My main motivation for writing this blog has been to better understand the thriller/horror genre, and to analyze the differences between film, game, and textual media. It has also served as research to help me create my horror game, "Nightmares of a 6 Year-Old Girl" (pictured).
What I've discovered:
It is a very powerful technique to prey on the participant's sense of security in what they take for granted: that their friends and family can be trusted, that they have a safe place to live, that there is a police force they can count on, etc.
In a largely religious global community, fear of demons, the Devil, and other anti-deities is strong, and easily exploitable.
The key to an effective scare is in the control of tension.
There are basic formulas inherent to the media you are working in, and knowing the formula (whether you're breaking it or adhering to it) is important in creating the best narratives.
Each type of medium gives the participant more or less control of the story, this can be used to your advantage.
Find inspiration in folk stories, as they are often based in truth, and have had countless re-tellings to evolve into a better story.
With Halloween just around the corner, many of us are asking, "What is scary?". Humans, like most animals, react to perceived danger in one of three ways: Fight, Flight, or Paralysis (Or as Walter Bradford Cannon put it, "fight-or-flight-or-freeze").
"Fight or flight" is a more common factor in games than in films. Unlike films, where the audience is just along for the ride, games lend the participant a certain amount of control, allowing the "fight or flight" choice to be made. Film makers attempt to keep their victims participants in a constant state of shock, or "paralysis", raising their anxiety to astronomical levels.
For games, it depends greatly on how much control participants are given. Action horror games tend to be a more tame experience, as the makers are inclined to give the participant a means to battle the perceived fear, returning the "fight" option missing from films. Survival horror games on the other hand, tend to be more conservative with the amount of control they allow participants.
Case Study: Arcade Action Horror Game - Dead Rising (1 and 2)
The game Dead Rising is an arcade style action horror game, in which the participant wanders around an enormous mall, filled with thousands of zombies, and experiments with ways on how to most creatively dispose of them. There isn't a lot of fear or anxiety to be had when the game character is walking around a well lit mall with two chainsaws strapped to a hockey stick (as shown in the game's cover art). Because of the lighthearted nature of the game, this gives players more room to relax and have fun. Read more about it in IGN's review.
What makes Dead Rising different from many in the horror genre is the sense of power that participants have. They can kill hordes of zombies with a dizzying array of weaponry, and even in the game-world, it is all just a game (a reality TV game-show).
Dead Rising removes the possibility of running,
but compensates by giving participants an abundance
of power, making it far less scary than others in the genre.
Case Study: Survival Action Horror Game - Resident Evil (1-6)
The Resident Evil franchise is well known in the gaming community as a scary, and fun, game. The game makers limit the ability of the participants to "fight", by limiting the amount of ammunition and guns. They also limit the amount of "flight" the participant can do by only providing a small amount of 'health', making encounters with zombies a bigger risk.
The Resident Evil franchise is primarily a shooting game, with a secondary focus on an RPG survival element.
Case Study: Survival Horror Game - Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia is a relatively new take on the horror game genre, giving participants little or no ability to fend off attack. Most of the gameplay is puzzle based, but with the constant threat of being attacked by the various monsters. The only options when faced with a monster, is to run, hide, or... The game is as renowned as the other two games, but Amnesia is famous for the terrifying effect it has on people. Just have a look at the video below if you don't believe it.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a game
where you have almost no power
and your only option for many situations
is to hide.
WARNING: CURSING AHEAD. (Audio and in Subtitles)
Sources:
Walter Bradford Cannon (1915). Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage: An Account of Recent Researches into the Function of Emotional Excitement. Appleton-Century-Crofts.
IGN. Onyett, Charles. Dead Rising Review. Updated August 7, 2006, Retrieved October 26, 2012, from http://www.ign.com/articles/...
IGN. George, Richard. Resident Evil 6 Review. Updated October 1, 2012, Retrieved October 26, 2012, from http://www.ign.com/articles/...
Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his First Inaugural Address: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". That may explain why you don't like the idea of scary movies, but doesn't explain what drives the fear you experience when you're watching one. Fear is your body's way of getting you out of the way of a perceived threat - much like disgust, which is the body's way of avoiding exposure to diseases. You may have questions regarding this, and I myself have posed some question I intend to address succinctly and analyticaly.
What is fear?
Why do our brains, which evolved to run from large cats with big teeth, enjoy being scared?
Is thrill seeking purely a group activity?
What sub-genres of scary thrillers exist?
Why does each affect us the way it does?
Which techniques generate the biggest "scare" factor?
What are some examples in movies and games?
Why should you care?
Knowing the underlying factors of fear is of prime importance in creating art and narrative, especially manipulating the emotions of your audience. As artists, we are expected to convey our thoughts to our audience; to do this, we must first understand what they feel, and why. Of course there is already a large amount of literature on the subject, but this method aims to succinctly unify the various sub-genres of horror and thriller using a set of basic, primordial fears, and identify why people enjoy them.
How am I going to do it?
By comparing the success of movies and games to their various sub-genres and methods of terror, I am expecting to find general, though perhaps not perfect, equations for creating successful thrillers. By observing factors that make a thrilling story, it will also be interesting to see how the equation can be used to break the mold, and create more innovative thrillers.
What can you look forward to?
To figure out what we are most scared of and which of these things thrill us the most, you can expect a series of breakdowns of each sub-genre and aspect of fear, compared to the success of popular films, games, and stories. I'll attempt to do this with around ten posts, the aid of charts and infographics, interviews, and podcasts.
