What scares you in a horror game?

Willir

Willir

Willir

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I am a Computer Games Dev student at uni going into my final year and would like to just do some research and get feedback from budding gamers like yourselves. The feedback is going to help me get an idea of what works and what does'nt work for gamers in horror games.

What is it that scares you in a horror game?(sound/atmosphere/lighting)

Give an example of a game or a particular moment in gaming that scared you the most and why.

What scares you in real life? (fears)

Have you played a VR horror game? If so which game and how was the experience?

Any feedback would be helpful, thanks!
 
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The first fear game was scary as hell, anytime alma showed up and you did not expect it made you jump through the roof lol , the atmosphere in that game was spot on
 
I think atmosphere is the biggie for me. Gore or Saw movie style horror doesn't do anything for me nor do cheap jump scares.

I think P.T. on ps4 nailed it. Amnesia really had some great ideas and it hasn't really moved far past that, other games have tried that formula to a certain degree of success
 
The main elements for me are usually atmosphere and sound, although anything that contributes to the overall immersion adds to the experience, however, the first two points are key.
 
Morve said:
The first fear game was scary as hell, anytime alma showed up and you did not expect it made you jump through the roof lol , the atmosphere in that game was spot on
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I think FEAR had it right in regards to atmosphere. I used to be a little jumpy when games used to spawn enemys behind you from secret locations and stuff but this is now so over done it no longer does anything for me.

Ive yet to experience VR. In real life id like to think that having fear of something is healthy and something that i can control and turn into aggression or strength if i needed it at the time. Its a powerful emotion that everyone feels and should be controlled if possible. Anyone who says they fear nothing is lying or they haven't found it yet.
 
Some great feedback here already, thanks to all members so far!

I agree with the F.E.A.R answers, scary game back in the day, I'm guessing it still holds up, not played it in years.

From personal experience, I found playing Alien Isolation really topped it for me in regards to the atmosphere and sound.

Keep the answers coming.
 
Another spin on that is the unexpectedness of something.

For me it was the spiders in Minecraft. They're blocky so they don't appear visually scary, the sounds aren't particularly scary either. It was more of the way spiders could jump at you sent shivers down my spine.

FWIW i'm not an arachnophobe either.

Whereas i've found other games with more realistically visual looking zombies etc, haven't done anything.
 
Semple said:
Another spin on that is the unexpectedness of something.

For me it was the spiders in Minecraft. They're blocky so they don't appear visually scary, the sounds aren't particularly scary either. It was more of the way spiders could jump at you sent shivers down my spine.

FWIW i'm not an arachnophobe either.

Whereas i've found other games with more realistically visual looking zombies etc, haven't done anything.
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I know what you mean with the spiders, I also think the EnderMen are creepy as hell too.

Does anybody find enemies chasing you scary or suspenseful?
 
Morve said:
The first fear game was scary as hell, anytime alma showed up and you did not expect it made you jump through the roof lol , the atmosphere in that game was spot on
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This! I think this is the only game that made me feel that way even with me having a machine gun to hand and a little girl being my arch enemy lol

The atmosphere as you move through the structure not really knowing what is going on but enough pretence to know you shouldn't really be there.

And I think this says in what really makes fear whilst playing a game

A core element of F.E.A.R. is its horror theme, which is heavily inspired by Japanese horror. The design team attempted to keep "the psychology of the encounter" in the player's mind at all times, in order to "get under the player's skin", as opposed to the "in your face 'monsters jumping out of closets' approach"
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Curlyriff said:
This! I think this is the only game that made me feel that way even with me having a machine gun to hand and a little girl being my arch enemy lol

The atmosphere as you move through the structure not really knowing what is going on but enough pretence to know you shouldn't really be there.

And I think this says in what really makes fear whilst playing a game
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Thanks for the info about the inspiration for F.E.A.R, will probably use it as a case study. The "get under the player's skin" is something I want to aim for, rather than blood/gore and cheap jump scares.
 
Willir said:
Thanks for the info about the inspiration for F.E.A.R, will probably use it as a case study. The "get under the player's skin" is something I want to aim for, rather than blood/gore and cheap jump scares.
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No problem, your first question you asked is difficult to really answer in that sound, lighting and visuals are what create the atmosphere.

Now with that it certainly relies more on pacing of the game to build tension at the right points, throwing the curve balls when not expecting and similar.

Those design features are there to implement that be it through subtle sub-conscious changes to the lighting, the build up in music tension or the sudden visual shock to change the atmosphere. I would say that lighting makes or breaks pretty much any scene/atmosphere in a game though.

The others although when wrong can be jarring the first point a game falls over itself and the player notices it significantly is when the lighting and the visual scene just do not work together. Not that it means you can't have contrast but knowing that is what makes games such as F.E.A.R work. They moved away from that a little in the next few games and it didn't work as well.

The pace was sped up and the atmosphere about this supernatural being was really almost tacked into it at that point which is a shame.
 
Affected, the manor, was a pretty suspenseful game purely because of the atmosphere, lighting and audio. It was basically a walking simulator otherwise. Had it not been VR it would have just been a bunch of horror clichés that you walked through.

Generally speaking, lighting and audio are the biggest in terms of creating the right atmosphere, and in VR, things that invade your personal space are also uncomfortable.
 
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