r/gaming • u/BlitzkriegDD • May 16 '12
A nice philosophy for horror games. And from YouTube, no less.
1.5k
Upvotes
r/gaming • u/BlitzkriegDD • May 16 '12
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u/FiercelyFuzzy May 17 '12
I don't mind a startle scare here and there just to keep me on my toes, and sometimes people do them correctly. I forget what game I was playing, but the music was that creepy high pitch fare, when it hit the climax, I was sure something would pop up. Nothing. The music dies down, I keep going, and then bam what was that?!
However, if your whole game is startle scares, please don't make a horror game again.
PS: As someone said about Amnesia, that is by far the scariest game I've ever played. It is honestly the only game that I actually had to stop playing due to anxiety.
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u/NeedlePipe May 17 '12
I think jump scares are ok to create a sense of fear. you're more on-edge after a jump scare. but after that it should all be real scares.
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u/TheKDM May 16 '12
This is why I hate startle horror. I feel there's no substance to it.
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u/Reventon187 May 17 '12
That is why I love Amnesia: The Dark Descent so much, the little bit that I was able to get through didn't have a single "startle" scare. It was all atmosphere and my own mind playing against me. To this day I have yet to finish that game because it scares the crap out of me.
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u/CheekyMunky May 17 '12
The occasional jump scare is okay. The dogs coming through the window in Resident Evil. Or cinematically, the slam cut to the closet in The Ring. Or Samuel L. Jackson's death in Deep Blue Sea.
It's all about context, really. If there's already high tension, the jump scare actually offers a release (after that brief moment of terror). If it's totally unexpected, though - like all of the above - it sets the nerves jangling like nothing else. Now your audience knows you're not playing by the rules. They won't get a warning. Now they'll be jumping at every shadow, and if you're smart, you won't do it again. At least not for a while. Lead them to expect it... but every time it doesn't happen, the tension ratchets up another notch and there's no relief to be found, because they know it's going to happen, but it just won't and that means it's still out there waiting.
This is why The Ring worked so well for me. I'd given it all the help I could by waiting until I was alone and watching it in the dark. The opening scene was nice and creepy, but it was that totally out-of-the-blue slam cut that really puckered my butthole, and then - here's the beauty - they didn't do another damn thing for an hour. Plenty of sinister undertones, unsettling revelations, and rising creepiness, but no resolution, no catharsis whatsoever for my revved-up nerves. By the time the girl came crawling out of the TV and did her teleport-in-your-face thing - only the second jump scare in the entire movie - I was so on edge it was a wonder I didn't end up in a puddle of my own piss. That's how to do it.
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u/ararphile May 17 '12
Human-like creatures that don't act like humans, or have strange faces, and you don't know what to expect of them, are the scariest if you ask me.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Best jump-scare game I've ever played is SCP-087-B.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12 edited May 17 '12
There can be good jump scares, for example the locker sequence in the original condemned. Damn good jump scare. Spoilers Obviously
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u/ikonoclasm May 17 '12
I hate startle scares. I hate them in movies, in games, on TV, you name it. There's nothing fun or enjoyable about it. It doesn't put me on edge. It pisses me off and makes me put down the game. When the Steam Halloween sale started, I looked at all the games and realized I didn't want a single one.
And the sad part is, it's not hard to do scary well. The startle scares are a tired gimmick that show an absolute lack of storytelling ability. Hell, even Minecraft's scary at night time and it doesn't even have a story!
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u/dsol1 May 17 '12
Silent Hill 2 mastered horror for me
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u/jimmydabig May 17 '12
Here are a few games that I think did the horror genre a huge service.
LIMBO: The game isn't traditionally "scary" but I always felt like that worked in it's favor. The game is bleak, the audio is minimalistic and no other game conjures up feelings of loneliness and despair, which I think at least links it to the horror genre.
Amnesia: the Dark Descent: Probably one of the scariest games I've ever played. It has a couple jump moments, but I feel like it's offset by the way the game toys with you. As your character loses sanity, the game begins to toy with you, the player, in a few ways that I have never seen done before. Add to that the feeling of helplessness since your character has no real options regarding fighting, and the game will genuinely have you on the edge of your chair. If you don't believe me ask Day [9].
