How to make a horror game

[nuba km]

So we all know that their are close to no new good horror games so I thought we could make a list of do's and don't's for horror games I'll start the list:
-No combat or make combat your last choice. This is pretty obvious but if you make a good combat system which means you almost feel the punches you could make combat a more common choice.
-Make the enemies unnerving. This could be making them land in the uncanny valley somehow either by look or behaviour because the less we know the enemy the more we are going to be scared of it.
-edit: Don't show the main monster all at once. reveal it slowly but have some other monsters in their.
-edit: quite. If you time silence right you can make the player paint his living room brown. This also means NO NOTICEABLE MUSIC CUES FOR THE ENEMIES this is why I was never scared in dead space because I knew that no music cue means no enemies and when the music cue started I was ready to fight the enemies.edit: eerie music and some noises can be great at building atmosphere
-Keep thing unanswered. Yet again the less we know BUT this is a big but make the ending a ending give the characters a conclusion and to not have a 'the end? moment.

Also for added discussion value what game mechanics to you think could make and interesting horror game. For me bleeding and actually having to bandage wounds this could also be use against the enemies similar to what dead rising did with dismemberment but only make a very view weapons actually be appal to dismemberment the enemies and mostly making them bleed will help.

edit: other good ideas from other people:
- Involvement is a MUST. I wasn't scared when pinned to the walls by Alma, nor scared when I saw the man banging his head on the wall in Dead Space. Knowing something bad will happen, but having to continue as well is the best kind of tension and the easiest way to exploit the fear of the unknown.
- The monsters must be original. This is why Alma and the gas-mask children were scary in their time, until children were the antagonists EVERYWHERE. Monsters shouldn't be just body horrors either, like in Dead Space. If an enemy can exploit the unknown factor mostly by invisibility (such as the weeping angels "where are they now" or those invisible monsters in STALKER).
- Horrific revelations, but not cliche'd like "he's your" "Father" / "brother" / "evil clone". That moment in the recent Doctor Who series where they realise about those stone statues could have been horror if Doctor Who were actually a horror show.
- Draw somewhat from real-life as well as the unknown. Don't be all like "yea, I call these the Ancients. Scared yet?"
- Get us when we think we're secure. The obvious cliches for this is the elevator or bathroom (or they would be if they weren't cliches). For example in FEAR, we go down the ladder and there we go, Alma is looking at us while we're all "I think I'll just go down this ladder". Then you go down and realise you're undefended when she's right infront of you at the top of the ladder.

1. Simulation - Horror games should act as simulations. One of the best things about Amnesia and Penumbra were the physics; I truly felt a part of the world as I could interact with almost everything. You could push this simulation factor further by adding in things like Psyche (how your character behaves, such as beginning to fabricate shadows and hear noises) and Nerve (how well your character deals with running or combat).

2. Confrontation - There should always exist the oppertunity to engage in confrontation if you wish. That doesn't mean it's the best course of action or necessarily the worst, but simply leave it as an alternative. Combat in horror is generally left better to melee based, but even ranged can work when handled correctly (such as realistic reload times, accuracy affected by Nerve and very scarce ammunition which really needs to be looked for.

3. Threat - A threat should always exist in some shape or form. The chaff there for the cheap scares, whilst the true threat lurks in the dark, always hidden unless actively searched for. Quick, fodder enemies which can be lured into traps and stuffed into cupboards and rooms (at the risk of raising your Threat Level*).

4. The Threat Level - This would be my own little spin on the horror genre, essentially an invisible aggro metre that raises or lowers according to your activities. You decide to tackle the ghoulies with a candlestick; then face the increased threat as his buddies take revenge - eventually triggering that hidden enemy to begin huntin you down. However the more stealthy you are, the less run ins you'll have with enemies and you might be able to avoid the Big Bad all together; albeit at the cost of missed routes, items, documents etc.

3- Player Actions: Over the course of the game, the player should be thrust into situations where they will have to do morally questionable or outright horrific things to survive (harming innocents for your own survival, dispatching enemies in 'dirty' and inhumane ways and any other acts that will make the player feel guilty). It's important that the player is not given a choice, there should be no 'heroic' or 'good guy' way out of a dire situation, however, it is also important that the player isn't nagged or lectured over what they've done (having someone sound horrified at it being mentioned could work if done briefly), the only person judging the character's (and thus the player's) actions is the player themselves (no pop-up or screen telling you that you are now 15% more good or evil).

