I'm not an active developer right now but someday I would like to write a game to showcase my hxRender library. I would like to make this a stealth horror type game. I am wondering what some of the do's and dont's are. I want the player to evade his way through the game, relying on sneaking and activating traps instead of straightforward combat. I also want there to be a constant feeling of suspense and dread. I know that the music, sound, and visual effects are going to be important, but I still need ideas for characters, plot, setting, and all that. Guys got any ideas for me? This forum isn't realy my territory, so forgive me if I break any of the taboos here.

Hmmm.. Sounds like you need a Story/Setting, unless of course you want tidbits on stealth gameplay to (If so, you should check out Thief: The Dark Project, its 3D but still has good idea's). You could try hitting up the Writing For Games Forum (3 down from this forum). ;D

For one thing, you're probably going to have to ensure the player won't be able to succeed if they try direct combat. Occasional combat should be allowed to succeed, but make sure they have to actually think about it and be careful - this means that in the majority of encounters, the player should lose if they try direct combat, or at the least, be severely impaired in such a way as to make completing the level significantly more difficult than if they had tried to be stealthy.

A feeling of suspense and dread will be relying on the world you create and what it is set in heavily. You can't have constant suspense if there is too much action, and you need to have things the player is truly scared of. The unknown is something that is often good to accomplish this - what the player doesn't understand can potentially scare them - on the flipside, it can also annoy and frustrate them, so be aware of that factor. As you've mentioned, unfortunately creating a tension within your game relies very heavily on the sound and visuals of the game.

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Original post by Anonymous Poster Fear of the unknown/unseen is much greater than the fear of the big ugly puss monster with a thousand teeth.

Indeed. Keep in mind though, that it must effect the player - if it's only visual (movement in the distance, shadows, etc) clues or audio (footsteps, breathing, etc) then the player will eventually get used to it, and the effect will be lost. By keeping an opponent hidden from the player in such a way and effecting the player, you can keep this effect persistent much more often. Have the unknown enemy set traps, throw/knock things over, block the player's retreat, etc. Also, if you can somewhat acurately guage when the average player will become accustomed to the audio/visual clues, this can be the perfect time to have the enemy actually show up properly, preferably suddenly and without too much warning (although some warning is good - just make it look no different from the signs players have been getting used to ignoring).

For the setting of the game, I have considered many areas. I have considered old abandoned castles, research labs, artificial ecologies (biodomes), other planets, caves, star ships, alternate dimmensions... I want a fairly diverse environment.

I think I am going to have to go with an abandoned research lab.

I want the plot to have a strong sense of meaning, not just you go in there to whoop some demonic ass. There has to be a reason why you are there. I think in this case, you will be an experiment. The operators of the lab would have done testing on you before the game even begins.

For adding in the creepy, lots of classic elements. Oozing walls, creaky doors, moaning and screaming, and you can't forget the zombies. And flickering lights.

Weapons... I am thinking perhaps 3 at most. Crowbar, 9mm pistol, and near the end, perhaps a shotgun.

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Original post by PnP Bios Weapons... I am thinking perhaps 3 at most. Crowbar, 9mm pistol, and near the end, perhaps a shotgun.

To keep the player on edge, keep them constantly low on ammo for that pistol (and the shotgun when they get it). I find for best effect, you should balance it so a reasonably skilled player will be able to play all the way through (with perhaps the exception of a couple of instances) the game without running out of ammo, but make it rare enough so that they can't afford to waste much without running out and being forced to resort to the crowbar. Being extremely low on ammo when you know something is coming for you is often more scary/worrying than actually being out.

Since you want players to sneak around and try to use stealth more often, this is especially true for your game - I wouldn't even provide enough ammunition to kill every monster present - if they can, they probably will try it. Also, you have an excellent opportunity to give the crowbar an actual advantage rather than simply being a fallback for when the pistol/shotgun are empty; if enemies respond to audio cues, a player might be better off quietly sneaking up behind a monster and taking it out with a quick bash to the head rather than firing a gun and drawing attention. The gun of course has obvious advantages; it's quick, can fire at distant targets, and will probably do more damage depending on the situation.

