what makes a game scary

[Destenoth]

Sound design can play a large part in the creation of horror atmosphere. I remember playing the FEAR 2 demo on a crappy computer that could only run it at one of the lowest graphical levels. So here I was in a fully lit room, while playing with graphics that were no where near pretty or realistic, and I was still scared

Suspense is important too. How you create it can vary. You could make the player be always running low on ammo/health/both, but this needs to be done right, otherwise it feels cheap and stupid. Another element of suspense is the unknown - what IS going to happen next? If the player doesn't know, and then suddenly there's an enemy screaming in his face (again with the use of sound) its going to be a lot scarier.

[Phoenix12321]

For me, it is the thought that something is about to pop out, but almost never does. If you here footsteps getting louder, or you think you see a shadow move across a wall or the floor, it can really creep you out. Make something symbolic, like a shrine, and say that is can see your sins. Stuff like that makes you feel "almost" alone.

[Nuances]

I think your character should be weak and you should be given as much reason as possible to avoid fighting.

[Gusto-Pastel]

Take a chapter out of Valve's book - find something relatively normal, then start twisting it and making it creepier and creepier, and when the player looks back and sees how far it's gone, they just go "holy f***!" Exhibit A: Portal. At the start of the game, it's all fairly normal and understandable. You have a test subject running an automated experiment sequence... then you start getting warnings about how dangerous the portal gun is. Then you start getting bits of the automated sequence being left unfilled ["Subject name here"]. Then you start getting deathtraps, bloodstains on the walls and military turrets. Then you start getting all this insane stuff about cake, the companion cube and hidden alcoves scrawled with graffiti and unnerving pictures of the companion cube. And it just accelerates from there - GLaDOS turns psychotic and starts trying to actively kill you, and you run through the abandoned Aperture Science facilities where stuff is falling into disrepair, stuff is rusting, everything is still on and left running since the day the facility was abandoned, and it all culminates in the boss fight with GLaDOS where she just snaps and starts flooding the place with nerve gas...

That and it's all in the delivery. If the same game was made by Rockstar or someone it wouldn't be half as effective,but Valve are expert writers. Same goes for Half-Life - if you stick around and absorb some of the ambiance you get really, really creeped out. It amplifies the gameplay. First time I ran into barnacles they scared the shit out of me - I still go out of my way to kill every one I can find. Writing is the lynchpin of a good game, unless you have some sort of blindingly original mechanic or gameplay that's titanium-solid, and even then a good story and atmosphere will still make anything better.

[J09]

I think making the player be stealthy and try to hide from enemies is probably a good tactic. Especially because it means that you will pass by enemies without killing them, and then have enemies that can come at you from in front or behind.

I think its about lack of knowledge. If you see a grotesque monster face, you'll think, "that guy should've listened to his mom and washed his face". But if you occasionally here clinks and rustling from different directions as the monster moves around, and if little things change while you're not looking (like suddenly food dissapearing from a plate while a player goes to get something to drink), that'll start to get creepy.

[Asros]

Originally Posted by KAHR-Alpha Because to some players (me included), there's nothing else that can be scary in a game, as we have total control over what we're doing, mood and suspense don't mean much to us. Something can be scary only if the player can't do anything against it. And AVP used aliens popping out of nowhere a lot, even if you have the radar with you. Now, something else that can be "scary": have the player constantly run low on everything, which will make him have to make good choices in a rush.

I only meant the radar system makes the AVP scary. It's because the radar reacts to any motion. It makes you paranoid sometimes.

[3D-Penguin]

Maybe Atmosphere is what you rather want? Scaring the people (away), can be easily achieved with slapstick horror like Zombies popping up or sudden deathtraps. What really makes a good game or even movie is tension at a slow pace until....

Thats the point, don't let the player know what comes after the "until". If you need to give clues make them ambigous or even contradictory. Last not least sound and lighting. Nourishment for brain and ears and eyes. Maybe a good story, but tastes differ a lot. Anyway, Blender games are usually a bit shorter so i'd go rather for good atmosphere of one or a few scenes.

[Sim88]

Sounds can do a lot! footsteps in the distance, things that makes sound as if someone is hitting it but then when you get there nothing is there.

Children. Uuuh... they are creepy.

