What non-horror game scared you the most?

[Waverider]

If anyone was fortunate enough to play KOTOR II, you remember the first planet: Peragus. I should have hated that level, everyone else seemed to, but the feeling of being alone, underequipped, and not knowing why you're there made fighting an army of droids really damn unnerving. The fact that none of them talked creeped me the hell out. They just wanted to mine organics.

 

[CptOverkill]

Black ops combat training with 8 enemy AI on veteran with 1 friend in nuketown, i was just sitting in 1 of the house bedrooms thinkin "oh god where are they? where are the-*gets stuck by sticky out of nowhere*-oh god NO!" they're like the terminator! but they're more effective, and theres 8 of them!

 

[Deep Rooted]

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It seems you are under the misguided notion that genre is something defined by a supreme being and is a soiled rule, rather than a system by which individuals may categorize media.

The makers of said media are usually the first ones to call their works a certain genre. That doesn't mean they are universally so; If I were to make a movie about talking on the phone (something that horrifies me to the point that I have been undergoing a few years of therapy to help in the situation) and call it a horror, that doesn't mean to you it is indeed a horror movie.

Your wrong. A horror game is a game that is designed specifically to scare people. It has nothing to do with what personally scares you.

 

[Julianking93]

Does Fallout count? I was playing with earphones in the other day and something behind my character was hit by one of my companions and it freaked the fuck out of me.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

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It seems you are under the misguided notion that genre is something defined by a supreme being and is a soiled rule, rather than a system by which individuals may categorize media.

The makers of said media are usually the first ones to call their works a certain genre. That doesn't mean they are universally so; If I were to make a movie about talking on the phone (something that horrifies me to the point that I have been undergoing a few years of therapy to help in the situation) and call it a horror, that doesn't mean to you it is indeed a horror movie.

Then for you, talking on the phone is "scary" there is no "horror" involved in it. You seem to be under the assumption that a genre is based on how the player feels. So, Dead Space wasn't scary, so that means it wasn't a horror game? Then what is it? Action? What if I found it boring and not action filled? Can't be adventure either because there wasn't much adventuring, so then it is...?

Genre is defined by the play style or theme. If it has nothing to do with science is it still sci fi? If it isn't weird or bizarre is it not fantasy? You can't market a game based on how you think people will react to it. In various different online games (Black Hawk Down and Call of Duty 4 are two that come to mind), I've jumped out windows or came around corners right in front of a guy and shot them in the face with a shotgun and it scared the hell out of them, and it has happened to me, too. I doubt you could find any person that classifies either of those games "horror", but people still get scared in them.

 

[Anarchemitis]

The implications behind the realizations of playing Age of Empires II.

 

[Deep Rooted]

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Why? Because they have an innate view into what the movie was designed to do? Therefor, my movie about telephones is a horror, as I made it to be scary.

Actually, that is exactly why. genres are assigned by creators to help organize games so individuals may find games that appeal to them. They do not decide what the game was designed to do so they do not define its genre. So yes, your movie about telephones would be a horror movie, it would just be a bad horror movie.

 

[Deep Rooted]

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Why? Because they have an innate view into what the movie was designed to do? Therefor, my movie about telephones is a horror, as I made it to be scary.

Actually, that is exactly why. genres are assigned by creators to help organize games so individuals may find games that appeal to them. They do not decide what the game was designed to do so they do not define its genre. So yes, your movie about telephones would be a horror movie, it would just be a bad horror movie.

I don't see it that way. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Was nice talking with you - gave me something to do while I wait for my ride to the dentist

Nice talking to you too. Always nice to see someone willing to be gentlemanly on the internet.

 

[TJ rock 101]

I would have to say Minecraft.
Not because of the creepers but the skeletons always get me, just quietly mining away, then i hear the loud sound it makes when they fire their bows and i panic and take tons of damage.
Also coming out into massive cave areas where there are tunnels on the roof and things could just drop down on me, i just turn back at those points.

 

[Dethpixie]

Ocarina of Time.

The Shadow Temple and it's wallmasters (giant, disembodied hands), and the Happy Mask Salesman.

Damn you for reminding me of the hands. Between that and all the posts about the redeads I'm never going to be able to sleep again.

