[ENG] How Games Induce Fear?

(Polska Wersja Dostępna Tu! - [PL] Jak Gry Wywołują Strach)

(Possible Spoilers from - Outlast, Outlast 2, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Alien: Isolation, Layers of Fear, Resident Evil 2 and SOMA)

There is something primal hidden deep within inside each and every single one of us. It was known to our ancestors, it takes many forms and evolves as the time passes by – fear. And nowadays many entertainment medias use this primal instinct to give us at least mild adrenaline rush – creepy, eerie music; horror films; disturbing images; creepypastas and video games as well.

Our ancestors were afraid of the dark and savage beasts lurking beneath veil of the night; medieval people were scared by things they couldn't understand – like witchcraft and this fear has evolved into modern age – where people are still afraid of things they just can't understand – like homosexuality for example – a matter of fact it's a tad bit less hated nowadays, but still – there are many people afraid of it, they despise and hate them and other sexual orientations due to lack of understanding.

There is one primal fear that is still very common to this very day – fear of the dark or rather fear of the unknown. And games know how to use this fear to induce and trigger this very fear in our heart and bloodstream. Of course games do this in a... variety of ways, some better, some worse. Some are there to just force you to jump and maybe scream a little and some exist to give you long term fright.

(One of the most recognizable jumpscare-based game of modern age - Five Nights at Freddy's)

One of the most common fear inducers in recent years are jumpscares – a face, creature or whatever appearing suddenly and/or leaping to character's face really close – and though visual side is scary, it is the audio part that completes the job – you see, very often when jumpscare appears – it is accompanied with a very loud sound – be it a scream, neck snap or something simply sudden – main job of this fear inducer is to take you by surprise and force you to either gently scream or jump a bit on your chair. Depending on the person – jumpscare can be really scary and one will need a longer period of time to calm him/herself down and someone can be like 'huh, alright, that was a little scary' – and depending on how many horror games you play or experience by watching them on YT for example – there is a chance you will raise your resistance against it and jumpscares will have much weaker effect on you.

Probably the most recognizable franchise in recent years that was built on jumpscares and boosted on YT – Five Nights at Freddy's or just FnaF for short – once a simple horror game about being a night guard in a pizzeria. Today? Enormous franchise with a lot of installments, spin-offs, books, a rumored movie, a VR installment – and everything has a plot so twisted, hidden and interconnected that... Just look up FnaF Theories on YouTube on Google – you'll see what I mean.

The thing is... The horror genre once upon a time was a simple jumpscare fest – there were a lot of 'scary' games and very often it was incredibly hard to find a decent horror game that wasn't a jumpscare shitstorm made in Unity in one or two nights. Long story short – nowadays it's much easier to find a good horror game. I just can't think of anything other than FNaF that is both popular and filled with jumpscare as it's basis.

FNaF is a game franchise that has literally changed horror (at least gaming horror) as we know it – I am not even going to count how many spin-offs and games 'inspired' by FNaF (that in fact were just different restaurants with different jumpscares and SOMETIMES new and actually interesting mechanics) appeared in the years following the YouTube boom of this title.

(Chaos, blood, madness - Welcome to Outlast 2)

But then there are horrors that use simply excessive gore, blood and violence to induce fear upon you, simply called 'B-Class' horrors or gore-fests. And whenever I think of a 'B-Class' horror, there is one game that instantly comes to my mind – Outlast.

