[NO Spoilers] How to dare...?

[Alterforest]

This might be a stupid question but I ask anyway: Do you have any tips how to dare playing this game?

I have played the penumbra series but i didn't manage to finish BP without having music on and play in daylight and being prepared with spoilers on monster locations . I have some kind of attraction of the stories in horror games and want to learn all about it in this game too.

But now I want to experience amnesia the way it's intended (playing with headphones on and in a dark room and last but not least, without spoilers) because it will be the first horror game without weapons for me to fully explore.
I have managed to play about 30min and now I'm too scared to continue...
Please tell me if there's something I can do, or if I'm screwed... either way, my money aren't thrown in the lake if that's the case, I'm very glad to support the developers.
Any advice would be appreciated.

[bblaze]

I recommend you watch a Let's Play with commentary up until the point you got to yourself. The commentaries are often funny, and even when they're not, they kind of are; because there's someone shitting his pants as bad as you were.


This guy does a pretty good job!



...I didn't do any of that, for the first three hours. I just kind of soldiered through it and hoped to find another note soon, because the narration always takes the fear away for a minute (mostly because the game doesn't have shit jumping at you, but you're still kind of progressing).



If you're really scared and can't take it anymore, crank up the lantern and just rush towards whatever corner you suspect holding evil. Maybe turn your sound down during that. This'll desensitize you juuuust enough to keep going for another ten minutes. Personally, I never played Amnesia for more than 30 minutes at a time myself, but it's incredibly rewarding to make progress, even in tiny chunks.

[Adeno]

To lessen your fear, you need to have a plan. Although it might not completely remove your fear of what's lurking around the corner, or what's hiding behind a door, having a plan gives you direction as to what you have to do when panic sets in due to fear.

My simple advice is to always look for rooms that you can hide in before you venture out into a far distance. By doing this, if ever a monster suddenly shows up nearby, you have an idea of where to hide and wait until it's gone. When you are traveling in hallways, try to leave a potential hiding room's door open, especially if there is a cabinet or a dark spot that you can hide in. Also, when staying inside a room, it's best to close the door so that even if a monster suddenly passes by, it won't notice you right away.

It's also a good idea to practice quickly turning around, running, opening a door and quickly shutting it behind you. You will need to do this if you wish to lose a monster and have a chance to hide.

Anyway, have fun with this wonderful horror game

[Spiegelman]

I understand mustering up the courage is the hard part, but once you get into the game and become immersed, this game is worth every penny. I played last night for what seemed like a good three hours (probably more because I lose track of time easily) and I have to admit that this game tops Penumbra big time, and Penumbra was scary as hell for me.

I saved and exited at what I thought was a good stopping point... and after visiting the steam forums (and avoiding spoilers like the plague), I think I managed to save myself from having nightmares. I apparently stopped right before the most disturbing/scariest area. All I saw was a bunch of curse words and damning Frictional Games for scarring them for life (not really... I hope...).

Don't let any of this deter you though, hopefully it will encourage you to play and experience, what I believe, the best horror game of 2010.

[salama]

Just bring a friend if you're that easily scared and share your fears.

[thrash242]

Whatever you do, play it how it's intended, even if you can only play for ten minutes at a time.

I can't offer any advice--I'm just a horror nut, and while it does freak me out, it does so in a good way.

Just muster up some willpower and pretend you can't quit for at least an hour or so...pretend you're the protagonist and no matter how terrified you are, you're going to get through this.

[RoadCrewWorker]

I'd assume the easiest way to take the edge off is to turn up the gamma until the darkness doesn't bother you anymore, or turn down the (really well done) audio or play yakety sax over it.

Unnecessary to mention that this destroys the intended atmosphere of the game, but hey, if it helps you play longer than 10 minutes, that shouldn't stop you.

[sacroid]

Actually to don't fear very much in the game I don't do stupid stuff like turning up the gamma, instead just think!
Imagine you entered a completely new room, it's kinda small and has this inside (tinderboxes, oil...) and a bit hidden you find an important item that with it you are going to be able to finish a puzzle. BUT WAIT!, what if I get this object and suddenly someone attacks? You need to think before doing something, or picking objects, plan what to do after getting that important item, don't let yourself get tamed by the game and just do what the game wants you to do!
Just think the consecuences of after getting an item or moving something!
Like this you won't be that scared because more or less like this you expect an enemy coming after you.

[tacc]

Go to \amnesia the dark descent\entities\enemy\ and delete everything in there. This removes every enemy.

[Alterforest]

Thank you very much for your advices!
I have dared to play for 30min more thanks to keeping your tips in mind. I found the "rush with lantern to the scary place"-method effective and being prepared with escape routes/hiding places makes me feel more secure.

Deleting the monster files would certainly make things easier for me, but by doing that I can't experience the game fully (annoying am I not? :p) which also stops me from alter sound and gamma.

So the rest of the game will probably be played in pretty short segments (30-60min/night max), but I find it incredibly rewarding just by finding a note.
I highly suspect that I'm still just scratching the surface of the game, I think where I am now is certainly nothing compared to later things to come in the story, so I will gladly take more advices (if there are any left to give without spoiling), that I can keep in mind further on.

Once again: Thank you! Your replies made me spurred to continue which made my curiosity win over fear for another 30min