I’ve found two factors seem to make a big impact on me. If your threat doesn't need to be a specific thing for your concept to work, make it as hard to understand as possible. Make the threat so it doesn't fit neatly into any single category and players will scramble to rationalize what they can't.
You need to weaponize the players imagination against them, the player will personalize the horror to themselves if given the opertunity. Perhaps make it a hiding spot that has to actively be maintained or give the player a chance to escape if caught and their reactions are quick enough.Īn unclear idea of what is threatening the player also helps. You can't let the hiding be passive though or the player will disengage to avoid the fear. Hiding takes that power and responsiblity away, you have to hunker down and hope the threat doesn't notice you. You also have to have a clear idea of where you're running from and where you are running to to avoid frustration. Running is active, your responsible for your survival. I'm not sure it's good for a game, but hiding is scarier than running. Enemies and hazards that kill the player will break immersion, but threats that leave the player with a sliver of health looking for a hiding spot and a medkit will leave them on the edge of their seat.
Low amount of actual danger to the player vs a high amount of danger perceived by the player. X (he won't die, he pursues you relentlessly, you can hear his stomping through the walls, etc.) It's dark and hard to see in some places. You can't leave The zombies are hard to kill and all of your resources are scarce. X right now?įeeling Helpless: you're alone. The Unknown: nearly everything about the station itself: what happened here? how many zombies are there? Will new zombies have entered a room since the last time I left? If/when will a new threat be added? Where the FUCK is Mr. (As a sidenote, being alone is/can be a HUGE factor in capturing this feeling.)Īn example that I think uses both of these principals really well is the Police Station from the RE2 Remake (mild spoilers I think?). Being faced with a force you can't possibly hope to overcome or significantly hinder is absolutely dreadful to most people. Being put in a situation where you can't do anything - or even better, where you can do very little - is terrifying. Monsters with strange and unnatural abilities work great for this because of how much of an unknown factor they are.Ģ. Simply put, people fear what they don't understand. My understanding of fear is based on two factors:ġ.
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