LONG BLOG
The Evil Without? Thoughts on the Horror Genre.
I am not scared. Very yawn.
These two points might be a bit of pining for a bygone era, but horror is a different beast when it comes to what works. A good horror film isn’t like a summer blockbuster where you throw hundreds of millions into the latest and greatest tech to wow an audience, take for example Paranormal Activity, made for $15,000, it used simple tricks to produce something that really scared a lot of people. So while some may insist that the only way is to ditch old techniques in favor of the latest and greatest, why not go back to techniques that actually worked to build tension.
Narrative. My final point. Protagonists in horror games these days are seen as indestructible superheroes, with almost no character flaws and devoid of real, human emotion. If I came into contact with supernatural, grotesque monsters I would be wracked with fear, as would most people, trying to comprehend whatever it is I’m up against. Show us that! Make the hero relatable! In addition to character issues, I find that horror games too often go for jump scares and gross-out horror, when true terror lies in the psychological. The thing you fear most is the unknown. I’ll never forget how awesome I thought the movie Signs was, until they showed us the alien. Immediately hated it. So please horror game developers, mess with my head, leave part of the narrative up to my imagination to construct. I’m going to think of something way worse than whatever it is you write into the story.
This is where I think Evil Within is keeping its cards close to its chest. Both the Japanese and NA titles have something to do with the mind, so while we have been bombarded with gore and a growing bestiary of hideous creations, the narrative of the game could be more psychological than we think. It’s all in how you stick that landing though, so nail it like Silent Hill 2 and try not to be Shutter Island.
And based on Tina Amini's preview over at Kotaku, Evil Within's situation might not be as dire as Brett here at Destructoid makes it out to be.
So, couple questions I guess. When was the last time you were scared shitless by a game? What would make games scarier for you? And do you think Evil Within will scare you?
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About Sab0tenderone of us since 12:42 PM on 05.28.2014
Just another gamer.
Maybe what I have to say is interesting,
but probably not...
from Vancouver, Canada.
Went to NYU for grad school.
Studied 'Otaku' culture to death while in grad school, so ask me anything about anime, manga and video game lovers in Japan, and I'll probably be able to tell you a lot.
If you like my writing, follow me!
I'd really appreciate it!
On twitch:
www.twitch.tv/sab0tender
Also, I run a Zelda Tumblr that was made entirely to troll a friend who said he didn't like Wind Waker... now it's a thing I spend too much time on...
https://windwakerjj.tumblr.com/
Maybe what I have to say is interesting,
but probably not...
from Vancouver, Canada.
Went to NYU for grad school.
Studied 'Otaku' culture to death while in grad school, so ask me anything about anime, manga and video game lovers in Japan, and I'll probably be able to tell you a lot.
If you like my writing, follow me!
I'd really appreciate it!
On twitch:
www.twitch.tv/sab0tender
Also, I run a Zelda Tumblr that was made entirely to troll a friend who said he didn't like Wind Waker... now it's a thing I spend too much time on...
https://windwakerjj.tumblr.com/