4- Wounding: Remember the system that some games have where specific body parts can be injured and crippled? We normally use that for army games (and Fallout) but it could be very interesting to see it in a horror game

 

[JWRosser]

-Silence. If you time silence right you can make the player paint his living room brown. This also means NO NOTICEABLE MUSIC CUES FOR THE ENEMIES this is why I was never scared in dead space because I knew that no music cue means no enemies and when the music cue started I was ready to fight the enemies.

Sound is a tricky one. I agree that there shouldn't be a music cue whenever an enemy appears...because then you know it's there.
However, whilst silence adds a lot of tension, it's amazing how much eerie music can add too.

 

[KEM10]

I'm gong to have to disagree with the no knowledge part. You need to enter with no knowledge of what's happening and slowly figure it out with journals, notes, and other things that are around.

Also, no sequels. If you do make the best horror game in the world, the basic knowledge that will be passed on from playing the first will ruin parts of it.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I can agree to most points to a degree, but I have a few of my own:

1. Simulation - Horror games should act as simulations. One of the best things about Amnesia and Penumbra were the physics; I truly felt a part of the world as I could interact with almost everything. You could push this simulation factor further by adding in things like Psyche (how your character behaves, such as beginning to fabricate shadows and hear noises) and Nerve (how well your character deals with running or combat).

2. Confrontation - There should always exist the oppertunity to engage in confrontation if you wish. That doesn't mean it's the best course of action or necessarily the worst, but simply leave it as an alternative. Combat in horror is generally left better to melee based, but even ranged can work when handled correctly (such as realistic reload times, accuracy affected by Nerve and very scarce ammunition which really needs to be looked for.

3. Threat - A threat should always exist in some shape or form. The chaff there for the cheap scares, whilst the true threat lurks in the dark, always hidden unless actively searched for. Quick, fodder enemies which can be lured into traps and stuffed into cupboards and rooms (at the risk of raising your Threat Level*).

4. The Threat Level - This would be my own little spin on the horror genre, essentially an invisible aggro metre that raises or lowers according to your activities. You decide to tackle the ghoulies with a candlestick; then face the increased threat as his buddies take revenge - eventually triggering that hidden enemy to begin huntin you down. However the more stealthy you are, the less run ins you'll have with enemies and you might be able to avoid the Big Bad all together; albeit at the cost of missed routes, items, documents etc.

I have more, but my brain is fried and I just wanna leave work

 

[nuba km]

I'm gong to have to disagree with the no knowledge part. You need to enter with no knowledge of what's happening and slowly figure it out with journals, notes, and other things that are around.

Also, no sequels. If you do make the best horror game in the world, the basic knowledge that will be passed on from playing the first will ruin parts of it.

Yes I agree that's why I said not for the whole game when it came to not revealing your monster but you shouldn't explain everything because even if someone has a good idea of how someone did a magic trick the missing pieces still make it great to watch and yes no squeals.

Sound is a tricky one. I agree that there shouldn't be a music cue whenever an enemy appears...because then you know it's there.
However, whilst silence adds a lot of tension, it's amazing how much eerie music can add too.

Yea quite would be a better word because eerie music dent's to be quite.

 

[Krythe]

-Don't show the monster. Not for the whole game but again the less we know the enemy the more uncomfortable we feel.

Not showing the monster works well enough for movies, but take a step back and ponder how the hell you'd incoporate that into gameplay.
"I must run! It's fucking nothing!"

Restricting vision and combat only works to a degree. It's true that the monsters need to pose a signifigant threat, but nerf the character too much or make their flashlight circle too small and it's just annoying.

Overall, what I'm trying to say is that if you overdo a horror feature, it feels like you're fighting against shitty gameplay mechanics rather than the actual monsters.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

-Silence. If you time silence right you can make the player paint his living room brown. This also means NO NOTICEABLE MUSIC CUES FOR THE ENEMIES this is why I was never scared in dead space because I knew that no music cue means no enemies and when the music cue started I was ready to fight the enemies.

I'm going to have to dispute this. I agree that in a horror game the player should never feel entirely safe, so music playing when danger is nearby is a problem, but it can be used to great effect if done well. More importantly, I feel that hearing the danger without seeing it can be an excellent way to create fear, such as hearing footsteps or breathing of a real enemy but having no clue where they are, other than how close.

Although not exactly a common mechanic, I would like to see horror games treat the player like a fragile and fatigued entity. In other words, enemies and traps would be able to kill a weakened player with ease, or a healthy player if they're off guard. Harsh? Perhaps. But it would make every potential encounter worth concern. The way I see this working is perhaps enemies are capable of killing the player in one shot if the player's weakened and not able to retaliate (limping and caught from behind perhaps?), yet otherwise can inflict enough damage to reach this state quickly if the players not capable of defending themselves. Likely slower, but vicious attacks that need care to avoid. Of cause the player needs to know when they're at greatest risk to prevent this from feeling unfair, such as by the above sound examples.

