What can make a video game scary?

[Angel of Iniquity]

I am working on designing a horror game, psychological horror, but i am at a stump.

I did psychology on fear so I know all about it, but I want to know from the players, what would make you scared in these categories?

You do not want to progress.
Example: "I'm not going down this hallway"

Chicken scares.
Example: "Take this Del Lago! *shoots the lake with an Tmp*"
Tell me if you understand that reference...

Character fear.
Example: In SH3, there is a monster called the closer, one of the only monsters that put any fear in me, other than Pyramid head.


Also, would this be a good idea?
WHen somebody gets scared, they usually cause the remote to shake violently. What if the character stumbles or falls down when the player jumps?

[Dan558]

I'm not too sure. The only thing that kinda scares me now are zombies. I wasn't always scared of them, I even used to joke around with my friend when he admitted zombies scare him just a few years ago. Then he more or less explained to me its because of how you would literally have to face people you know and care about for your own survival, now I can't shake that thought.

I think out of your example the first might apply best. Dark unknowns. It really helps if you set up some sort of recurring powerful enemy that it is certainly better to run from then fight. Something like the Tyrant from Resident Evil games, even when it's obvious the Tyrant is gonna jump you it sucks when you know you have to go past it to proceed. If it jumps out from an unexpected area that's even better, as long as that's not overused.

[smurphy]

I have a theory why older games from the PS1 and early PS2 era are considered more scary then games today. For a lot of these games the controls were very clunky and the characters you controlled move fairly slowly and gingerly. And onto that the fact there was nothing a player could do against certain enemies except die as well as an often fixed camera was what made the early Resident Evils and Silent Hills and other horror games from this time scary. Content is only a fraction of what makes a horror game scary. It also depends on how much the player is empowered.

[Rhaps]

Chicken scares.
Example: "Take this Del Lago! *shoots the lake with an Tmp*"
Tell me if you understand that reference...

RE4, and why waste your TMP ammo on nothing? Chicago Typewriter ftw

In the aspects of it, I think music determines how scary a game is, also along with game elements. Like if a music piece is set correctly it can cause the mind to think it's unsafe.
For game play, it's all about things that are bigger than the gamer himself, like things they can not control. Metal Gear had this with Psycho Mantis, Castlevania II had it with the "Horrible Nights," so on and so forth. You have to put something beyond the gamer's planning and control in order to give them a good scare.

[Unknown Entity]

The unexpected. Games like FEAR (especially the second game) and Dead Space do it perfectly.

FEAR:

In FEAR, there were times when you'd see or bump into Alma when you least expect it, and then shit a brick. There's one part of the game when you're going through a crawlspace, and your torch stops working so your character looks down to try and fix it. When it works again, you look back up, and Alma's face is right there infront of you.

Sometimes you'll just be running around after a gun fight for some ammo, and she'll be right behind you - you'll either catch a reflection off of something and see her just looking up at you, or you'll turn around 180 degrees and walk right into her.

Soundtrack helps. Music with a sudden start that smashes through silence is a good way to make your audience jump. In Dead Space, you'll be walking quietly down a hall and then "BAM!" something will break through the ceiling at you with the trademark "screech/nails down a chalkboard" sound.

Video of the very first level: Spoilers?



In terms of music... this really gives me the fecking creeps.

Weapon/ammo rarity is also pretty scary. When I was playing Dead Space on the hardest mode, there were times when I was completely out of ammo, so I'd be holding my breath and hoping I'd find some before the next necromorph came at me.

[Angel of Iniquity]

Well, the thing with dead space is, if you beat part one, you know how to approach the monsters in Part 2. I did not get scared because, I knew what it was for the most part and knew how to attack it, and ultimately kill it.

Actually, thats what I aim not to do. I want the character not be able to rely on his or her weapons. I want the character to understand that, the monster they are seeing, can kill you, even with a shotgun equipped. But I don't want the player to be to frustrated.

I am trying to make the character feel alone. What are your takes on that?
Dead space 1 did a great job on making the character feel alone.
Dead space 2 however, threw it in the garbage... O.o

When you are alone, if you hear a monster, you know that it is coming for you, not some random NPC running for his or her life.

[Unknown Entity]

Well, the thing with dead space is, if you beat part one, you know how to approach the monsters in Part 2. I did not get scared because, I knew what it was for the most part and knew how to attack it, and ultimately kill it.

Well, I was talking about it being unexpected.

Actually, thats what I aim not to do. I want the character not be able to rely on his or her weapons. I want the character to understand that, the monster they are seeing, can kill you, even with a shotgun equipped. But I don't want the player to be to frustrated.

Sounds like you want to make the game impossible.

That'll be difficult, and make the game really boring - Not everyone wants a "I wanna be the fan game". What would really be better is a small variety of weapons, with limited ammo and enemies will be weaker or stronger against certain weapons. The player would have to conserve ammo, and make sure they use the right choice of weapon.

I am trying to make the character feel alone. What are your takes on that?
Dead space 1 did a great job on making the character feel alone.
Dead space 2 however, threw it in the garbage... O.o

When you are alone, if you hear a monster, you know that it is coming for you, not some random NPC running for his or her life.

The first Dead Space was better, I'll agree. You'd have to keep things interesting in other aspects of the game. Because a lone hero running around and constantly getting killed because you can't kill anything would get really dull after a while.

[Kyreaan]

I would say any with really good surprizes like a well written movie could make a VG scary. I've never been scared by one, but I do remember seeing some that made me sit back and think, "ooh, that's cool". The first that comes to mind is the latest for the FEAR series.



It's the third I believe in the series and is designed for different systems. It hasn't been released yet, and I don't plan on getting it unless they ever decide to make an edition for PSP 3000. It comes out in May 2011. This sticks out because F3AR had one of the coolest commercials I've seen for a game.

On an another note, this is one is also kinda scary: