What features make a monster actually scary in a horror game

[D O G]

I’m making a horror game and I’m in the modeling stage for my monster. What are things it can do and features it can have that will genuinely be terrifying

[fnv]

Diposting pertama kali oleh isomorphic_projection:

Diposting pertama kali oleh D O G:

I’m making a horror game and I’m in the modeling stage for my monster. What are things it can do and features it can have that will genuinely be terrifying

May is ask which engine you use.

[fnv]

you can also make something scray without having to make it complex, idk if its just me being a scaredy cat but this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD2aR4BH5jw
scared the ♥♥♥♥ out of me multiple times the first time i played the level, and the monster is literallly a stick that makes weird noises

[Abaddon the Despoiler]

Eyes.

[Acetyl]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Abaddon the Despoiler:

Eyes.

https://files.catbox.moe/8q7hi7.jpeg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus?useskin=vector
https://www.theworldofgardening.com/different-types-of-spiders-with-striped-legs/

[Morkonan]

Diposting pertama kali oleh D O G:

...I’ve learned that people find the unknown way more scary than anything.

Why is that? :)

I just walked down the hall and used the restroom for a sec... I didn't know the state of anything out of eyesight at all, but I wasn't afraid of that "unknown" part of the hall as it revealed itself to me. So, was I truly afraid of "the unknown?"

What is it about the unknown, itself, that is supposed to be scary? Or, is it that those telling you that the unknown is scary really saying that it's the "dread" of "what could" be there that's really what frightens them?

There's a monster in your yard, right now. It's staring at you through the window. Reality is bent and you now know that terror can take a shape and feed. You turn to walk down the hall... why do you hesitate? Why do you stop at the doorway and peek around the corner? It's not the "unknown" you're afraid of... it's what you now know that could be there that you're afraid of. :)

The player installing your horror game knows it's a horror game - They expect that thing to be in the hall.

What if it isn't?

That's how jump-scares work and they're cheap because they do the simplest bit of scary stuffs. "Gotcha, it was just a scary monster in your face, hah!" That's lame. So, instead, use the unknown dread. How about this -

Your tutorial segment starts and you portray the same short gindy bit that gets the user used to your controls. Great... boring stuff, but that's what the player expects.

But, you're telling a horror story. You're giving your player an experience. It's an experience that they want, 'cause they installed your game.... So, do that - Give them a tutorial for the most basic stuff, lead them to where they can find out how to access and manipulate more complicated things, but don't explain them in the tutorial... Instead, your tutorial is interrupted by a monster that chases them and they use the controls they just learned in order to escape into.. what, exactly? Well, now it's not "the start of the real game after the boring tutorial bits." Now it's "escape into the unknown and the dread of uncertainty and wtf is going to save me next time I don't know anything and what is that shadow in the corner..."

Human like features also seem to be particularly scary and a lot more stuff

When they're sufficiently twisted, yes - Do not "humanize" your monster. It can have human features, but the player must never see so much of that there that they then start to think of it as "human-like." It doesn't know where to place its order at a drive-thru restaurant no matter if it has a human face. :)

"Smile," from what I have seen of bits of it, has some smiles that are based on the unsettling bits of "over-smile." It's a smile that is on a human face that is categorically impossible for a human to create.

eg: "Flox from Star Trek: Enterprise:"

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/8f/ba/8a8fba68ab105028954e8d7e8bff1734.jpg

Fans were "disturbed" that that smile on a mostly human face. :)

The out of place, inappropriate, smile also works.

https://screenrant.com/poltergeist-2-movie-villain-reverend-kane-actor-dying-real-life/

(I didn't want to direct-link that header pic :))

Too twisted, though, and you're out of range. (Couldn't find the pic I wanted atm)

And, if it's presented wrong, it turns into campy comedy:

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fq6mm8802ypt11.jpg

:)

[D O G]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Kat:

Diposting pertama kali oleh D O G:

The game is a survival horror game where you are stuck in a house with a shapeshifting monster. Still working on the story and the game is still very early in development progress wise. This is kind of like a side thing I do for fun but I want to do it really well

sounds good, you should also upload it to itch io i have seen many indie horror games there

I’m not sure if I want to do that. I’m planning on only uploading it to steam. I already bought the developer fee and stuff like that. Also I saw you also wanted to know what engine I use so it’s Unity. You can find more info about stuff like that in the discord https://discord.gg/Ut4YxsQ9WA

[D O G]

Diposting pertama kali oleh isomorphic_projection:

Diposting pertama kali oleh D O G:

I’m making a horror game and I’m in the modeling stage for my monster. What are things it can do and features it can have that will genuinely be terrifying

May is ask which engine you use.

I use Unity

[D O G]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Morkonan:

Diposting pertama kali oleh D O G:

...I’ve learned that people find the unknown way more scary than anything.

Why is that? :)

I just walked down the hall and used the restroom for a sec... I didn't know the state of anything out of eyesight at all, but I wasn't afraid of that "unknown" part of the hall as it revealed itself to me. So, was I truly afraid of "the unknown?"

What is it about the unknown, itself, that is supposed to be scary? Or, is it that those telling you that the unknown is scary really saying that it's the "dread" of "what could" be there that's really what frightens them?

There's a monster in your yard, right now. It's staring at you through the window. Reality is bent and you now know that terror can take a shape and feed. You turn to walk down the hall... why do you hesitate? Why do you stop at the doorway and peek around the corner? It's not the "unknown" you're afraid of... it's what you now know that could be there that you're afraid of. :)

The player installing your horror game knows it's a horror game - They expect that thing to be in the hall.

What if it isn't?