 

[Deep Rooted]

Genres are assigned by creators

Out of personal interest and outside our debate, if one was to create a movie you found hilarious and side-splitingly entertaining, but they designed it to be, and classified it as, a horror movie, would you call it a bad movie, or a bad horror?

I would have to say a bad horror movie, for failing miserably at what it intended to do, but also a good movie, for having redeeming comedic value albeit unintended. So both, I can do that, right?

 

[trooper6]

Genre, like any sort of cultural artifact, is deciding in conversation. It is a combination of the meaning placed by the producers, the details of the thing, and the meaning placed by the receivers. This is also heavily dependant on the cultural context that the thing is produced in and received in. (What is horror in 1840 might be a classic in 2011).

A producer may aim to create a horror game.
A receiver may receive the game as a comedy.

What happened? Well, this is when investigation of details and context has to come in. Was the producer incompetent in their understanding of the cultural codes for the context he or she was producing in--so basically no one receives the game as a horror game? Or was the producer expert at manipulating the codes, but this particular receiver is idiosyncratic? No particular person has ultimate authority, but when I do cultural analysis, I tend to look to see where critical mass is. I see where the disagreements are and what they are over. So if almost everyone thinks the game is horror, and a few people think it is a thriller...there is probably not too much interesting to look into. If half the population think the game is horror, and half think it is the first romantic comedy video game...then something really interesting is happening. Now, when I go to investigate the game, it isn't so interesting what the "right" answer is (because there really isn't one)--but it is interesting to understand where the sides are coming from, why the argue the way they do, what is at stake, and what that means for the video games industry, for the genre boundaries, and for the fans and producers of those genres.

That said, it is also important to note that the horror genre tends to have two subgenres: survival horror (which tends to try to go for "scary"--though it may not be successful at it)...and those horror games where you shoot up lots of zombies...which are classified as horror games by the games industry...but don't tend to go for scary...more...Killing zombies is awesome!! But that is about the peculiarities of the games industry genre titling practices.

But to answer the OT. The Shalebridge Cradle level of Thief: Deadly Shadows was really scary to me! Awesome sound design!

 

[Sarahcidal]

Half Life.
Creepy Fast Zombie bastards.

 

[LorChan]

Metroid has creeped me out once or twice. Prime 3 was my first Metroid game, but I have to say the creepiest thing is that... spider... giraffe... thing from Other M. I don't like Other M, but that's pretty creepy.

 

[ensouls]

I agree with the Minecraft people, but for a different reason, mostly just personal phobias: probably the scariest single moment of any game I've played was when I was running out of my hidey hole to escape some spiders, fell into a pit in shallow water and was suddenly faced with the giant eyeballs of four squid trapped inside this tiny lake. I had entirely forgotten squid EXISTED in Minecraft. Also I have a fear of A)jellyfish and B)enormous faces.

 

[kluts1000]

Metroid Prime1 and 2. While not that scary, The Immersion and Atmosphere you feel in the game is unlike any other(My Opinion). Plus Creatures like Blogg and The Dark Dimmension, Add Creepiness, as well as Intense Fear. (Again, in my Opinion)

 

[mik1]

Being a small child on the N64 Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask scarred me a little. Walking up the stairs while listening to Gannon play that eerie song, those eerie stairs, and the lighting was a little hazy through the corridor making you wonder what the evil man has in store. I did hear my brother fight Gannon in beast form while I was trying to sleep and I knew the fight would be intense.

Also knowing you let everyone die because you forgot to back in time kind of stresses you out as 7-9 year old.

 

[CATB320]

Does Bioshock count? I know it's supposed to be creepy, but it scares me so much more than it's supposed to.

And yeah, same problem. In FNV I'll just be walking around in Freeside, then all of a sudden my companion shoots a thug and the killcam plays. And then I jump about ten feet into the air.
And in Fallout 3, the Mirelurks freaked the shit out of me. They were honestly the only things I was afraid of.

 

[thatguy1]

The Twisted Metal games, noting the first two and Twisted metal black.

There's always somethin' freaky about a non-ironic murderous clown.

 

[Timedraven 117]

All the fallout games half life 2 and minecraft made me say oh shit when ever i hear sssssssssssss.