Don’t be afraid. There are no ghouls here. Just nerds.
‘Tis the season for delighting in frights, is it not? That time of year when Halloween is just around the corner, the days get darker, and the things that go bump in the night start getting goosebumps, because, hey, it’s cold out there. As I mentioned last week, it’s also the beginning of game season. Horror, as a genre, doesn’t have quite the presence it did in gaming a few years back, but autumn 2008’s seeing a number of high-profile scary games hitting consoles across the land. Silent Hill’s back after a four year absence, EA is releasing their brand new IP Dead Space in just over a week, and Atari is re-launching their ill-fated Alone in the Dark on PS3. Horror games are an absolute favorite of mine. There’s a visceral thrill they provide that is distinct to the medium, mixing the tension-and-release dynamic essential to horror in any medium with the deep satisfaction of accomplishment that comes from successfully playing a game. The best of them are unique amongst videogames for being almost exhausting to play. The original Silent Hill excelled at this; it made me physically uncomfortable after a certain length of time, further enhancing the reprieve of safety in the game world. This is an essential ingredient in making a horror game truly scary. If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, if it doesn’t put you, the player, in the shoes of that character compelled to discover what’s making those noises in the dark, it fails. But that’s just my opinion. What is essential to making horror games scary to you, reader? Is it making the game difficult to play on a mechanical level, making it unfair, as Jenn Frank from Infinite Lives hypothesizes? Is it making dogs jump through windows when you totally don’t expect it? Let me know in the comments.
(Note: The image above is from the glorious mess of a horror game called Rule of Rose. It is one of the best games I have ever played. It also happens to be one of the worst.)
Related links:
Gears of LittleBig Fable Music: Considering the First-Party Blitz
OST: Rule of Rose
Overworld: Friday the 13th
Screen Test: Alone in the Dark
Silent Hill: Homecoming is, Thankfully, Both Silent and Hilly