Tapping the subconscience

DigitalChaos · 2004-02-02T12:35:17

Wasn't sure what to name this topic. My favorite video game genre is horror. Not necessarily survival horror, just horror. Games that will scare the shit out of me and keep me awake for 3 nights in a row. Admittedly, I have never played such a game.When I think of survival horror, I think of games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. I personally do not like these games because I don't like how they are presented, with the fixed camera angles. Fixed camera angles bug me to the extreme. And I don't see those as horror. I see those as suspense, because they give you a little jump or thrill every once in a while. The environments aren't truly 3D and lose some effect. Now, with that said, I have always wanted to create a game that would tap into the subconscience of a person and actually scare them, disturb them, make them be afraid to turn their back to anything but a solid concrete wall. To make a game like this, I believe it would need to be a true 3D world, can freely move to firts person perspective or third person perspective during gameplay. Be able to rotate the camera while moving. Situations that would be needed would be situations that could possibly happen in real life (not ghosts or zombies), something that can truly happen and just may happen. Something that can happen to them. Of course there would need to be the occasional graveyards and abandoned towns, etc. I think what really gets to a person is music and sounds. While visuals are great, and it sets the atmosphere, I think what really taps into a persons subconscience is music and sounds. Because they register without a thought. Maybe this is a bad example, but how many times have you caught yourself singing and didn't even realize you were doing it? Or someone pointed it out to you? I don't have any particular story idea, nor am I currently looking for one. I am curious as to what all of you think can really get to a person, make them unsettled. I think with technology advancing, there will be ways to produce effects better that will stimulate the subconscience and unsettle the person. This has been done in movies, and I'm sure it can be done in games. What could possibly be put into a game to create this effect on a person...? [edited by - DigitalChaos on January 29, 2004 7:24:26 AM]

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by DigitalChaos January 29, 2004 06:23 AM

11 comments, last by DigitalChaos 20 years, 11 months ago

Captain Nuss

100

January 31, 2004 01:06 PM

Reminds me of ''Thief - The Dark Project''. I loved the levels where I had to sneak past guards to get into buildings to steal stuff, but I hated the levels where I had to deal with zombies and stuff. They scared me so much that I always tried to rush through them without thinking about any tactics just to get to the next level.

Thief is a game whose graphics aren''t that pretty, but which is a perfect example for setting an atmosphere through very well done sound effects. Might be related to the fact that you always get the feeling of being in an inferior position compared to the zombies. You can''t eliminate all of them as you have neither sufficient time (some of them would get you before you had eliminated all of them) nor arrows.

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Bouncer

145

February 01, 2004 07:39 PM

I think the most intense game I have ever played was Hired Guns on Amiga. The music and sounds were really haunting. And it had dark and cold looking gfx. I used to play it with my headphones on at nights. It made me really jump once in a while.

I also agree that sounds play a big part in excitement. And ofcourse a good and scary gfx. But the most important thing would be A.I. in my opinion. Scripting is boring. I would love to see some good ai in games ... never seen any now that I think of it. It would just be great if you didn''t knew where the monsters go when you don''t see them... so they could sneak from behind or lurk in the dark corners... that would rock!...

my 2 cents..

Milk is for babies

Kylotan

10,513

February 02, 2004 12:35 PM

quote: Original post by Captain Nuss
Reminds me of ''Thief - The Dark Project''. I loved the levels where I had to sneak past guards to get into buildings to steal stuff, but I hated the levels where I had to deal with zombies and stuff. They scared me so much that I always tried to rush through them without thinking about any tactics just to get to the next level.

I remember being sat in a shadow on the Down In The Bonehoard level for 20-30 minutes of real time, thinking "what on earth am I gonna do to get out of this!". The darkness, your mortality, the inhuman response from the NPCs, and the ambient noises all contributed to a terrifying experience in a game that wasn''t even supposed to be remotely ''horror''.

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Tapping the subconscience

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Tapping the subconscience

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