Horror Games Discussion

Dan_N · Mon 04/09/2006 06:47:33

Good day and buna ziua.

I've started this topic to discuss three of my favourite adventure games, 5 Days a Stranger, 7 Days a Skeptic, and Trilby's Notes.
This might have been discussed already, but it was before my time in this forum 'cause in 2002 and 2003 I was living in blissfull ingnorance with no Internet and with a 486 computer and going to the i-cafe for an hour every month or so to get some crappy games that would contain CIHs, but now I can do that from the confort of my own home!

Anyway, which game was scarier?
From my point of view, it was 7DAS. Why? Because the rooms were much more small, which made them more claustrophobical, therefor more frightening. There were also those chases which always got the blood pumping. 5DAS was too quite misterious and quite scary, being the first adventure game in years I've played, I didn't know what to expect, but I was mesmerised by it. The rooms were larger, they contain the back yard, which was kinda big, frankly, only the scene in the bathroom was smaller and more frightening with the 'big sick guy' staring right at you and coming menacingly. Trilby's Notes was probably the worst of them all from this point of view, because it had that documentary sort of feeling 'cause you would have flashbacks to previous times, and the parser was just dang annoying! Although I don't really hate parsers, they just annoy me, 'cause you have to guess what to do next most of the time. And what was the last bit where he had to die?! I tried many times to pass that on my own, but failed miserably, so I got the walkthrough from a topic and all I had to do is move arround a lot. And talk.

Anyway, tell me what YOU think.
(and don't tell me that you think this topic and/or me are stupid, please stick to the subject.)

Update:
I hve decided to add Pleurghburg to this spooky thread. Personally there were 2 things that scared me about Pleurghburg. The dream sequence early in the game where that horrid face comes speeding towards you (that always gets me!) and late at night at the park. The rest was just average I guess. Again, let's see what YOU think! Post TODAY! (and maybe tomorrow and then the day after and then everyday for the rest of your lives!)

Update:
Yet another topic change as thread goes towards horror games. What are you favourite horror games? Why? What's the best, or scariest or whateverest horror game. As I've mentioned below, I've downloaded Lost in the Nightmare, and I must say that after the installer copied it's exact size, it then 20 Megs, which really tickles my monkey! I hated when installers do that. I cleared lots and lots and lots of space by deleting other dear games to make room and what happens?! Ahem. Anyway, I've played LitN a bit (reached the rock with the blond dude) and I must say: I didn't expect point'n'click 3D rendered ZORK! But, aside that, and the fact that you can easily get lost in the beginning, it's quite cute, so far. So, feel free to discuss that too. I am now going to go and take my happy pills and then return.
Kudos!

Gord10 · Mon 04/09/2006 07:31:06

I think horror.5DAS > horror.TrilbysNotes > horror.7DAS So the constant of yours.

5DAS had a really strong, mysterious atmosphere. Characters, story telling, the mansion itself... Everything was very good. I will be able forget that nightmare bathroom scene in 5DAS so hard.

I didn't get so scared of Trilby's Notes; maybe it was because I had guessed every events in the game (as it was like one of my own horror games). I found the text parser successful, I had to use the walkthrough rarely. It made me decide to use text parser system for my next game.

But I had played 7DAS as just another random adventure game. I don't remember something got me scared in 7DAS.

jetxl · Mon 04/09/2006 07:35:12

None reached the horror of Sword.

Dan_N · Mon 04/09/2006 08:47:21

Off topic:
Gord10, I'm now downloading your Lost In The Nightmare. I hope it's good! 'Cause it's huge and I had to delete Imperialism and Commandos (albeit demo) to make room for it!

On topic:
Kudos!

Gord10 · Mon 04/09/2006 09:02:12

I hope, too

Spoiler

Please don't start the game without installing the patch

[close]

Nostradamus · Mon 04/09/2006 10:08:03

I slightly prefer Pleurghburg. It was one the first AGS Game to have gore and horror, and it was a long and rich in story and character development. As for the Yahtzee trilogy I'll go with the first 5DAS because there the horror was surprising and unexpected. We knew yahtzee as a comedy games maker and to have such a horrific game was surprising. In the other two you of course expected the horrors. I have to say I absoloutely love the flashback storytewlling of Trilby's Notes.

Gilbert · Mon 04/09/2006 10:14:01

Of the X Days "series" 6 Days Assasin was scarier, but the scariest was:

Spoiler

3 Minutes a Fart

[close]

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Mon 04/09/2006 10:15:12

None of them were scary, except that I enjoyed Pleurghburg as a game more than all of Yahtzee's creations put together.

passer-by · Mon 04/09/2006 11:22:00

I liked Prodigal. It was not scary as in "horror scary" but there was tension, a constant feeling of threat and I wanted to get out of there "now!"

[Cameron] · Mon 04/09/2006 11:37:25

I liked minds eye! But I'm just kissing ass. Favourite horror game is either John Sauls Blackstone Chronicles or Black Dahlia. Really good games them be.

Hammerite · Mon 04/09/2006 12:11:19

I need to replay Pleughburg.
That game was sweet.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Mon 04/09/2006 12:22:18

You had to say that you were kissing ass, didn't you :'(

m0ds · Mon 04/09/2006 13:10:28

Enough kissing, or it'll get whipped!

I thought 5 Days was spookier than Trilby's Notes, but Trilby's Notes wasn't definitely "scarier" in my mind, but only because it made me jump a lot, and 5DAS didn't really do that for me. Pleurghburg's atmosphere got tense, which I really enjoyed. I'm yet to play 7DAS.

Dan_N · Mon 04/09/2006 15:24:09

You have not what?! :o
Good benevolent goodness!!

Anyway, just stepped in to take a look.
I've been playing Lost in the Nightmare (at the 'get key to get in market' stage) and it is swee- erm... ahem... .... ah... a good game! That's what I wanted to say!
*sigh**phew*
Right. Good story. But those fadings just take to damn long! About half my game time is spend on fadings and loadings! That's why I hate my computer! Haven't seen any nudity yet, although it should have some according to Abandonia Reloaded and AGS games database. Oh well...
About Prodigal, I saw the review on Abandonia Reloaded. And I thought it would be cool, but then I looked at system requirements. F*ck sh*t damn sheizer (sh*t in german)! It needs a P4 at 1,4 Ghz for damn 320x240 ?!?!
Oh well...

Life goes on I suppose...
Too bad life sucks...

Kudos!

Ali · Mon 04/09/2006 16:13:37

Prodigal ran perfectly well for me on Windows 98 with a Pentium II 400Ghz processor. I think those requirements are just the conditions under which the makers are sure the game will run.

And I'm with Cameron, Black Dahlia and Blackstone are distinctly underrated games. The Trilby games were all very suspenseful and enjoyable, but I found Pleurgburgh to be more intriguing.

Dan_N · Mon 04/09/2006 19:58:50

Ahh... Yes Ali, but I have a P1 at 166 Mhz (still win98).

Anyways, finished Lost in the Nightmare.
Really spooky. I tell ya, the occult stuff in the days games and in the notes have NOTHING on this game right here. Lost Ones, campers, murders, torturings, hell yeah! On a 1 to 10 scale of being sh*t-scared to death, I'd give it a 9. 'Cause darn it, it keeps you in suspence.
And is also the first adventure game EVER that I've ever played without the aid of a walkthrough.
So, you might ask, why not try the sequel demo available here, on AGS.
Well, 'cause frankly, after playing the first one, now I'd like to play Fluffy Bunny Buddies in the land of Much Candy (the kid's version, to clarify)!
No more horror games for me for a while. Thank you, kudos and good *shudder* wha- what was that?
I heard a creak! mommy.... scared.... must hide beneath bed... finish post... gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

passer-by · Mon 04/09/2006 21:08:17

Quote from: Dan_N_GameZ on Mon 04/09/2006 19:58:50
Well, 'cause frankly, after playing the first one, now I'd like to play Fluffy Bunny Buddies in the land of Much Candy (the kid's version, to clarify)!

That's very brave! Me, I play nothing but Mahjong now.

Nostradamus · Tue 05/09/2006 08:49:40

Dan_N_Gamez, how the hell can you live with a P1 :o

Dan_N · Tue 05/09/2006 11:06:53

Thanks for f*cking reminding me!

Anyway, hey! It runs most of the AGS games. I played Pleurghburg, the Days games, Notes, Lost in the Nightmare, the Rob Blanc trilogy, Apprentice and many, many more. It runs StarCraft. (It RUNS STARCRAFT) Mighty well, might I add. And I can play a host of other games, most of those that have not been made past the year 1999 and are not very 3D (Blood 2 is an exception). Unfortunately to play games that are past 1999, I need a P2 at at least 233 Mhz, with 32 Mb of memory, and a monitor that supports 800x600 and more. Although my video board supports that resolution. Anyway, I need DOUBLE what I have now. And yes, I'm finished bitching!
No, wait, I've gotta bitch some more: bitch bitch I'm single, bitch bitch I don't have any money, bitch bitch I'm starting high-school in a couple of weeks, bitch bitch no-one has even of Romania, bitch freaking bitch. Now I'm done bitching. Alright, you may resume talking amongst yourselves. I'm going to bitch some more on other forums!

Kudos!

Gilbert · Tue 05/09/2006 11:11:33

* Gilbot V7000a actually can live with his 386-40 (which was amazingly fast!), that is..., until his cat destroyed it.

vict0r · Tue 05/09/2006 12:27:19

Cat? How?

Vince Twelve · Tue 05/09/2006 13:41:10

Wicked case mod, Gilbot!

Dan_N · Sun 10/09/2006 22:43:41

Yes, well, that's quite amusing. I laughed my arse off Gilboot. But come on, folks let's get back to the matter at hand. Horror games discussion. What do you think of the horror AGS games? Recommend some. Or whatever.

Here's to get the ball rollin': check out the new update on fullyramblomatic. Yahtzee shows you how to make your own Yahtzee-style background. But look closer. (in case you haven't dashed off already) The background and character he uses to keep his proportions right are unknown. And I doubt he would've created these things just for an update... Makes you think, huh?

Kudos! (but said in a scary way)

2ma2 · Mon 11/09/2006 13:08:41

For a good game, try Clock Toweron a SNES emulator. Scissor Man!

ginanubismon · Mon 11/09/2006 18:54:58

I second 2ma2's opinion.

Dan_N · Tue 12/09/2006 06:54:22

What's Clock Toweron? I've never heard of it. Please fill me in.

Helm · Tue 12/09/2006 07:15:01

Clock Tower.

Dan_N · Tue 12/09/2006 07:17:59

Right, Clock Tower, what is that?

Vince Twelve · Tue 12/09/2006 08:29:44

Clock Tower

Dan_N · Tue 12/09/2006 16:45:40

Fu-nay. Fu-nay.

Anyway, if anyone has some money, go get Sanitarium. (review on Underdogs)

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 13/09/2006 10:54:52

Or don't. It depends on whether you like a damned good atmosphere, horrible voice acting, so-so puzzles with a couple of gratuitous puzzles thrown in for good measure and for giving you an excuse to quit the game, and overall one of the best concepts I've ever seen handled a bit clumsily.

Well, 's what I think.

Dan_N · Thu 14/09/2006 18:52:12

Rui, you seem to be a connaiseur of the adventure genre, what game(s) do you recommend to the average AGSJoe?

botkiller · Sat 16/09/2006 00:23:49

I think it is great!
Well, do you know about my new game?, it is called Day of School THE TEMPLE OF CHAOS, its an.... unusual advenure game mixed with RPG classics games, I need someone with a great imagination too to ask him to join me in the project, my mail is:
Leandro_magno10@hotmail.com

Dan_N · Sat 16/09/2006 09:38:25

What the hell are you doing here?!

No offense, but are you blind or something?!

The "ask for help with a game" topic is just what? 5 or 6 rows upwards from this thread!

Post there if you need help.

Hell, I'd join, but post there, after reading the rules of course and then maybe someone will help you. Now go away, unless you wanna talk about EXISTING horror games.

Look, I have nothing against newbies as I am one too, but that is just over the line, man! What are you thinking? Pie? Sheesh!

Right then, regaining calmness... going to happy place... good.
Now let's talk horror. Well, since Rui hasn't checked back yet, let's move the conversation forward. After replaying Trilby's Notes (I know, I'm like a broken record...) I noticed that the action and feel of the game changed. In 5DAS and 7DAS, the game was focussed more on the characters, and since you were one of the characters it had a bigger "scare score" if you will, (and now you'll say "no I won't") although it had a solid story too. Notes changed, it was more story driven and although that's not bad for an adventure game, for horror games it isn't all that good. Notes used bad scare techniques like displaying large quantities of blood and gore and spooky music. Now, I don't know about you, but if I see too much blood and gore being thrown in my face every 5 seconds then I become immune to it. Sure, the first time I saw the bad hotel, I though "yeuch!" "eachh!" "blerghh!" but after a few rooms it kinda died out to a "y..." "e..." "b..." "aww forget it!". In 5DAS, you had some blood and gore (but mainly blood) like what, once a room? In 7DAS the "b&g" factor, if you will (I know) was more intense at at shorter intervals, but still, it didn't occur as often as Notes. Secodnly (and I know I din't say "firstly) in Notes there aren't that many ways to die. Although that might be a good thing in an adventure game, in a horror game it's not so much so. 'Cause having many ways to die grows tension and makes you more susceptile to scary scenes, in my opinion. 7DAS was leader in this area followed by 5DAS and Notes was dead last. Notes had one way to die, by my count. And that was by some bugs, which isn't all that impressive, just gory.

esper · Sat 16/09/2006 10:00:16

I haven't been around for six millenia, but when there is talk of horror games, I'm on it.

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=610

http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=683

Everyone who knows me knew that was coming. I'm shameles...

Also, everyone who knows me knows I'm also going to press "CALL OF CTHULHU, DARK CORNERS OF THE EARTH." Not an AGS game, but spooktacular.

Dan_N · Sat 16/09/2006 10:06:26

Esper, you devil you, sneeking in links to your games, eh? But still, you might find one more download for each of them , as I need to diversify.

But still, keep in tone here.

And elaborate, what exactly are you refferring to when you say "CALL OF CTHULHU, DARK CORNERS OF THE EARTH."?
I take it's a book 'cause it has Cthulhu in it, a book by Lovecraft no less, but still elaborate please, for I haven't read it.

esper · Sat 16/09/2006 10:42:24

Both of my games are horror. Heavy on the horror. I'm a horror author, and you'll even find a short horror story along with the download of "Town on the Edge of Darkness." Also, I just got done replaying "Heart of Abraxas," which I haven't given a second thought since I made it, and damn near wet myself. I think you'll be pleased. Forgive my meager art skills, though, as that is the only thing that really detracts from the gameplay experience. That and that it was an OROW game and games made in one week (by me) tend to suck. Look for my upcoming game, which I haven't even announced yet, this time notwithstanding. It's horror too.