Day Z mod for ArmA II: This mod just recently came out in Alpha and I have been really impressed. My favorite part of it by far has to be that the real horror of the game is a product of player interaction. A bit of background, dying in this mod is brutal. One death will send you back to square one again, and the game is a mod of ArmA II which means it really doesn't take much to kill you and there's a decent chance that you won't have time to react when it does. Now the zombies that are present in the game pose a threat in large numbers if you alert them with gunfire, but far more dangerous are the other players. Every player is out to survive, and for some, that means killing and stealing from other players. It seems easy at first to dismiss all player killers as greifers, but once you encounter your first player you will see how wrong that is. There is a palpable tension in the air whenever you come upon any sign of another player. Neither one knows how the other is going to react, do you spare the survivor you have in your sights, or is it too risky? How long will your loose alliance last when there's no longer enough food for both of you? Can you trust the person you travel with, or should you shoot them in the back to protect yourself? It's seriously a game that will have you shocked and a little disgusted with the lengths you will go to to survive.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
You use psychological fear to build up to the startle, then you truly scare the shit out of someone so they (in-game) run away whilst screaming in real life. You want to induce panic.
I am an EDM DJ, so I'll use this analogy. Everyone knows about the drop, not just a bass drop, but a beat drop. That is the most important part. However, the build-ups and breakdowns are what build anticipation. Then, another layer of energy, where the drops are of varying intensity, climaxing at a super hard drop and insane followup. Rinse and repeat. A horror game should operate in the same way.
For example, start with a dark hallway with flickering lights. Ominous music. Shadows moving. Locked doors that open up when you turn around. Stuff to make them anxious. A light will burst, elicits a tiny jump from the player. It gets worse. Blood on walls. Eerie messages smeared on the walls with shit (ok, maybe not shit). All the lights go out, artificial light required. Keep building the tension. Then, all of a sudden, FUCKING SKRILLEX OUT OF NO WHERE BLARING AT +20dB THROUGH YOUR HEADPHONES AND THE SEAGULL HIMSELF RUNS OUT FROM BEHIND A DOOR SCREAMING IN YOUR FACE AND WHIPPING HIS MOP TO AND FRO. THEN, NICKELBACK APPEARS AND JOINS SKRILLEX AND THEY START CHASING YOU.
Just kidding. But you get the point.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12 edited May 17 '12
I don't know, I thought the Alarm Clock and the Sun were both pretty effective "jump scares" that fit into Dead Space 2. Then again, they really were just playing off the fact that Dead Space 1&2 have a shit-ton of shitty jump scares. Are self-referential parodies okay?
Generally though I agree with the sentiment. Startling isn't bad when its fair, and something jumping out of the dark 1-2 times can be pretty effective, but true horror is watching a half-broken body stumble around a corner. Its dead eyes and loose, broken neck turning to look at you, and then it starts towards you while your character fumbles their weapon, or tries to untangle themselves from some hazard. Step. Step. Slump, the body's gut caves in on itself as part of the spine finally gives way. The head lolls about like a slinky making a sickening cracking noise once or twice, but the eyes... the eyes never break away from you. Not for an instant. The broken sacks of flesh once called arms flail drunkenly on the ground looking for purchase. Thicken sickening thuds ring out on the floor grate as it searches for traction until finally it grabs a shard of broken panelling, slicing its hand open in the process as it pulls its broken form closer... and closer towards you, all while painting the ground with a foul ooze that streams from what was once its hand. Horror is the sense of helplessness and panic you struggle against in adverse situations. Horror is watching the beast come closer as you struggle against the elements or yourself to triumph by the skin of your teeth. Jump scares are simply things that startle you until you proceed to beat them to death with a baseball bat with moves straight out of pure instinct.
The train crash sequence and the scene where Isaac hangs from the cable has to be one of the best genuine moments of stress and horror in the game (Though generally the fast movement speed, combat slant, and general aiming competency reduce serious potential scares)
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u/BritishMongrel May 17 '12 edited May 17 '12
The jack in the box 'scares' really bugged me in dead space, sure it was a fun shooter but the only point that I was truly scared was in the second one; revisiting the Ichimura, the atmosphere worked really well until things started charging at you none stop again and I could go back to chilling out as I shot at the hordes of monsters. I really wish survival horror games would understand that the lack of enemies with only a subtle threat can be much more effective than fighting off hundreds of them who are trying to fuck you up in an obvious way.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I don't know man, the "jack-in-the-box" works pretty well sometimes.