 

[Sensenmann]

I agree to points 2 and the last one and then to the others towards an extent.

Not showing the enemy (or rather showing it in extremely quick glances) is cliche'd and not scary. Silence isn't scary, but rather implied silence. Contrast silence to the sound of the wind, taps dripping, fires cracking or footsteps on a wooden floor and creaks. Fear of the unknown is the most exploitable and persistent with age. Conspiracy and questions/answers are essential for any plot. It's just so underused nowadays it becomes a selling point. Games nowadays are all about being a badass, not finding answers: In Gears of War 2, I didn't give a flying bat's fish uncle about Dom's girlfriend/wife: I was a chainsaw warrior.


To add my own:
- Involvement is a MUST. I wasn't scared when pinned to the walls by Alma, nor scared when I saw the man banging his head on the wall in Dead Space. Knowing something bad will happen, but having to continue as well is the best kind of tension and the easiest way to exploit the fear of the unknown.
- The monsters must be original. This is why Alma and the gas-mask children were scary in their time, until children were the antagonists EVERYWHERE. Monsters shouldn't be just body horrors either, like in Dead Space. If an enemy can exploit the unknown factor mostly by invisibility (such as the weeping angels "where are they now" or those invisible monsters in STALKER).
- Horrific revelations, but not cliche'd like "he's your" "Father" / "brother" / "evil clone". That moment in the recent Doctor Who series where they realise about those stone statues could have been horror if Doctor Who were actually a horror show.
- Draw somewhat from real-life as well as the unknown. Don't be all like "yea, I call these the Ancients. Scared yet?"
- Get us when we think we're secure. The obvious cliches for this is the elevator or bathroom (or they would be if they weren't cliches). For example in FEAR, we go down the ladder and there we go, Alma is looking at us while we're all "I think I'll just go down this ladder". Then you go down and realise you're undefended when she's right infront of you at the top of the ladder.

 

[nuba km]

snip

Yea those a good ideas I always like the idea of an indivisible enemies that can walk and the walls and ceiling if you look or listen carefully you will notice him but with the nerve system you could end up confusing things for them never knowing were they are. One thing that should be done with the invisible enemy is that it stalks you for a while before it attacks you.

 

[nuba km]

snip

I mean more the reason you don't look at the enemies is because you are running for your live but their will be other monsters which you will see also the main monster you will see in bits and pieces.

snip

I say foot steps and breathing is great for tension but actual music cues starting before you even see the monster is a no no, music playing while fighting the monster is OK but only if it continues playing even after the monster is dead or maybe even after you kill it but their are still enemies their.

 

[nuba km]

snip

I changed two of my points to try and explain what I meant better also I am going to but in and edit other good ideas and yours will be part of it.

 

[Kakashi on crack]

-Silence. If you time silence right you can make the player paint his living room brown. This also means NO NOTICEABLE MUSIC CUES FOR THE ENEMIES this is why I was never scared in dead space because I knew that no music cue means no enemies and when the music cue started I was ready to fight the enemies.

Sound is a tricky one. I agree that there shouldn't be a music cue whenever an enemy appears...because then you know it's there.
However, whilst silence adds a lot of tension, it's amazing how much eerie music can add too.

Reminds me of American Mcgee's Alice. That game wasn't scary, but the -music- gave me nightmares, especially the one in that theater/library area, the creepy nursury tune

Hmm, most of the aspects you mentioned are great, here's a few - Limit the HUD, have times when it litterally dissapears

Use enemies that seem both weak, and yet have a terrifying secret to them. A dead child, a small menace that you only see the shadows of? These are good horror creatures, not a giant monster trying to rip your heart out.

Make it so that an encounter with the enemy is random/realistic, sometimes it will kill you, sometimes it will simply hurt you, other times you will get out scotch free, trick the player into believing that these enemies are just as real as he is, and that there are multiple scenarios. Try to hide as many features of what the enemy looks liek as possible to keep that sense of fear in the players.

Insanity meter would be awsome, have them see shadows and such, BUT do -not- let the player see the insanity meter. Simply have it as a background system. That way, the player litterally DOES feel the insanity of it all, seeing shadows, hearing voices/sounds, always keep them wondering if its their character, or the game.

Have enounters that will convince the player that it's simply his character, or it's probably nothing, then place the scary guys right around the corner on occasion. This will make the player question what is real and what isn't, and cause a deep sense of fear in them as they try to survive and make their way through.

