How games can be scary

[Herbarius]

I thought this side-discussion in the other thread was quite interesting, but instead of replying there again and cluttering up that thread with more off-topic, I thought I'd better "fork" it into a new thread, and here it is.

 

It's actually pretty cool that a game can be scary. I'm not sure any game did this successfully before.

First of all, it's VERY subjective. Some people find something scary, others not a bit, especially when it comes to games.

 

But to go back to the game that might have been the first game to succesfully "be scary" (at least for most players), I have to say System Shock, which predates the first Resident Evil by 2 years. However, again something subjective, for many people today it's not scary anymore, because the graphics are so outdated. For the time however they were quite good. You make your way through the dark corridors of a space station, behind every corner may be an agressive mutant, robot or cyborg out to kill you. Ammunition is scarce, you can't survive a lot of hits. You soon learn to listen for the "trademark sounds" of different types of hostiles. While you may have some hope to find other survivors at the beginning of the game, you'll soon realize that everyone else is dead, has been mutated or turned into cyborgs by the evil computer. Oh yes, did I mention it, the whole station is under control of an Artificial Intelligence that has gone mad and pictures itself as a god!

 

Also, you play from a first-person perspective. In my opinion, this way a game can be much more scary than it ever could be if it's third person.

 

Well yeah, System Shock's a classic.

 

The original Alone in the Dark (the sequel came out just after System Shock) would have to be among the classics though. There were some horror themed graphical and text adventures prior to that (though many with a humorous undertone), but Alone in the dark is generally the first survival horror game to fit the modern discription. (possibly the first really scary one) It does have a good bit of suspense and good shocks to it, though the graphics are a bit laughable by today's standards (for what that's worth ).

 

System shock really gets the psychological horror down though. (similar with the sequel, and then there's the more recent bioshock games, and the Silent Hill series, of course)

I've seen a good bit of System shock, but haven't played it, that's one on my list though (and the sequel).

 

 

The Silent Hill games tend to have the tank-like controls as well, I think. It does indeed give a more claustrophobic feel.

Yes, of course, how could I forget Alone in the Dark. I actually think of that as the direct spiritual predecessors to the Resident Evil series, because it had a somewhat similar setting and premise, and also it did that weird camera angle thing to heighten the suspense. However, I must admit I never found it very scary when I tried to play it as a kid, I merely got frustrated with it because the controls were stiff as hell and I didn't know what I am supposed to do at all, also the very "exaggerated" animations of the player character broke my suspension of disbelief (even back then when I was used to not very advanced graphics). But, as I said, these things are very subjective, and maybe when I would try to play it again now, maybe I would "get it" because as a kid the game went right over my head.

 

I still think the third person perspective is inherently less scary than the first-person perspective. It's easier to get invested into the game world and be afraid of something, if it's like you see it with your own eyes... it's almost like you yourself are in that frightening or dangerous situation, whereas with a third-person perspective it's "just that guy" (or girl or group of people) in the situation and you observe it from a safe distance. However, playing with camera angles, exactly what they do in horror movies by the way, makes it a little more scary again. Or, rather, it heightens the suspense and then releases it at the exact right moment. That's not quite the same, though...

 

 

By the way, if you plan to play the original System Shock youre tolerance for weird control schemes has to be quite high, especially if you are used to modern FPS controls. It's still worth it, in my opinion, but be warned, you may be put off by it. System Shock 2 however has modern/standard FPS controls, and it's also very good. However, from what I heard about the BioShock games, they may be good, but they don't have that atmospheric horror/scary thing anymore, it's just a straight shooter, so this may not be what you're looking for.

 

 

You are talking about "tank-like controls" in the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series. Could you elaborate on that, as I don't quite get what you mean by that.

Edited June 12, 2010 by Herbarius

[DickNixonArisen]

Tank like in that you are switching between control of Feets and Arms, stopping to aim, rather than happily zipping around with agility and alacrity, shooting willy-nilly. It's an intentional limitation (I think), and varies from game to game in the RE series, but is more or less present in the series as a whole. It works; and come to think of it, RE is all about limitations. Managing scarce resources, finding elusive escape routes, somewhat clunky controls... but it all works. Just not for me. I play games to be enlightened, amused, inspired... and sometimes as an adolescent power fantasy where I want to spray the screen with a billion bullets, each one cast into the shape of a skull with a gasmask on. RE doesn't feed that need in me. It just scares me. Silent Hill I can live with, although I have only tried one game, it didn't scare me as much as fail to engage my interest in the character. I do respect the series, though, since it goes "deep", as you might say.

