Jump scare and new way for horror game series

Jump scares are often labeled as cheap scares, and to some extent this can be considered true. There have been many games and movies where the scares have turned out to be more exhausting than enjoyable, and not much more complicated than a person jumping out of the shadows screaming ‘grah’. But it depends on the context – jump scares can be a valuable element in the horror genre if it’s not the only thing the movie producer throws at you.

As James Wan, director of films such as The Conjuring and Saw, once said, “If you don’t create a reasonable suspense experience, jump scares won’t be worth it”. The same principle applies to games.

Tactics of fear

Dion Lay, creator of Alien: Isolation at Creative Assembly, replied, “There’s always a place for them” when asked about the scares. One of the reasons people love the horror genre is because it’s broad enough to include everything from slasher titles, ghost stories, and even comedies and movies. with quite a few tools to use. Jump scares are just one of the small tools, like a little spice added to the main course, but if used properly they can help maintain speed and tension without exhausting the player. You can use “fake” scares or give fake signals to players so they can relax a bit like ‘you’ve had a pretty hard time, we’ll give it a break. a little’. They are great for prolonging fear of the primary threat, or increasing fear with locations and background music.

In 2014 PCGAMER voted Alien: Isolation as Game of the Year (Game of the Year). It’s a pretty hardcore survival horror game where you’re hunted down by an alien enemy with unpredictable moves in a 20-hour storyline. The jump scares appear with a “breathing” intensity, when the Aliens and robots are always looking for ways to kill you, but they don’t give a cheap feeling because you always catch most of the things. going on. If the alien monster is in the ventilation ducts, you will see its drool coming from there. And with the motion sensor, you’ll constantly know where your enemies are. And if the robot’s eyes lit up, it might have come back to life and tried to catch you. The game succeeds in setting the game on a space station that will create a constant tension because you know you have no way out but to face them.

“Jump scare is an ingredient,” says Red Barrels co-founder Philipper Morin, and developer of two Outlast games. “During the development of Outlast 2, many people told us that the game did not have enough jump scares and while some felt there were too many. The horror genre is extremely subjective and good scares are often not easy to do, as it all depends on what leads to the loud screams. You need to stretch the tension out at the right times, to the point where players want the scares to happen because they can’t take the stress anymore.” And when they do, it has to be a strong enough blow. “Effective jump scares will often follow you throughout the game, leaving you in an uncomfortable state throughout the entire game.

“In my opinion, the most important aspect of jump scares is their threat,” said Thomas Grip, director of Frictional Games, and developer of Soma and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. They work in a similar way to failure states—they’re what players fear, or at least worry about. And once players recognize the presence of jump scares, they will begin to predict them, adding an element of fear under various circumstances. So when a player walks into a new room, they’ll worry about something jumping out and scaring them, and this will put them in a state of anxiety – even if the scares aren’t. never happened.”

Unlike failure states, says Grip, jump scares deliver consequences to the player without disrupting the flow of the game. “If you use them excessively, players will begin to get used to them and the effects will fade over time. What you need to do is use just enough jump scares to keep the player on the lookout.”

Jordan Thomas, who has worked on three BioShocks titles and is now working on a co-op horror game called The Blackout Club, says easy access to the games’ “engines” has played a vital role. a major role in the rise of jump scare games. “I think the intersection of the dizzying growth of the game streamer industry and the rise of pornography in the media (not common in games) and the cheapness of content in indie games has made it possible to The horror genre – which used to be rarely boring – is now awash with shoddy productions, like a version of C- and D-rated horror movies where you hang out Play around with a shorted flashlight and stuff that jumps out of the closet to scare you. This is the cheap horror that everyone has grown bored of since the 2000s.

Let’s plays videos and reactions of streamers and viewers

During the early part of the decade, Let’s play and reaction videos swarming around titles like Slender: The Eight Pages, Amneisa, Outlast, and PT shows how people perceive the evolving horror genre. change.

“When we released the first Outlast trailer in October 2012, we kept seeing comments regarding a certain guy named Pewdiepie,” Morin said. A video playing Outlast by Pewdiepie in 2013 has over 18 million views. “People kept talking about how they couldn’t wait for him to play the game and how he would freak out in the process. In finding out who he is, we discovered the Youtuber phenomenon. With Outlast’s well-timed launch, we decided to go with the flow with this phenomenon.

