Topic: Horror Games: Is there such thing as too scary?

First off wasn't sure where to put this thread in, since it doesn't have a specific category.

I recently have been researching horror games and what makes a game scary etc. One of my jobs is to play horror games and see what exactly made me feel scared.
Why? For the past year I have been writing the basic concepts for a horror game that may or may not be released.

The main idea was to create the most psychologically terrifying game experience ever. This means a game that surpasses all horror games in fear factor. The enemies I've come up with are completely insane. I've created creatures the human imagination hasn't even thought of yet(I've searched google images etc and spoken to many people, just curious to see if these creations have already been thought up) to the best of my knowledge. I AM NOT BRAGGING, YOU WILL SEE WHY THIS CAN BE A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD READ ON.

With all the time and energy spent on creating atmosphere and especially these creatures, a few questions just recently have arose.

Remember how I said i's my job to play horror games? Well recently I've researched and asked around: What is the most scary game in gaming?? I kept getting a similar response, besides the usual Silent Hills, Eternal Darkness, The Suffering and System Shock 2, I had been getting a new response "Definitely Amnesia", "Amnesia hands down" and "It makes F.E.A.R. seem like Dance Dance Revolution". When I looked up this game to my surprise it was a new game release this year in September!! WOW!!

Excited to play I downloaded the demo and the first thing I noticed was the non balanced camera. It slightly sways. Pretty immersive. But something special happened. After about 45 minutes, the games fear element got to me and I couldn't advance much longer. I turned the game off. Every now and then I turn the game on and play for 5 minutes, then cannot go on. I've been losing sleep trying to dissect why this game scares me so much. This game is so psychologically effective that it sometimes messed with my own judgment and at times I felt a little crazy as I entered areas I SWORE I hadn't been to, but I already had. It caused so much fear in me at times I (not the in game character) felt disoriented.

I'm only about 50 minutes into the game and the eerie thing is, besides seeing a distant shadow, I haven't encountered a single enemy!!! This game creates fear without the need for a single creature!! So all this time I spent creating nightmarish creatures almost seemed like a waste of time. And fear created by scaring the player to the point of not wanting to play has raised a VERY vital question:

(This is were I need your help Nintendo Life!!!)

Can a video game be Too scary???

I find I cannot finish the demo of Amnesia, which makes me wonder, Is that a good thing? I want the player to enjoy the story I've written so far for my game, but if the player is too scared to even get passed the first chapter, is it even worth it? I'm not sure which direction to go from now on.

Should I tone down the fear in my game and let the player jump a few times but enjoy the deep story?

Or should I make it so frightening that 90 percent of gamers will dread having to turn the game on, while the other 10% "tough" gamers enjoy the fear AND story??

What's your opinion on horror games, and can there be too much fear in a game? So much fear that you cannot even enjoy to finish the game?

Games won't get scary for me until I start caring about my avatar.

The closest to "scary" a game has come, for me, is Clock Tower 3 on the PS2, and that was more creepy than scary, because you're playing the role of a 15 year old school girl, and reading between the lines, it's a pretty creepy story.

Gregorys Horror Show was a bit of a mindscrew, too, which is cool and all, but I've yet to encounter a game I could call genuinely horrific.

I've only seen a teaser video for Amnesia, but I was getting pretty nervous watching it. I might try the demo sometime.

I think horror IS more about atmosphere than outright scares. What you don't see can be far more fear-inducing than what you do see. That's why I've never been impressed by "horror" movies which are more gruesome than scary. While some people get a thrill out of blood and guts spilling everywhere, I've always been more impressed by movies that build this absolute sense of dread and don't let you see much of what you are supposed to be scared of.

I think you do have to temper that with a horror game, though. You want it to be scary, but not so ridiculously scary that you don't even want to play it. That kind of defeats the whole purpose. It sounds to me like if there's a problem with Amnesia, it's that the sense of dread keeps growing constantly rather than coming in waves. I'd much prefer a game with horrific moments followed by relative calm and perhaps even a touch of comic relief (as long as it's not too heavy-handed). There HAS to be a safe area in the game where you know you won't get attacked. Some place to catch your breath before going in again.