Bringing me to my next point, the player should be trying to survive, not to 'win' never given them the complete satisfaction of knowing they "defeated" something, have it be a random chance that the corpse will dissapear if they leave that place for a bit, make it so that sometimes the creatures will run into the shadows and seem to follow the player... Maybe even occasionally have the creature jump out at the player a second time!

Keep the enemies, and when encounters take place randomized, maybe the first level or two have all enemies, but afterwards make it so that sometimes different enemies spawn at a point, or nothing spawns at all.

Realistic shadow effects = make the player's pants turn brown.

If you need a big monster, make that monster, but try and make it a hunched figure, or have a certain creepiness to it. Someone who perhaps makes noise to inform the player that they are there. If you just need a large monster, and not a physically big one, the best bet is to make something like a hooked horror, or hunger. Make them a slender, tall figure, obviously built to kill, perhaps deformed, just some suggestions.

Have a variety of scary things, don't make 1-5 enemies, but make a whole spectrum of different enemies that do different things.

do not, I repeat DO NOT put the monsters in the manual! If the player wants to find out about the monsters, make them research, don't simply give out what it is. Thsi adds to a huge sense of fear for players who haven't researched anything abotu what the monsters are.

Dont have physical "stats" for monsters/the player. Maybe they can have a few things that get better with use (such as using a weapon) or worse (such as running) to prevent the player from taking unnecesary risks, but never give out statistics. It ruins the immersion.


These and the tips and tricks mentioned above would help make an awsome horror game.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Not showing the monster works well enough for movies, but take a step back and ponder how the hell you'd incoporate that into gameplay.
"I must run! It's fucking nothing!".

Actually, this kind of thing was used to great effect in Amnesia. Sure, there are monsters, and you're encouraged to look out for them, but actually looking at them gets you punished by driving you insane. I guess that's not so much the enemy being invisible as it is the player being trained to avoid seeing them, but the basic idea's the same. Another example from the same game is a monster that chases you in the water who's completely invisible, but whose footsteps create large splashes in the water. It may be just me, but I found that quite a tense opponent to retaliate to.

snip

I say foot steps and breathing is great for tension but actual music cues starting before you even see the monster is a no no, music playing while fighting the monster is OK but only if it continues playing even after the monster is dead or maybe even after you kill it but their are still enemies their.

My bad, seems I misinterpreted 'music cues' as including sound cues. But it's ok, I have an example for this too
I completely agree that it takes the horror away to always know when you're safe, and always know when you're in danger just because of the music. I've been playing Silent Hill 3 recently and noticed this as a minor issue, since the music clearly alerts you to enemies nearby - although it's not that bad in this case, since you still don't know where they are and they're still usually best avoided anyway. However, there's one moment where you're lured into a false sense of security by the lack of noise, only to have an enemy come out of hiding when you get close, accompanied by the music. That freaked me out, but it's likely more just because the game was trying to train me to associate the quiet with relative safety, only to break that tradition without warning. It kind of cautions the player that they can't assume a room is safe just because it seems like it at first glance.

Hmm I had a point here...I guess it would be that even a seemingly bad decision in horror game design can work well if the player's conditioned in such a way that you can turn it against them later. I'll admit though, it's kind of rare for that to happen well.

EDIT:

Insanity meter would be awsome, have them see shadows and such, BUT do -not- let the player see the insanity meter.

Oh, and agreed with this. The less the player is aware of the mechanics and functions, the better. It should be intuitive enough to not be confusing, but shouldn't make the player distracted or break the horror-immersion.

 

[nuba km]

snip

I have an idea for a sewer level co-op sewer level were one player has to open a gate in order to continues but opening it makes noise which attracts a sort of bat/crocodile monster with a babies face and a babies laughter(you can have something else) and the other player has to distracted it but because the monster is faster then the player the two players have to take turn distracting it and opening the gate. The sewer would also not be lit so you have to use your flash light (a good flash light) but as your opening the gate you can't see what's going on so you have to trust your friends also the light of the flash light would attract the monster so when the noise of the gate opening isn't happening you have a choice between neither you or your monster seeing or both and the monster seeing.
edit:

snip

if you could shorten this point to a paragraph I will add it to the list of other good ideas from other people.

 

[Hman121]

you should try to mess with the player's mind, like in Eternal Darkness with losing the save files, or playing music that signals a monster that is not there... you know, wear the player down so that they have to turn off the game when night begins to fall.

