The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Have you ever been tormented by a very scary game?
Have you ever soiled your trousers as a result of a genuinely shocking or creepy moment in a video game?
I have, and I’m sure many others have also experienced similar feelings whilst playing horror games, so why do we continue playing scary games? Are they bad for our hearts and life expectancy levels?
Horror games have been around for quite a while now, and survival horror games are still one of the most interesting genres in all of gaming, though before the arrival of 32-bit systems, very few games managed to fully fill us with real terror and fear. This was mainly due to a lack of good cinematic quality and the developer’s low levels of experience in having yet to realise the potential of video games in the horror market.
Resident Evil was the game that changed the face of horror gaming and introduced the whole new genre of ‘survival horror’ to millions of gamers across the world.
In the last few years, the horror area of videogames has been thriving, mainly due to the Resident Evil games and the successful Silent Hill series.
Horror games make you jump out of your seat and make your hands sweaty from the suspense, yet we enjoy them.
With the graphical and audio quality of games improving every year and the developers eye for potential horror improves, horror games are going to get more realistic, and possibly scarier in the years to come.
Resident Evil Series: When in the Racoon City police station library in Resident Evil 2, the character walks up the stairs and around to the door, but halfway along the walkway, there’s a loud crash and you fall through the floor—I really did almost have a heart attack and definitely had a couple of years taken off my life due to that moment.
Then when the zombies reach through the boarded up windows for the first time. I wasn’t expecting it but when those gnarled arms grabbed me I again nearly died.
Don’t even mention when the licker crashes through the mirror in the interview room.
Who can forget the first moment, walking down an apparently innocent corridor, when a zombie-Doberman leaps through that glass window?
It didn't stop there either: scary zombies; being chased down by a hunter; those evil pecking crows and last but not least, the overwhelming feeling of being alone.
The Resident Evil series are without a doubt the scariest games of all time (maybe with the exception of Gun Survivor).
Konami’s Silent Hill games are not too far behind with their psychological horror style freaking out many a gamer.
ShadowMan: I was only watching my brother play through it, yet in the tenement building level, where you are being stalked by a serial killer it was damn scary, even for a viewer.
Apart from a couple of minor enemies in the building, it was pretty much a matter of two characters in the level hunting each other.
And there was Jack the Ripper in the London Underground level. There was always that feeling that Jack was creeping around in the background, waiting to pounce.
Add the authentic atmosphere to the mix and it was another good fright-fest.
Not forgetting the FPS genre as well. Aliens Versus Predator and System Shock 2 are very scary games, maybe even more so than other games because of the 1st person perspective. They were exceptionally nerve wracking due to brilliant atmosphere, tension, and an unnerving sense of fragility and loneliness as you fought against some pretty mean enemies in claustrophobic levels.
Although I and many others find them very scary, I’m still excited about Resident Evil on the Gamecube and I’ve already bought up a huge supply of new underwear from Marks & Spencer, specifically for the experience.
I guess when it comes to games, people are just suckers for punishment, as we come back time and time again to get a good scare.
But how can horror games improve in the future? What can developers do to scare us even more?
More emotion portrayed in the protagonists?
Most horror games, especially Silent Hill, have pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
The Blair Witch Project is the scariest film I have seen in a long while. Not much else that Hollywood has come up with over the last few years has matched its "aftertaste", i.e. how you feel about the realistic characters after you view it.
Blair Witch was so undeniably scary because of the characters' emotions, not quick scary moments that make you jump out of your seat, but don't really have any long-term effects on you.
The crying, shouting, gibbering, confusion and blood-curdling screams were truly chilling and remained imprinted in many minds for a long time after the movie was over. Any game designer can make something go bang while you're walking down a hallway and make you jump, but it takes a more skilled designer to create an underlying feeling of tension throughout the experience that makes you scared all the time no matter what's happening on the screen.
The problem with horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in.
But would we want to see our horror game heroes be nervy wrecks? Not really, but better voice acting would be a start.
In Eternal Darkness, the characters have a sanity meter that grows whenever you encounter an enemy, and when it's completely full, your characters start to have strange reactions.
I would say that although Blair Witch was pant wettingly scary, on the hole, horror games have the potential to be scarier than their cinematic equivalents.
In horror games, you control the pace of play; often the tension is determined by how quick the player takes the action, be it fast or slow.
With films though, you are only a passive viewer who watches the horror unfold, who has no effect or influence on the action.
