I love horror games. I have to admit that I don't actually play a huge number of them, since I'm usually pretty content to watch videos of other people playing them (plus it makes it easier to analyze what works well and why), but if there's one that really stands out I'll make a point of actually playing it myself, preferably before I know too much about it.

On 2/18/2018 at 9:45 AM, Swift Katana Studios said:

• What's your favourite Horror Game and Why?

I couldn't possibly pick just one, but two of my recent favorites are P.T. and Doki Doki Literature Club. I think the thing that impressed me the most about both of these is how well-executed they are. Neither one of them are fully original -- even Doki Doki Literature Club's best twists have mostly already been done before in some form -- but the fact that they fully commit to what they're doing (albeit in different ways) makes them sets them apart. I think they're both worth playing for yourself if possible, although unfortunately P.T. is very difficult to get your hands on. I'm super lucky that I got a chance to actually play it. Fortunately, watching videos of it is a pretty good substitute, since the interactivity is pretty limited (that's actually true of Doki Doki Literature Club as well, but fortunately that game is readily available and free).

I'm also a big fan of games that occasionally do something completely inexplicable, such that it's uncanny and jarring even within the main game world. Players can prepare themselves for monsters/jumpscares/etc. if they're expecting them, which might limit their effectiveness, but throwing something that's just so weird and out of place that the player couldn't possibly have expected it is almost always powerful. P.T. had some especially good examples of this: listen closely at 3:14, for example.

On 2/18/2018 at 9:45 AM, Swift Katana Studios said:

• What environment scares YOU the most?

I'm not actually sure that the choice of environment matters at all, as long as it fits the game's story and aesthetic. For example, I do not believe that Doki Doki Literature would have been scarier if it had taken place somewhere else, and there's certainly nothing inherently scary about its actual setting. Quite the opposite, in fact.

That said, I do think setting is critically important to a good horror experience, but I think most of the energy should be dedicated to making the world seem interesting, beautiful, and relevant to the story, rather than to making it "scary" in some generic way.

Two of my favorite environments are in Riven and INSIDE (neither of which are strictly horror games but have a few genuinely frightening moments), since they help tell the story in a very literal way (almost everything in the environment exists for a reason and tells the player something about the story), along with being just incredibly good looking.

On 2/18/2018 at 9:45 AM, Swift Katana Studios said:

• What Creature/ Enemy scares YOU the most?

I actually tend to like the classics, e.g. ghosts, aliens, spiders, skeletons etc., and I think now might be a good time to start featuring these in games, now that they've largely fallen out of favor and are thus no longer boring/predictable. Much like environments, though, I think it's possible to make almost anything scary when done correctly. Likewise, even the most innately frightening characters can be rendered stupid and non-threatening if executed poorly.

On 2/18/2018 at 9:45 AM, Swift Katana Studios said:

• Do YOU like Maze's/ Labyrinths? 

In real life, definitely, but they sometimes don't work quite as well in a video game, since it can be frustrating if they're hard to navigate. I think it's generally best to use a maze as something mostly aesthetic (and also not too challenging to traverse) rather than a challenging gameplay element in itself. I'm also not really a fan of those procedurally generated mazes/environments, since I'd much rather have a curated experience that someone put deliberate thought into than a randomized maze that turns out just to be the same five models repeated over and over again.

On 2/18/2018 at 9:45 AM, Swift Katana Studios said:

• Do you enjoy Puzzles/ Riddles?

Yes, in fact, I think they might be one of the only gameplay mechanics that are particularly suited to a "pure" horror experience, because they leave you completely unable to defend yourself and at the mercy of whoever designed the puzzles in the first place. Most other common mechanics empower the player in a way that can give a sense of safety. Plus, puzzles require a lot of focus and are especially good at completely distracting the player's attention from, for example, something sneaking up on you from the shadows.

On 2/20/2018 at 9:46 PM, Finalspace said:

I dont like games which are built on pure violence, but games using horror or shock elements are fine, when not exaggerated.

Example games i dont like: The evil within, Postel, etc

 

But i have no problem playing zombie games, like left 4 dead or the last of us.

This is interesting to me, since in my estimation The Last of Us and The Evil Within are pretty similar in terms of violence, and with most of The Evil Within's violence being against things that aren't even "real." That said, I do think violence is often used as a crutch in place of things that are scary on a deeper level.

On 2/18/2018 at 3:49 PM, swiftcoder said:

Puzzles are great, but don't typically have much to do with horror?

Like I mentioned above, I actually do think puzzles have an especially good relationship with horror, but are there any other mechanics that you feel are especially relevant to horror?

On 2/20/2018 at 2:12 AM, jbadams said:

The horrifying thing isn't encountering them though... it's hearing the sounds of a monkey, somewhere nearby through the game's fantastic surround sound. You don't always know if there are one, or if there are several.  You don't know if they can actually get to you, or if they're somewhere you can't immediately access. You're low on health, and low on supplies, and there's this dangerous unpredictable thing somewhere nearby.

