Video game developers have a variety of tools and tricks that can scare players. A talented creator or team can use these technologies in new and exciting ways that can surprise even the most jaded and obtuse players. After all, why play horror games if you're not at least a little scared?
Horror game that uses the player's microphone
Using the player's microphone in gameplay is a great way to increase immersion and tension in horror games. The best performing titles are:
Despite their association with horror games, these techniques are not limited to horror games. It is also used in other genres to emphasize moments of tension or danger. Players who play a variety of games will recognize some of these tricks. As usual, when discussing the construction of horror in video games, I refer to the words of Bernard Perron. A scary world of video games To inform the theory behind the horror.
hide the monster
Fear lies in ambiguity
Let's start with one of the most well-known tricks that many developers use to make their monsters scary. They hide it. Players' imaginations are often better at creating scary monsters than designers can achieve. That's not to say monsters don't have to be scary. This means that sometimes the risks of the unknown and unclear can be even scarier.
that amnesia The series does this several times. This is achieved not only by obscuring monsters in the dark or underwater, but also through an intact mechanism that prevents players from looking at monsters for long periods of time. If players look at horror material for too long, their sanity can become impaired, leading to severe visual distortions and other more horrifying consequences.
Low diegetic and non-diegetic sounds
Drone of Doom
Diegetic sound is a sound that is natural to the environment being depicted. Non-diegetic sounds are sounds that the player does not expect in the environment, such as noise levels, musical cues, and other noise levels. You can use two types of low, barely audible sounds to create atmosphere in ways that aren't obvious to the players.
19 Horror Games Inspired by Silent Hill
Silent Hill has inspired many games over the years with its expertly crafted puzzles and psychological horror, and here are some of the best.
Low background hums and rumblings are a staple of the Silent Hill series, especially those occurring in the town itself. This creates a sense of unease that continues to grow as the game progresses. It's so unobtrusive that players often don't even realize what's putting them in danger. Clever sound design combined with a foggy or dirty atmosphere silent hill It's one of the most atmospherically creepy series in horror games.
Pareidolia
Is it a tree or a monster?
The human brain is highly susceptible to certain kinds of misinterpretation, often reading human patterns into surfaces and objects that are far from humans. This is called Pareidolia. Producers of all forms of visual media cleverly utilize this to create fake outs and haunted apparitions that can create moments of intense fear.
A good example of creators using pareidolia to deceive and disguise their monsters is their depiction of Slender Man. Slender Man is sometimes partially camouflaged by the spindly trees and dense forest that surrounds him. Slender: Eight Pages It does this in a particularly dangerous way, as the player must not look directly at the Slender Man. But it's hard to tell the difference between a tree and this Internet boogeyman that keeps players paranoid.
anticipation
A moment of quiet before the jumpscare.
The moments before fear are just as important, if not more important, than the sudden appearance of the image or sound itself. Jump scares only work if the right mood is created. Its appearance varies. Developers may create a false sense of security or persistent fear to set the scene for a sudden horror to come.
If you've ever seen someone play Freddy's Pizza PlaceAs everything becomes quiet, you will see a look of fear on the player's face and they will know that something bad is coming. of initial entry Freddy's Pizza Place The franchise takes a particularly effective yet formulaic approach to jump scares, which often consist of deadly silence before an animatronic attack or unsettling musical cues.
Stealing Resources
They don't call it survival horror.
One of the things that scares players is tapping into the power fantasy of classic video games and throwing powerful guns and plot armor out the window. Or at least it takes away some of the player's offensive abilities. Scavenging supplies and managing inventory is a big part of what makes survival horror scary and compelling.
that resident evil The series classifies this as fine art. A sequence near the end of the game features more of an under-prepared shooter protagonist than a so-called elite squad, although he has considerable powers and weapons to overcome the “big bad situation.” resident evilNot to mention reluctant protagonists like Aftermath's Ethan Winters.
Make players feel lost
But that's not really the case
There's a reason mazes or labyrinths are a staple of horror and gothic fiction. It creates a sense of helplessness and confusion, and when used carefully, it can create an intense sense of doom and anguish in the audience (in this case, the players). A good example of this is: long lasting A game where disorientation is a core part of the horror. You wouldn't get into this mess if you knew how to get out.
How to Escape the Huggy Wuggy Room in Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5 (Battery Locations and Locker Codes)
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5 traps the player in a room with Huggy, where they must find three batteries and an optional locker code to escape.
There's a fine line between the control of a well-executed maze and the cleverly designed disorientation, but if it's too difficult, players will start to feel frustrated rather than intimidated. A really clear example of this is the movie's infamous chase sequence. poppy play time. In particular, the scene where he is chased by the Huggy Wuggy in the first game is often cited as one of the most frustrating chase sequences in a horror video game. Mostly because players will have to retry multiple times before these giant blue monsters are no longer scary.
A monster comes from inside your computer
Games of all genres become particularly unsettling when they seem to invade the player's console or PC. Flowey is in control Undertale Monica is changing data Exciting Literature Club Or Ocelot is threatening your data. metal gear solidThe developers subvert the player's sense of control.
By breaking the illusion of player control and agency, developers can bring the threats of video game narrative space one step closer to players' reality. Another example of this is: P.T.A fake error screen suddenly stops, informing the player that the person sending the message (presumably the scary undead Lisa) is on their way to receive the message. This is an effective and playful way for developers to revitalize video games on their own.
The scariest analog horror series
This analog horror series is the scariest show the genre has to offer.