 

Thus, as I noted, the actual RE games scare me, due in part to the control scheme and also my unfamiliarity with it. The light-gun shooters in the same series do not frighten me, because I feel in control, being a lot better at that type of game. I don't do horror movies, so I have a low tolerance to zombies. I haven't played either system shock, but now that you mention it, my buddy was always trying to get me to do so. He would play the game in the dark and turn it up with the intention of getting scared for fun, so I imagine it must have actually scared him. Of course all fear is subjective. I'm not afraid of a lot of real-life danger, I won't bother detailing or bragging but anyone that knows me knows what i'm talking about. I AM afraid of zombies and zombie movies, to the point where Shaun of the Dead is about as far as I can go safely.

 

I very much agree that third person 3d (or, as I like to call it, Behind-the-butt) is not as immersive as FP. My example is Baroque (This game again? some of you are saying) - on the SAT it was a first person slasher, and it was made into a behind-the-butt for the Wii and PS2 ports. Control is better, depth perception is better, everything is better on the never versions except the atmosphere and feel, and Baroque is soaked in it. I'd still pick the later version, but it definitely loses something. It's not scary at all, but it is bleakly affecting and vaguely eerie.

 

Dead Space is supposed to be scary, at least in the "suddenly something pops out at you" way. I haven't tried my "blue stinger" for the DC yet, but I understand it's poor man's RE. I guess this thread is more about "games that Intentionally scare the player" as opposed to games that have themes that could be interpreted that way. A question of intent maybe? You know SOMEONE is scared of say, Castlevania, just because of the teensy pixelpires. I've heard people say they were scared when they first heard black sabbath, which is very alien to me as I was only scared of how AWESOME it was when I first heard black sabbath. I haven't found any music that will scare me yet. Anybody ever been scared of certain music, even as a kid?

[Austin]

Ah, great topic!

 

Alone in the Dark is a classic when it comes to horror games. It was genuinely creepy to me, despite the blocky characters and the third-person perspective. The simple situations you were thrown into really made the game.. Like when you finally make it out of that first upper hallway and you get to the main staircase, there are two gargoyle/demon creatures just standing there. You're like, "uh, this is weird.. wtf am I supposed to do?" Or that part where you walk into the room with the spectre sitting in a chair.. If you get too close, it stands up and turns into this massive, rumbling ball of whatever, and all you can do is run, probably yelling "****! ****! ****! **********!!!".. Of course, there's no escaping it, and I think that's a part of the fear factor, especially when you play it a second time through. That game was full of classic moments like that, and I think that's why I couldn't get into the second and third parts in the series.. They seemed to lack the same shock segments and were much more goofy/lighthearted overall.

 

All in all, I can't think of too many other games I was scared or creeped out by that weren't first-person. One exception though is Dr. Chaos on the NES. I know this one gets a bad rap, but for me, the title screen was eerie, and once you really start exploring the mansion, there's a real fear factor involved when opening doors, closets, windows, etc. At any moment in this process, an enemy could pop out.. and it always seems to happen when you least expect it. It really made you *not* want to open up new areas to keep exploring the game!

 

FPS-wise, I never got a chance to play System Shock 1 or 2. It's one of those titles I really wish they would bring to modern digital download services (like GOG.com).. BioShock definitely has its scary and/or shock moments, and although you really get used to it partway through the game, it really makes me want to play the System Shock series even more..

 

In the '90s, Blood, while goofy in areas (purposely), it could be quite scary and/or intense in later parts of the game. The screeching noise heard of the grim-reaper-esque banshees could make the hair stand on the back of my neck, partially because you never know where they are coming from and where they are going to attack. And of course, the shark/mermen creatures in the water made you *never* want to jump in the water (and of course, in many portions you are forced to!).

 

Modern FPS-wise, I feel FEAR and DOOM 3 did it best. FEAR had that random scare element with Alma randomly popping out with some creepy/eerie scenes. Played in the dark with headphones on (and possibly with the "enhancement" of a certain plant-like substance ), those few and far-between moments could really get you when you least expect it. DOOM 3 also literally tosses you into a nightmare if you play it in the dark with headphones on (and on a harder difficulty setting).. Despite the game being six years old now, it can still be quite the ride in a dark, loud setting. My heart actually gets pumping in an anxious way when I play it like that, something that doesn't ever happen in other "scary" games I play.