Horror peripherals: Maybe a unit that measures the player’s heart beat/blood pressure and the in game action somehow responds in a variety of different ways (if connected to the net it could even detect an incoming heart attack due to a scary game experience and call for an ambulance!)
This idea was already used in a Tetris game, whereby if the player’s blood pressure rose, the blocks fell at a higher rate to increase the tension and stress on the player.
Or buy loads of surround sound speakers for the realistic sounds of shuffling zombies creeping all around you.
How else could horror games be improved in the future?
Are horror games scarier than horror movies?
Have you ever soiled your trousers as a result of a genuinely shocking or creepy moment in a video game?
I have, and I’m sure many others have also experienced similar feelings whilst playing horror games, so why do we continue playing scary games? Are they bad for our hearts and life expectancy levels?
Horror games have been around for quite a while now, and survival horror games are still one of the most interesting genres in all of gaming, though before the arrival of 32-bit systems, very few games managed to fully fill us with real terror and fear. This was mainly due to a lack of good cinematic quality and the developer’s low levels of experience in having yet to realise the potential of video games in the horror market.
Resident Evil was the game that changed the face of horror gaming and introduced the whole new genre of ‘survival horror’ to millions of gamers across the world.
In the last few years, the horror area of videogames has been thriving, mainly due to the Resident Evil games and the successful Silent Hill series.
Horror games make you jump out of your seat and make your hands sweaty from the suspense, yet we enjoy them.
With the graphical and audio quality of games improving every year and the developers eye for potential horror improves, horror games are going to get more realistic, and possibly scarier in the years to come.
Resident Evil Series: When in the Racoon City police station library in Resident Evil 2, the character walks up the stairs and around to the door, but halfway along the walkway, there’s a loud crash and you fall through the floor—I really did almost have a heart attack and definitely had a couple of years taken off my life due to that moment.
Then when the zombies reach through the boarded up windows for the first time. I wasn’t expecting it but when those gnarled arms grabbed me I again nearly died.
Don’t even mention when the licker crashes through the mirror in the interview room.
Who can forget the first moment, walking down an apparently innocent corridor, when a zombie-Doberman leaps through that glass window?
It didn't stop there either: scary zombies; being chased down by a hunter; those evil pecking crows and last but not least, the overwhelming feeling of being alone.
The Resident Evil series are without a doubt the scariest games of all time (maybe with the exception of Gun Survivor).
Konami’s Silent Hill games are not too far behind with their psychological horror style freaking out many a gamer.
ShadowMan: I was only watching my brother play through it, yet in the tenement building level, where you are being stalked by a serial killer it was damn scary, even for a viewer.
Apart from a couple of minor enemies in the building, it was pretty much a matter of two characters in the level hunting each other.
And there was Jack the Ripper in the London Underground level. There was always that feeling that Jack was creeping around in the background, waiting to pounce.
Add the authentic atmosphere to the mix and it was another good fright-fest.
Not forgetting the FPS genre as well. Aliens Versus Predator and System Shock 2 are very scary games, maybe even more so than other games because of the 1st person perspective. They were exceptionally nerve wracking due to brilliant atmosphere, tension, and an unnerving sense of fragility and loneliness as you fought against some pretty mean enemies in claustrophobic levels.
Although I and many others find them very scary, I’m still excited about Resident Evil on the Gamecube and I’ve already bought up a huge supply of new underwear from Marks & Spencer, specifically for the experience.
I guess when it comes to games, people are just suckers for punishment, as we come back time and time again to get a good scare.
But how can horror games improve in the future? What can developers do to scare us even more?
More emotion portrayed in the protagonists?
Most horror games, especially Silent Hill, have pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
The Blair Witch Project is the scariest film I have seen in a long while. Not much else that Hollywood has come up with over the last few years has matched its "aftertaste", i.e. how you feel about the realistic characters after you view it.
Blair Witch was so undeniably scary because of the characters' emotions, not quick scary moments that make you jump out of your seat, but don't really have any long-term effects on you.
The crying, shouting, gibbering, confusion and blood-curdling screams were truly chilling and remained imprinted in many minds for a long time after the movie was over. Any game designer can make something go bang while you're walking down a hallway and make you jump, but it takes a more skilled designer to create an underlying feeling of tension throughout the experience that makes you scared all the time no matter what's happening on the screen.
The problem with horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in.