One of my favorite horror experiences was in the original Tomb Raider. It was frightening enough when a giant tyrannosaurus appears out of nowhere and eats you in one hit in a game that didn't even involve dinosaurs up to that moment. What really scared me was that later on, the tyrannosaurus music started playing for no reason (due to what I can only imagine was a bug), but the tyrannosaurus never actually showed up, so I was just left waiting for a long time, wondering when it would appear.

On 2/20/2018 at 3:26 PM, Swift Katana Studios said:

(...) I feel people don't play as much Horror Games as they did in the past.

I think the genre may have declined a little bit over the past couple of years, but I think horror games are actually much more popular now than they were, say, ten years ago.

On 2/23/2018 at 2:51 PM, francoisdiy said:

I just like being in the dark and not being sure where to go. That's what makes the game exciting.

Okay, thanks.

On 2/24/2018 at 7:51 AM, cowsarenotevil said:

I love horror games. I have to admit that I don't actually play a huge number of them, since I'm usually pretty content to watch videos of other people playing them (plus it makes it easier to analyze what works well and why), but if there's one that really stands out I'll make a point of actually playing it myself, preferably before I know too much about it.

 

I couldn't possibly pick just one, but two of my recent favorites are P.T. and Doki Doki Literature Club. I think the thing that impressed me the most about both of these is how well-executed they are. Neither one of them are fully original -- even Doki Doki Literature Club's best twists have mostly already been done before in some form -- but the fact that they fully commit to what they're doing (albeit in different ways) makes them sets them apart. I think they're both worth playing for yourself if possible, although unfortunately P.T. is very difficult to get your hands on. I'm super lucky that I got a chance to actually play it. Fortunately, watching videos of it is a pretty good substitute, since the interactivity is pretty limited (that's actually true of Doki Doki Literature Club as well, but fortunately that game is readily available and free).

I'm also a big fan of games that occasionally do something completely inexplicable, such that it's uncanny and jarring even within the main game world. Players can prepare themselves for monsters/jumpscares/etc. if they're expecting them, which might limit their effectiveness, but throwing something that's just so weird and out of place that the player couldn't possibly have expected it is almost always powerful. P.T. had some especially good examples of this: listen closely at 3:14, for example.

I'm not actually sure that the choice of environment matters at all, as long as it fits the game's story and aesthetic. For example, I do not believe that Doki Doki Literature would have been scarier if it had taken place somewhere else, and there's certainly nothing inherently scary about its actual setting. Quite the opposite, in fact.

That said, I do think setting is critically important to a good horror experience, but I think most of the energy should be dedicated to making the world seem interesting, beautiful, and relevant to the story, rather than to making it "scary" in some generic way.

Two of my favorite environments are in Riven and INSIDE (neither of which are strictly horror games but have a few genuinely frightening moments), since they help tell the story in a very literal way (almost everything in the environment exists for a reason and tells the player something about the story), along with being just incredibly good looking.

I actually tend to like the classics, e.g. ghosts, aliens, spiders, skeletons etc., and I think now might be a good time to start featuring these in games, now that they've largely fallen out of favor and are thus no longer boring/predictable. Much like environments, though, I think it's possible to make almost anything scary when done correctly. Likewise, even the most innately frightening characters can be rendered stupid and non-threatening if executed poorly.

In real life, definitely, but they sometimes don't work quite as well in a video game, since it can be frustrating if they're hard to navigate. I think it's generally best to use a maze as something mostly aesthetic (and also not too challenging to traverse) rather than a challenging gameplay element in itself. I'm also not really a fan of those procedurally generated mazes/environments, since I'd much rather have a curated experience that someone put deliberate thought into than a randomized maze that turns out just to be the same five models repeated over and over again.

Yes, in fact, I think they might be one of the only gameplay mechanics that are particularly suited to a "pure" horror experience, because they leave you completely unable to defend yourself and at the mercy of whoever designed the puzzles in the first place. Most other common mechanics empower the player in a way that can give a sense of safety. Plus, puzzles require a lot of focus and are especially good at completely distracting the player's attention from, for example, something sneaking up on you from the shadows.

7

Thank you for writing an extremely descriptive explanation, I like reading the in-depth comments. I too enjoy watching other people play horror games as well as playing them myself. 

Fortunately, I've already played P.T. The Graphics were "Photorealistic" - probably the best detail I've ever seen in a Game. The fact that it was set in just a few corridors; but still managed to be interesting each time, portrays the level of ingenuity. 

I agree the setting/ environment should be "interesting, beautiful and relevant to the story rather than making it scary in some generic way".

Mazes can be hard to navigate, although, if executed correctly; it can be an advantage to the overall dynamics of the Game. However, I probably would design it to be more "Aesthetic" and easier to traverse.

Again, thanks for the input, I appreciate it.   

I played some horror games, but I dont enjoy these pure jump scare games, because they feel cheap. When I play a horror game, I expext a good story, that sucks you in and creates a goal, so you stay until you finnish what you have started.

For example in Outlast, your goal is to write an article about an asylum, but you get trapped. You get to care about what is happening and you want to know, what happened there. That is your driving force.