And as for Dark Corners of the Earth... http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=23297.0

Or Google. The things I do for you people who don't know how to use Google.

You know, in the movie National Treasure, the good guys use Google and the bad guys use Yahoo.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Sat 16/09/2006 14:13:07

Well, I'm not more of a connoisseur (sp?) than anyone else here in this forum (if anything, I just theorize too damn much), and proof of that is that the horror games I reccommend have already been mentioned, I believe - Black Dahlia (great in all aspects except for gratuitous puzzles that kill the game), all 3 Gabriel Knight games (more thriller than horror, maybe, but still damn good), The Dark Eye (more of an interactive experience than a game, but brilliant), stuff like that. Midnight Nowhere has great atmosphere, confusing storyline and IMHO horrid gameplay/puzzles, Sanitarium also has great atmosphere and concept but could have had better execution, Martian Gothic: Unification is too frustrating for people who want to enjoy the story that it promises to deliver (it could use a remake as a straight adventure, actually, that game could...), Temujin needs a special kind of patience to play, Harvester promises a lot and has the horrible Wizard of OZ-style ending, Bad Mojo is very intriguing and very unique, both Phantasmagorias have quite a bit going for them (come on, everyone says how sleazy and all Phantasmagoria 1 is, but everyone has enjoyed it!), Postmortem is just plain bad and Still-Life has too many "could have been better" moments, Waxworks is kind of a classic but also requires that special sort of patience, Penumbra seems to be a great experience but I've yet to get anywhere in it due to a slow peecy, In Memoriam is very gimmicky and, although quite fun, has ZERO replayability, System Shock 1 is extraordinary and SS2 is arguably a fair sequel that's not quite in the same league. From the top of my head, that's the kind of games I can bring to this discussion.

AGS quality horror games (the must-play sort) include Prodigal, Mind's Eye, the Trilby series, 1213 and Butcher Stanys, which is the best horror game ever made.

Helm · Sat 16/09/2006 16:13:40

QuoteWaxworks is kind of a classic but also requires that special sort of patience,

Just as long as you map a bit, Waxworks is extremely enjoyable and awesome. Also a 10-4 on System Shock 1.

Ghormak · Sat 16/09/2006 16:21:03

System Shock 2 is fantastic, I recently played it through again and enjoyed it immensely.

I tried System Shock 1 once, but sadly I couldn't get into it. The heavily pixelated textured 3d look is one that hasn't aged well in my eyes. It's strange how the extremely low-poly characters in SS2 don't bother me at all.

Since nobody has mentioned it yet, I'll mention BioShock. A game in development by the team behind the System Shock games. Read some of the Ken Levine interviews, it sounds very interesting.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Sat 16/09/2006 16:40:35

I would also recommend checking out the Elvira games, though the pc versions were horribly downscaled graphically. The first in particular has some of the most spectacularly gruesome death scenes ever drawn for a game. Ever. Accolade was the company that made me sit up and say 'wow, I want to do that'. Also, The Thing got a lot of bad press but I quite enjoyed it aside from the extremely iffy AI behavior, like people just turning into Things after a blood test showed negative because it was a plot device. The game itself had the atmosphere and general dread down well, though.

Dan_N · Sat 16/09/2006 18:30:19

ProgZmax, I have somewhat of a bone to pick with you... Why did you put that fog-thing over the screen in Mind's Eye? Can it be disabled? And I also can't say Mind's Eye is that scary or chilling or thrilling or whatever, it got nothing out of me... (the bit I've played anyway) Why? 'Cause the characters' heads seemed to big! I mean, maybe it's just me, but I just couldn't look at a character with a straight face. The hairy dude, Noah, was especially funny. And when they made big eyes... it cracked me up. No offense though. I know you did your best. Very nice story, though and interesting puzzles, might I add. But still, the fog thing... it just ruins it... An eye in the corner could've worked...

Yeah, Kudos!

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Sat 16/09/2006 21:59:50

Odd, many people have emailed me and such to tell me they enjoyed the delirium effect and found the character art to be very fitting. I have no intention or desire to please everyone, though. Check the readme for tricks to improve performance if you are having trouble. Switching color modes in particular will make it run considerably faster, though the drawback is the lack of alpha channel creating a blue zone in text windows. Like others before me have said, you really need to move into the 90s at least and get a better pc. Thanks for playing.

Candle · Sun 17/09/2006 04:33:20

Playing Sanitarium is like playing a David Lynch movie. From minute to minute you have no idea what is real and what isn't, and the simplest of conversations can have impact down the line. ASC did a great job taking a simple premise and weaving it into such a fascinating story. The game never gets boring, because plot points are delved out in small chunks throughout the eight chapters, giving you just enough information to make you want to keep playing. And despite its clichÃ©d beginning, it is a powerful story as well. From the haunting little girl's voice in the menu, to a trek through a house where the spirits go about their daily business, this is a game that will stick with you after you are done playing. This is the first game in a long time where I sat through the closing credits just to make sure I didn't miss anything else.

http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,66

Think a saw type game is to much?

Chrille · Sun 17/09/2006 10:49:56

Ah, Elvira and Waxworks. I love those games so much. Elvira 2 I have never finished. Terrible music and very difficult. Though honestly I haven't really made an effort to sit down and actually try finishing it. I just wandered around exploring. As said it is necessary to map. Funny how I didn't mind this at all years ago, it was made part of the gameplay.

I didn't know the graphics in PC-Elvira were scaled down, I think they look excellent as they are. I'd try the Amiga version but the disk swapping is so frustrating.

Waxworks is my favourite of the three. Also, personally I think those death scenes are far more horrifying than those in Elvira. I first tried playing it when it came out and couldn't because it was too much. I tried again a few years later and now I love it. The Mine "chapter" is my favourite. To me it's the most tensely atmospheric part of any horror game out there. You really don't want to go on deeper into that mine.

So yes, I strongly recommend these games. You can buy the HorrorPack at AdventureSoft's website.

There is also their first game, Personal Nightmare, which is a real-time adventure set in a small village. It seems very nice and atmospheric though the Underdogs version crashes too often. It is also available for Atari and Amiga with better graphics, but gah! the disc-swapping!

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Sun 17/09/2006 16:30:41

Funny, I found Waxworks to be the least good of the three mentioned Accolade titles, though I agree Elvira 2 was rather tedious at times, certainly nowhere near as fun as running through the castle in Elvira 1 hacking undead guards. It also has my favorite scene in a game: the maggots flipping on the gardener bit. It's a shame really those games didn't get as much exposure when they would have been profitable to Accolade because those guys really had something going back then.

Dan_N · Wed 20/09/2006 18:35:32

Right, a general question: what makes a horror game horror, in your opinion?
Vast quantities of blood and gore or dark corners, cooky music and weird sounds from around the corner? Or maybe the strong presence of the occult? Or maybe tight rooms for that claustrophobia effect?

Helm · Wed 20/09/2006 18:41:35

QuoteI'd try the Amiga version but the disk swapping is so frustrating.

two words, Chrille: HD INSTALL

Progz: why are you reffering to the Horrorsoft classics as Accolade games? If Accolade was publishing, that's like saying U.S. Gold made Flashback, whereas Delphine did. Respect for the developers!

I'd also like to add 'Hound of the Shadows' and 'Daughter of the Serpent' to the list of good horror games. Lovecraft terror, those two. The first only text, but god, it works. It works.

