Horror Techniques for Games

Continuing with my research, I am relating horror techniques too my project and what I intend to do. I recently came across this article from Gamasutra.com entitled, 'Four Ways To Make Better Horror Games'.

Link: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/173350/Four_ways_to_make_better_horror_games.php

The four features discussed are ambiguity, strong sense of place, relationship with protagonist and subtle changes in atmosphere.

Ambiguity

It is important for the player to understand what they are supposed to do and why. However at the same time, being vague in these points can be effective in a horror genre. This helps as it leaves a lot too the player's imagination which can be a powerful too in the horror genre.

For my game I intend on effectively telling the story as subtly as possible. At the beginning there will be some obvious items that introduce the character and story and from there, the events that happen will not be completely obvious to the player until a few more clues are dropped.

Strong Sense Of Place

If a player does not have any idea of where they are, they will loose interest in the game. It is important to keep them engaged and help them believe what is happening. This helps by clearly conveying the location and setting of the environment. Starting of in a hotel room which then leads on to a hotel hallway helps convince the user they are in a hotel. This will be obvious due to the design of assets and standard style of environment typically associated with hotels. With regards to the asylum, this is now cliched and not original however, that is why I have developed my story/environment in the way it is now. It is a completely different method of having an asylum as an environment in a horror game. In my game you are not fully aware of the hotel's history until you begin to explore. This is when the hotel deteriorates into the asylum leaving you exploring the halls of an asylum. I really focused on making it as interesting as possible as I knew it was cliched however I feel my technique, is highly original and shall prove successful.

Relationship With Protagonist

This is important as it also helps with immersing the player into the game. If the player has no concern or interest in the character/story then it looses all effect. With my project, I am not looking so much into character design/creation - it is the environment of games I am studying however, in order to convey a realistic story, the character in it must be believable and be understood. This is wh yI will be taking care to make sure the user is aware of who they are and why they are there. This will help give them a purpose and reasoning behind every Acton they take.

Subtle Changes In Atmosphere

This is highly important - especially to convey a horror atmosphere. I will be subtly changing the atmosphere through slowly de-saturating the environment and making the whole level darker. As this is happening it will also be slowly turning into an Asylum. This requires a lot of practice to perfect but I am getting the hang on Unreal Engine 4 and all the technical aspects I need to know.