Scare Tactics: Different forms of delivering Fear and Shock

[DIGI Byte]

~FEAR~

I recently got onto discussion about 'fear vs shock'

To make in clear, Fear is not shock and shock is not fear, but use both of them together to achieve a scary situation

there are numerous different ways to incite fear on someone, I'll list a few

Deadly shadows
A common formula used to bring about fear, the idea is to let speculation run wild after seeing a frightening figure or shape move about or show in the players view. It relies on "less is more", hence by seeing only a little, your mind runs with ideas and often gives you a gasp when you notice this figure.

Silent Stalker
The most subtle and evil killer of them all, you'll laugh, tilt your head and question life before its over, This is the most sinister techniques I have ever seen, based purely on shock and surprise a key figure, something that innocently appears and teleports behind the person while they are facing away or not looking at it, eventually making some sort of indicator it means trouble, forcing the player to run as the inanimate object stalks them before the time is up.
what makes this so effective is that the object has a powerful feeling about it as it can defy physics and surprise the player, even when hiding in a cupboard

Foresight
This is one of the longer types of fear techniques that takes time to deliver, relying on a heavy shock at first. it is achieved by showing a person how they would 'die' and then threatening them with the fate, its a bolder technique that lets itself known clear, its also unfortunately used in real life in hostage/captive situations, using one persons death to enforce the danger and risk

Deadly reminder
one of the greatest and most horrible fear techniques, hard to perfect but beautifully evil at the same time, it involves throwing the person into a situation where they have to solve a puzzle or traverse an obstacle course with a constant threat stalking you, not to be mixed up with traps that are trigger based (i.e. spinning blades over head), instead too either force the player too hurry up or take care when traveling, one mistake will result in death.

Run
Name says it all, putting a person in immediate danger, forcing them to flee as they are caught off guard, effective if you want the person to make a run for it or seek an alternate route

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~Shock~

a good quick scare approach, to make a person jump without the full effect of fear, making the player gasp like a small mammal to a pair of head lights

often best done when the player is not alert like when they are exploring, playing with their levels of alertness as well as teasing their hunger for exploring


Mysterious stranger
have you ever walked into a random room, and where a figure suddenly jumps from the shadows, making you gasp in fright to realize its nothing?
this is effectively done when the person is exploring around in a dark place and everything is peaceful and quiet when a silent mysterious figure appears before them

Ghostly trickers
Ever perk your head in surprise as something moves unexplained and right in front of you?, often seen when the person is investigating an area when a random object nearby moves slightly, enough to be noticed but not to dramatic, unless the ghost wants to throw it at the person, which will not only shock but alert the player


Little birdy
A bellowing of a great beast, stomping footsteps or just a harsh breathing down your back, catching a person off guard and forcing them to be alert as the unknown teases the hairs on their neck
its a sound delivery shock that can push players over their limit as unknown shrieks chase them down halls or cries of help pulls them into a trap, this bird means business and make you believe anything

Please comment and leave suggestions

[nerdboyxxx]

some very nice fear tactics you listed there. I think I've got some new ideas for my custom story now . Would you mind posting some shock techniques also? I'm trying to think of something to scare the player with that isn't just a door locking behind them or a loud noise...

[DIGI Byte]

some very nice fear tactics you listed there. I think I've got some new ideas for my custom story now . Would you mind posting some shock techniques also? I'm trying to think of something to scare the player with that isn't just a door locking behind them or a loud noise...

Done, What do you think?
Comments welcome, I probably missed a few things knowing me.

[Andross]

Nice listing, and a good read. Is there any underlying source material for the mentioned discussion?

I think that disembodied sounds or voices can greatly induce fear. Do you remember the footsteps you hear in various levels of Amnesia, like the running steps in the Rainy Hall or the creaking wood in the Laboratory? Not to mention the Archives, where you hear the Grunt crying and the piano playing. You never know what causes any of these, thus you imagination does most of the work, just like the Deadly shadows- technique.

[Frontcannon]

The discussion is somewhere on this page. 'Source' material is most likely DIGI Byte's own head as I can't find any mentions of these techniques anywhere else.

[Fortigurn]

I would like to add another, which I thought could have been exploited to great effect in Amnesia.

The Agonizing Decision

I'm going to use an example from Amnesia.

Spoiler below!

In the cistern level, when you had to redirect the water, as you were walking through the level (apparently avoiding an invisible water monster, though I could never tell if it was real or not), you could hear somewhat indistinct moans coming from a particular location. As you grew closer to them you could see they appeared to be coming from a large chamber or crate too high to see into, and which you couldn't climb up to. It was clear someone was trapped in there (a note flashes up on the screen saying you can hear a murmur from inside).

Redirecting the water (which was the whole point of you being in the cistern), caused it to flow directly into the chamber from where the sobs were coming. As if it wasn't obvious what you had just done, a note flashed up on the screen saying 'The voice is now silent'. In re-directing the water to ensure your escape, you had just drowned one of Alexander's victims.

I would like to see this kind of situation placed before the player as an Agonizing Decision. Your time is running out (you're in danger with a time limit), and you have to decide whether or not to make this sacrifice or try and find another way. The game would present you with this kind of choice several times; sometimes there would be another way and sometimes there wouldn't (you would have to either take a chance on your action or explore to find out). The moment at which you had to decide what to do, with time running out, would heighten the tension of the Agonizing Decision. Perhaps you would come to regret your choice later, perhaps you would spend the rest of the game wondering if you had made the best choice.

[Frontcannon]

Just a little suggestion: as both kinds of techniques are there to invoke fear in the player, calling one of them 'Fear' is kind of redundant. Why not rename it 'Suspense' or the like?

[DIGI Byte]

feel free to PM me a modified one, i'd be happy too change it too suspense and I welcome changes, but I personally don't have time at the moment to modify large posts, nor feel like it after my recent family issue...
Just stupid immature siblings that fail at life and cant see or acknowledge their mistakes or even have the balls to admit they made a mistake or say sorry, instead they cry and run away like an immature 14 yr old, to selfish to realize how their actions affect others...

[Tony32]

Great indeed. Some of these tactics I've already known ^^ But thank you anyway!

[Vradcly]

Thanks for the tips, after reading i really know im on the right path with my custom story