Inverse Psychological Horror Game

[Ninjat_126]

The idea is simple: kind of a playable slasher film, with you as the killer. The main focus is combining stealth mechanics with brutal displays of violence to psychologically torment as many enemies as possible. Begin speculation!

Enemies have two morale 'bars', one for paranoia and one for straight up fear.

The Paranoia system tracks how nervous and paranoid a single enemy is. Paranoia is increased by subtle displays, like suspicious noises, unexplained bloodstains and disappearing squadmates.

Fear/Horror is increased by displays of violence. Mutilated corpses, bloodstains, screams of agony and similar things will increase this.

These two 'bars' are interlinked, raising one will usually raise the other. However, the proportions in the bars will affect the Sanity Break system. A character with low morale will possibly undergo some sort of sanity break, which can manifest as pretty much anything from shooting themselves to trying to wire an entire building to explode.


Gameplay mechanics are completely focused towards freaking out your enemies and outsmarting them. For example, there is a hotkeyed button specifically for mutilating corpses, an action to write messages in blood, another to pin bodies to walls with nails or their own bones.

Health is realistic. Not the "die in 2 bullets or regenerate" realistic like COD, realistic as in "one bullet and you die or are crippled". Getting shot is not something you're supposed to do. Fortunately, enemy aim degrades under stress, and you can equip body armour and take cover behind objects.

Any sugggestions/improvements/feedback?

PS: If anyone wants to go out and make a freeware game of this, then feel free. If you plan on making money, maybe at least be nice enough to speak to me first.

 

[L4WLI3T]

Ooh. I like it. Would be good, but the media would snatch it up and call it evil in a mere matter of miliseconds.

 

[Orwellian37]

Wow... this sounds like a fantastic game! The concept of Paranoia reminds me much of Arkham Asylum, but I like the overall game idea and the fear system. The health system sounds like it would fit perfectly into the atmosphere.

Although, if this is like a slasher with you as killer, it probably wouldn't play out as battling hordes of soldiers a la F.E.A.R., Manhunt, or any Jason Statham film. To make a horror film-style game would require less suspecting targets, maybe the theft of a police station to get back evidence, and when insane enough possibly a Charlie Manson grade party assault.

Good sir, make this game.

 

[lacktheknack]

I don't think you can claim to have invented this idea (I've come up with it before you, someone might make it then claim to never have seen this thread). That being said, it's an interesting mechanic, but it shouldn't be the focus of the whole game.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Ok, I'm a tad bit inebriated, so pardon some of the more glaring mistakes in my post.
YES! It might be my chemically altered state of mind, but I would love to play such a game. Wasn't Manhunt a bit like this? I've never played it, but I always find myself rooting for the psycho killer in horror movies (cuz the "protagonists" are all unlikable dipshits). Yeah, I could see myself playing something like this, even if it's just for a good/macabre laugh.

 

[Bon_Clay]

Sounds awesome, its like a brutal game about killing people mixed with strategy. I like the idea of having fear and paranoia as two separate things too, adds a lot more room from planning.

Fear would just make them freak out and try to run away, maybe run straight into traps you have set up. Probably would be downsides to each for you as well, as they get adrenaline rushes they can run faster/longer and they'll be able to temporarily ignore wounds and pain that would normally slow them down considerably.

Paranoia would make them more jumpy and probably trigger happy, but their aim would be more erratic. So you'd probably want to keep your distance from a really paranoid enemy else you get shot in the face when you're hiding in the shadows.

 

[cgentero]

The gameplay concept kinda reminds me of a few bad games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Begins_%28video_game%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Punisher_%282005_video_game%29

 

[Stoic raptor]

I think there was a game called Manhunt. Or Manhunt 2.

Not the same idea, but it is similar. Just no paranoia or fear system like the one you described.

 

[Arkley]

There's actually already a game that works more or less exactly as you suggest. It is about terrorising targets to the point that they go insane and eventually kill themselves, along with brutally murdering them and creating traps and lures to facilitate your murderous intentions.

Among your weapons are axes, knives, machetes, baseball bats and other typical weapons. You can also use the environment to murder your targets, torching their faces with barbecue grills, forcing them into moving machinery and choking them with a telephone.

Targets slowly go insane as they witness your terrifying actions, find the bodies of their friends, stumble upon other terrorised targets, and witness the destruction of their home town by a malevolent force who sneaks around out of sight, only occasionally emerging to the further the anarchy.

You can create chain reactions as targets who are pushed to the limit kill themselves in view of other targets, who will go insane with grief.

It's called Naughty Bear. You play as a teddy bear, and all the targets are teddy bears.

It's also terrible.

