makes a surprisingly freaky noise that - along with the ping of the radar - rather shocked me one day.
Now...realize that real giant squids are about as big to you, the hapless swimming human. And if you are anywhere near one, that means you are dead, because you're in their habitat and out of your depth...and they can move so fast down there while you flail around trying to get away. Their mortal enemies are whales, whom they can win and lose fights with at varying degrees, so what chance does a human have?
I assume that makes my case understood.
It's an odd one, yes, but I have legit reasons for it. Play through Skies of Arcadia for a while, get the Delphinus, and then cruise around for a while until you see this giant dark thing coasting about. It's bigger than the airship, and it's a massive uncomprehending predatory animal. It's a squid, and if you let it creep up on you, it makes a surprisingly freaky noise that - along with the ping of the radar - rather shocked me one day.
Now...realize that real giant squids are about as big to you, the hapless swimming human. And if you are anywhere near one, that means you are dead, because you're in their habitat and out of your depth...and they can move so fast down there while you flail around trying to get away. Their mortal enemies are whales, whom they can win and lose fights with at varying degrees, so what chance does a human have?
I assume that makes my case understood.
It's all about the atmosphere. There doesn't need to actually be anything scary in order for you to scare yourself. I remember playing "Titanic: Adventure out of time" back in 1997. That game had some good ominous music, and there were times when walking the halls in that game that I was sure something was fallowing me. The game never actually did anything scary, it just was for some ill-definable reason. I was talking to my mom about it the other day, and she said she remembered the same thing when she was playing the game, so it isn't just me either.
The atmosphere is also the reason Amnesia was so good. It wasn't just the monsters, it was the fear that a monster might be just behind you, but you don't want to turn around and look because they might rip your face off. I loved that game.
The atmosphere is also the reason Amnesia was so good. It wasn't just the monsters, it was the fear that a monster might be just behind you, but you don't want to turn around and look because they might rip your face off. I loved that game.
Wait, your mom played games too? That must have been pretty cool, to have a parent who was informed about that sort of thing.superdark said:
Anything that has to do with the piercing of skin, abusing the blood veins, or f***ing up someones legs. I just can't bare to see that and I always cringe at the sight of such things.
Well, I must say I am a Big fan of Horror Videogames and I have some ideas why some games are very effective:
-The element of the unknown.
The Amnesia use this element very well. You don't know nothing about the monster that chasing you or even it is a monster in the game at all.
The game tries to "built" the right atmosphere and give you some clues of wha possible danger have to face [by reading the letters and having your flashbacks].
Then, even you finally meet the "monster", you can't see it cause your insanity prevent you to see it clearly.
For the Amnesia this method was very effective.
Another example is from the PC Adventure game "Scratches". Same formula: You don't know the danger you have to face, the atmosphere the game built and the small parts of the story you learn while you make a progress in the game.
In other words, this method, the "Fear for the Unknown", is one of the best methods you make you break inside you.
-The shocking element of a story.
Another important element for a Horror game. The story of the game it have to tell.
I must admit, I didn't liked so much the story of Amnesia, but because it have the element of the unknown handled it right, I enjoyed the game.
There are some strong examples I can tell, but I will tell two games to describe to different ways of story telling:
Silent Hill 2 and Saya no Uta.
Silent Hill 2 use very effectivly many different elements built up a mystery story inside the game like the dead wife of the our hero, the mysterious Blond girl, the Pyramid Head, the whole town itself etc, only for one purpouse: To learn the truth.
Many gaves follow this formula, but Silent Hill 2 done a very damn good job to make the this reveal as shocking as possible.
Saya no Uta....I will tell this right now. It is a Hentai game. A visual novel that tell a story with some erotic scenes on it. BUT with said, this game have a very, VERY shocking and disturbing story to tell. I really believe The recent games like Silent Hill 5 and Resident Evil 5 must learn a lesson and follow the steps of Saya no Uta to become again horror games. AND I AM NOT JOKING.
This visual novel have very strong writing and cause of that this games work really well.
As I said before in other threads, a game doesn't need to have something scary or a monster to scare you to death for you to feel "Horror". I am honestly disappointing that most people think like that.