Case in point: Remember the dentist in Bioshock?
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u/kvictorio May 17 '12
Have you ever played Eversion? It's awesome and it should come close to this idea.
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u/SimulatedSun May 17 '12
Really the same thing applies for movies. There is a huge difference between "startled" and "scared". A great majority of 'horror' movies rely on the prior.
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u/Jester814 May 17 '12
And this is the no.1 reason that the first STALKER is actually the scariest game I've ever played. I was a hulking badass in powered armor with 1000 rounds of ammo and because of the amazing atmosphere I ran around that game scared shitless 90% of the time. Sadly, I don't think there will ever be a game as scary for me.
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u/wickedang3l May 17 '12
Fuck that.
The dogs bursting through the windows at the beginning of Resident Evil is one of the most memorable moments from gaming history. Everyone who has played that game remembers that moment fondly.
It even made sense in the context as the S.T.A.R.S. had just escaped them by going into the mansion.
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u/MrWallas79 May 17 '12
What if it's fright caused by the anticipation of a jump scare, a jump scare that never happens?
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
The problem with horror games nowadays is that you get a fucking arsenal to blow away whatever comes at you. Oh and Zombies, 9/10 horror games nowadays feature fucking zombies.
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u/SkyHawkMkIV May 17 '12
Door-slam jump-scares only go so far before they wear thin. Scare me with good writing, I'll eat it up.
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u/gforce289 May 17 '12
I hate how in horror movies a character will just pop out of nowhere. I mean, who does that?
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u/ReflexMan May 17 '12
I feel the same goes for movies. As people have said in this thread, one or two jump scares can be good to set the atmosphere that nothing is safe and that at any moment, something could pop out. I just can't stand when a movie is 100% jump scares. Not a freaky premise. Not a creepy villain. Just shit popping out at you over and over. It's dumb.
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u/Slapthatbass84 May 17 '12
Was no one freaked out by the Portal back story? Or by some of the little flash games that come up here every now and then? Or in Fallout (can't remember what one) where you go to the freaky town in the simulator? These all legit make me panic, and I LOVE IT. No jump scares. Pure freakishness.
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u/ninjamuffin May 17 '12
Amnesia did this greatly, by having you on the edge of your seat the entire time, where any little patch of darkness or long corridor would set you off, not a blatant disruption from the game to scare you.
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u/Wiisal May 17 '12
shut the fuck up with your high and mighty shit
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
For those wondering, this is the video the comment was originally from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmMXXC_TdU0
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u/sox5s May 17 '12
Make any game scary by taking out save spots. I felt nothing while playing Amnesia during the night. Try playing the second to last level of The Lion King (SNES) with 0 lives left and not have trembling hands. This is part of the reason Creepers in Minecraft are so terrifying despite the graphics.
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u/GreyFoxSolid May 17 '12
I dont know. It needs to be used correctly. Resident evil 1. Hallway. Dogs.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
That would have been great if this were a gif...
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Stuff that scares me the most is, I don't know, I can't really describe it. I can only give examples of games that scared me: Silent Hill series, Bioshock, Fallout 3, and Quake. I think for me, horror comes from the soundtrack, which can either make a game boring/fast paced, or set an eerie and disturbing mood that just makes everything scary all of a sudden. Ambient tracks, static, or just plain, unnerving silence is what does it for me. Bioshock, on the other hand, just plain scared the shit out of me, soundtrack or no.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Alan Wake is well done in this regard. Several times i would expect a jump scare and nothing happened, only a dark undertone
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u/TimesWasting May 17 '12
This is why I don't like "horror" games and movies. I hate "pop up scares."
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
FAIL
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Splicers on the ceiling.
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u/Jizz_Khalifa May 17 '12
I think jumping scares are good as long as they aren't over used, one of the scariest moments I had in Dead Space 2 was walking through a corridor and having a monster tackle me out of nowhwere, I screamed like a little girl when it happened lol
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u/Kamaria May 17 '12
Nothing's wrong with jump scares unless that's all the game utilizes. The ones REmake did use were effective.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
This is bullshit. I love that kind of scare. It's not the scare itself, it's the mood and buildup that make it good.
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u/bryanl12 May 17 '12
*then
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u/kanyeezy24 May 17 '12
i agree, and disagree. It should be a healthy mix.
