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Things that would have made Amnesia scarier
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RE: Things that would have made Amnesia scarier

(01-08-2013, 01:27 PM)Hirnwirbel Wrote: Those ideas sound interesting indeed, but sometimes I wonder if some people have become a bit desensitized from playing too much Amnesia and especially from playing around with the level editor and custom stories. Wink
I have noticed, that every time we discuss scary monster/AI/whatever ideas, most people try to think of a way to make the game more difficult. Monsters that are harder to get away from, that can find and kill you easier, ways to trick the player into getting insta-killed... I can of course see, why that would be more interesting to someone who can get away from a grunt in his sleep and knows the entire AI behaviour so perfectly by now, that he's looking for a greater challenge.
But would it really be more atmospheric and most importantly - in the spirit of the original? Just some food for thought, not really a critique or anything Smile

(Btw, same thing goes for stuff like randomization imo - it only factors in for people who've already beaten the game. So it doesn't really make it scarier on the initial playthrough, it just helps to keep your interest for a bit longer.)

Contrary to popular (and annoying) belief, difficulty only adds to scariness (in my humble opinion of course). If you are hurting for imagination so much that a death screen immediately and irrevocable takes you out of the game, you shouldn't even be playing video games. I'm not saying games should be unfairly hard, because after a while that stuff starts to annoy you more than make you afraid, but games should not be easy in the interest of "immersion". That kind of design is completely transparent. Just to be clear, I consider both Penumbra and Amnesia to be difficult games. I think they struck a very nice balance in both cases and managed to create an oppressive, hostile and unhelpful game. Stray too far though and the game will just be boring, and I think what Thomas has said about difficulty and trial & error in games is a little too extreme. I agree with it on the surface, but it can easily lead to stagnation. Just my two cents.
01-08-2013, 05:23 PM
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RE: Things that would have made Amnesia scarier - by Bridge - 01-08-2013, 05:23 PM



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