First of all, this was a great article, I feel exactly like that about the so-called "scary" games. That said, let's begin:
But I have to ask, have you stopped playing there, or have you persisted? Because the boat ride that comes next, and the ensuing fight against Father Dagon, certainly bring some of that mood back.
And then, of course, there's the moment when you are all alone, trying to cross a narrow stone passage in a huge cavern, where you can't see the bottom, the ceiling or even the end of the bridge you are on, and you can even SEE the wind sweeping the passage... And then
Other scary moments in games:
Blair Witch 1: The game had its moments, but the part where
Silent Hill: The entire game was one big mindfuck, and I just loved the "cat-in-the-locker" moment, it was such a brilliant twist on an old horror cliche... But when I entered the Clock Tower in the school,
that was when the game really started mindf***ing me. The telephone bit was also frightening.
And, while not exactly scary, the game Sanitarium had some very disturbing moments, and I think it's worth mentioning here.
There are more I can't remember right now. But just to wrap this post up, I'd like to say F.E.A.R. was a big disappointment to me in the scare department. I loved the game for its action, but it never came close to scarying me. And I had such high hopes that it would...
Well, I kinda agree with you there, in that the attack on Marsh Refinery ruined the "alone and helpless" feeling that had been building up so nicely up to that point.Halceon said:There is one glaring problem with CoCCotE - they have done this great work to bring about the sense of helplessness, fear and dread. Then you get your first shotgun and get involved in a full-on military assault. Fear? What fear?.Mufujumon said:All I can think of is Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (for those unfortunate enough to be unaware of this game, http://www.callofcthulhu.com/home.html) It contains a mechanic with which to measure the sanity of your character. As your character witnesses "unsettling" sights, your sanity is deducted from an invisible meter. The clearest result of this is that your character will begin to hallucinate, hear voices, lose motor functions, or simply put his gun to his head (assuming you make it far enough to receive a weapon. Don't count on it). It sets up an atmosphere that places you deeply in the characters mind, to the point of seeing through his traumatized eyes.
But I have to ask, have you stopped playing there, or have you persisted? Because the boat ride that comes next, and the ensuing fight against Father Dagon, certainly bring some of that mood back.
And then, of course, there's the moment when you are all alone, trying to cross a narrow stone passage in a huge cavern, where you can't see the bottom, the ceiling or even the end of the bridge you are on, and you can even SEE the wind sweeping the passage... And then
out of the depths below, comes that enormous Flying Polyp, parts of it shifting out of reality and back again, and, although it has no eyes that you can recognize, you *know* it's looking directly at you.
The fight that follows is pretty frantic, but nothing matches the dread I felt when I found myself in that desolate surrounding and saw that *thing* emerge. My back crawls just remembering it. And you know the funny part? I can't even remember *how* I ended up in that cave...
EDIT: I looked up this scene in Youtube, and what do you know... I had forgotten there were two of the monsters, as well as the fact that they HAD eyes and didn't "flicker" so much. Guess I was thinking about the "real" Flying Polyps from Shadow Out of Time...
The fight that follows is pretty frantic, but nothing matches the dread I felt when I found myself in that desolate surrounding and saw that *thing* emerge. My back crawls just remembering it. And you know the funny part? I can't even remember *how* I ended up in that cave...
EDIT: I looked up this scene in Youtube, and what do you know... I had forgotten there were two of the monsters, as well as the fact that they HAD eyes and didn't "flicker" so much. Guess I was thinking about the "real" Flying Polyps from Shadow Out of Time...
Other scary moments in games:
Blair Witch 1: The game had its moments, but the part where
I had to mess with a voice recording to make it audible, only to hear my own voice sounding extremely terrified and asking for help, when I didn't remember ever saying those things... that was disturbing.
Silent Hill: The entire game was one big mindfuck, and I just loved the "cat-in-the-locker" moment, it was such a brilliant twist on an old horror cliche... But when I entered the Clock Tower in the school,
crossed a small corridor and came out a different door to the same patio I had just left, only this time with a strange symbol painted on the floor...
And, while not exactly scary, the game Sanitarium had some very disturbing moments, and I think it's worth mentioning here.
There are more I can't remember right now. But just to wrap this post up, I'd like to say F.E.A.R. was a big disappointment to me in the scare department. I loved the game for its action, but it never came close to scarying me. And I had such high hopes that it would...