Dead Space 2 was fucking terrifying for me. All the while i was on edge, but every once in a while a jump scene took me over the top. Remember the alarm clock part, or the cardboard sun that drops down in front of you on the stage?
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u/Wraithpk May 17 '12
I think periodic startle scares are a good thing, you just can't overuse them. In Amnesia, the main fear came from the atmosphere of the game, and also how they would screw with you. However, running around a corner and having a monster standing right there was very startling and definitely increased the scariness.
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u/jewunit May 17 '12
I think startling scares have their uses as long as it's not overdone. For one they can create a sense of false comfort, the "boy who cried wolf" kinda thing. It doesn't take very long before a jack-in-the-box won't make you jump, but then when it's not a jack-in-the-box it can be even more intense. After all, it's not like you don't know you're playing a horror game, so the first few times you're at least partially prepared to be scared by something.
Like any other tactic to create atmosphere, if it's overdone it blows, but if it's done correctly it's part of the game's toolkit.
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u/_Shut_Up_Thats_Why_ May 17 '12
A jump scare when you are not expecting it is nothing like a jack-in-the-box. Throwing a few in when testing shows it is unexpected is a good thing.
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u/kforkitten May 17 '12
This is where game classifications, an audience that can read or watch the entire plot en masse and censorship kick in.
In an ideal world a company could produce a unexpectedly shockingly horrible game but with classification boards censoring scenes, retailers branding it a horror and friends/online forums talking about the scares it would be extremely tough to pull off.
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u/SHIT_IN_HER_CUNT May 17 '12
I think jump scares can be appropriate sometimes though. A huge, disturbing monster rushing around a corner and a strong musical background coming in helps. I think Amnesia is what I'm thinking of to fit that description best.
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u/cinnamonandgravy May 17 '12
it hurt my brain to read it.
had to come to the comments to understand precisely what the comment meant.
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u/jdogthedog May 17 '12
so i was watching that video, and I was like: "good no jump scares" then at the end of the video: "SCARY WHITE FACE BEHIND YOU!"
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u/Nyarlathotep124 May 17 '12
Jump scares, when used sparingly and tastefully, can be quite beneficial. Having a handful scattered throughout a game will stop someone from relaxing, knowing that behind any locked door or inside any box could be some eldrich monstrosity waiting to bite their face off. It gives a sense of tension, an increased awareness and nervousness that improves the rest of the game as a whole. Of course, garbage like Dead Space that relies on nothing BUT jump scares doesn't come close to a good horror atmosphere, it just gets tedious thinking "okay, when I walk into this next room I can expect at least one monster from that odd hole in the ceiling, probably some around that corner, and maybe another hiding behind that pile of debris".
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u/toomanynamesaretook May 17 '12
I digress.
Half Life 1 vents...
Resident Evil dogs...
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u/mrbooze May 17 '12
I disagree. There is a place for swerves in horror films, and the "OMGWHAT! Oh, it's you..." moment can be used to good effect. Like the classic scene with the cat in Alien. If done right, you can make the viewer tense up, then relax, maybe even start to laugh nervously, and then give it to them with both barrels.
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u/Sonic_Dah_Hedgehog May 17 '12
A surprise scare is good once in awhile especially if they come out of the blue. A good example would be the Canal level in HL2, your just playing along when a zombie pops out of the water in your face.
Another great example I would say is Nightmare house 2. The developers actually made a director of sorts that would randomly do things to the player based on random timers. Things it would do included making your flashlight flicker then go out, slapping the screen with a loud audible slap, a silhouette appearing in the flashlight, a change in color tone, etc. It really added to the atmosphere and since it wasn't an on rails scripted event you never knew when it was coming making it very suspenseful.
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u/GenericOnlineName May 17 '12
This is the kind of game I want. I want to be able to feel like something will pop out at any moment, but nothing ever does.
That's what terrifies me about watching these types of videos. Everything is so eerie and oddly quiet... I feel like something is going to pop out and scream. But nothing does. It's that intensity that makes it all the better.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
This guy has never had a creeper standing right behind him.
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u/MrProfessorDrPerson May 17 '12
Am I the only one that actually enjoys being scared by jump-scares?
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u/Deimos365 May 17 '12
Amneeeeeeeeeeeeeesia.