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Original post by PnP Bios For adding in the creepy, lots of classic elements. Oozing walls, creaky doors, moaning and screaming, and you can't forget the zombies. And flickering lights.

Don't overdo any particular element if you can avoid it, or players will consider your game to be cliche and 'cheesy'. Anything out of place (within the context of the level) can be used to bother the player.

Picture the following:
You are sneaking through the dark corridors, trying to avoid running into the creatures that have been hunting you. You're not sure exactly what they are, how many there are, or even where they currently are, but from the noises you think at least one of them is nearby. You get the feeling they may be herding you somewhere. You creep up to a door which looks the same as any other, and carefully open it...

Now, I'll provide two alternatives to what is found beyond the door - considering the context, see which one seems more unsettling and is likely to have an effect on the player:

1. ...to find what the dim flickering lights show to be a larger room, similar to the rest of the rooms and corridors in the area. You can still hear the sounds of something moving close by, but can't see any immediate sign of anything in the room, which appears to be completely still.

2. ...to find a brightly lit room, which appears to be similar to the other rooms you have investigated, except for the fact that it for some reason doesn't seem damaged. You can still hear the sounds of something moving close by, but can't see any immediate sign of anything in the room, which appears to be completely still.

Now, although Room1 has what would usually be considered a creepy atmosphere, I think that Room2 would likely have a greater effect on the player psychologically. Room1, although 'creepy', is much the same as what the player has previously been in - they think they may be being herded somewhere, and can't see any immediate threat, so they are likely to quickly move on into the room, see if it contains anything helpful, and continue moving. Upon entering Room2, the player is presented with something different from what they have been facing so far - it's bright, which will expose them to anything watching; for some reason it's not damaged like most other rooms seem to be; the player suspects they are being herded somewhere - could this room be the place, and does that mean it's a trap?

Just a little example of how something completely innocuous but out of place within the context of a level can sometimes have a better effect than something 'creepy'. As with everything, don't overdo it - overdoing this particular technique leads to levels with no consistency, which is normally a bad thing (although in some designs lack of consistency could be used well).

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Original post by Kazgoroth stuff...

Thanks for the advice. I am also planning it so that sounds will work in your favor too, like banging your crowbar against the wall will get them to chase you in that direction, great for working with bottomless pits.

Silence and lack of music will also play a huge part. I like how you talked about diversity in the environments. I think that the environment will have a few different areas, just to break up the monotony, but will overall be fairly consistant.

Well, you sound like you've got the right idea in the audio department - it doesn't occur to a lot of people that the lack of sound/music can often be more effective if used correctly.

A discussion about 2D survival/horror and nobody mentioned Clock Tower? Get an SNES emulator and find a copy of this game. I don't think the real thing can be had anymore.

Another way to make the guns less omnipotent would be to make them awkward. If you want to push that bookcase, you have to lean your shotgun against the wall first, instead of just dropping it into your inventory for quick access later.

But for the sense of desperation, don't overlook weapons of opportunity. A broken chair leg, a bottle, a piece of broken glass or a frying pan could all be used as improvised weapons.

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Original post by Iron Chef Carnage A discussion about 2D survival/horror and nobody mentioned Clock Tower? Get an SNES emulator and find a copy of this game. I don't think the real thing can be had anymore. Another way to make the guns less omnipotent would be to make them awkward. If you want to push that bookcase, you have to lean your shotgun against the wall first, instead of just dropping it into your inventory for quick access later. But for the sense of desperation, don't overlook weapons of opportunity. A broken chair leg, a bottle, a piece of broken glass or a frying pan could all be used as improvised weapons.

Those are interesting ideas.

Another very important thing in my game will be the flashlight. It won't be doom3 the whole time, but there will be some definite lost in the dark parts. And of course, the flashlight will be kinneticly powered.