That's how jump-scares work and they're cheap because they do the simplest bit of scary stuffs. "Gotcha, it was just a scary monster in your face, hah!" That's lame. So, instead, use the unknown dread. How about this -

Your tutorial segment starts and you portray the same short gindy bit that gets the user used to your controls. Great... boring stuff, but that's what the player expects.

But, you're telling a horror story. You're giving your player an experience. It's an experience that they want, 'cause they installed your game.... So, do that - Give them a tutorial for the most basic stuff, lead them to where they can find out how to access and manipulate more complicated things, but don't explain them in the tutorial... Instead, your tutorial is interrupted by a monster that chases them and they use the controls they just learned in order to escape into.. what, exactly? Well, now it's not "the start of the real game after the boring tutorial bits." Now it's "escape into the unknown and the dread of uncertainty and wtf is going to save me next time I don't know anything and what is that shadow in the corner..."

Human like features also seem to be particularly scary and a lot more stuff

When they're sufficiently twisted, yes - Do not "humanize" your monster. It can have human features, but the player must never see so much of that there that they then start to think of it as "human-like." It doesn't know where to place its order at a drive-thru restaurant no matter if it has a human face. :)

"Smile," from what I have seen of bits of it, has some smiles that are based on the unsettling bits of "over-smile." It's a smile that is on a human face that is categorically impossible for a human to create.

eg: "Flox from Star Trek: Enterprise:"

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/8f/ba/8a8fba68ab105028954e8d7e8bff1734.jpg

Fans were "disturbed" that that smile on a mostly human face. :)

The out of place, inappropriate, smile also works.

https://screenrant.com/poltergeist-2-movie-villain-reverend-kane-actor-dying-real-life/

(I didn't want to direct-link that header pic :))

Too twisted, though, and you're out of range. (Couldn't find the pic I wanted atm)

And, if it's presented wrong, it turns into campy comedy:

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fq6mm8802ypt11.jpg

:)

I like that tutorial idea. I’ll keep that in mind. Also I don’t plan on having in general form for the monster. I plan on making it a shapeshifter now with many forms so the player will wonder what will it look like next and what can it now do with its new form. I also plan on making the monster watch the player and sneak up on the player. I don’t want to rely on jumpscares and loud noises to scare the player but always make the player think they’re being watched to create as much tension and build up as possible

[Basho]

behavior can add to the overall impression.

i think that if the player gets an impression that the monster can somehow be reasoned with (even if gameplay-wise impossible) then it feels less scary than if the monster comes off as unrelenting and unreasonable.

think a kobold vs a zombie.

and while it gives its own kind of scariness if the monster shows signs of intelligence, as with the xenomorphs, i think the unrelenting and unreasonable nature of the necromorphs, combined with their disturbing appearance and lore, make them scarier.

that said, even the unrelenting and unreasonable monsters i am referring to might show some behavioral patterns, even if that is only to rush the player directly as soon as they are seen.
and such patterns can be incorporated into the level design in order to give the player a sense of dread at the tactical implications of a given environment.
reactions like "too open", "too cramped", etc.
the vents in Dead Space is one example, even if a little cheap, where merely going into a room and seeing a multitude of vents will give the player an uneasy feeling.

think of SCP-173 as well, it is unrelenting and cant be reasoned with.
it also has a very distinct behavior, and one that comes with its own set of implications.

but on the flip side, a monster that shows clear signs of intelligence and planning can also be frightening. things like sabotaging critical systems, herding the player in a direction, and similar, can also feel scary and alarming if pulled off right.

as for the appearance itself, i think Dead Space, again, is a good example of how twisted and unfamiliar physiology, paired with spastic and alarming movement comes of as creepy and worrying.

i think very unfamiliar physiology in itself can feel a bit alarming and i think the many-legged nature and accompanying movement of spiders for instance is one big component of arachnophobia.

i think big crab like enemies(on land) and even fish type enemies (in water) are a bit freaky because of this unfamiliar movement and physiology.
and since they are so unfamiliar, they can also play into the unrelenting and unreasonable category already discussed.

but it can also just look very weird without those features, as with SCP-173 again, for instance.

just some thoughts, hope that gives some ideas.

edit:
oh, and making weird sounds can really trip the player up as well.
just look at endermen for instance.

[videomike_Ultimate_Plushie]

I can try and find the gamefaqs for it a while ago, look up top 10 ways to make a horror gamer terrifying back in the old top 10 lists(are they still doing that?) but one of the biggest and I'd say most important is familiar. Turning that which is familiar and known to the audience into a basis for fear.

One example I had IRL was a tour I took, and while a cheap little tour it has a story of a haunted boiler room in an old ship. Out of sheer emotional habbit I grabbed one of the metal railing without thinking and it had been heated up so it matched with the whole story of the room being hot enough to boil someone alive. Big jump from that one. Don't let people get familiar with the creature or entity either, learn from Amnesia and find a way to keep what's scary a present threat but never "Examined" long enough to be understood in full, at least not until the very tail end if the player escapes it.

Edit: The "horror of the unknown" is a real thing as well but keep in mind it has a saturation point. Keeping something so distant it never means anything wont help. Look I -like- and find interesting that the tunnel from the Caroline book has a description of the protag realizing that that tunnel was so old that something was present in the tunnel, it was older than the creature she was running from, it was slow, and it knew she was there. But the timing of that scare has to come at the end at a top off to an entirely different scare(the other mother) because on it's own that's so unknown and distant you might as well be discussing the star so in the distance it's 500 years out.

[fnv]

do what you do, just remember, your game will never be worse than garten of banban

[D O G]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Kat:

do what you do, just remember, your game will never be worse than garten of banban

Thanks lol

[isomorphic_projection]

Diposting pertama kali oleh D O G:

Diposting pertama kali oleh isomorphic_projection:

May is ask which engine you use.

I use Unity

Let me know, when it comes out. So i can avoid it.