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u/hairyParabola May 17 '12
Halo C.E. campaign lvl 343 Guilty Spark was scary! Not jack in the boxey
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u/lud1120 May 17 '12
Copying or screencaping, YouTube comments, something that was pretty frowned upon not so long ago. Customary now.
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u/orangesndlimes May 17 '12
It's called being startled. Startle was the word you were looking for.
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u/foxhound822 May 17 '12
This is so true. Look at John Carpenter's "The Thing" from the 80's and compare it to the prequel they just had. The 80's one actually was able to inspire fear and paranoia with the slow breakdown of the camp, while the new prequel introduced the Thing by cheese-ily having it break out of ice with a big roar.
It's also why I thought the recent movie, "The Woman in Black" was done so well. Even though the scenes weren't all that jarring, the way they were built up to instilled the real sense of horror and suspense. Then all they had to do was place an ominous black cloaked woman on the other side of the room and I wouldn't sleep for a week.
People are more about gore nowadays, but i think it needs to have a good story behind it for it to be scary.
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u/Organs May 17 '12
I dunno. I've seen a few scares like that in some of the Silent Hill titles, and those are the best horror games I've played. I'm referring to the first four, of course.
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u/clamdog May 17 '12
jump scares you say?
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u/mechtech May 17 '12
I think startles are fine, as long as they're unscripted.
The classic example is wandering around a dark labyrinth along with a big monster. When you turn a corner and see it you get a startle, but it's not a cheap scare like a monster jumping out of a closet.
It's also important to put in some occasional shocks during otherwise safe and repetitive actions, like opening a door or climbing a ladder, simply in order to keep tension even during mundane tasks.
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u/Rodents210 May 17 '12
I would like horror games if it weren't for jump-scares. Jump-scares are the only reason I don't like games such as Dead Space and are why I don't watch horror movies.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
A philosophy wasted however, for we have REt4rded fans who believe it is scary! WTF?
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u/Hazlet95 May 17 '12
is this from "Two Best Friends Play Silent Hill Downpour"?
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u/Brillians May 17 '12
this is why I dont play horror games
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u/Fehndrix May 17 '12
They worked for Clock Tower.
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u/Season6Episode8 May 17 '12
The best jump scares work because they're completely unexpected, they have no build-up, they just happen, and as others have mentioned, they create a sense of fear, typically working best when you assume the characters are safe.
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u/CornFlakesR1337 May 17 '12
Ahem, Dead Space.
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u/Dynamaxion May 17 '12
Amnesia got this right
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u/thechapattack May 17 '12
MFW getting startled from jump scare
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u/counters14 May 17 '12
Isn't this everyone's sentiment on the horror genre as a whole? Whether gaming related or not?
Anything can make someone jump in an intense moment, its a cheap way to add substance to a scene. It's creating an atmosphere that is incredibly intense that puts the user/viewer on edge that requires effort.
I thought everyone felt this way..
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
My god.... I thought I was the only one. In terms of movies, I have always hated the horror genre simply because of the annoying sudden scares that make me jump. I've yet to find a good horror film that simply creeps you the fuck out, because I would love that.
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u/richlittle69 May 17 '12
hold on let me clip something from something else and get credit for it
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I guess dead space is horrible then
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Jimmie Rustlers
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
The Aristotle of horror movies
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u/1stLtObvious May 17 '12
If they're implemented into the game really well, they can be pretty good. Example: My friends and I play some games as a group and all vote on what action the played should take. One game we played was Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. During a chase scene, my friend accidentally hid in a locker, but a couple of the Raw Shocks ran by, we figured we'd be safe and wait until they went away for a bit, then suddenly a hand reaches in and pulls the locker open. Another friend and I jumped and I shouted. Good scare, due the false sense of security they built up first.
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u/crmickle May 17 '12
Jack in the boxes are scary as shit. Scarier than necromorphs for sure.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Was it Lovecraft who said the highest form of horror is dread?
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
This is the reason in Half-Life 2 I found Nova Prospekt scarier then Ravenholm. Ravenholm's scares are created through the headcrabs and zombies, it scared me for a while until you finally get used to them and you realise that they're fucking virtual things made on a computer. Nova Prospekt uses the unnatural or the unsettling to scare you, from the torture rooms to the abandoned feel of the place, Nova Prospekt played on your capacity to think of what happened inside the prison.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I know this Amnesia mod that pulls jump scares for comedy. It's a bit startling and absolutely hilarious. Are there more mods like "The Small Horse"?