 

[Iron Mal]

Here are some things I believe could make an interesting horror game:

1- Combat: There is no reason why you can't be compotent in combat, but your compotence should act as a false sense of security. Combat is possible (and you even stand a good chance at holding your ground against threats) but if it gets too drawn out or you get worn down, surrounded, wounded etc. then you're royally fucked.

In other words, small, fast skirmishes (where you have the upper hand) are in your favour but pitched battles aren't.

2- Enemies: There are two ways you can go with this, humanoid enemies are fine but you should avoid dehumanising them where possible since this actually makes encounters with them easier for us psychologically (it's possible and easy for us to perceieve someone in a gas mask or balaclava as not being human and thus an acceptable target for anything we do to them).

Inhuman enemies are also fine but they need to be designed in such a way that even just thinking about them is unsettling. Most of the problem surrounding this is games is that we tend to circle the same sort of territory with 'inhuman' designs (usually drawing from insects, typical demons or the Alien from Alien in a lot of cases) which results in a lot of things looking familiar (and thus not as mysterious or threatening), don't be afraid to put explicit imagery in your creations (half the reason the Alien from Alien was scary was because almost everything about it was a metaphor for sexual violence and strangely phallic or vaginal).

3- Player Actions: Over the course of the game, the player should be thrust into situations where they will have to do morally questionable or outright horrific things to survive (harming innocents for your own survival, dispatching enemies in 'dirty' and inhumane ways and any other acts that will make the player feel guilty). It's important that the player is not given a choice, there should be no 'heroic' or 'good guy' way out of a dire situation, however, it is also important that the player isn't nagged or lectured over what they've done (having someone sound horrified at it being mentioned could work if done briefly), the only person judging the character's (and thus the player's) actions is the player themselves (no pop-up or screen telling you that you are now 15% more good or evil).

4- Wounding: Remember the system that some games have where specific body parts can be injured and crippled? We normally use that for army games (and Fallout) but it could be very interesting to see it in a horror game.

Picture the following: You tried fighting off some crazed lunatic, you managed to drive him off but not before he managed to carve a huge chunk out of your thigh, he's run off to get his friends to back him up and you have to escape with a wounded leg while suffering extreme blood loss and shock (as well as other possible injuries and hazards). Luckily, you manage to find somewhere safe to wait and catch your breath while you wait for them to give up the chase, you look down at your leg and see the massive, grusome slash across it. There's blood, muscle, bone and a little bit of the weapon he hit you with all in there (it's not a pretty sight).

 

[Sensenmann]

I'm just picking out the bits I wish to discuss/ debate/ contest:

Use enemies that seem both weak, and yet have a terrifying secret to them. A dead child, a small menace that you only see the shadows of? These are good horror creatures, not a giant monster trying to rip your heart out.

Try to hide as many features of what the enemy looks liek as possible to keep that sense of fear in the players.

Bringing me to my next point, the player should be trying to survive, not to 'win' never given them the complete satisfaction of knowing they "defeated" something, have it be a random chance that the corpse will dissapear if they leave that place for a bit, make it so that sometimes the creatures will run into the shadows and seem to follow the player... Maybe even occasionally have the creature jump out at the player a second time!

Have a variety of scary things, don't make 1-5 enemies, but make a whole spectrum of different enemies that do different things.

I disagree with these points. The rest of the post was about innovation in design and randomness in encounters which I agree with fully. I also agree with the hiding part. My halloween costume scared young children (it was an accident, I promise!) as it was bandaged and therefore unknown.

I don't agree with the idea that a big monster is not scary. I say, big monsters have not been scarily executed YET. If done properly, a big monster would be great. Big says superior (dominant) and strong. The remaining issue with big is that it generally says slow, clumsy, bulky, conspicuous and stupid. I'm sure a decade ago people would have said that children were incapable of being scary, or that victims are incapable of being scary (yet the abused housewife in 6th sense was probably the scariest part, while Splicers of Bioshock are portrayed as agressor by behaviour and victim by appearance). FEAR was a great game, yet there were only 3 kinds of terrifying enemy: Paxton, Alma and ghosts. I can see why that point got in though: Silent Hill

 

[allinwonder]

Defenseless.
There is no horror when I have a shotgun in hand with refillable ammo.

 

[nuba km]

snip

what was your Halloween costume?
and I agree that big monster can be scary to give an example L4D tank why is he scary that's easy he can bash your brain in and you can't out run him I have been in several situations were my friends was panicking as I was smashing through his defences (in most games were you play as the monster I dent to scare the s*** out of my friends I think it's because I have good timing striking when they are most vulnerable or don't expect it.).