But would we want to see our horror game heroes be nervy wrecks? Not really, but better voice acting would be a start.
In Eternal Darkness, the characters have a sanity meter that grows whenever you encounter an enemy, and when it's completely full, your characters start to have strange reactions.
I would say that although Blair Witch was pant wettingly scary, on the hole, horror games have the potential to be scarier than their cinematic equivalents.
In horror games, you control the pace of play; often the tension is determined by how quick the player takes the action, be it fast or slow.
With films though, you are only a passive viewer who watches the horror unfold, who has no effect or influence on the action.
Horror peripherals: Maybe a unit that measures the player’s heart beat/blood pressure and the in game action somehow responds in a variety of different ways (if connected to the net it could even detect an incoming heart attack due to a scary game experience and call for an ambulance!)
This idea was already used in a Tetris game, whereby if the player’s blood pressure rose, the blocks fell at a higher rate to increase the tension and stress on the player.
Or buy loads of surround sound speakers for the realistic sounds of shuffling zombies creeping all around you.
How else could horror games be improved in the future?
Are horror games scarier than horror movies?
I think the 'horror' genre is one of the ones that can develop most in this generation of consoles, simply because the fright factor can be increased no end by simply using better graphics and sound.
Whilst other games are now having to rely on gameplay changes to keep gamers interested, horror games that simply look more scary will be more scary.
It would be great to see more horror games that were genuinely frightening, and good to play. I had a text adventure based on Frankenstein's monster on the Acorn Electron when I was younger. Imagine a game that took you into a creepy Castle Frankenstein, on a mission to destroy the monster. That would be cool.
Whilst other games are now having to rely on gameplay changes to keep gamers interested, horror games that simply look more scary will be more scary.
It would be great to see more horror games that were genuinely frightening, and good to play. I had a text adventure based on Frankenstein's monster on the Acorn Electron when I was younger. Imagine a game that took you into a creepy Castle Frankenstein, on a mission to destroy the monster. That would be cool.
The only horror game that gave me the jitters was Silent Hill 2.
The vomit and pi$$-soaked underground prison was truly unnerving.
The vomit and pi$$-soaked underground prison was truly unnerving.
Totoro wrote:
> Horror games make you jump out of your seat and make your
> hands sweaty from the suspense,
More like s^^^^^g my pants! when that zombie came out of the cupboard in Resident evil after reading his diary i totally crapped myself. I had a few sleepless nights after that i will tell you.
The main reason that we play them is for the same reson that adrenaline junkies love rollercoasters, its a kick, a buzz, the rush.
> Horror games make you jump out of your seat and make your
> hands sweaty from the suspense,
More like s^^^^^g my pants! when that zombie came out of the cupboard in Resident evil after reading his diary i totally crapped myself. I had a few sleepless nights after that i will tell you.
The main reason that we play them is for the same reson that adrenaline junkies love rollercoasters, its a kick, a buzz, the rush.
Have you ever been tormented by a very scary game?
Have you ever soiled your trousers as a result of a genuinely shocking or creepy moment in a video game?
I have, and I’m sure many others have also experienced similar feelings whilst playing horror games, so why do we continue playing scary games? Are they bad for our hearts and life expectancy levels?
Horror games have been around for quite a while now, and survival horror games are still one of the most interesting genres in all of gaming, though before the arrival of 32-bit systems, very few games managed to fully fill us with real terror and fear. This was mainly due to a lack of good cinematic quality and the developer’s low levels of experience in having yet to realise the potential of video games in the horror market.
Resident Evil was the game that changed the face of horror gaming and introduced the whole new genre of ‘survival horror’ to millions of gamers across the world.
In the last few years, the horror area of videogames has been thriving, mainly due to the Resident Evil games and the successful Silent Hill series.
Horror games make you jump out of your seat and make your hands sweaty from the suspense, yet we enjoy them.
With the graphical and audio quality of games improving every year and the developers eye for potential horror improves, horror games are going to get more realistic, and possibly scarier in the years to come.
Resident Evil Series: When in the Racoon City police station library in Resident Evil 2, the character walks up the stairs and around to the door, but halfway along the walkway, there’s a loud crash and you fall through the floor—I really did almost have a heart attack and definitely had a couple of years taken off my life due to that moment.
Then when the zombies reach through the boarded up windows for the first time. I wasn’t expecting it but when those gnarled arms grabbed me I again nearly died.
