Amnesia Doesn't Scare Me...

**Wooderson** · 02-10-2012, 10:45 PM

Fatal Frame is scary but wouldn't even rate it as scarier than Penumbra...

**Gasjockey** · 02-10-2012, 10:52 PM

(02-10-2012, 10:30 PM)Vithcommalobsel Wrote:
(02-10-2012, 08:14 PM)Welsh cake Wrote: I dismiss the all too popular "balls of steel" claim on the grounds that you simply haven't immersed yourself in the game properly.

Likewise I CAN play through Silent Hill 2 and not find it eerily disturbing if I don't commit myself seriously to the story and claustrophobic atmosphere.

1. I play the game in the pitch black dark with surround sound headphones and nobody in the house at like 3 in the morning. And yet I still don't find it scary.
2. SH2 isn't scary either.
3. Fatal Frame is fucking scary

Well, if you're going in with an attitude of "I'm gonna prove I'm the man and play this game without getting scared", of course it won't be
scary unless you're very easily scared. Like they (frictional) say before you even start the game,
this is not about winning. It is not about proving that "oh, this game
isn't scary at all". It's about getting a great horror experience. You
basically ruin that experience for yourself by having such an attitude,
and frankly, it's not very impressive either.

**RawkBandMan** · 02-11-2012, 01:25 AM

Lol, Fatal Frame is the most tame horror game I've ever played Big Grin

But that's just my opinion, so no one rage at me :p

**Tanshaydar** · 02-11-2012, 01:53 AM

The definition of scary and ways of immersion are quite important when someone finds the milestones of horror "not scary".
Immersion is always the key to the emotion which was aimed to be awoken. A being unable to immerse oneself cannot take what's been trying to be given.

This is like "oh, Half Life isn't funny, I can kill everyone". Missing the point might result with missing the whole thing.

The reason that this game is using first person sight is to put one in Daniel's shoes, where, a reasonable mind can think, he is defenseless against the monsters, has no memory and idea of what's going on at all.
Nevertheless, an approach like "Oh, I'm not Daniel, I'm not in some abandoned castle, I didn't do anything bad, there is no real monster in real life etc..."; then what's the point of playing a horror game?

Of course no one is Daniel, of course there is no monster. However, people rely on their imagination and empathy to contact themselves with others. Fear and joy from Amnesia is completely based on immersion, where, obviously you didn't have at all from the start.

**Dewi** · 02-11-2012, 02:52 AM

Exactly what Tanshaydar said.
I only get scared because I'm extremely easily immersed into games (god, even the Draugr in Skyrim startled me the first time).

Getting scared is all about immersion. Following a story, thinking about the situation, et cetera.
When I played Amnesia, I felt like I was Daniel.

**xdeath** · 02-11-2012, 06:30 AM

(02-09-2012, 09:32 PM)Vithcommalobsel Wrote: But that doesn't mean it isn't fun as hell. I think the monsters are, dare I say...cute and funny. Please see this video for details.

Lol, I think you did find it scary. Your mind made the monsters seam "cute and funny" as a defence mechanism.
As others said, the meme status of monsters made the game a lot less scary, because our minds associate the monster with those pictures.
"Fear of the Unknown" was Amnesias strength, but that it has been torn up and put back together as "cute and funny", or worse "sexy". You look at the monster and suddenly think "bro".
Thank You PewDiePie for ruining this game.

**palistov** · 02-11-2012, 06:44 AM

There's more to immersing yourself in a game than just playing it at night. You have to mentally immerse yourself as well. It seems like your only goal in the game is to play with the monsters. Perhaps you've played too much L4D or Dead Space type games. Perhaps try approaching Amnesia as an experience, rather than a video game. It won't matter what your balls made of -- if you play Amnesia (which means more than just starting it up and clicking 'Start New Game') you WILL have a genuine survival horror experience.

I mean, they do tell you the first time you start up the game -- focus on immersing yourself. Not just screwing around with the monsters.

**Welsh cake** · 02-11-2012, 12:47 PM

(02-10-2012, 10:30 PM)Vithcommalobsel Wrote: "1. I play the game in the pitch black dark with surround sound headphones and nobody in the house at like 3 in the morning. And yet I still don't find it scary."

1. I'd insult you if you didn't. That's the BARE minimum to obtaining any kind of survival horror experience, but once again, you're missing the point. Surround-sound technology and playing environment is all well and good as just a means to an end. You can play Amnesia on the most expensive plasma TV money can buy but its all for nought if you cannot *immerse yourself* into the world of Amnesia. That's all there is to it.

(02-10-2012, 10:30 PM)Vithcommalobsel Wrote: "2. SH2 isn't scary either."

2. I never said it was scary.

(02-10-2012, 10:30 PM)Vithcommalobsel Wrote: "3. Fatal Frame is fucking scary"

3. I'm inclined to think that you're trolling us. Fatal Frame scary but Amnesia is not? You immersed yourself in THAT but not the best horror game to go gold in the recent decade? Are you kidding us? By what standards do you judge that as frightening? Dead Space is relatively rubbish in the survival horror genre and decent in FPS category, but at least that game actually STARTLES from time to time. Fatal Frame merely gives you chills at best. Hardly the stuff of panic attacks.

**Vithcommalobsel** · 02-12-2012, 09:20 PM

Wait, let me get this straight...the only way Amnesia is scary is if you allow it to be scary? Because that's what you guys are saying.
So basically, I have to really really really want it to be scary or it won't be, right? I have to imagine that I'm not who I am, but rather a complete pansy with no survival instincts or common sense, and I have to pretend to be a chicken in order for the game to scare me.
Lol...with that logic, Tetris is the most terrifying game of all time I guess. You guys are silly.

And Fatal Frame is terrifying because the enemies are:

1. Threatening
2. Realistic (ghosts are fucking scary)
3. intelligent
4. able to surprise you at any moment.

The atmosphere is dark and intense, the core concepts are terrifying, and the game is just great. Haters can hate all they want. Amnesia isn't even close to as scary as Fatal Frame 3.

**Gasjockey** · 02-12-2012, 09:45 PM

(02-12-2012, 09:20 PM)Vithcommalobsel Wrote: Wait, let me get this straight...the only way Amnesia is scary is if you allow it to be scary? Because that's what you guys are saying.
So basically, I have to really really really want it to be scary or it won't be, right? I have to imagine that I'm not who I am, but rather a complete pansy with no survival instincts or common sense, and I have to pretend to be a chicken in order for the game to scare me.
Lol...with that logic, Tetris is the most terrifying game of all time I guess. You guys are silly.

And Fatal Frame is terrifying because the enemies are:

1. Threatening
2. Realistic (ghosts are fucking scary)
3. intelligent
4. able to surprise you at any moment.

The atmosphere is dark and intense, the core concepts are terrifying, and the game is just great. Haters can hate all they want. Amnesia isn't even close to as scary as Fatal Frame 3.

No, that's not what we're saying at all, you've misunderstood. Let me use a metaphor to try and explain. Your own attitude and imagination is the foundation that the game builds and expands upon. If you've got a really poor foundation, the whole thing comes crushing down. If your foundation is strong though, the end result will be something to behold. You will not simply play the game, you will experience it. What the game does is provide you with a means to an end.