The first installment had a really interesting premise and introduction – I admit, I was scared for a good while when playing this game, but Outlast just throws more and more blood and gore into your face hoping that you will shit your pants. Listen, I do not negate that someone with frail heart or easily scared wouldn't be really terrified in this game – that's all good, I'm just saying that I'm not impressed with that. Add to the some jumpscares to the whole mix and you'll get yourself a decent game in which you try to find your way out of the accursed Asylum for mentally ill. But I gotta give credit where credit is due – the first person perspective (which became a classic perspective for horror games nowadays) and camera feature due to which you have to control your battery usage if you want to see anything in this game (lighting is really dim so you have to use your night vision mode in your camera to be able to see anything). I mean, technically you could play through the entire game without even turning this mode on (maybe except few fragments where you literally cannot see anything). Plus there are still some patients of the Asylum, recordings you can take and notes that unveil the true horrors that lurk within our minds – notes and begging for help written in blood, the visions and fears of patients – despite being a bit shallow B-Class horror on the surface, when you start reading through the notes – there is a whole other world hidden.
First installment received a Whistleblower DLC which serves as a prequel story to the first Outlast. Thanks to Whistleblower's protagonist and his complaints about Mount Massive Asylum, main character of the main game comes to the Asylum to unravel whatever is happening behind it's closed doors, the story goes simultaneously with original game because Whistleblower's protagonist escapes from the Asylum using car of Outlast's main character which means our reporter had to arrive at the Asylum somewhere in between Whistleblower's start and finish.

(Outlast franchise has it's fair share of creepy monstrosities)

Then there is Outlast 2 which I... Have finished. Game itself wasn't bad or anything, far from it but it was more of the same thing I experienced in first installment. Yes, there was a totally different setting and story but... Blood, gore – more of the same, duh, when you're getting close to finishing the game – it's literally raining with blood. In this part we follow the story of husband and wife, two reporters (or rather reporter and a cameraman) going to investigate mysterious murder of a pregnant woman, suddenly their helicopter crashes somewhere in the woods and they soon find themselves in the middle of secret cult. Lynn – female reporter gets kidnapped by cultists and our main target for majority of the game is 'Find Lynn'. If someone didn't figure it out yet – we're playing as Blake aka The cameraman. 

Our protagonist is constantly haunted by nightmares from his past – he finds himself in school AND though it sounds a bit cliche to place school in a horror game – I'd argue that these sequences are the best in the entire game. Plus it makes quite a lot of sense from a narrative standpoint as Blake cannot let go of his past, he can't forgive himself that he wasn't there for a person he loved when she needed him the most. 

Despite quite a lack of open narrative in contrary to first part – there is much more information hidden in notes and recordings, each such discovery gives you a bit more insight into how this cult works and... If you think you know everything just by looking at these psychos – you really don't. They are much more twisted and devoted than you think – considering the much larger area of the game in contrary to the first part, you get to experience more traces of cultists – people crossed, hung on trees, burned, disposed and rejected due to being 'leprous' – they are called 'The Scalled' and they live in a forest that is cut away from the cultist village. Oh, and if you think that the Murkoff Corporation, responsible for everything that has happened in Mount Massive Asylum is gone... I mean, of course it isn't that obvious in the second installment that the shady corporation is in any way involved with the cultists but... Believe me, Mount Massive was just the beginning.

(Marta, one of the most dangerous and feared members of the cult)

And of course it wouldn't be a horror game without an invincible foe that appears regularly throughout the entire game – just like in the first installment we had really buffed up patient whose only goal seems to be keeping you inside the Asylum. Don't get me wrong, since you can't reliably fight back – most enemies seem invincible, but only very few appear on a regular basis and Marta is

one of them – not that she is truly invincible because she meets her demise at the very end, but she's quite strong and feared among the cultists. She walks with a pickaxe that she uses to impale everyone she or cult leader – Sullivan Knoth – sees as the enemy or threat to the cult.

Where as the first installment the ending was... Quite unsatisfying if you ask me and needed a shorter while to comprehend and understand what happened, the culmination of a second part is truly apocalyptic – with many theories suggesting that Blake has at last succumbed to his madness. The final view of the game is... Unsettling, but in some way satisfying.

With rumored Outlast 3 or something related to Outlast being on the way – we can probably expect more bloody, juicy and gory 'B-Class' horror and much more twisted experiments conducted by shady Murkoff Corporation!

