Jump-scares: What's your opinion?

[failedALIAS]

I think Dead Space did jumpscares the best. They fit with the game's style and compensate for the fact that you use combat in that game. It's a terrifying game, with a great atmosphere and intriguing story.

Like Dead Space 2?

[PutraenusAlivius]

Nearly all custom stories, or full conversions that use these flying naked guys, stop it. These things came from a immature mind of a 10 year old. Even if i'm older, i'm still wiser.

[Kman]

This subject has already been discussed into the ground and then some

[MyRedNeptune]

Where's that dead horse beating gif when you need it.

[GrAVit]

I think Dead Space did jumpscares the best. They fit with the game's style and compensate for the fact that you use combat in that game. It's a terrifying game, with a great atmosphere and intriguing story.

Like Dead Space 2?

Well, I was mainly talking about Dead Space 1 as that is the only one that I've played. I've seen gameplay of DS2 and DS3 and to be honest, they don't look that bad at all.

[Exostalker]

It depends. Penumbra did a few jumpscares pretty well, but it was good because of it's sinister atmosphere...

[AlexCarlson]

Jumpscares are okay as long as they are made in a professional way that actually makes sense. I don't like it when, in custom stories for example, you just pick up a key and some naked dead monster appears in front of you and your ears starts to bleed. That's just cheap and not enjoyable in any way. I think it's more quality to build up an atmosphere than having jumpscares in general. Jumpscares like a monster bashing through a door (like the first time you met the brute in Dark Descent) or if a bunch of boulders fall in front of a door is fine.

[Diz]

In most cases, I think jump scares are bad, but that is likely just my personal preference and due to mostly having experienced cheap ones. It also entirely depends on the game as a whole. I hated anything that had to do with scary games up until somebody made me interested in Amnesia: The Dark Descent by talking about some elements of the game and that I simply had to try it out. Of course, being deemed to be the world's scariest game by many was not an encouragement to me, but my curiosity was taunted too much to not try it.

While playing the game, I realized that horror was not all about unrealisticly having shock stunts all over the game. Things would not come flying out of closets or something falling down from the ceiling and instantly grab me. No, this game gave me good time to look around and feel that the world around me was naturally real while still almost making me faint. I rarely, if ever, felt dragged out of the game.

I believe jump scares can be good if carefully implemented and planned. If a player feels that the scare was very cheap and trying too hard to make them jump out of their chair, they may not always feel sucked into the game, and there is even a chance they will lose any respect they had for it if similar scares are happening more often.

Give the player a chance to be sucked into the game and its atmosphere, and do not focus too much on sudden scares. Force the player to imagine or anticipate something and make them terrified without throwing them out of the game. That, in my eyes, will be invaluable. =)

[ElliotSaysStuff]

I think jumpscares are good if done properly, like has already been said, teleporting naked guys are just lazy. Condemned twists the jumpscare idea a bit, building up a horrifically claustrophobic atmosphere, then hitting you with jumpscares in the sections that normally wouldn't be scary.

[PutraenusAlivius]

I think jumpscares are good if done properly, like has already been said, teleporting naked guys are just lazy. Condemned twists the jumpscare idea a bit, building up a horrifically claustrophobic atmosphere, then hitting you with jumpscares in the sections that normally wouldn't be scary.

I think you got a good point there. But, remember that in Condemned, you can use a weapon. Any sorts of weapons are always worse than those cheap jumpscares.