Blog: "10 Ways to Evolve Horror Games"

[bloogleford]

Disclaimer - i've only played through a a bit of Overture so far, but the whole thing that made me interested in it was the Lovecraftian feel to the story.

Really liked the ideas in the OP!

Maybe it's just being older, but honestly I think most horror games are a joke, then again I think the plots of most games period are a joke. The only survival horror i've played that left a lasting scare was Silent Hill 2. The other Silent HIll games weren't bad, but they lacked stuff like the pyschosexual element, and the sadness and relationship stuff blending with horror present in that game, I think that game is an anomaly in terms of complex emotional content.

If someone tried marketing that game to today's audience very few would get it because games, and what gamers expect today is mostly spectacle, not substance. Truthfully I don't think mainstream gamers really have much taste in terms of narrative - too many years of garbage. Many games from 20 years ago (the Ultima RPG's spring to mind) dwarfed anything made today in terms of narrative - not what gamers seem to like sadly.

Most mainstream horror movies are abysmally bad too..so it's not really that surprising.

The fear of the unknown and it's manipulation is the height of horror for me, this combined with a serious sense of isolation and despair I personally find scarier than anything else. I wish there were more games doing it, most are very formulaic and involve something jumping out and saying boo.

My only comment on the game design thing is that I think agree that combat should not be fun..however it should be rewarding, and not punishing, you should wish for it to be over soon, and feel a sense of relief when it is.

PS I will be checking out Juni Ito, sounds fantastic!