Anyway, B-Class horrors have some charm to them – just like any horror sub-genre – be it jumpscares, psychological or B-Class – each and every one of them induces fear in different way. There are people who won't get scared at all, and then there are people who will jump after looking at pile of bodies that is still dripping with blood. But personally there is one experience that kind of caused me to admire horror genre and... Unfortunately how to control your fear within gaming experience – after experiencing probably one of the most acclaimed psychological horrors out there – Amnesia: The Dark Descent – games like Outlast or FNaF just weren't that scary for me. I am almost certain that if I have played Amnesia as the last game in my 'chain of horror experience', I would find Outlast much more scary.

(I hope you can forgive the repeated screenshot. I just couldn't find more from Amnesia: The Dark Descent that would be appropriate here)

(Amnesia is going to receive another installment in the franchise after aforementioned, brilliant The Dark Descent and mediocre A Machine for Pigs. The new part will be called Amnesia: Rebirth; Rebirth is going to be a successor to TDD, one of the developers said that he doesn't acknowledge A Machine for Pigs as a worthy continuation. Mostly because AMfP wasn't related to the story and plot of The Dark Descent - Rebirth is going to fix this)

Psychological horrors are the most interesting sub-genre of horror as they often delve deep into our minds, they play with our subconscious fears of something lurking in the dark where in reality there is nothing there. Horrors like Layers of Fear, Amnesia: The Dark Descent or SOMA have their own fair share of monsters or creatures, but for the most part it's that heavy atmosphere that creates a feeling of dread, anxiety and hopelessness, but the most importantly – the feeling of isolation. The feeling of loneliness. And I'm not saying that 'Wait, there are monsters, this point is kind of invalid!'. Yes, there are monsters but they appear occasionally – for the most part you are alone with your thoughts and omnipresent darkness. There may be nothing in the darkness... But on the other hand, there may be dozens of things lurking – you never know.

In Layers of Fear or Amnesia you have a lot, and I mean A LOT of dark, silent corridors. Recently I've been playing through The Dark Descent once again and... Although I knew I won't meet the first monster for quite some time from the beginning, I still felt unsettled and a bit scared when I was slowly walking through the barely lit, cold corridors.

And there probably is no better example of game that uses isolation like... Wait for it... Alien: Isolation! There is literally isolation in the title! But honestly, most of the mentioned horrors use enclosed space to induce fear. Amnesia, SOMA, Layers of Fear, Alien: Isolation or not yet mentioned Dead Space – all of them create a beautiful mix of fright. Feeling of being alone in a locked-up space with nothing else but you, your thoughts and creatures straight out of your nightmares. Be it a cold, medieval castle; abandoned space station; seemingly normal house – all of them are closed, you are forced to be inside the walls, to be trapped with twisted monstrosities and darkness. And very often you are totally alone with no way of fighting back.

(Long, not-so-dark corridor and yet... The feeling of dread and fear can be felt - Layers of Fear)

Someone once said, that your imagination is your strongest weapon. 

And horrors know about it all too well. There are often things you can't see and that leaves only your imagination to visualize the creatures lurking in the dark. Amnesia is once again a good example, especially during the 'Water Monster' part. You know there is something hiding under the water that will kill you if you fall into it. But you never see the monster, that's where your imagination steps in to create an image, anything to visualize the lurking threat (I mean, there are concept art of Water Monster that never made it into full game but... I think that's better). Layers of Fear and Outlast 2 do their fair share of imagination fear as well. As I said - recently I've been playing through The Dark Descent once again after 4 years and... Let's say it wasn't as scary as back then, but it's probably due to my much bigger experience with the horror genre. The dark corridors, ambients, sudden map changes, constant feeling of ever-lurking threat despite no monster on the map was quite enough to send few cold shivers down my spine. Sometimes I still couldn't believe that Amnesia in fact is an indie game; an indie game which has revolutionized and redefined horror genre. And just because I say it wasn't as scary as back then for me, it doesn't mean that others find this game too heavy to play through.

Of course we can't forget about F.E.A.R - one of the first games that changed and redefined the horror genre as we know it, but... Well, a shame to admit it, but I haven't played it and thus I can't really talk much about it.