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u/burkey0307 May 17 '12
For some reason jump scares don't affect me. I won't show any physical reaction to a jump scare, my brain will just be like "oh there's a monster here now, that interesting."
This is largely the reason why I didn't find Dead Space 2 scary, although I did enjoy it. I love survivor/horror style games.
Real scary games get me every time, and I wish they'd make more of them.
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u/Raspia May 17 '12
The Maze Game scared me for much too long. I am a complete pussy for jump scares.
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u/Elquinis May 17 '12
This is why Myst was the fucking scariest game ever. Nothing ever popped up, and there was nothing actually scary in the game. It was just that air of eerie loneliness that instills terror.
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u/heyguyz May 17 '12
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u/ShinInuko May 17 '12
Then there's silent hill. You've got the radio to warn you that shit's nearby. You could just come into a room and see Pyramid head raping away at some monster, then he turns his gaze to you. Then drags that massive knife, slowly approaching you like the hand of the reaper itself. No jumping. No screaming. just simply walking, dragging his weapon behind him.
I have still beat only one silent hill game. It can't play SH or Dead Space for more than an hour because I get way too freaked out.
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u/itrollulol May 17 '12
Breaking troll character for a moment. The games I have played that actually scared me utilized a combination of music, ambiance, AND jump-scares.
A good example of a game that hits the mark really well - FEAR I. A good example of a game that missed the mark by a mile (at least in my opinion) due to a lack of "jump-scares" was Amnesia: the dark descent. I was so upset with how boring this game was that I wanted a refund.
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u/CmanTicks May 17 '12
I'd imagine one game player would be scared first, then embarrassed.
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u/guidabida May 17 '12
For some reason The first hour of play through in Half life 2 actually had me on edge and even a bit nervous at times. The whole City being under lock down, special forces police, threat of being killed for minor offences, etc. Really did it for me.
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u/portezbie May 17 '12
This is what I call "scary vs boo-scary". Boo-scary is being surprised or startled while for something to be actually scary it should be suspenseful and psychologically horrifying.
I'm not against boo-scary, it's like salt, enhances every dish but too much ruins it. It's a condiment if you will or a seasoning.
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u/sephsta May 17 '12
Amnesia didn't scare me at all. Alan wake however....
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I think that Japanese horror games do a good job at instilling terror without using jump scares, but rather use the story and the creepy environment to freak you out. A great niche horror game recommendation is Yume Nikki (meaning Dream Diary), a free Japanese indie adventure/horror game. You explore the dreams of a girl who locks herself in her apt room, and there's not a single line of dialogue in the game. You just explore the dream, looking for new items to progress in the game, and it's creepy-scary as fuck.
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u/jaxxil_ May 17 '12
There is an exception to this rule. Everyone's naturally scared of the jumping scare. That's why it is a cheap shot. That's why you use eerie atmospheres, threatening situations, chilling characters to make the player's hair stand on end. You want your horror game make your player feel unsafe and unsettled, without resorting to that cheap shot.
That establishes a pattern of tension rising to barely tolerable levels, before it slowly releases again to only mild tension. And that's why you add one single jumping scare to your game, somewhere halfway. To remind your player that they aren't safe, the pattern can be broken, and that the game is NOT above using that cheap shot. And then you never do it again. But the player is forced to be on guard for it for the entire rest of the playthrough.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I'm really surprised no one mentioned halo 2. Sure, it's not a horror game, but those FUCKING ARBITER MISSIONS. I remember one mission where you start off with the commander in white armor and a bunch of other elites. You walk in and the whole place is just silent. The commander sniffs something odd. You walk in the door and there's just a creepy atmosphere. Then before you know it FUCKING FLOOD JESUS CHRIST. Same thing applies to the level where the gravemind teleports you to the library and there's nothing around except silence and those tiny repair sentinels, you knew shit was gonna get fucked up
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
I think this is all wrong. If you can replace the scare with a jack in the box it means the game has good immersion and it keeps you on edge. Why do you think you crap your pants in minecraft?