Nathan23 · Wed 20/09/2006 18:45:27

well I say that the dark places and the suspense of something that could come out from nowhere or that something is watching you .. and the blood too, but more important is that the history of the game make you think about that could be real..

Gord10 · Wed 20/09/2006 22:39:28

Quote from: Dan_N_GameZ on Wed 20/09/2006 18:35:32
Right, a general question: what makes a horror game horror, in your opinion?
Vast quantities of blood and gore or dark corners, cooky music and weird sounds from around the corner? Or maybe the strong presence of the occult? Or maybe tight rooms for that claustrophobia effect?

There was a thread about it:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=18991

Also there was another one that I had started, but couldn't find it now (damn, now I see how I was too n00b to start a new thread even if there was another thread about it...)

Ali · Wed 20/09/2006 23:27:50

Quote from: Rui "Trovatore" Pires on Sat 16/09/2006 14:13:07
Postmortem is just plain badÃ,Â

While I agree with almost everything you've said I think this is unfair. Postmortem has a very absorbing atmosphere and good mis en scene. The designers' weak attempt at making the game multi-path obscures its mediocre story, but it's not an altogether unrewarding experience. Plus, Canadian voice acting is always fun.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 20/09/2006 23:32:58

Well, I tend to think a game's bad when the characters start talking about some statue of Baphomet or other, as though I had come across something of the sort. I hadn't. I felt like some variable had been triggered beforehand (and yep, it had). Up until then I was enjoying the game. After that, it all got ruined for me. Plus, it had a handful of poorly-designed or irrelevant puzzles (a spot the difference game?! And the "draw the face of the suspect" minigame was fine in concept, but bad in execution. PQ3 did that one very well...). That kills a game for me.

I agree with Helm on Hound of Shadow. Extraordinary, that one. On the same vein, I have to include Anchorhead, and maybe even Babel (different vein, though). Daughter of the Serpent (a.k.a. The Scroll) I have mixed feelings about. I wouldn't call it a good game, but I would call it decent, and relatively engaging. And dunno if I'd call it horror... but that's just me.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Thu 21/09/2006 17:39:44

QuoteProgz: why are you reffering to the Horrorsoft classics as Accolade games? If Accolade was publishing, that's like saying U.S. Gold made Flashback, whereas Delphine did. Respect for the developers!

Silence, knave! If I like to associate Accolade with greatness then don't interfere!

You're right, though. Horrorsoft is the group directly responsible for greatness.*

*Do you think of Toys For Bob or Accolade when Star Control 1/2 is mentioned?

Dan_N · Mon 25/09/2006 21:21:25

Rui's right. I too believe that a game begins to go "down hill" when the occult or "freaky" happenings take place. That was my first feeling when 5DAS started with that mish-mash. I gues it's an exercise for the mind and imagination, but I don't like it. Still 5DAS was a great game for it's emphasis on scaring the wits out of you and the "other characters". As a horror game, it's top notch. Hell, a sciopathic killer on the loose scars me more than a ghost in a house. Well, I guess it's subjective.

Right then, to simplify my previous questions about what makes a horror game tick...
What makes a horror game tick? What does classify it as horror? Obscene amounts of blood and gore? Pubescent teenagers being hacked to bits? Spooky dark corners? Spooky music and sounds? Tension build-ups that will give you a heart attack in your twenties? Ghosts, zombies and crud like that?

Frankly, in my opinion (for which you didn't ask, I know) the game could be centered around Bunny McFluffFluff and his buddies, if it had ghostly (as in spooky) atmosphere and tension build-ups.

PS: Progz, if you're reading this, I would like to apologise for harshly critisizing your game and for trying you to "play tech support with me", as you put it. It was not my place. From now on, I shall adress you as mr. ProgZmax, giving respect where respect is due. Oh, and I will shine your shoes if you're ever in Romania.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Tue 26/09/2006 09:40:21

QuoteRui's right. I too believe that a game begins to go "down hill" when the occult or "freaky" happenings take place.

Which is quite a feat, considering I'm an occult-crazt and love that.

When it's well done, I absolutely love it. It just has to be VERY well played, because when you start using it, your game starts to promise and lot. And it had BETTER deliver. Instances where it DOES deliver are Gabe Knight and Black Dahlia. Instances where it ultimately doesn't are Harvester.

LimpingFish · Tue 26/09/2006 17:41:53

I think an overuse of occult cliches are to blame when a "Horror" game goes sour.

Scary little girl ghosts.
Haunted mansions.
Family ancestor obsessed with ancient evil rites.
A mystical artifact.

The usual.

Dan_N · Thu 28/09/2006 10:12:08

How did this thread get sticky?

Freaky...

Anyway, yeah, a haunted house, incantations, possessions, that's been done too many times that I can count. And in sci-fi, aliens, ships getting stranded, that too is a cliche.

That's why I love detective mistery horror games... You never know where they'll take you... but, unfortunately, it usually takes you to a cliche

Right, let's delve into non-adventure horror games...
First Person Shooters have been known to scare you witless, but how about platformers?
Now, I've played A LOT of platformers, 'cause not many games would run on my old computer, and one stroke out of the rest. Abuse. Crack Dot Com's Abuse. Now, the "story" is cliche: a prison, someone let's out some gass, the prisoners turn to aliens, or "ants" (

) and you must stop that valve. The ants looked like Aliens (you'll notice the capital letter, meaning that it referers to the movie Aliens with Sigourney Weaver in the eighties). But that's not the scary bit. Abuse is the first, if I'm not mistaken, platformer to use ambient sound and lighting. That was scary, dark corridors, screams of terror and the scream the ants let out when they were coming. On one setting I played it up to the second to last or last level until I died so many times, I was frustrated and turned to Doom (at least that one I can finish). Yeah, that's a BIG problem with Abuse, you die so much, that I was surprised Sierra didn't meddle in it. A usual method of dying is by getting torn to bits by horders of alien- I mean ants.

Anyway, I still have to ask this again: how in the world did this thread get sticky?

Lionmonkey · Mon 09/10/2006 16:05:11

Quote from: Dan_N_GameZ on Mon 04/09/2006 06:47:33
Good day and buna ziua.

I've started this topic to discuss three of my favourite adventure games, 5 Days a Stranger, 7 Days a Skeptic, and Trilby's Notes.
This might have been discussed already, but it was before my time in this forum 'cause in 2002 and 2003 I was living in blissfull ingnorance with no Internet and with a 486 computer and going to the i-cafe for an hour every month or so to get some crappy games that would contain CIHs, but now I can do that from the confort of my own home!

Anyway, which game was scarier?
From my point of view, it was 7DAS. Why? Because the rooms were much more small, which made them more claustrophobical, therefor more frightening. There were also those chases which always got the blood pumping. 5DAS was too quite misterious and quite scary, being the first adventure game in years I've played, I didn't know what to expect, but I was mesmerised by it. The rooms were larger, they contain the back yard, which was kinda big, frankly, only the scene in the bathroom was smaller and more frightening with the 'big sick guy' staring right at you and coming menacingly. Trilby's Notes was probably the worst of them all from this point of view, because it had that documentary sort of feeling 'cause you would have flashbacks to previous times, and the parser was just dang annoying! Although I don't really hate parsers, they just annoy me, 'cause you have to guess what to do next most of the time. And what was the last bit where he had to die?! I tried many times to pass that on my own, but failed miserably, so I got the walkthrough from a topic and all I had to do is move arround a lot. And talk.

