No more Jump scare maps....it is getting unoriginal.

[Elven]

Opinion incoming:

Jump scares can work if done sparingly, used properly, and not one after another. Starting off a custom story and then suddenly within the first two minutes you have had at least 12 things jump out at you is not fear-inducing, it's irritable and a cheap tactic to get a natural human reaction to be startled by something happening suddenly.

True fear is the fear of uncertainty. You are unsure of what's going to happen when you go down this dark hall, you hear a noise behind a closed door and the only way to see what is behind it is you opening that door to see what lies in wait - fear is something that can cause a person's imagination to run wild with the idea of something crawling around their own home and intruding in their safety zone.

Fear is not a flying malformed rag doll, loud noises as impossible things suddenly pop out of thin air. Fear is not loading into a custom story and being faced with a grunt charging you only to poof into dust. Fear is not hiding in a closet waiting for grunt to despawn, leaving the closet, and then being forced to hide again as a brute spawned as you went through a doorway. These are not fear, these are shit gimmick tactics that will only affect the mindset of an immature youth, someone entirely virgin to the HPL2 engine, or people who pretend to be scared while recording a video in order to garnish views via screaming loudly when something unsettling happens (this is not targeting anyone, it's more of a general observation).

If you want to put a jump scare into a game, I see nothing wrong with it. If you want to put seventeen, don't expect a lot of praise in the originality and/or well-received department. Open up, be thoughtful of new ideas and branch out from the things that made the childhood you get scared around the campfire. It's not going to get anything accomplished if you do the same thing again and again, repetitive tendencies grow old fast, diversity is required to truly thrive in most things, not just the horror element.

kbye

These are golden words . I never liked jumpscares and if I did, I preffered original ones AND they should fit into story. For example, if you go and search for man in house then one dead man can prop out form unexpected place (Not from thin hair). Then it would be obvious -> it is that man who you went to search.

I personally prefer atmospheric uneasiness. That you feeluneasy and feel like jumpscare can jump from everywhere at any moment -> that feeling is true scariness. Maybe there is not even monster, only music and player can freak out.

Sadly so few maps have these, as many I have played. I am serious fan of white night because it had that element. I was scared in there even tho 90% of time there was nothing at all. I was waiting for jumpscare, moving carefully not to have heart attack and then at unexpected moment, there was "booh" and I was - O.o... T_T....

I am personally trying to archive that too, but I can say, it is very damn hard...

[gatts205]

I would almost take this concept of no jumpscares even further. I would say we need more custom stories with no intentional scariness in the first place. Something that solely tells a story to the best of it's ability. Although there are a few that are like this, I feel there should be so much more. People who design custom stories, from the many I have played with very few exceptions, get so locked up in trying to scare the player that it drags down the quality of all the other aspects of the game. This is not simply limited to jumpscares, but, to a lesser extent, atmospheric scares as well. The best example of an atmospheric scare gone wrong is the use of too much darkness such that exploration becomes a burden. This darkness does add to the tension that an area generates, but more often than not becomes little more than a nuisance. Sometimes I do not want to wade through endless tension just to be rewarded with an overly terse note that adds nothing to the back story or plot. This can be fine on some occasions, but every other custom story seems to be based on this tired model.

None of this is meant to sound offensive to those who enjoy playing or designing scary stories. I apologize if it does.

[Vyzor]

I got to agree with this topic every single bit of it, that’s my main
objective on my next chapter.


Simple sounds like scratches, a baby crying, the use of different sounds
can make the player wonder what is transmitting that sound, creating an image
in its mind of an unknown creature.


In my custom story for example I did use jump scares but just not all the
freaking time, just on the right moments, I admit though that I used a few
monsters which kind broke some of its immersion.


All my maps has a background music this is an important element all maps
should have.


~ Sorry for my english.
Greetings from Portugal
Vítor~

[RawkBandMan]

No matter how much you guys complain, people are still going to do it.

[Elven]

No matter how much you guys complain, people are still going to do it.

And that is why we complain

[Prelauncher]

I´ve actually been kinda waiting for this thread to pop up -it is needed. You can´t create something and call it horror by using cheap jump scares. In order to really reach that jucie center of horror one need to realise that the true fear lies hidden where nothing happens, where you hear strange sounds around you or things move when you don´t watch etc. When using jump scares the most important thing to do to scare the player is to build up the atmosphere leading to the scare, and ofc- don´t overuse them!

[HumiliatioN]

This is so true, if you wanna ruin your serious story only adding really cheap scares it's really big fail to your project and it's easily ruined project then.. scares are important when you are making custom story.

But if you want make "non-serious maps please add here jump scares a lot because these projects are just for fun and not serious ones in my opinion.

[Mattias]

where you hear strange sounds around you

If you're a modder, you'll realize that random sounds are just scripts that doesn't do anything ^^

[Elven]

where you hear strange sounds around you

If you're a modder, you'll realize that random sounds are just scripts that doesn't do anything ^^

depends... How many modders are scripters and how many are good?

[Prelauncher]

where you hear strange sounds around you

If you're a modder, you'll realize that random sounds are just scripts that doesn't do anything ^^

I see your point and I agree to some extent. If the custom story uses new sounds not taken from the main game, now that´s scary