Let's talk for a second about 'cosmic horror' or more often called 'Lovecraftian horror'. It plays on our fear of unknown lurking in space or in ocean depths... It's a bit hard to explain, mostly due that I haven't played a lot of cosmic horrors and most of 'cosmic' games aren't necessarily just horror. For example – Darkest Dungeon – it's not necessarily horror title, but it was heavily influenced by Lovecraft and cosmic horror. Same as BloodBorne – not necessarily horror, but heavily influenced... But if we were to talk about only horror - Eternal Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, Alone in the Dark, honestly one could say that Amnesia: The Dark Descent is also cosmic horror (Let's face it – Amnesia TDD can be used in a wide array of horror examples – locations, imagination, sound, cosmic, psychological... Amnesia TDD is an example of borderline perfect horror).

(Meeting Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation is one of the scariest moments in said game)

But next to monsters, imagination and your deepest fears, horrors use very simple methods of inflicting fear and unsettlesness – namingly locations and sounds. Cold, abandoned castle or house are unsettling on their own, but placing the player within these very locations and forcing them to deal with everything that's in store (including their own imagination and personal fears)... 

Take Resident Evil. Let's look at the Remake of 2 for this matter – police department, place where you should feel safe and yet, it's place where you are trapped with zombies. Not that it would make a difference if you could go outside since zombies are roaming through the entire Raccoon City but... Shhh.

Alien: Isolation or Dead Space leave you on an abandoned space station, Layers of Fear in character's own house... And so on and so on. This just proves that everything can be a horror location if you do it appropriately (ergo... Everything happening in daylight or bright has a hell of a harder job making anything scary thus practically every good horror takes place either at night or barely-lit places)

But all of this – imagination, darkness, monsters wouldn't be as scary if it weren't for probably one of the most important things in creating a good horror – sound design. And I'm not talking only about music, but also about monster sounds, environment... For example jumpscares. Yes, graphic part is often unsettling, but it's the sudden scream or loud sound that makes you jump. Even when you expect a jumpscare, the sound will get you most of the time. Or... You know, monster chasing you may be disgusting and scary, but it's the fast-paced music that keeps you constantly on your toes and gives that continuous feeling that you're gonna get caught and/or killed by whatever monstrosity is right behind you at that very moment. On the contrary, in Amnesia: TDD music, even ambient is quite scarce and very often you are left alone with your heavy footsteps, pounding heart and panicking breath. Creaking floor, sturdy doors, cold wind, monster sounds coming from far away – all of these make the overall experience creepier. Once you hear monster sound – even if it's not even close – you already know there is something coming to get you sooner or later...

(One of the more interesting horrors I have played - Anna: Extended Edition)

As you can see, there are a lot of ways developers can induce fear upon their players. There are a wide array of 'fear resistance' in the player community. Some people are almost impossible to scare, others are scared by even the simplest horrors and others can be scared of psychological horror but 'B-Class' horror is barely doing anything to that person. I think that aforementioned fear resistance can be built and developed. 

Few years ago it was really easy to scare me – be it Slender, Outlast or some cheap-ass Flash game – I would get scared by almost anything. Years passed, I started listening to creepypastas, playing through more and more horrors whenever I had a possibility and... I felt a change when I didn't found Alien: Isolation too scary and now I can proudly say that my fear resistance has built up quite much over the years. Why can I say this? Because I was able to play through The Dark Descent without panicking or being afraid of monsters – yes I felt unsettled and uneasy during certain moments, but mostly I was able to stay calm. And that says a lot, I played TDD around 4 years ago and back then I... I think I turned the game off around 2 or 3 times before the first monster even appeared. So...

Remember, even if you are scared of horrors – it's the little steps that matter if you want to overcome that fear. Don't push yourself instantly into deep water like (pun not intended) SOMA or Amnesia. Start from be it Outlast or Alien – they aren't as scary as the two I mentioned before but should still give you a good chill (But once again, it's my opinion and I may be wrong so... Just know your limits and slowly expand them!)

Kind Regards,

Wing.