Feature: The Keys To Horror Games

Author: by Staff

Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda, Steve Papoutsis of Visceral Games, Tale of Tales, and others discuss the necessary elements of horror games in Gamasutra's latest feature. "It's difficult to make players really feel afraid without manipulating the power balance between them and the enemies. But there are a lot of games that can evoke horror in a player while still using weapon-based combat," said Suda, whose horror Fatal Frame game for the Wii has received plaudits (but no U.S. release.) Combat is at the core of Visceral Games' Dead Space -- and on that topic, Steve Papoutsis, executive producer of the game and its sequel, said "Pacing is critical in a horror game. You need to allow room for the player to feel safe or experience relief in order to deliver the next startle or scare." The design of the enemies, of course, is also key to the horror, said Papoutsis. "Big gross, scary monsters are cool, but what we thought would really bring home the horror was having the enemies contain a human and relatable element. Once the team zeroed in on that idea they did a ton more drawings and eventually came up with our Necromorphs." The full feature article also has comments from the developers of games The Path, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and Penumbra. 'Revival Horror: New Ideas in Fear-Making' is live today on Gamasutra.