Anyway, tell me what YOU think.
(and don't tell me that you think this topic and/or me are stupid, please stick to the subject.)

Update:
I hve decided to add Pleurghburg to this spooky thread. Personally there were 2 things that scared me about Pleurghburg. The dream sequence early in the game where that horrid face comes speeding towards you (that always gets me!) and late at night at the park. The rest was just average I guess. Again, let's see what YOU think! Post TODAY! (and maybe tomorrow and then the day after and then everyday for the rest of your lives!)

Update:
Yet another topic change as thread goes towards horror games. What are you favourite horror games? Why? What's the best, or scariest or whateverest horror game. As I've mentioned below, I've downloaded Lost in the Nightmare, and I must say that after the installer copied it's exact size, it then 20 Megs, which really tickles my monkey! I hated when installers do that. I cleared lots and lots and lots of space by deleting other dear games to make room and what happens?! Ahem. Anyway, I've played LitN a bit (reached the rock with the blond dude) and I must say: I didn't expect point'n'click 3D rendered ZORK! But, aside that, and the fact that you can easily get lost in the beginning, it's quite cute, so far. So, feel free to discuss that too. I am now going to go and take my happy pills and then return.
Kudos!

I think, that 5 days a stranger was scarier, because it was less bloody. I mean, in the others parts of this trilogy (actually a quadralogy) there was gore and blood behind each corner, unlike 5DaS, so the scary scenes were more sudden, that made them even scarier. And the second thing

Spoiler

was that in 5DaS all murders were done by the main character (Trilby).

[close]

And that gave feeling, that you can't control the situation and that was scary too.
The titul of the most gory game of these three I would give to Trilby's notes. By the way, I'm stuck in this game. After coming into hotel and talking to that man, who had idol, when I exit he's room the hotel and hotel changes. What should I do now? Can anyone tell me, where to find walk for Trilby's notes?

Helm · Mon 09/10/2006 16:14:03

Progz: When I think Accolade, I think of shooting little boys for being uppity, actually.

Gord10 · Mon 09/10/2006 16:30:23

@Lionmonkey:

Spoiler

Only one of the two murders was unconciously commited by Trilby. AJ was killed by Phil.

[close]

I think the walkthrough of Trilby's Notes was somewhere in this forums; search for the topic og TN in probably Hints&Tips or Completed Games Announcements. If I remember correct

Spoiler

We were trying to open a wooden door in the hotel's restaurant; after picking up an item on the decaying corpse.

[close]

Lionmonkey · Tue 10/10/2006 17:08:01

Thank you

Tentacles · Tue 16/03/2010 10:55:30

"What makes a horror game tick? What does classify it as horror? Obscene amounts of blood and gore? Pubescent teenagers being hacked to bits? Spooky dark corners? Spooky music and sounds? Tension build-ups that will give you
a heart attack in your twenties? Ghosts, zombies and crud like that?"

The thing I have to place a great deal on is realism. Alot of the games with serial killers coming back from the dead, just strikes me as so unbelievable that it just doesnt shock me any more. I like a bit of mystery, were you not exactly sure whats going on, in fact it might at first seem completely normal, but there might be something that seems slightly off. So Tension,Mystery, and creepyness. But no gore.

Ethan D · Tue 16/03/2010 16:43:19

I think that horror has several things that are important to accomplish it's affect. The first foundation of horror is breaking someones reality. What I mean by this is that whatever happens in the story, whatever actions, should be such that the can conceivably happen but it's not the way things are supposed to go. For instance, I think No country for Old Men did this wonderfully when

Spoiler

The main character that the movie had been following for the entire thing dies off screen and is suddenly gone. Not to mention the fact that ultimately the bad guy won.

[close]

We all have expectations and stereotypes ingrained in us for everything about another person. This includes gender, skin color, job, nationality, age, hair length, whether they wear glasses, physique, and really anything that can possibly be seen or understood about a person. Anyway, what I'm talking about here is that if you can change someones stereotypes, which is in fact their entire reality. (Since social reality is mentally constructed and different for everyone.) Then you will not only make them very uncomfortable because of their inability to make what they deem as accurate judgments but you will also create fear from simple things. The reason for this is that if one stereotype no longer makes sense because of evidence in a game/movie/story, then other ones could be wrong. Each person will respond differently but I've known people who have had nightmares for weeks and are not comfortable being anywhere UNFAMILIAR. The reason that is in bold is because usually people in this situation will seek familiar locations and people. This is because as I have said people want to make predictions that they believe are accurate, and the better you know someone the better you can do that. After a while this starts to fade when you don't see the stereotypes breaking as severely. (I.E. a very kind person doesn't out of nowhere kill 3 people.)

The second base as far as I understand the element of horror is realism as several people here have said. If something makes you say, "Well, I don't think that could ever happen." Then the movie/game has failed. However, even over the top things like magic and demons and such can make sense to a viewer/player if it is explained within the reality of the movie and it no longer "sounds crazy." I think the reason why realism is so important is because it supports heavily the first and third bases of horror. I've already discussed what I believe to be the first base of horror and the reason why realism is important to this one is obviously because if something doesn't seem realistic then nothing really seems realistic anymore and therefore the stereotypes that would have been broken are left either untouched or strengthened.

I think that the third base of horror is the sudden finality of life. The fact that you and anyone around you can suddenly be gone in a second. The example I gave from No country for old men applies here as well. Once again this is altering someones reality. No one expects to die, it's what allows us to go from day to day, and that is why the fear created by this will not be persistent for too long. However, there are few things that can cause as much fear as understanding just how fragile life is. The second one once again supports this one because the more realistic it is the more you can associate yourself with the scenario in the movie. If someone inherits a house that turns out to be haunted then you can get a little bit from that because it is after all a house and most people live in a house but the situation can't tie too closely to you.

A final fourth base that I see as heavily creating fear is the idea of being alone. If you can create the feeling from this quote (Which I have no idea where it's from) then people will be afraid.

" You are left alone in this world,, Everybody is died, You are sitting in you room and somebody knocks at your door"

The idea here is that while obviously not everyone in the world is dead in any situation you should feel utterly alone when the story is being told because people like to rely on each other whether they will admit it or not and help from another is a VERY comforting thing. If you feel alone and then someone else walks in you have no idea what to expect. The person could kill you or say hello, would you like some food?

I hope all that makes sense I was sort of just writing my thoughts down as I went so for all I know it could contradict itself at some point.

Congratulations if you finished reading this post!

LimpingFish · Tue 16/03/2010 21:12:13

The horror of the...NECRO-POST!

But what I said...(scrolls up)...almost four years (!) ago, is still my basic opinion on bad horror games in general.

Hooray!

Gravity · Tue 16/03/2010 21:25:28

While there have been very few games that have made me jump in fright, there are a couple. Resident Evil, Clock Tower, and Fatal Frame are a few of the games that I remember fondly. They each did something different and did it good (in my opinion), each game had it's own way of telling a story while placing you in a completely different horror situation. Zombies, Lunatics, and Ghosts. Great fun.

Ethan D · Tue 16/03/2010 21:59:33

Quote from: Gravity on Tue 16/03/2010 21:25:28
Zombies, Lunatics, and Ghosts. Great fun.

Don't forget the giant demon baby from clock tower!

Clock tower was definitely my favorite horror game so far. Right behind is trilby's notes/silent hill 2/ and silent hill: shattered memories.

