Horror Games: Fear addictions

What is the appeal to being frightened in horror games ? Is it the story and characters that keep you going ? Does the rush of danger and death drive the fear or is it something else entirely?

When it comes to horror games you have the fear and adrenaline but is that enough to keep us coming back or is there something a little extra special with these games? Does it all depend on a chilling and yet compelling story. Here are the main horror game themes that might keep you coming back for more.

• Blood Guts and Gore
• Compelling story
• Dancing with death
• Rush of adrenaline
• Immersion of the player
• Control over the life or death of the character you play

Over the years many horror games have scared us rigid and left us crawling back for more. Some of the successful ones being turned into films such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Humanity and fear get along like two peas in a dark twisted pod so when it comes to horror games we naturally break the rules of our natural survival instinct and go play it.

is it the ability to feel that primal instinct of fear that what draws us ever closer?

To find out about this Horror addiction I decided to have a chat with an avid horror fan, Luke Byfield. Mr. Byfield has been playing horror games for over 12 years.

The first question I asked our horror enthusiast was why? why does he play horror games more than any other what is his fascination?

This was his answer

the reason why I play so man horror games is the array of emotion from outright fear and adrenaline to the more thoughtful and sombre moments horror games are excellent at evoking emotion through everything from their soundtrack to their level design lighting and sound effects is as if horror games have a bigger grasp on human emotion and in the end your experience with horror games is always down to the emotions the game evokes they aren’t packed full of non stop action and they aren’t super fast placed so emotion is how horror games gets the players interested

I was getting very intrigued as to where this conversation was going so I decided to make questions a little more personal for Mr. Byfield, His answer is compelling and the question I put forward read. what in you own opinion do you think is the attraction of the horror game genre? a harder question due to the broadness of it. Here is what he said.

The horror genre allows for a wide range of creativity as typical maps made for a horror game will employ thoughtful design choices in everything from lighting to sound design to the layout of the map and its textures this means developers are very unrestricted in the experience they can make and there is plenty to appreciate in a typical horror game the adrenaline from the fear in games is also an addictive feeling and provides a rush to those seeking the thrill

A big question that I had and probably a lot of you reading this had is about the media and how horror games are represented for making people who play them more violent, especially if it is a lot of gore or action in it such as killing and murdering. according to multiple scientific studies which can be found all over google, however it is mainly children and never adults in these studies . So the question posed to our Horror fan was, would you say that violent horror games can make you violent yourself as the media has debated or is that not entirely true? Here is what he thought.

No, many horror games made with a passion are there to tell a story, or to invoke a certain emotion, the presentation of violence and gore is not gratifying as it is with other genres of games, nor s it shown over the top like in TV & movies, it is there for emotional value though some games use it for simple decoration and displays it liberally, many other horror games use gore differently, as the sudden appearance of a graphically bloody scene can be jarring and shocking, violence and gore used in this way does not give gratification or glorification to it, and for that reason it cant be called influential to real life violence

Having a tolerance to such graphic scenes is probably advised when playing these games however and it is probably still not a good idea to allow young children to play very gory games however our horror gamer holds a very good point. Think of how many Youtubers there are in the world who play horror games are any of those more violent in their lives ? what about all the adults who play these games are they violent, is it more than just video games that cause violence in younger children… who knows? The next question I wanted to delve into with Mr. Byfield was more closer to home and individual to his own experience. the questions so far had been generic widespread. This question did exactly the opposite as I asked, What is the scariest game you have played and more importantly why? This was his reply.

The first game that comes to mind is silent hill 2, a heavily psychological horror game, which uses emotional symbolism, drab scenery and its soundtrack to invoke more primal and sad fears like illness and loss, but this is quite a different fear to supernatural thrillers and survival horror games, which focus more on shock factor of pain injury and death, games like resident evil are more thrilling and invoke panic and anxiety far more nd as such can be called scarier games whereas silent hill is more emotional and oppressive and depressing in atmosphere many would argue that this is a far scarier experience due to it staying with you longer

I have delved into the realm of horror before watched a few good playthroughs of games I couldn’t get a hold of myself, Silent Hill always comes up as one of the scariest games ever made just as Mr. Byfield had said. there will be links to websites that have compiled the scariest games at the bottom. Silent hill has tough competition however with Resident evil and dead space not to mention the newer layers of fear and until dawn. many more games could be said are clawing for that top spot but these games spring to mind for myself. The next question I went to ask Mr. Byfield was yet another that a lot of gamers fear and that is will there ever be a point where horror games will just become cliche, have they already done so or will it never happen? Mr. Byfield had an answer that will soothe you horror fans he said.

Although many would say that horror games have become cliche the genre and the presentation of horror games have so much potential for story telling that there are countless opportunities and whilst sometimes the stories on paper look repetitive the story telling can vary so much that every game can leave a lasting impression.

That is all for now horror fans keep updated with the whispers from the Tavern for more about games and perhaps even more about the creepy and the scary. Let me Know what I could improve in the form below, or perhaps what you would like me to post about next. Stay Scared friends.

if you want more information about the scariest games out there so far check this list below

https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/best-horror-games/

https://www.t3.com/features/scariest-games-ever-10-of-the-best

https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/best-horror-games-of-all-time/

https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-scariest-games-of-all-time/2900-362/24/