I'm not an expert when it comes to horror games, but these are my personal preferences. I hope they help at least a little.

Funny, the character in my game is VERY similar to what you described. She's a 15 year old girl who discovers her true calling in life. And I've never played a single Clock Tower 0_O strange.

BTW have you ever played Amnesia The Dark Descent?

Great response, this helps me out a lot. I was thinking it was a good thing to have parts that keep you on your toes, but in the end there is nothing to fear, then in the next part of the game you are attacked just as you think all is good.

Amnesias biggest badge of honor would have to be what you described as true horror. It scares you by making you fear what you don't see. There have been many reports of gamers quitting the game out of fear before they encounter a single enemy. They do this in the most creative of ways, sound is VERY high quality and well thought out. For example you constantly hear what sounds like a woman, crying out through the walls, and you always hear footsteps nearby, but you never see who it is. Later tonight a friend is going to come over, I am going to make him play until he can't take anymore and see how far he gets, should be interesting. I have a strong feeling he will quit before he even encounters a single enemy.

Oops forgot to ask, If you have time to play Amnesia can you let me know how your experience with it was? I'm not sure if we're allowed to post our email address but it would be cool if I received your response.

I'll only say that horror games can be too scary when people start going insane because of them. Other than that, dump as many buckets of horror as you possibly can. More horror = better horror game. It's just logical.

EDIT: Oh, and about Amnesia; the game is scary as F%#$!!! I'm only about an hour-or-two in and I almost completely freaked when I saw my first monster! It's scary, alright, but that's why I'd call it a good horror game. It's supposed to make me scared, and it does.

@Caliko, I haven't played alot af scary games, actually I have only play 1: F.E.A.R 2. I don't know how much scary is it compared to other games, because is the only one I have played. But anyways I can tell you exactly WHAT are the scary things about the game and WHY I loves it so much.

One of the MOST important things of a horror game is the music, it is VITAL!
I love in FEAR 2 when you just didn't know what can happend next, I explain myself: You are in a place, a scary place of course, let's say a house, full of blood... Then there should be no music, you can only hear you breath and your steps. Everything is a little darker, you are very concetrated in the game, they can be 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, who cares. And suddenly a monster appears or something scary happends or just something that alarm you. It can just be something that fall down, but you need more to see it, to hear it.
I hope you get the point, a game is not a horror game for how blood it has, it is a horror game for the athnosphere.
One of the thing I LOVED fear 2, was because I don't know, I never know what can happend next, will Alma appear? Will I fall? Will someone be killend in front of my nose? That feeling is hwat makes a horror game great, a game that puts you sooo much in the athmosphere of itself, that you want to stop playing, but you CAN'T. Thats when you feel the adrenaline, and you are scary of turning back...

What can't be on a horror game, is when enemies and enemies appear and you get tired of them, when you just get bored of killing them. The places where nothing happends, a scary athmosphere, sadows, ghost, but no reall monster is WAYYYYYY scarier than a place where evryone attack you.

I hope you get my point, a horror game need to have a deep story, in the one you feel you are truly living it.

@Caiiko, I just watched the Amnesia trailer, yes it do looks great, should I download the trailer or will it be too much? I want to play it tonight at 1am...

Anyways after F.E.A.R 2 and after reading these post I will like to prove new horror videogames, wich are the greatest ones for the PC? And wich of them got free trailers?

Oh also.. how long is the trailer of amnesia?

I don't think I've ever actually been scared in a horror game. Creeped out but never really scared.

@ Caliko:
As for creatures in horror games, keep in mind if you go too crazy with your designs you might just go from creepy to goofy. It's a fine line to walk.

Oh and what about penumbra?

Since I've contributed absolutely nothing so far, here I go!