Mr Flibble · Wed 17/03/2010 00:21:54

I want to say that a "horror" game would be any game that scared you while you were playing it, but the only games that have ever scared me are The Infernal Machine (as an 8 year old, I had to get my brother to fight the Lava Demon for me) and playing Resident Evil for the first time (on my own, in the dark, on Hard - I ran into a room and meekly hid then eventually turned it off).

I got some shocks from the Yahtzee games but never any genuine fear. I presume this is a combination of finding it hard to suspend my disbelief (see above posts about realism) and knowing that I'm playing an adventure game where nothing can go wrong.

mkennedy · Wed 17/03/2010 04:25:26

Does playing an online RPG with permanent death count as fear? Knowing that if your character dies it's all over for them and there is no resurrection? Knowing that those 40 + hours you spent getting your character up to level 500 have all been for naught? It's more frightening to me than many other games, don't usually feel fear in FPS as my reflexes tend to suck so I often need to cheat to finish the game.

Grim · Wed 17/03/2010 05:42:35

Quote from: mkennedy on Wed 17/03/2010 04:25:26
Does playing an online RPG with permanent death count as fear? Knowing that if you're character dies it's all over for them and there is no resurrection? Knowing that those 40 + hours you spent getting your character up to level 500 have all been for naught? It's more frightening to me than many other games, don't usually feel fear in FPS as my reflexes tend to suck so I often need to cheat to finish the game.

I think it does to some degree. Recently I read this article about a guy who played FarCry2 the @permanent death@ way, which meant that if he died he'd never be allowed to play that game again, probably would be required to throw away the dvd, or maybe destroy it or something.... Anyway, I found the idea most fascinating. Knowing that you can't die, makes you want to slow down and approach things differently. In a fps especially, where few stray bullets from behind can knock you down, you'd take every step as carefuly as possible and check every corner before you take any action.
This guy I read about apparently wrote a 400-pages essay about the experience. He managed to finish the game, or so he claims. I reckon, if more people tried "permanent death" there would be much more games related suicides... Some games, due to often unfair difficulty spikes, make you want to tear your hair out and scream in anger. I'm sure most people experienced this feeling of utter frustration. Now, imagine how it'd make you feel, dying some 20 hours in the game. Never get to see the ending. Thinking you've been beaten by a computer AI. Disgraced and ashamed. Failed. And most of all, what a horrible waste of time that'd be taking that you will never be able to finish what you started?.... That game over screen would take on a whole new meaning all of a sudden, wouldn't it ?
And there's the fear, of course. Before that final insult of dying, there would be hours spent looking over your shoulder at the sound of the faintest distant footstep... Also, the FarCry soldiers replaced with a different, more supernatural kind of enemy, would definitely make everything a lot more frightening...

One day I will make this game( unless someone's done it already?). It will be fair... but it will be hard too. The greatest ending ever will be promised that only very few will witness. When you'll die in that game, you'll die forever and the game will self-destruct

It could also prevent user from reinstalling it by coping some files into a register.... The only option would be a total wipeout, hard disk format... But even that could probably be prevented.
One day...

Anian · Wed 17/03/2010 08:31:47

I'd call that stress about losing money and not get the whole thing you paid for, that's kinda wrong kind of scary. The main thing I hate about death in video games, is having to play a part over, especially cutscene you can't skip, reading text, dialogue etc. Only one have chance at playing is cheap kind of scare, like when things jump out of nowhere - just instinct taking over instead of feeling any real dread or creepiness. Trying not to die in an FPS is more of a challenge.

Tentacles · Wed 17/03/2010 18:05:08

In my experience in observing certain causes of hauntings, its not necessarily the ghost itself thats suppose to be scary.

For example, lets look at the case serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Even though he was executed, the boys he killed were buried under his crawlspace. Rumers have said the spirits of those victims (Before the house was torn down) haunted the house.

So although the ghosts themselves might not be that bad, its typically coupled with something else more freightening, like moments in time when traumatic events take place, such as a serial killer.

http://hubpages.com/hub/John_Wayne_Gacy

"The police took up the floor in their search of the house and the house was eventually torn down. Many people claim the location is currently haunted. People have claimed to see the ghost Gacy as Pogo the Clown and ghosts of the victims of Gacy."

ShiverMeSideways · Wed 17/03/2010 18:23:18

* has a seizure when remembering what an idiot he was 4 years ago *

Igor Hardy · Wed 17/03/2010 19:55:41

Quote from: Tentacles on Wed 17/03/2010 18:05:08

In my experience in observing certain causes of hauntings, its not necessarily the ghost itself thats suppose to be scary.

For example, lets look at the case serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Even though he was executed, the boys he killed were buried under his crawlspace. Rumers have said the spirits of those victims (Before the house was torn down) haunted the house.

So although the ghosts themselves might not be that bad, its typically coupled with something else more freightening, like moments in time when traumatic events take place, such as a serial killer.

In this vein I was very impressed by the Japanese horror (movie) Dark Water. While I was watching it, it managed to convince me that quite an ordinary, but tragic life can be much scarier and more disturbing than the ghosts it created.

LimpingFish · Wed 17/03/2010 21:24:22

Quote from: Ascovel on Wed 17/03/2010 19:55:41
In this vein I was very impressed by the Japanese horror (movie) Dark Water. While I was watching it, it managed to convince me that quite an ordinary, but tragic life can be much scarier and more disturbing than the ghosts it created.

I agree, and I suppose you could attribute that to empathy towards basic human feelings of sadness and regret. Dark Water managed to do this, though it meandered a bit as a movie, whereas a lot of J-Horror simply misses the point. Most western movies don't fair much better, confusing cheap frights with true horror. What frightens and horrifies us is usually something that shakes us from the comfort of our own reality and makes us question our own humanity and mortality, and that of the people around us. It's not scary to watch a killer off his victims, though it might make us jump. It's scary to look at the reasons somebody might be driven to murderous behavior, and question how far we ourselves might go, given the circumstances. It's scary to watch humanity devolve to levels of depravity we, as sane people, might not be able to comprehend.

Or the horrific realization that, somewhere down in the blackest pit of our soul, we do.

blueskirt · Wed 17/03/2010 22:52:34

Interesting post Limping!

However, that kind of horror movies that tries to show you how depraved mankind can be doesn't scare me anymore for the simple reason that I know that somewhere on this planet, not only the stuff shown in the movie is common practice, but people are doing far worse.

Igor Hardy · Wed 17/03/2010 23:39:04

Quote from: blueskirt on Wed 17/03/2010 22:52:34
Interesting post Limping!

However, that kind of horror movies that tries to show you how depraved mankind can be doesn't scare me anymore for the simple reason that I know that somewhere on this planet, not only the stuff shown in the movie is common practice, but people are doing far worse.

I don't see why the knowledge something is very real should nullify the scares. The viewers/players emotions depend mostly on the presentation of the events and how deep you are taken into them through the quality of storytelling.

But the Dark Water film I mentioned doesn't really show any depraved individuals, nor does it show any situation that you'd consider extremely rare - it just goes to the bottom of what it is about in a very affecting manner, making you truly feel for the characters involved.

Questionable · Wed 17/03/2010 23:43:21

Here's a few movies that I think are scary:

Requiem for a Dream
Funny Games
Irreversible
Audition
Labyrinth

LimpingFish · Thu 18/03/2010 00:43:20

Quote from: blueskirt on Wed 17/03/2010 22:52:34
However, that kind of horror movies that tries to show you how depraved mankind can be doesn't scare me anymore...

Oh, not with movies, no. I mean, as you go on to say, with the world in general.