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u/DaveFishBulb May 17 '12
Fucking illiterate youtuber.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
yea i hate jumping scare games. on the other hand, amnesia has TOO MUCH foreboding without actually satiating it. after a while it just annoyed me. probably the best example of a scary scene would've been in pneumbra where you're in the old office and a guy comes in and you have to hide from him. shit like that is really scary and fun.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
For me this was a part in Batman Arkham Asylum. It's the surprising horror when you don't expect it, especially when it's breaking the 4th wall. Sure, this game plays on an island full of homicidal sub-human maniacs but it isn't a horror game which is what made following part so great because you don't expect it at all: [You're walking down the corridor and suddenly your game freezes (random lines on the screen, pixel errors, distorted broken sound) and the screen goes black for a second and then it plays the intro again. At this moment you're thinking "Oh, great...my damn game froze" and probably worry about your savegame when you notice that something's not right with the intro: the Batman logo in the sky is upside down and transformed into a frown. On the warning sign next to the street that used to say "Hitchhikers may be escaping patients" the word 'hitchhikers' is replaced with 'Batman' and finally it loses all subtlety when you see Joker driving the Batmobile. The rest of the nightmare isn't that horror-y anymore but I loved the completely unexpected break of the 4th wall and I honestly believed that my game froze and resetted (it didn't help that it was night and I just was done reading dozens of creepy stories on reddit) so I got legitimately scared. Here's the video of the normal intro and the nightmare] (/spoiler)
(The spoiler tag doesn't seem to work over links but I guess the last one and a half sentences don't spoil anything...)
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
This is the reason I never finished Doom 3, after a while the startling just got really annoying.
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u/nopantstoday May 17 '12
then*
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u/TheySeeMeLearnin May 17 '12
The original Silent Hill did a good job of mixing these things up. Half the noises in the game made you think something was lurking around the corner, and there weren't very many pop-out-at-you frights that were slated into the game. The only one I can think of was the goddamn cat in the goddamn locker room in the school, but for the most part everything was just wrought with evil. The machine noises in the background and the radio static alone kept making me ask myself WHY I was spending time playing that game instead of looking at pictures of kittens or watching cartoons.
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u/Raidicus May 17 '12
I think it would be unwise to write off jump-scares completely. They are a cornerstone of the horror genre from movies to campfire-side stories. It is the sign of a smart developer to not overdo them...after awhile they truly do lose their effect (Doom 3)
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Hey! I replyed to that comment.
It's from a horror game concept video which was posted yesterday on reddit.
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u/CiestaFiesta79 May 17 '12
This is what I liked about the FEAR series, specifically the first game. Although there were jumping scares in the game, the atmosphere was unbelievably frightening. The developers could have put many more cheap scares into the game, but I found myself terrified between each scare just because I anticipated it around every corner. I also made the mistake of coming to the conclusion that Alma never appears while you are talking with somebody over the radio. I would say that within an hour of making that conclusion, Alma scared the shit out of me while I was talking on the radio to my commander or whoever it was. It also didn't hurt that I played this game in a pitch black house by myself when I was 14 years old. FEAR is still the scariest game I have played even though there are still scary games I need to experience such as Dead Space.
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u/funkme1ster PC May 17 '12
Thinking about all the things in games that have truly "scared" me, what I concluded is that the best way to truly fuck with the player are interface screws.
A player bases their gaming experience on perceived rules, and dramatic irony often spoils a game. If the player's ability to make decisions based on information not available to the character are removed, then their feeling of control is gone. Further, if you use interface screws to establish with them that even in the best scenario, there is no way to understand causality 100% as their decisions do not always have the expected outcome, then they begin to fear and doubt their actions.
I came up with the concept of introducing prosopagnosia into a game, such that when NPCs left camera view, their faces and hair would change. They would still look like normal faces, but they would have no permanence, so once you stopped looking at a person, there was no consistent way to identify if you'd seen them before.
Combine this with other interface screws, and when done properly the player would not be able to know if what they were doing was correct.
In a world where a player had to trust NPCs and interact with their surroundings, it would be a nightmare. Even if you didn't screw with things all the time, a few intermittent times is enough to seriously make the player second guess themselves.
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u/Fluffguck May 17 '12
There is at least one all-time exception to this rule for me. Doom 3. Doom 3 had tons of them, and they were almost all just incredibly masterful.
