What takes to make a good horror game?
spooks
>>344409534
u can answer that one
Low chance of survival
scarce equipment
tense atmosphere
sense of dread
screeching violins
MC is a regular joe with no fighting skills or knowledge of weaponscockroaches
To never let go of the suspense once you got the right atmosphere, good music and in general, don't be a cheap ebin jumpscare haha
Give the player something precious that needs to be protected.
Like craft a good backstory about your infant child, then have him get kidnapped by a violent maniac. But first, another settlement needs your help.
>>344409534
>That was the moment Lyn was infected.
>>344409534
So whats the sauce of this one?
Or is it just a one-shot scary thing?
>>344409712
>Low chance of survival
I find I get more spooked if there's a high chance of getting hurt but you only die when you really fuck up
skulking around on low health praying a monster doesn't find you before you can heal is way more tense than dying seven time and making zero progress cuz everything oneshots you. game over screens completely shatter any atmosphere that's been built up so far
>>344409534
I say it's like 90% audio.
>>344410084
It's from a comic called Endtown. /Co/ is all over it.>>>/co/endtown
Psychological Horror and Tension.
>>344410347
Ooooh shit it's that legit creepy furry comic.
Thanks, anon. Back to the vidya caves with you.
>>344409534
A constant tension and pressure created through the use of atmosphere and danger.
What >>344409712 said about equipment and fighting skills are common tricks to keep the player from being too powerful, but if you're completely unarmed, you know that you only have to run and hide. Most really popular survival horrors like Silent Hill strike a balance usually achieved with limited ammo. This way, players can dispatch enemies, but know they'll screw themselves over long term if they use all their ammo too quickly. Worrying about two pistol bullets on top of everything else is another way to keep your player frightened and tense.
One other trick I want to see more often is the game ruining safe spaces for the player. For example, establishing at the beginning that a certain zone or save areas are safe, then midway or two-thirds through, they become dangerous. It fucks with the player on a more meta level.
This'll piss people off but honestly, the most important thing a horror game do is make you forget you're playing a video game. The second that "gameyness" creeps is, the horror fades away. That's why a lot of the more successful horror titles are easy. Getting frustrated and having a sense of difficulty plays against immersion.
Tension isn't scary. It's not actual horror. Counting your number of bullets left against the number of enemies in front of you is pretty tense, but its not scary.
In much the same way, loss of progress shouldn't be your biggest fear. That's immersion breaking again, and the fear wont work a second time. As soon as you've "died" to an area, it'll stop being scary because your natural gaming instinct to "win" will kick in. It's why something like FN@F is better served to be something you experience, rather than try to win. The second you try and beat Night 5 or 7, you're no longer going to be affected by all the different spooks, you wont be checking camera's because they wont be helping you win, you'll just be going "lights, foxy, lights, freddy, repeat" until victory.
I think horror games work better when they're low difficulty, low skill ceiling and shy away from being resource heavy. Take Fatal Frame for instance. Amazing series, anyone can pick it up and you have unlimited ammo and only a retarded child would actually die in those games. BUT each game has a stupid OHKO end boss that completely sucks the immersion out of what is supposed to be the scariest moment. It's unfortunate, but you always play the end of those games as a "gamer" rather than a victim.
I think horror should rely more on experiences like Until Dawn. It's the one genre that has to be less "video gamey" because genuine FEAR is so hard to generate when paired with most conventions of games.