[vieau6]

Tense music that actually leads up to something. A good cutscene like in code veronica leading up to the manor in the back of the hotel or the RE1 remake for gamecube with deform girl draggin her knuckles on the ground. With game play to match and limited visability. Oh and a detailed gory and creepy environment when ever you can see stuff clearly. Imagine how youde feel if the power went out during a thunder storm and all you had was a flashlight. So you walk too the only place around you for help and its looks creepy and abandoned. The door creeks open"dreadful music playing in the background" you look around for a phone but all you find are blood stains and maybe a few corpses or bodyparts. Then you hear a scream,moam,footsteps,something dragging on the floor or scraping on the wall or some creepy childrens music,whatever works for ya. Do you investigate or split! That sort of thing I'd imagine.

[Joe_Stevens]

In my opinion, the thing that always scares me the most is the threat of being attacked from behind. Not from guns though, It has to be a melee attack. You have to do this right though. I would suggest having a few times where the player has to look back to do something, force him to turn his back on the enemy at least once, and have a serious penalty for taking a hit in the back. The screen should gets a very red filter that is hard to see through (or whatever you want for damage effect.) but the player shouldent take any more damage than usual (otherwise its unfair) The player should also be knocked forward a bit. Like a stagger or leans forward. If you do this enough, the player will be very afraid of someone that they feel is always behind them.
Note that I don't mean behind the REAL person playing the game, behind the player's avatar in the game. If the real person feels that there is someone behind them, it might freak them out too much and they won't want to play for a longer period of time.

[haidme]

Believability... and that means, everything should look and act believable... Animations,textures,models,AI,lights,sounds...
Making scary game...is the hardest type of game to make.
One suggestion, do not try this at home.

[Réwii93]

(1)- Hearing things you can't see
(2)- bright areas make the dark areas darker and more meaningful
(3)- seeing potential danger
(4)- seeing potential consequences (dead persons, dead animals, blood, weird destruction)
(5)- history of people before you... that didn't make it
(6)- something not dangerous that pop right in front of you... and then, after the adrenaline has cooled down (6 second maybe) the real thing that attack you from behind (or side... side is cooler)

Just some thoughts
Happy modeling !!!... I mean... hum... deadly modeling... =D.

[Gyis]

Add cute little dolls. That always freaked me out. I also think long tunnels are creapy, it gives a feeling of vulnerability(did I spell that right? Please correct if I didn't). IMHO if you light them fairly well and make them too clean and very silent it adds to the effect. I wouldn't overdo blood splats. After the first two they'll become part of the scenery. If you do use them at all put them in well lit areas to give the impression of 'what did this?!'. If your doing a high tech game, toss some broken weaponry around, it'll add to the 'outmatched' feeling. Just what I think would be creepy.

[AD-Edge]

Plenty of ideas being thrown about, but heres my 2c:

To me both Penumbra and Doom3 are great examples of horror, but when it comes to replaying a game they are completely different. The first time round both games are quite scary (Penumbra more-so) but Doom uses all the cliche shadows running past and monsters jumping out. Penumbra has a bit of that, but mostly focuses on building tension until its unbearable, then putting the player in a really scary position with a lack of fighting ability, forcing stealth.

But when you play them the 2nd time around, Doom3 isnt scary at all, mostly because you remember most of the monsters jumping out, its all predetermined and very linear. But Penumbra is so much scaryer the 2nd time around, simply because its so much more dynamic. Even though you know where the game is taking you, its dynamic enough to be different and thats whats scary, you dont know when or what is going to attack you, your on your toes all the time and its sometimes unbearable.


But to me, a strong atmosphere is the key, followed by good use of dynamic horror events (perhaps a random type of monster which is spawned at a random location at a random time so its always different for example) and strong use of psychological horror techniques along with really strong use of sfx and music/ambient tracks etc.

The team of 4 guys who made Penumbra are about to release a new horror, Ive already preordered it. Check out their blog in the link below, they have heaps of posts about what makes a good horror game (check out the older posts, recent ones are more about the progress of their game)

http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/

[blending user]

thanks for all the new reply's you guys are giving me inspiration to start the project back up.

[NRS]

I think Portal hit the nail on the head.

Throughout the game, without using gore, or traditional horror effects, Valve gives an "off kilter" feeling, somehow, there's something in the relatively normal environment that's not always quite right, and it sets your heart pumping, but you can't tell what it is in the beginning.

They build suspense out of subtle clues, not obvious ones.

[JohnA]

hanah montana the video game* shudders*