What scares you in a game? : V

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:03 pm

Hey everyone,

Basically, I am planning on making a giant mod. It adds a huge new land with a main quest line, and plenty of side quests. I also have one sequal planned, and possibly an extra Halloween mod. However, I need to figure out in the next few days if I will be doing the Halloween mod or not, so here's what I need.

What scares you when you play games? Is it dimly lit rooms? Certain enemies? Certain situations? What makes a game give you the chills? I need to see if I could make a good scary mod within Skyrim, and if I can't I'll plan accordingly.

Thanks for any ideas and input,
Alexander J. Velicky

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:31 am

Mobs coming up behind me in dungeons and not making a sound... damn stealth Draug's.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:14 am

Psychological horror, à la Amnesia. Hearing something coming up behind you, only to turn around and find nothing there, turning a corner just in time to see something go through a door down the hall...

:cold:

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:18 am

Things like in Amnesia scare me...... a lot. Having no means to defend yourself makes the experience scarier too, although Skyrim is about fighting. Skeletons scare me too, as long as their eyes aren't glowing. Hearing the creaking of bones in a dark dungeon really gets me. Darkness can be scary too, although Skyrim seems pretty bright; I've never needed a torch or something to see in the dark. (Maybe my computer is set too bright?)

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:53 am

Things like in Amnesia scare me...... a lot. Having no means to defend yourself makes the experience scarier too, although Skyrim is about fighting. Skeletons scare me too, as long as their eyes aren't glowing. Hearing the creaking of bones in a dark dungeon really gets me. Darkness can be scary too, although Skyrim seems pretty bright; I've never needed a torch or something to see in the dark. (Maybe my computer is set too bright?)

my skyrim is pretty dark, i need light in most caves and what not.

Losing my wife is what scares me. Ive worked hard to keep her alive lol

» Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:58 pm

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/where-did-survival-horror-go.

Some pointers (I may go into more detail later):

What you can't see is ALWAYS scarier than what you can see. The player's mind will automatically jump to the worst possible conclusion, and it'll likely be scarier than what you can put in a game. Amnesia uses this to great effect, to the point that it's actually a gameplay disadvantage to look directly at the bogeymen.
The player should feel pretty helpless. If you have no way of dealing with a threat, especially in a medium where you're used to being in complete control, it can be terrifying.
You should never, ever make the player feel like his death was out of his control. The second you do that, the player will feel cheated and will stop playing. Communicate effectively what killed the player, why it killed the player, and how the player can prevent it from happening again. And you have to do this through the gameplay itself, not through some manual or NPC explanation. Good luck

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:28 am

Skeletons and Draug always scare me for some reason -_-; I can go through a bandit camp and feel no remorse, throw me in the nord ruins and I go for fearless warrior to sneaky-and-moving-forward-slowly warrior in a heart beat..and after I think I cleared a area someone comes up from behind me (usually my follower..he likes to stay behind me..and sometimes he'll just watch me fight odd right?)

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:38 pm

Deep dark water with something unseen swimming in it. Gets me every time.
That and creepy ambient noises, like disembodied footsteps and creaks, as well as something that's actually threatening to the character. I.E., a powerful monster that hunts you (think Amnesia).
In addition, give the player something that they rely on, only to take it away from them later on, say half way through. Example: a companion that helps with fights, and maybe gives informative tips, only to be killed somewhat later on, removing this crutch the player used for a while, forcing them to stand on their own. Gives a feeling of helplessness.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:11 am

traps scare the living crap out of me lol

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:53 am

The thought of having to stop playing. :unsure: :blink:

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 12:46 am

Creepy noises, creepy ghosts, creepy owls :spotted owl: and creepy [censored].

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:16 am

1890 dollar training cost for skills scares me!

Those white wraiths scare me

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:28 am

I don't think anything really scares me in Skyrim. Falmer, and Hag Ravens creep me out though.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:42 pm

Hey everyone,

Basically, I am planning on making a giant mod. It adds a huge new land with a main quest line, and plenty of side quests. I also have one sequal planned, and possibly an extra Halloween mod. However, I need to figure out in the next few days if I will be doing the Halloween mod or not, so here's what I need.

What scares you when you play games? Is it dimly lit rooms? Certain enemies? Certain situations? What makes a game give you the chills? I need to see if I could make a good scary mod within Skyrim, and if I can't I'll plan accordingly.

Thanks for any ideas and input,
Alexander J. Velicky

The unseen, always when I don't see the enemy but what my enemy is capable of is what scares me. Sends my imagination into overdrive

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:51 pm

Being suddenly attacked from behind in an area I thought was safe. If it's somewhere dark and spooky, I'm prepared for the worst. But if I make it through the gloomy, dank hallways to find a brightly lit room with health potions and a bed to rest in and suddenly I'm being clawed from behind, it makes me jump a mile.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:09 am

Any game I have ever played has NEVER scared me.... But startled on the other hand? Holy crap I hate it when I hear nothing at all and then all of a sudden turn around to see a monster in my face. At this point I waste a ton of ammo and screaming "AHHHH WTH!!!!" I had this happen to me in FO3 once, I was walking in the wasteland when all of a sudden I heard a grunt behind me, I look around to see a yao gai standing right beside me on hind legs and then attacks me.... I seriously threw my controller becase of being startled so bad and broke it.

But I hear that Amnesia is one freaky ass game, I think that not having a weapon makes it x10 worse.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:42 am

THAT FREAKING ABANDONED HOUSE IN MARKARTH

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:04 am

either the snowy areas around winterhold/northern coast, the area in markarth, the hargravens, or the swamps

*shivers*

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:09 am

I wonder if you could make a skeleton charge at the character and despawn in a puff of smoke the instant before impact...That would be effective. Scratching behind a door and when the player opens it, hearing wind and a distant scream, but seeing nothing. It's true what that video said, we can scare ourselves more than you could ever scare us. Set up the environment and we'll take over.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:11 am

One word: Dracolich. Undead skeletal dragons? *shivers*

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:54 am

Things that scream and run at you very quickly

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:31 pm

I feel I should share this.

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=31&weekday=thu

Scroll down a bit.

Don't blame me if you have a heart attack.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:50 am

Dimly moonlit castle hallways where insane psychotic female phantoms come screaming down the hall fully intent on ripping me to bloody shreds as little children cry in terror.

» Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:53 pm

I feel I should share this.

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=31&weekday=thu

Scroll down a bit.

Don't blame me if you have a heart attack.

Getting killed every five minutes in a game by enemies scares me!

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:43 am

One word: Dracolich. Undead skeletal dragons? *shivers*

Not to insult your taste, but to me that seems a little too unsubtle to be scary in a video game.