That's a unique feeling I would find very hard to capture in the form of entertainment. But we can attempt to portray a situation or story that speaks to that part of us were those feelings arise.

I think it's easier to portray horror in print, since it requires the reader to draw from their own imagination and fears. Or, as Ascovel said, if a movie can make us empathize with horrors of a more personal kind, it can successfully touch a nerve.

But there's nothing horrific in movies such as Saw, beyond the apparent willingness of an audience to pay to see them.

Quote from: Ascovel on Wed 17/03/2010 23:39:04
I don't see why the knowledge something is very real should nullify the scares. The viewers/players emotions depend mostly on the presentation of the events and how deep you are taken into them through the quality of storytelling.

Conversely, when we know something isn't real, we run the risk of becoming detached. Especially when presented with a more graphic physical form of horror. For me, watching somebody being decapitated by a complex system of traps (ala Saw) raises not a eyebrow. But play the one-second shot of Fred Gywnne's achilles-tendon being viciously slashed with a scalpel (from Pet Sematary), and I'll wince like I've just been kicked in the nuts. Because I can relate to this simpler injury. It's a primal reaction, that negates the real and the unreal.

Emotional, psychological horror (such as Dark Water, or, more grounded in reality, Requiem for a Dream), can sometimes be far more effective than movies that would otherwise purport to be horrific.

EDIT: But then, we're lumping the "Scary" in with the "Horrific", while perhaps ignoring the "Creepy" and/or the "Unnerving". You can successfully achieve one, and not suffer from a lack of the others.

Ali · Thu 18/03/2010 00:58:45

I really agree, though I'm not a connoisseur fan of horror films and certainly not of the slasher movie subspecies.

I am interested in the mystery and horror stories of M. R. James, H. G. Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson (obviously having two first names is the key to writing tales of the uncanny). They frequently begin their stories by establishing the reality of the narrative.

This story was told to me by my cousin... I uncovered this document in my Uncle's attic... When I was invited to the Lawyer's house...

The narrator finds the story difficult to believe themselves, and they tell you so. They wouldn't have credited it, if it hadn't been for compelling testimony of the lawyer / doctor / young woman of unimpeachable virtue.

These charming devices draw us into the supernatural and the dreadful by degrees, making the impossible seem possible - and all the more frightening.

Grim · Thu 18/03/2010 03:29:51

Quote from: LimpingFish on Thu 18/03/2010 00:43:20
But there's nothing horrific in movies such as Saw, beyond the apparent willingness of an audience to pay to see them.

Why does everyone always pick on that film? I watched all 6 and I think they were great:)

Sure, it isn't the sort of "deep intellectual stuff" that amateur film critics get so excited about but it doesn't mean it's bad. In my opinnion, quite the opposite, and I will always jump to defend the Saw franchise, even knowing that there will be a hundred good arguments against it...

What matters in Saw, at least to me, is the ideology of the killer and the execution of his own sick vision of how to fix the world. The film is unpredictable and original. It never follows a teenage slasher mind-dumbing cliches and instead just tells a good story in a very straight-forward direct way.

Films like Lost Highway and Reqiuem For A Dream should never be compared to films like Saw. They are very different kinds of horror films and both frighten and shock in their own ways. It doesn't always have to be all psychological

Sometimes it's just meant to be entertainment.

Anian · Thu 18/03/2010 08:49:42

Hmm, Saw films don't exactly scare me as some other horrors. Saw films frustrate because even when characters react in a close to logical or smart way, you still are far more objective and therefor think of far better solutions to puzzles and stuff.

Yes, they do provoke emotions, you do automatically think - what if I had to cut of my foot to survive etc. But for me that is an unpleasant experience, and while horrors should make you feel uneasy, I simply don't find watching torture and torture alone (because let's face it's just a series of torture chambers all that fascinating in a movie (in a game perhaps).
Saw, Hostel etc. are kind of in the same basket with some stories about sick kids or molested women similar - yes, it has it's place and ar subjects that should be thought of, but it's not entertainment (I don't think only as "fun" but an experience in all) to me, just makes me feel bad or discusted. Those are far better as elements of something bigger where they have far greater impact.
Ok, I'll give you that the part about "the killer actually trying to fix people" is interesting, but not 6 movies interesting.

As Limp mentioned those parts of horror are a "creepy" and "unerving" and strange, maybe a slight mix with other parts perhaps, just personal preference I guess. Feeling like I'm gonna be sick or to ol' BOO! tricks - those always feel like just cheap and uncreative stuff.

Tentacles · Thu 18/03/2010 16:26:58

One film I recogmend is called Gacy (In America I believe its called Crawlspace.)

Dualnames · Thu 18/03/2010 22:15:42

Seriously. I've been like watching "Thriller" movies for like ever. I'm a fool for a scare, though never had one in front of TV. A good one. I've been startled, unnerved, but no, never scared. I mean like SCARED. SCARED TO THE BONES! The problem that people that make those movies don't understand is that they break the immersion really fast.

"When you face your fears you overcome them"

So, you just see the bad guy on the movie, you wait for him to be killed or in rare occasions kill them all, and if he is killed, then at the end of the movie he re-appears.
And wow, am I just scared!

Seriously. ONE GOOD MOVIE!
I've had my hopes on a movie banned in 250 countries. "The Cannibal Holocaust". Gory, very nice scenes, but..not scary!!!
I've seen the grudge (jap), got me unnerved. Not scary.
I've seen the eye (jap), started out really good, I was sure I'd shit my pants. Then sucked badly!!!

Fact: Nothing visible can scare you. Even if it looks scary like hell, or disturbing or ugly or anything. When you see it, you overcome your fear. Nothing that can or can't die, can scare you either, for the first category you know you need a weapon and for the second, you know it's too damn slow to move.

What you cannot see, you can fear. What you cannot see, you cannot kill, therefore you can fear.

Anian · Thu 18/03/2010 22:46:30

Quote from: Dualnames on Thu 18/03/2010 22:15:42Fact: Nothing visible can scare you. Even if it looks scary like hell, or disturbing or ugly or anything. When you see it, you overcome your fear. Nothing that can or can't die, can scare you either, for the first category you know you need a weapon and for the second, you know it's too damn slow to move.

What you cannot see, you can fear. What you cannot see, you cannot kill, therefore you can fear.

Well yes, that's why the "scariest" stuff is not something that can be seen or something that can't, but something in between - something that just as an idea causes fear but also can manifest in a place that's on the edge of existence, maybe mix in some human comopnent (like and emotion ie anger) and some contradicition (something that should be fun an loveable and pure - a clown - but it uses that to lure and eat children).

Not counting the really obvious supernatural mess that came in the end (IMO King starts with good ideas but then f*** them up), a movie like The Shining is creepy as hell. On the other side, stuff like Freddy Krueger in the first movie...you can see it but you're helpless to do anything about it (yes, they find a way to fight him and all that, but the premise is pretty good for a slasher pic).

Tentacles · Fri 19/03/2010 00:05:04

Well like for me, even though its not very gory, something like A Clockwork Orange, just felt more like something that could actually happen, and therefore felt scarier to me. And obviously if you have a soul, kind of sad too.

Grim · Fri 19/03/2010 03:11:42

I don't believe most horror stories are actually supposed to scare us... The idea of an unemployment is scary,the illness or death in the family- real life events that we know happen to other people and might happen to us. But with stories..well, once we're grown up it isn't about the getting frightened by them but experiencing something that visually and contextually differs from other genres. It's not for us to be scared, it's to feel empathy for the characters in the story who are!