Reaction videos have now become associated with the horror genre, which will create holes in game spoilers and lose game purchase value, but also bring positive results in terms of revenue when Horror games will reach a much larger audience than before. “While it may seem like a rather strange relationship, because you don’t want the details of your horror game to be revealed, for new developers, they need the ability to market and recommend products. products as well as brand promotion rather than immediate revenue.

“In the end, you just hope people who intend to play the game don’t watch the entire playthrough video. You won’t know for sure if revenue will drop if players watch these videos. However, no one really complained or clearly accounted for the revenue before and after the reaction and playthrough videos were popular.

Dion Lay from Creative Assembly replied, “I think one of the examples I’ve seen from the above phenomenon is Alien: Isolation after release” when asked if Let’s play videos and feel have an influence on direction. away of the horror game or not? “I was quite surprised to learn that I find myself quite enjoying watching someone play a horror game. It’s as if you’re in a movie theater where people jump and laugh, these are shared experiences that elevate everyone’s sense of experience to a whole new level. I just feel fear alone.”

However, Thomas Grip from Frictional thinks the proliferation of YouTube videos has affected the direction of horror games “a little”. When a YouTuber plays a game, their main goal is to create a show to entertain viewers. They will start the game and be constantly mindful of their reactions rather than feeling like a regular player, which means they invisibly create common gameplay for the viewers as well.

“For example, when you want players to feel the different sounds in the game, glance at the nooks and crannies, etc., something that only fans of horror games will do while playing, Youtubers are also starting to use them to add value to the viewers, which means they will enjoy as well as show the viewers a lot about the game. When someone watches these videos, they learn how to get acquainted with and approach the games, and then apply that to their own gameplay.” Grip believes the benefit is that audiences will be more active in engaging with their characters than in horror games. This means that developers can learn more about plot elements and mood swings than traditional game elements like crafting and combat systems (Resident Evil or Dead Space is an example). example of the concept of “losing substance” is still lamented by gamers day by day).

The current state of the horror genre

The big horror titles had a pretty good year in 2017, with Resident Evil 7 and The Evil Within 2 continuously impressing in terms of content and form. Each game brings its own creative perspectives on horror game redefinitions, with Resident Evil 7’s videos taking on the horror style of The Saw series and the fact that The Evil Within 2 experimented with larger environments. Besides, names like Detention, Darkwood, Little Nightmares and Prey all blend the horror genre with other genres in the freshest ways.

“I think we’re past the jumpscare period to some extent,” says Thomas. although there are still thousands of games and movies using them that are still being produced, and we’re starting to see the horror genre creep into the games that I really enjoy.” Thomas also said that The Forest is a prime example of an open-world horror game where players can find solutions to their survival problems. He also likes the fact that jump scares will be generated by the system, rather than by scripted events – he wants the sequel to the game to allow four people to play together, in co-op form. , to create those scary moments you usually only see in cutscenes.

“If the scares that appear in The Blackout Club occur because of your principles and decisions, as opposed to that we will ‘ambush’ you with the plot itself. Like the movie It Follows (2014), hopefully you will feel as if something is following you, and come closer and closer. And of course, at some point it will jump out, but still give the player a sense of dread about the unknown.

Interviewees all agreed that jump scares still have a place in horror games—despite being created by a combination of players and game systems, or used as a focal point after a while. stressful time. They can be overused, but if the player is mesmerized by the game’s settings or plot, this addition will enhance the player’s experience.

“Just because I’m not a fan of horror games doesn’t mean I would accept cheap jump scares,” replied Grip when asked about what makes a good horror game. “Instead, I wanted to have a clear experience where you are trying to create a certain scenario. I wanted the game to feel like an ongoing story, not an attraction like in a park. To do this, players need to understand the character they are playing and know what the character is trying to achieve. It sounds pretty simple, but this is something that I find lacking in many horror games.

The player’s imagination is arguably the most powerful tool in creating a great horror game.” The clues about the setting, the way the plot is conveyed, the sound and more will give players the horror haunts,” according to Grip. “And the hardest part is keeping these threats haunting enough to really let the player’s imagination run wild, yet clear enough to make the player feel as though they’re playing a game. play. This is really tough, and to strike this balance is crucial to a horror game.

Source: PCGAMER