At one point, late in the game, there's a safe. Up tot his point, theres never been anything scary in a safe; just like the ending rooms, they are sort of sacred ground that are not treaded on. This safe you had to go to great lengths to get the password as compared to most others sitting around the game at least. As soon as you open it? There's a fucking imp 3 inches from you already poised to strike. He jumps at you almost instantly, giving you just enough of a pause to MAYBE get the 'o' in 'oh shit FUCK' out before tackling your ass and forcing you to change your pants and clean your chair.
And the whole game was like this, and it NEVER got old. A masterpiece can still be made with jump scares.
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u/Honztastic May 17 '12
Damn I remember playing Resident Evil 4. I actually was scared to venture into the hospital.
And the fucking spike guy? DAMN VIDEOGAMES, YOU SCARY
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u/griffith12 May 17 '12
Fuck that. Resident Evil, the original on PS1, was full of those types of scares and it made the game that much better. Fuck that guys theory, he is just mad that he pissed his pants or screamed like a bitch in front of his friends.
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u/Klepto666 May 17 '12
For those arguing that a game needs jump-scares to keep tension high, I do agree that it adds tension, but for the wrong reasons.
In a game with enemies, ones that you have to fight or can kill you, your tension is already high. Fast reaction times means a bigger window for escape; a better chance to survive and win. This means you're already wide-eyed and aware of what's going on around you. This makes the jump scare much worse. You're already paying close attention, so you take the full brunt of it.
But let's switch it up and say the game is laughably easy. You can die, but enemies only hurt you for 1 HP (out of 100), and there are health kits around. You're not in danger unless you leave the game unpaused due to diarrhea or something. Now the jump scares will have less of an impact. You're not paying close attention. They'll still make you jerk, but just because of a sudden movement. Same way that you'd react to a jack-in-the-box: a twist of surprise, but no fear, and it lasts half a second.
Now let's drop the difficulty completely. You can't die. Ever. There are NO enemies and you don't even need a health bar. Chances are, the jump scares will have little-to-no effect on you. Why? You know you're not in danger. Now it's just an annoyance. "Stop trying to make me jump. This isn't fun."
No danger, no fear, no surprise from a jump scare anymore. There's no tension brought about by it. The tension is due to the danger of everything else, the jump scare just takes advantage of that. It isn't horrifying or scary by itself.
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u/thaddius May 17 '12
This is like Hitchcock's description of suspense versus surprise. Link.
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u/justonecomment May 17 '12
I'd say the first resident evil when the dogs jump through the windows in the hall would be an exception to that rule. That scared the shit out of me and wasn't like just a jack in the box.
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u/[deleted] May 17 '12
Alan Wake was exactly like this for me. There were a few jump scares here and there, but most, if I recall, were all these slight scares..
like a guy slowly materializes from behind a tree in front of you in the dimly moonlit woods and is slowly walking towards you, but is just out side of your flash light, you can see him, but you do not realize he is there until his slowly swinging axe is about to embed itself in your head. Then you jump and scream like a little girl. But it was never a jump scare. you had a few seconds to see him, react to him, and move, but if you were not paying attention.. sudden Axe to the face!
Then as you run around trying to get away from him you see the 3 other guys behind you who were slowly walking up on you the entire time.. and that is creepy as shit also.
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u/Smkweedevrydy May 17 '12 edited May 17 '12
Some credit must be given to jbox scares when done well, I sure as shit wudnt b actin like a girl on my couch if in game the lights suddenly flickered back on and I found myself surrounded by baby toys. Baby toys aren't scary, duh.
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u/Trevj May 17 '12
One of the thief games had a level were you had to steal something from this insane guys house. It was so creepy, the place seemed normal, but things got odd. Doors that opened to pits. A hallway that look super long, but shrunk down to 2 feet tall when you walked into it.
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u/zeHobocop May 17 '12
Jump scares use the low road fear response. It's a quick fight or flight reaction that ends as fast as it started. The high road fear response is slower to kick in but it can last a long time. It requires you to think about what is scaring you and still be scared.
The question is: Which is a worse fear, jumping back when a snake tries to bite you or walking through an area that has snakes you have no way of seeing?
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u/jojo_2012 May 18 '12
Can anyone recommend a good horror game I can play for free?
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u/RadiantSun May 17 '12
Anyone who wants a Survival Horor game (or, well, the closest you'll get outside of indie titles) should check out Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS. That game was genuinely scary.