I'm 28 now and the last time I got scared on a movie was when I was 14 and watched The Return Of The Living Dead, late at night. I watch a lot of horror movies but honestly can't recall ever feeling the same as then. I put it down simply to being an adult.

Actually... no. I got scared once after that. Or at least it was the closest feeling to that I can think of... There's a British film called Eden Lake. It was a funny feeling I had while watching it... something I couldn't quite explain. For some reason I cared so much for the characters in the film and hated their torturers like of they were real...I just could not take my eyes of it for the whole 2 hours of its duration even though I didn't like what I was seeing...

And, Dual, to me, the one and only scary thing about japanese horror films is acting!!!

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Fri 19/03/2010 03:42:28

Cannibal Holocaust was never meant to frighten, it was meant to disgust and sicken the viewer like some Ironman slaughterhouse competition where you win just by being able to stomach the fairly realistic-looking gore. It doesn't even hold up well as a movie, with any pretext of story falling away as soon as the natives appear.

Scares come more from things that either surprise or terrify you on some primitive level rather than make your stomach churn; the addition of gore in films over time has been because directors find that making you feel physically uncomfortable works in their favor when mental shocks appear, though it's gotten so over the top in most films that we can't even suspend disbelief anymore. Films that work with common phobias are generally quite good at eliciting scares from people who suffer claustrophobia, fears of spiders and the like. Aside from tapping into the personal fears of the viewer all they can do, really, is either raise tension with effective mood and music to make YOU do the work or resort to cheap scares that work on almost everyone but aren't satisfying, like the typical 'throw cat at person' gimmick. I find the gradual tension building and making the viewer do the work to be the most worthwhile, as in the case of John Carpenter's The Thing. To me that movie is an excellent example of a gory shocker because not only does it have key moments that are really disturbing visually but Carpenter also takes breaks to show the cold dark Antarctica night and build up a sense of tension and isolation that the viewer shares with the characters, any of whom could be the villain at any time. The combination of these things (isolated, dangerous location, an enemy that can be anyone) combine to make a very effective scare picture. The game was a so-so attempt at recapturing that magic (I mentioned it somewhere above) but ultimately it broke its own rules (the blood test being accurate only until scripted moments) which made it far less satisfying. Add to that the genericness of each character you met and the fact that you knew they were all fodder held back the game from being as good as it could have been.

Developing a vested interest in the characters is the key to sucking you into any story, whether on tv or in a game.

Questionable · Fri 19/03/2010 04:44:48

Quote from: ProgZmax on Fri 19/03/2010 03:42:28
... as in the case of John Carpenter's The Thing. To me that movie is an excellent example of a gory shocker because not only does it have key moments that are really disturbing visually but Carpenter... of these things (isolated, dangerous location, an enemy that can be anyone) combine to make a very effective scare picture. The game was a so-so attempt at recapturing that magic ...held back the game from being as good as it could have been.

Never played the game but a good point about "The Thing," I completely forgot about that movie. Often times when a movie has shots of beautiful country-side with wind blowing the tall grass, or stolid moments of silence and subtlety it is all just filler. Well, it is SUPPOSED to be atmospheric, it is supposed to subconsciously drag you deeper into the world and who the characters are, to invest in the simulation of it all and begin to lose awareness that it is a fiction. "The Thing" does a pretty good job of getting you to empathize and engage in the mythos and ultimately when teh shat hit the fan it felt like getting hit in the chest by a car wreck, to me... great. Not entirely unpredictable but still great. It isn't a movie that I would quantify as "scary" (you don't necessarily fear anything) but it is IMPACTING in a non-positive way; which is, maybe, just as important.

Dualnames · Fri 19/03/2010 13:32:11

There's this great film, about an experiment held in Oxford (or an english town anyway), that a couple of volunteers enter an experiment, and they are randomly decided to be either 'cops' or inmates. The 'cops' eventually take advantage of their power and act really disturbing. If anyone knows what I'm talking about should really tell others. As for disturbing movies 'Pink Floyd's Wall' always kind of depresses me. And I've watched for many years now, and still has that feel.

Anian · Fri 19/03/2010 14:22:33

Quote from: Dualnames on Fri 19/03/2010 13:32:11
There's this great film, about an experiment held in Oxford (or an english town anyway), that a couple of volunteers enter an experiment, and they are randomly decided to be either 'cops' or inmates. The 'cops' eventually take advantage of their power and act really disturbing. If anyone knows what I'm talking about should really tell others. As for disturbing movies 'Pink Floyd's Wall' always kind of depresses me. And I've watched for many years now, and still has that feel.

Das Experiment or in english...The experiment

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250258/
Stanford, not Oxford. But this movie is in german. And yes it is a curious phenomenon and how quickly it gets "real".

Haven't found Wall that disturbing, when I put myself into "this is how your brain looks on drugs" I just went along with it. By the end it would be more "disturbing" if it made any sense.

Questionable · Fri 19/03/2010 19:27:25

Quote from: Dualnames on Fri 19/03/2010 13:32:11
There's this great film, about an experiment held in Oxford...

According to Wikipedia it's based on an experiment conducted in the U.S. @ Stanford Univeristy in California. As Anian pointed out the film is German, although there is an American Remake currently filming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Experiment_%28film%29

Creed Malay · Fri 19/03/2010 20:11:16

Yeah, the Stanford Prison Experiment is a pretty terrifying one to read about. Also look up the Milgram Conformity Experiments if you're interested in what normal people like me or you will willingly do.
We are pretty personnaly certain that *we* wouldn't give into the urge to abuse power or just blindly follow authority to do what we feel is wrong - but would we?
There's some horror right there.

auriond · Sat 20/03/2010 02:08:09

Speaking of the Milgram experiment, I didn't think it would be possible to carry it out again in today's post-Milgram world. Apparently not everyone's heard of it yet though.

I could see this being exploited in a game. That would make for a truly horrific game, but only if you were self-aware enough to understand the enormity of what you were doing.

Igor Hardy · Sat 20/03/2010 16:13:20

Quote from: auriond on Sat 20/03/2010 02:08:09
I could see this being exploited in a game. That would make for a truly horrific game, but only if you were self-aware enough to understand the enormity of what you were doing.

The 2008 adventure game Overclocked was a bit in this vein. Although it was more about how easily it is to manipulate anger.

xenogia · Thu 25/03/2010 05:36:49

Quote from: 2ma2 on Mon 11/09/2006 13:08:41
For a good game, try Clock Toweron a SNES emulator. Scissor Man!

My god 2ma2 exists

Questionable · Thu 25/03/2010 14:23:08

Quote from: Xenogia on Thu 25/03/2010 05:36:49
Quote from: 2ma2 on Mon 11/09/2006 13:08:41
For a good game, try Clock Toweron a SNES emulator. Scissor Man!

My god 2ma2 exists

DON'T JYNX IT!!

Khristian Cammilleri · Sat 30/04/2011 15:46:14

Want to try another horror game?
Search for : Escape from the Chaotic City
In ags

Snake · Mon 02/05/2011 17:45:13

Quote from: Khristian Cammilleri on Sat 30/04/2011 15:46:14
Want to try another horror game?
Search for : Escape from the Chaotic City
In ags

Why are you making them search when all they have to do is click your signature?

I second it anyway. Nice game it is... haven't finished it yet though

Stupot · Mon 02/05/2011 23:32:12

Has anyone played 'Scratches'? I finally got around to buying it the other day. It seems okay so far, but unfortunately it causes my Laptop to overheat, so I might not be able to keep playing it :'(

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