To say the truth, many well known games, movies etc. use monsters, creepy places etc. to scare the people. And I respect that, BUT is doesn't mean because you had seen/played these movies/games many times, make more "tough" from Horror media.
Myself I played a lot of Horror games and do you know what makes a good Horror game?
If the game make you care about the protagonist of the story
If a game make you to care about the hero or other peoples if something bad happen to them, THAT IS REAL HORROR!!!!!!!!!!!!! And when I mean to care, I don't mean like in Dead Space or Resident Evil 5 b*llshit. You must be afraid the fact that maybe this character will die because you learn about this character what kind of people he is, what kind of motives he got etc...
This Kind of Horror I like the most inside a game.
THAT why I love Saya No Uta!!!!
And that some things I know for Horror games I enjoy the most.
I hope you I helped.
-The element of the unknown.
The Amnesia use this element very well. You don't know nothing about the monster that chasing you or even it is a monster in the game at all.
The game tries to "built" the right atmosphere and give you some clues of wha possible danger have to face [by reading the letters and having your flashbacks].
Then, even you finally meet the "monster", you can't see it cause your insanity prevent you to see it clearly.
For the Amnesia this method was very effective.
Another example is from the PC Adventure game "Scratches". Same formula: You don't know the danger you have to face, the atmosphere the game built and the small parts of the story you learn while you make a progress in the game.
In other words, this method, the "Fear for the Unknown", is one of the best methods you make you break inside you.
-The shocking element of a story.
Another important element for a Horror game. The story of the game it have to tell.
I must admit, I didn't liked so much the story of Amnesia, but because it have the element of the unknown handled it right, I enjoyed the game.
There are some strong examples I can tell, but I will tell two games to describe to different ways of story telling:
Silent Hill 2 and Saya no Uta.
Silent Hill 2 use very effectivly many different elements built up a mystery story inside the game like the dead wife of the our hero, the mysterious Blond girl, the Pyramid Head, the whole town itself etc, only for one purpouse: To learn the truth.
Many gaves follow this formula, but Silent Hill 2 done a very damn good job to make the this reveal as shocking as possible.
Saya no Uta....I will tell this right now. It is a Hentai game. A visual novel that tell a story with some erotic scenes on it. BUT with said, this game have a very, VERY shocking and disturbing story to tell. I really believe The recent games like Silent Hill 5 and Resident Evil 5 must learn a lesson and follow the steps of Saya no Uta to become again horror games. AND I AM NOT JOKING.
This visual novel have very strong writing and cause of that this games work really well.
As I said before in other threads, a game doesn't need to have something scary or a monster to scare you to death for you to feel "Horror". I am honestly disappointing that most people think like that.
To say the truth, many well known games, movies etc. use monsters, creepy places etc. to scare the people. And I respect that, BUT is doesn't mean because you had seen/played these movies/games many times, make more "tough" from Horror media.
Myself I played a lot of Horror games and do you know what makes a good Horror game?
If the game make you care about the protagonist of the story
If a game make you to care about the hero or other peoples if something bad happen to them, THAT IS REAL HORROR!!!!!!!!!!!!! And when I mean to care, I don't mean like in Dead Space or Resident Evil 5 b*llshit. You must be afraid the fact that maybe this character will die because you learn about this character what kind of people he is, what kind of motives he got etc...
This Kind of Horror I like the most inside a game.
THAT why I love Saya No Uta!!!!
And that some things I know for Horror games I enjoy the most.
I hope you I helped.
Amnesia scared the crap out of me. I absolutely love it. The fact that you can't fight back and are constantly roaming around in a dark corridors also adds to the atmosphere.
Doom 3 and Dead Space never have freaked me out. Sure I've jumped in surprise when something appears suddenly, but lets be honest. A little kid in a pink bunny suit can pull that off if they time it right. Spawn surprises are just cheap tricks to me.
Doom 3 and Dead Space never have freaked me out. Sure I've jumped in surprise when something appears suddenly, but lets be honest. A little kid in a pink bunny suit can pull that off if they time it right. Spawn surprises are just cheap tricks to me.