Tag: horror game design
Research Log
How colour Elevates Fear in Horror Video Games: A Deep Dive
Introduction colour isn’t just a design element, it’s a language. In horror video games, this language speaks directly to our emotions, weaving fear, tension, and unease into the gameplay. Through intentional colour choices, developers create immersive worlds where players feel genuinely unsettled. This article delves into the The Impact of Colour in Horror Video Games,…
Research Log
The Perchten: Terrifying Spirits of the Alpine Winter Revealed
Winter in the Alps is a season of magic and mystery, but it also carries a shadowy side rooted in folklore. The Perchten, ghostly spirits of Alpine winter, emerge during the Twelve Nights (December 25 to January 6) to terrify and inspire. This article explores the chilling mythology of the Perchten and their enduring cultural…
Research Log
Horror Games: Integrating Cinematic Techniques and Player Agency
Horror games, as we have discussed many times on this blog, occupy a unique space in interactive media. They combine storytelling and gameplay with the unashamed goal of evoking profound emotional responses. Achieving this goal often requires the careful fusion of cinematic techniques and player agency, it’s a juggling act where the designer is striving…
Research Log
The Art of Fear: How Camera Movements Shape Cinematic Terror
Why do horror films and games grip us so powerfully, leaving us hanging on the edge of our seats with memories that haunt us long after the movie or game is over? It’s not just grotesque monsters, convincing ghosts or eerie soundtracks. Horror is an artform, an artform painted through the lens of the camera.…
Research Log
Creating Horror Atmosphere with Everyday Objects: Unravelling the Smoking Room Cinematic
Horror has a unique power to stay with us, lingering long after the experience fades. In my latest cinematic piece, ‘The Smoking Room’ explores a space where ordinary items like cigars, smoke, and dolls take on haunting dimensions. In this post, I want to talk about how I used the subtle, out-of-context placements of everyday…
Research Log
Transforming Everyday Objects into Horror
In horror game design, the familiar can become the unexpected, as everyday when items are subtly twisted or used out of context to provoke unease. This unsettling effect is grounded, again, in the psychological concept of the uncanny, where the familiar become hauntingly strange (Virno & Ricciardi, 2005; Freud, 1919). By altering an object’s placement,…