 

[mikeli4194]

Well that's actually a pretty cool idea. Sounds like Arkham Asylum with stabs/mutilations instead of punches.
Thing is though...how is the game supposed to be scary if you're the killer?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

isnt manhunt a game where you play as a slasher villain

You're a snuff film star, your methods are whatever is in your hands.

Seriously, that's the entire theme of the game. Even the manual is done in the appropriate style, resembling a company catalog.

 

[Onoto]

That sounds fascinating. It would, of course, require a killer story - pardon the pun - to get the right tone, but I'd play it and I'm not a big survival horror guy.

 

[Ghengis John]

The idea is simple: kind of a playable slasher film, with you as the killer. The main focus is combining stealth mechanics with brutal displays of violence to psychologically torment as many enemies as possible. Begin speculation!

Enemies have two morale 'bars', one for paranoia and one for straight up fear.

The Paranoia system tracks how nervous and paranoid a single enemy is. Paranoia is increased by subtle displays, like suspicious noises, unexplained bloodstains and disappearing squadmates.

Fear/Horror is increased by displays of violence. Mutilated corpses, bloodstains, screams of agony and similar things will increase this.

These two 'bars' are interlinked, raising one will usually raise the other. However, the proportions in the bars will affect the Sanity Break system. A character with low morale will possibly undergo some sort of sanity break, which can manifest as pretty much anything from shooting themselves to trying to wire an entire building to explode.


Gameplay mechanics are completely focused towards freaking out your enemies and outsmarting them. For example, there is a hotkeyed button specifically for mutilating corpses, an action to write messages in blood, another to pin bodies to walls with nails or their own bones.

Health is realistic. Not the "die in 2 bullets or regenerate" realistic like COD, realistic as in "one bullet and you die or are crippled". Getting shot is not something you're supposed to do. Fortunately, enemy aim degrades under stress, and you can equip body armour and take cover behind objects.

Any sugggestions/improvements/feedback?

PS: If anyone wants to go out and make a freeware game of this, then feel free. If you plan on making money, maybe at least be nice enough to speak to me first.

Manhunt was a lot like this and it was terrible.

Naughty bear had a similar system going on and it was terrible.

Stubbs the Zombie had you slaughtering an entire town and turning them into zombies, and nobody played it.

I'm not saying your game is going to be terrible, it's just that all indicators point to it. And who's your end boss supposed to be? The cute teenage good girl who's friends are all dead? Hardly an imposing target, and if she did wind up being your greatest challenge considering all your advantages winning that game would just feel awful to anyone who wasn't a bit of a sicko. Oh how about bonus points if you rape her first? As long as we're killing innocent people can we throw rape in too? I think all my sick fantasies could use the same outlet. And just wait till the media finds out about it! I can see the headlines now "Murder Simulator teaches kids how to kill!", just think of all the free publicity.

 

[redisforever]

I did have a similar I idea, but I had a setting in mind.

It was in a school (I know, I know, sounds like school shooting simulator, but it's not).

I wanted it to be set in a school, because it would be very disturbing to see this stuff happening there. I was going to set in during a storm, and a whole bunch of people are taking cover in there, and one of them is a serial killer, and then...pretty much exactly what you said.

Because it's a snowstorm, they can't get out, because the doors are blocked.

 

[ph3195k9]

I did have a similar I idea, but I had a setting in mind.

It was in a school (I know, I know, sounds like school shooting simulator, but it's not).

I wanted it to be set in a school, because it would be very disturbing to see this stuff happening there. I was going to set in during a storm, and a whole bunch of people are taking cover in there, and one of them is a serial killer, and then...pretty much exactly what you said.

Because it's a snowstorm, they can't get out, because the doors are blocked.

So would you be trying to cover your tracks as well and try to frame the others or would you just pick them off one by one?

 

[Vacancie]

Sounds A lot like Batman

 

[WildSeraph]

I did have a similar I idea, but I had a setting in mind.

It was in a school (I know, I know, sounds like school shooting simulator, but it's not).

I wanted it to be set in a school, because it would be very disturbing to see this stuff happening there. I was going to set in during a storm, and a whole bunch of people are taking cover in there, and one of them is a serial killer, and then...pretty much exactly what you said.

Because it's a snowstorm, they can't get out, because the doors are blocked.

So would you be trying to cover your tracks as well and try to frame the others or would you just pick them off one by one?

You know, this sounds kind of like that BYOND game Mitadake High. It's about one killer in a school in lockdown. It's everyone else's job to escape or at least survive. It's multiplayer, though, and it's kind of necessary to role play.

It's not nearly as complex even as the idea with the paranoia and fear bars, though. I'd love to see a game like that!