Inverse Psychological Horror Game

[viranimus]

Yes it sounds a bit like Manhunt, but I am thinking the fear system reminds me of Amnesia more than Arkham Asylum. It has potential, but alas too many survival horror type games have came out that had potential that ended up squandered.

 

[jhlip]

Please do this. It would be nice to play something like this.

 

[Vern5]

No body armor. Make a system for decorating your body with horrifying totems or markings or take the skins from recently killed victims. its not armor but it increases the paranoia of any npc that glimpses you and overall fear accumulation when you kill someone while decorated.

Armor could unbalance things. A skilled player should rely on stealth tactics instead and strategic elimination of npcs with decent gun skills.

There should be a core of npcs you have to kill and others that are just filler. The core npcs should have behavior akin to horror film stereotypes and you will recieve special rewards for killing different members of the cast. The filler npcs should be cops and bystanders; not worth many points but possibly dangerous if the locate you.

Include a special/multiplayer mode that's like freddy vs jason. You and another killer compete for the lives of the npc cast or just try to kill each other for bonus points.

 

[Ninjat_126]

14. Creepy costumes (Bones on body armour)


The "slasher film" thing was just a comparision. I'm not suggesting a game where you play as a guy with a chainsaw in a hockey mask.

 

[Tsunimo]

Sounds like it would be fun.

 

[white_salad]

I could see something like this, but put those bars on you.

Imagine. You're a mental patient, diagnosed with cases of blacking out and being incredibly aggressive. You have previous training ( like black ops or navy seal stuff) and you hear through the grapevine of someone important to you is in danger from like mob or some shit I'm not sure. You escape to go after them.

However, you have an insanity meter. At the lowest meter, you're efficient, basically like sam fisher. The more you kill, the more insane you get. You're actions become more shaky and violent, and once you get to the top, the screen goes black, and it comes back with the insanity meter back to the lowest and everyone who was around you viciously murdered. This you want to avoid, because you're trying to stay low key to avoid cops and the asylum trying to recapture you.

So...ya.

Awesome. So overusing violence and brutality will make you lose your grip on reality, affecting gameplay as well as the overarching story.

The more often you flip out and murder people, the more likely you are to flip out and murder people.


Also, can anyone suggest and ways to keep enemies scared? I'll start a list.

In no particular order:

1. Suspicious noises (Throw stones)
2. Whispered threats (I see you...)
3. Lack of communication (Jamming radios)
4. Dead comrades
5. Unwelcome surprises (Bodies in lockers)
6. Mutilated bodies (Slashed faces)
7. Torture
8. Living torture victims (Mutilated enemies/civilians)
9. Gory displays (Dismembered limbs/organs)
10. Pinned corpses (Nailed to walls)
11. Pinned comrades (Living, nailed to walls)
12. Cannibalism (Partially eaten bodies)
13. Combinations!

Remember, you need to be one really sick individual to do something like nail a still-living enemy to a wall. More gruesome displays require you to be more desensitized to doing this sort of thing. However, that increases your chances of undergoing your own Sanity Break.

14. Vicious kills (Lighting enemies on fire/decapitation)
15. Blood curling screams ( like in a hallway and you just suddenly yell, kind of animal like)
16. Taunting them with videos of you murdering them (kind of like the joker video in the dark knight)

That's all I can think of. I really like this idea though, would be super fun.

 

[Ninjat_126]

Glad to see this many bloodthirsty people on The Escapist. You bastards.

 

[ChocoFace]

In a slasher, the bad guy almost never dies. They only appear to do so.
Just think of:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Friday the 13th
Nightmare on Elm Street
I Know What You Did Last Summer
The Hills Have Eyes

and those are just from the top of my head.
I do really like the idea of the game though.

 

[Ninjat_126]

The game should be nightmarishly hard to complete without using some really clever thinking on higher difficulties. Easy should be hard-ish, but Impossible should be exactly what it says on the tin.

The point isn't mindless violence, it's mindful violence with emphasis on psychological warfare, interrogation and stealth.

 

[D Moness]

I can see the headlines now "Murder Simulator teaches kids how to kill!", just think of all the free publicity.

We already had one of those it is called Harvester (was released around 1997). It is a game in a game and it is trying to teach the main character to become a serial killer.

 

[Ninjat_126]

Realism should be maximum. The creators should collect some pig carcasses and smash them with sledgehammers/shoot them/ stab them to see how the bodies react to trauma after death. It should be sickeningly violent to even the most desensitized gamer.

 

[Anarchemitis]

You become a living legend so scary it makes enemies crap their pants in Ace Combat 5 and Zero.
(Unfortunately the story developing you this way also results in equally ballsy and fearless enemies facing you, so it balances out)

 

[TH3_D15HWA5H3R]

sounds like viva pinata man... someone beat you too it

 

[Nieroshai]

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

I kinda agree. Though, it is a bit more fun to see the sanity effects spontaneously than to cause them at will to whoever.

 

[Ninjat_126]

What would FOX News say?

"This game harms the children!"

My reply would be "Yes. It does. What kind of horrible, horrible parents are you FOX News? Letting your children play this!? We had a disclaimer and everything! I'm disappointed in you..."

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Sounds like a cross between Ghost Master and Manhunt.

 

[katsumoto03]

So... Basically Manhunt brutally stitched together with Arkham Asylum?

 

[SuperToaster]

Sounds like a good idea, but isn't this somewhat like Manhunt?

 

[Angry Camel]

This sort of game would be quite fun. Not scary for you, but still very entertaining.

To possibly make it scary for the player, perhaps have another killer more powerful than you trying to make traps for you and your victims. Or for multiplayer fun, have a team of psychos terrorize a whole builiding of people for points.