Don’t even mention when the licker crashes through the mirror in the interview room.
Who can forget the first moment, walking down an apparently innocent corridor, when a zombie-Doberman leaps through that glass window?
It didn't stop there either: scary zombies; being chased down by a hunter; those evil pecking crows and last but not least, the overwhelming feeling of being alone.
The Resident Evil series are without a doubt the scariest games of all time (maybe with the exception of Gun Survivor).
Konami’s Silent Hill games are not too far behind with their psychological horror style freaking out many a gamer.
ShadowMan: I was only watching my brother play through it, yet in the tenement building level, where you are being stalked by a serial killer it was damn scary, even for a viewer.
Apart from a couple of minor enemies in the building, it was pretty much a matter of two characters in the level hunting each other.
And there was Jack the Ripper in the London Underground level. There was always that feeling that Jack was creeping around in the background, waiting to pounce.
Add the authentic atmosphere to the mix and it was another good fright-fest.
Not forgetting the FPS genre as well. Aliens Versus Predator and System Shock 2 are very scary games, maybe even more so than other games because of the 1st person perspective. They were exceptionally nerve wracking due to brilliant atmosphere, tension, and an unnerving sense of fragility and loneliness as you fought against some pretty mean enemies in claustrophobic levels.
Although I and many others find them very scary, I’m still excited about Resident Evil on the Gamecube and I’ve already bought up a huge supply of new underwear from Marks & Spencer, specifically for the experience.
I guess when it comes to games, people are just suckers for punishment, as we come back time and time again to get a good scare.
But how can horror games improve in the future? What can developers do to scare us even more?
More emotion portrayed in the protagonists?
Most horror games, especially Silent Hill, have pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
The Blair Witch Project is the scariest film I have seen in a long while. Not much else that Hollywood has come up with over the last few years has matched its "aftertaste", i.e. how you feel about the realistic characters after you view it.
Blair Witch was so undeniably scary because of the characters' emotions, not quick scary moments that make you jump out of your seat, but don't really have any long-term effects on you.
The crying, shouting, gibbering, confusion and blood-curdling screams were truly chilling and remained imprinted in many minds for a long time after the movie was over. Any game designer can make something go bang while you're walking down a hallway and make you jump, but it takes a more skilled designer to create an underlying feeling of tension throughout the experience that makes you scared all the time no matter what's happening on the screen.
The problem with horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in.
But would we want to see our horror game heroes be nervy wrecks? Not really, but better voice acting would be a start.
In Eternal Darkness, the characters have a sanity meter that grows whenever you encounter an enemy, and when it's completely full, your characters start to have strange reactions.
I would say that although Blair Witch was pant wettingly scary, on the hole, horror games have the potential to be scarier than their cinematic equivalents.
In horror games, you control the pace of play; often the tension is determined by how quick the player takes the action, be it fast or slow.
With films though, you are only a passive viewer who watches the horror unfold, who has no effect or influence on the action.
Horror peripherals: Maybe a unit that measures the player’s heart beat/blood pressure and the in game action somehow responds in a variety of different ways (if connected to the net it could even detect an incoming heart attack due to a scary game experience and call for an ambulance!)
This idea was already used in a Tetris game, whereby if the player’s blood pressure rose, the blocks fell at a higher rate to increase the tension and stress on the player.
Or buy loads of surround sound speakers for the realistic sounds of shuffling zombies creeping all around you.
How else could horror games be improved in the future?
Are horror games scarier than horror movies?
Have you ever soiled your trousers as a result of a genuinely shocking or creepy moment in a video game?
I have, and I’m sure many others have also experienced similar feelings whilst playing horror games, so why do we continue playing scary games? Are they bad for our hearts and life expectancy levels?
Horror games have been around for quite a while now, and survival horror games are still one of the most interesting genres in all of gaming, though before the arrival of 32-bit systems, very few games managed to fully fill us with real terror and fear. This was mainly due to a lack of good cinematic quality and the developer’s low levels of experience in having yet to realise the potential of video games in the horror market.
Resident Evil was the game that changed the face of horror gaming and introduced the whole new genre of ‘survival horror’ to millions of gamers across the world.
In the last few years, the horror area of videogames has been thriving, mainly due to the Resident Evil games and the successful Silent Hill series.
Horror games make you jump out of your seat and make your hands sweaty from the suspense, yet we enjoy them.
