» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:05 am
I have to admit I have a slight holdover fear of the damn spriggans thanks to Bloodmoon. They're not nearly as bad in this game, but I still get that buttpucker moment every time. And trolls. The first time I ran into one in Oblivion, it cemented a never-ending relationship of fear, loathing and rage.
In all seriousness, though, ambient noises are great. The player adjusts to ambient noises over time, having established them as non-threatening, so random discordant noises punctuating the normal background noise is good. For another, speaking personally, I am actually less at-ease with no background music at all than if there were any playing. This is because I rely very heavily on the change in music to tell me if something out of my line of sight has aggro'd me. Also, random changes in lighting, particularly if it impairs the player's vision somewhat. It's hard to scare someone with a high sneak level, because they get to choose when the fight starts. Reduce that ability to predict what's out there, and it makes a huge difference.