For me, the sense of powerlessness is the most important thing in a horror game. Horror games drown themselves once you've realized that you're loaded like a space marine who happens to have an pocket dimension full of ammunition and health-packs.

@hulklol On Steam, I'm getting about four minutes for the trailer.

Of course games can get too scary. I'm even scared at the Earthbound Final Boss!

Important things for horror games:
few, but truly powerful (as in damaging) and scary enemies.
Mindf--ks, Eternal Darkness-style, such as enemies disappearing or images appearing out of nowhere, anything that messes with a gamer's equilibrium (sense of normalcy) in a positive (aka not anoying) way.
Good use of shadows/darkness, Doom 3 did this well although sometimes too dark.
Atmospheric environments and sound. Possibly the most important. Creepy sound effects and minimal music (except in certain moments) works best.

Hope this helps a little.

that's cool, you're making your own game... what dev are you working for? or is it an indie thing?

yah I also thing thats very cool, oh and good luck with it!

Sure. I believe even games such as The Conduit and CoD3 are scary, mildly.

There are times in the Conduit where you're wandering the hallways and you hear a Drudge screaming. You don't know where it's from or what direction. Also, I recall walking through a house in CoD3, and leaving it because I knew it would freak me out to see a German right in my face.

Damn Germans, always popping up in houses and getting in peoples faces.

@TheFox

I completely understand that, and hope I can nail it.

@V8Ninja Yes, I think a lot of new horror games are too dependent on ammo and the main character being a fearless macho guy.

Just download the game demo from Steam, It's a good demo, I've never watched the trailer though.
Some of the greatest horror games on PC are Amnesia, Penumbra(same developer as Amnesia), System Shock 2, Silent Hill, F.E.A.R. off the top of my head.

Oh and what about penumbra?

Yes, very scary, it's made by Frictional Games, the same developer as Amnesia. I hear Amnesia is scarier though.

And thanks for your input it helps me understand game fear, because video game fear is different from watching a movie or reading a book.

@objection_blaster
Those things you listed are actually priorities to me. Good to see I'm on the right track. Initially I wanted a few action scenes where maybe 3 different types of enemies attack you at once, but maybe I should tone down the enemy count. For some reason I really liked the rush of being attacked by several villagers on Resident Evil 4.

@theblackdragon

I'm independent now. I'm actually working on 2 games. Because my horror game is resource demanding, my plan is to release a smaller Wiiware-like game first that will give me credentials and hopefully a larger budget for the resources that my horror game demands. I will be meeting with a small developer soon who will be able to materialize my smaller project. But they can easily say "no thank you".

@Caiko, hey I just ownloaded Amnesia trailer, and well... never expected it. It is a really different game, you are not a stengt guy, you can't kill enemies, most of the time you can't see them. But the game "keeps you waiting" for soooo long time, that yo get bored, you know, action in a horror game is fundamental, running, shooting, killing, defending yourselve. So Amnesia is for the moment a good game, but just god, I need that action, maybe I will have it later, but come on...

What really scares me in a game, and what is FUNDAMENTAL to any horror game, is more than having that "waiting" is a really not expected action, idk, let's say... a face a a freak girls appearing just in fron of your noise with a big sound!!! (yeah fear )
I also think that creepy monsters and deadli creatures are great placed in a horror game, not alot, but enough.

Anyways good look with your game.

action in a horror game is fundamental, running, shooting, killing, defending yourselve.

No. That is the antithesis of horror. That's exactly why there are so, so few genuine 'horror' games out there, and even fewer good horror games.

Good horror is when you are left utterly defenceless. Good horror makes you feel small and claustrophic, exposed to a world of evil with no escape. Good horror is something like HP Lovecraft, where you are utterly defenceless, and little more than a plaything for the creatures than inhabit the night.

Good horror is not a slasher flick. Most games aim for little more than the kind of "horror" found in a Friday the 13th movie. That's comedy.