With the graphical and audio quality of games improving every year and the developers eye for potential horror improves, horror games are going to get more realistic, and possibly scarier in the years to come.
Resident Evil Series: When in the Racoon City police station library in Resident Evil 2, the character walks up the stairs and around to the door, but halfway along the walkway, there’s a loud crash and you fall through the floor—I really did almost have a heart attack and definitely had a couple of years taken off my life due to that moment.
Then when the zombies reach through the boarded up windows for the first time. I wasn’t expecting it but when those gnarled arms grabbed me I again nearly died.
Don’t even mention when the licker crashes through the mirror in the interview room.
Who can forget the first moment, walking down an apparently innocent corridor, when a zombie-Doberman leaps through that glass window?
It didn't stop there either: scary zombies; being chased down by a hunter; those evil pecking crows and last but not least, the overwhelming feeling of being alone.
The Resident Evil series are without a doubt the scariest games of all time (maybe with the exception of Gun Survivor).
Konami’s Silent Hill games are not too far behind with their psychological horror style freaking out many a gamer.
ShadowMan: I was only watching my brother play through it, yet in the tenement building level, where you are being stalked by a serial killer it was damn scary, even for a viewer.
Apart from a couple of minor enemies in the building, it was pretty much a matter of two characters in the level hunting each other.
And there was Jack the Ripper in the London Underground level. There was always that feeling that Jack was creeping around in the background, waiting to pounce.
Add the authentic atmosphere to the mix and it was another good fright-fest.
Not forgetting the FPS genre as well. Aliens Versus Predator and System Shock 2 are very scary games, maybe even more so than other games because of the 1st person perspective. They were exceptionally nerve wracking due to brilliant atmosphere, tension, and an unnerving sense of fragility and loneliness as you fought against some pretty mean enemies in claustrophobic levels.
Although I and many others find them very scary, I’m still excited about Resident Evil on the Gamecube and I’ve already bought up a huge supply of new underwear from Marks & Spencer, specifically for the experience.
I guess when it comes to games, people are just suckers for punishment, as we come back time and time again to get a good scare.
But how can horror games improve in the future? What can developers do to scare us even more?
More emotion portrayed in the protagonists?
Most horror games, especially Silent Hill, have pretty poor voice acting, so any emotion in the characters fails to come across. Though Silent Hill does create an impressive atmosphere, it does lose some of that in the pretty much unimpressive characters.
The Blair Witch Project is the scariest film I have seen in a long while. Not much else that Hollywood has come up with over the last few years has matched its "aftertaste", i.e. how you feel about the realistic characters after you view it.
Blair Witch was so undeniably scary because of the characters' emotions, not quick scary moments that make you jump out of your seat, but don't really have any long-term effects on you.
The crying, shouting, gibbering, confusion and blood-curdling screams were truly chilling and remained imprinted in many minds for a long time after the movie was over. Any game designer can make something go bang while you're walking down a hallway and make you jump, but it takes a more skilled designer to create an underlying feeling of tension throughout the experience that makes you scared all the time no matter what's happening on the screen.
The problem with horror games today is that there are hardly any emotions expressed by the characters.
Resident Evil's Jill Valentine never screamed in fright, and there was never any nervous panting or heavy breathing from Chris Redfield. These characters only ever pointed a gun and shot at the dangerous creatures coming their way, with apparently not much concern about the twisted settings they were in.
But would we want to see our horror game heroes be nervy wrecks? Not really, but better voice acting would be a start.
In Eternal Darkness, the characters have a sanity meter that grows whenever you encounter an enemy, and when it's completely full, your characters start to have strange reactions.
I would say that although Blair Witch was pant wettingly scary, on the hole, horror games have the potential to be scarier than their cinematic equivalents.
In horror games, you control the pace of play; often the tension is determined by how quick the player takes the action, be it fast or slow.
With films though, you are only a passive viewer who watches the horror unfold, who has no effect or influence on the action.
Horror peripherals: Maybe a unit that measures the player’s heart beat/blood pressure and the in game action somehow responds in a variety of different ways (if connected to the net it could even detect an incoming heart attack due to a scary game experience and call for an ambulance!)
This idea was already used in a Tetris game, whereby if the player’s blood pressure rose, the blocks fell at a higher rate to increase the tension and stress on the player.
Or buy loads of surround sound speakers for the realistic sounds of shuffling zombies creeping all around you.
How else could horror games be improved in the future?
Are horror games scarier than horror movies?