 

What makes a scary game a "good" kind of scary? I think those games that are less predictible and have the random fear-factor involved (Dr. Chaos, System Shock). Those games that make you literally not want to click the next button or switch you see, or those games that make you not want to open the next door, despite having played it before. Games like Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil loose that factor after played through once or twice, but other games that focus more on the randomized fear factor are timeless.

Edited June 12, 2010 by Austin

[Rik]

I bought the Alone In The Dark Trilogy for dos, the controls are just horrid, unplayable.The game, concept is very cool, its the crap controls that ruined it for me, oh well, maybe i'll give them another try, maybe i'll get used to it.

Edited June 12, 2010 by Rik

[shadow460]

D was kinda scary. Then there's Enemy Zero, which I usually play with the hair standing up on the back of my neck. My physical reaction there is part fear and part adrenaline since I don't know if my character will survive much longer.

 

When I was a kid, the thought of a mummy that would actively try to chop my head open would frighten me after I played Ghost Manor. Now, as my wife puts it, that game is about a scary as a box of kittens. I guess she would have been right back then, too... about as scary as a box of evil throat cutting, flesh eating, screaming little kittens.

[kool kitty89]

Alone in the Dark was more a shocker than scary, though I didn't play it as a kid and apparently some found the 3DO version's music contributed to the scare factor.

 

And it definitely fits as the direct predecessor to RE: polygon characters, enemies, weapons, and movable objects with static, prerendered (or 2D) backgrounds and a similar control scheme. (tank like as you control by turning and moving forward and back relative to the character, not the player, same for Grimm Fandango and Silent Hill, not 3D platformers -most first person games are similar in that respect, but it makes more sense logically given the POV) Games that won't let you move forward while turning feel the most constrained though. (not even AITD was like that iirc)

[doubleminor]

I never really thought Doom was scary, but the random noises from hidden monsters and being chased by them with low health really scared the bejeezus out of me.

[ovalbugmann]

I liked the DC version of Alone in the Dark athough I got stuck on disc 2 where the trap door in the floor is. (Dammit)

 

Doom is startling somtimes yes. I thought Jaguar AvP was eerie.

[Rik]

The only game that made me literally jump was Resident Evil the 1st 3.It was more being startled by the Zombies jumping out at you from windows, or when you open doors.Was pretty intense through the whole game.

[misspent_youth]

I think that a game that is not exactly scary, just really tense, is Space Hulk. It was tense in that kinda way like in Alien or Aliens where you know that there's a ton of aliens out there, your scanner tells you they're close, and you know there's nothing you can do but sit there and wait for them to come. There's many a time in Space Hulk where a particular strategy you've tried is just starting to fail and all you can do is sit there and watch (and listen) as your squad gets overwhelmed. It's tense in a cool way, in that once you complete a particular stage you feel relief as much as you do accomplishment. Mind you, this is just going by memory from 15 years ago or so, so it may not hold up, but I really enjoyed that game.

[DickNixonArisen]

BEWARE, I LIVE!

[pinball22]

BEWARE, I LIVE!

 

This is the right answer.

At first it's scary because it's a really freaking scary voice, in an era when you weren't expecting that.

Then once you've played a couple of times it's scary because you never have enough bombs and you know you're about to be eaten.

[Jifremok]

Sinistar is scary even when I have enough bombs! >_< Though later on I become more scared of the little dudes because they can shoot me. (And by "later on" I mean the second level.)

 

As for scary games, I felt that Shadow Tower on the Playstation did great on it, despite not necessarily being a "horror" game. The atmosphere was dark and dreary, weapons broke quickly, healing potions were limited, and I never knew when some new monster would show up and kick my ass with some really cheap move. I swear I spent more time with my shield up than actually exploring or fighting. Also, 'twas in the style of King's Field so the camera was never a problem (first person) and the controls were the best available in the pre-dualshock days.

 

*glares at RE which relied on camera cheapness and shite autoaim*

[xg4bx]

Killing Time always scared the hell out of me. i think it was the combo of only being able to see 3 feet ahead of you due to tech limitations and the use of truly unnerving sound samples.

[Rik]

Killing Time always scared the hell out of me. i think it was the combo of only being able to see 3 feet ahead of you due to tech limitations and the use of truly unnerving sound samples.

Yes!!!I have that one for PC.I like the 2 headed hunting dogs, tchic, tchic, here boy!!The mausoleum is super creepy, especially down in the basement, love the sound track.The music is simple but really suits the eerie atmosphere.Inside the mansion are the demon clowns, demonic maids, demon chefs, this game has it all.!