Jump-scares: What's your opinion?

[ehovda321]

What do you think about Jump-Scares? I know a LOT of people who HATE jump-scares, but there are some people who enjoy jump-scares. What do you think? Do you think jump-scares improve a game's quality or should they be removed from all custom stories?

[failedALIAS]

EA is terrible.

[Adny]

That depends on how you define jumpscares. If you're referring to the crap found in House of Creep and related titles, then they're pretty bad. However, if you're referring to real jumpscares, sudden noises/events, if used in moderation and have coherency with the story, are sure to make the bravest of players whimper in the corner.

To further explain my point, imagine two scenarios (one taken from aforementioned mods, another from the campaign):

1. You're walking down a well lit hall. Suddenly, a naked body materializes in front of you and flies full speed towards you, playing the iron-maiden sound bit.

or

2. You carefully move through the dark corridors of the storage. Whimpers of a sobbing lady can be heard in the distance. They grow louder and louder as your progress through the level. You happen upon a small, poorly lit room. Upon approaching the center, a small bonfire ignites in the middle as you hear the woman scream.

It should be rather obvious which one of those is superior (and actually scary).

tl;dr - I blame the democrats

@failedALIAS
#thanks obama.

[bluel0bster]

IMO jump scares are fine if implemented correctly, not overused, and not abused. Amnesia is about as atmospheric as games come, with minimal jump scares. Of course, jump scares are, to an extent, required in any horror game. I'd argue a purely atmospheric, environmental horror game wouldn't be nearly as scary with a complete absence of jump scares. Some games use jump scares way too much though, such as dead space.

While I've played through the original dead space and I'd definitely say it's a truly scary experience. The fear of necromorphs jumping out from the shadows is somewhat minimalized by the ability to gun them down with ease and the lack of a build-up to the jump scares, both of which are addressed amazingly well by amnesia. Building up a jump scare properly is, IMO, more important than the jump scare itself.

[PutraenusAlivius]

Depends. Are they bad and overused like the naked dudes flying, then that is very bad. But, if it got tension and build up and not overused, also new, it's very good.

[ScaryGamingNetwork]

Jump scares are fine, however overusing jump scares is not the greatest idea.
As previously stated in this thread, when a jump scare is in your face and ridiculous, it is something that should be avoided in games. Doing such a scare that something materializes and flies at you with a loud noise, such as the dead bodies flying towards you in many custom stories, is just over used and should not be placed in a survival horror game or it might lessen the seriousness of such a custom story.

When a jump scare however is built up, and the outcome is not absolutely ridiculous, jump scares are fine and vital to many games. If instead of a flying body, one were to include the sound of something slowly getting closer and closer to the player, still unable to see what it was, and then out of nowhere you catch a glimpse of some monster close by followed by a loud sound, then it is fine.

The problem with many custom stories is that they include a large amount of jump scares that really ruin the atmosphere of the game. One or two jump scares for a custom story is fine. But having a dozen or so is just too many.

[FlawlessHappiness]

Jumpscares must make sense.
As said before, Hyperspeed_Jesus does not make any sense, unless it's in the story... and still it's pretty weird isn't it?

AndyRockin came with a nice example.

[PutraenusAlivius]

Jumpscares are really good, or really bad. It all depends on YOU! If you wanna make a great CS with a great jumpscare, which one you would choose?
Flying naked dudes with high-pitched sounds?
Jumpscares using tension and build up?
Well, i choose the latter, because these kind of jumpscares are really good. Here's an example.
You're walking in a hallway, and then a naked dude appears in front of you.
You're walking in a hallway, then hearing footsteps. And then, a shadow appears and a second later, someone screamed.
Again, i choose the latter due to these jumpscare are good. The first one comes from a mind of a immature player. While the second will make the bravest to hide in a corner. As the latter comes from great abillity of a scripter.

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Most things have already been said, so I won't repeat them. Maybe add this: If the player fears the jumpscare more than what's causing the jumpscare, you're doing it wrong.
It's easy to make the player afraid of being startled again, since it's an uncomfortable feeling, similar to an electric shock. But that's cheap and won't create more horror atmosphere than standing behind him with a taser would. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Dead Space )
Instead, the fear should stem from what the jumpscare implies, i.e. that there might be a monster nearby or that there are inexplicable things going on... whatever works well with the story, setting and atmosphere instead of distracting from it.

Secondly, one should keep in mind that jumpscares wear out very quickly. The player will soon start expecting them, rendering them tedious and boring after a while. So just use them often enough that you keep the player in a constant state of expecting something to happen, but fullfill that expectation rarely enough that he can't rely on it.

[FlawlessHappiness]

If the player fears the jumpscare more than what's causing the jumpscare, you're doing it wrong.
It's easy to make the player afraid of being startled again, since it's an uncomfortable feeling, similar to an electric shock. But that's cheap and won't create more horror atmosphere than standing behind him with a taser would.

This.

Use them often enough that you keep the player in a constant state of expecting something to happen, but fullfill that expectation rarely enough that he can't rely on it.

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