CS BA7 Research

CS BA7 Research

I intend to create an academic report based on the research that will be used for my studio work; horror. I have a working title and subject to change; how is horror designed into videos? This will help me to start researching into the different methods used in video games, whether it be psychological, symbolism, fear or phobias. I’ll be looking at a definition of horror and then writing one in my own words. Through doing this it will help me to engage in what horror really is. I am going to do this report by splitting the research up into a few different categories; technical, visual and mechanics. For other research I’ll be looking at how psychologically horror can affects us within horror video games or of the like. I’ll be looking at symbolism and how this is presented within different media. Another area which I find of interest is phobias and how these can play a part in horror, especially within video games such as Alien. For some of chapters I plan on analysing two games; one that is an obvious horror game such as Dead Space 2 and then a more subtle game.

Through analysing these games I will get a better insight as to what makes them a horror genre game. Throughout the report I will be looking closely at the mechanics, interactivity and visual designs.

Research will be a combination of reading books found at different resources and also online where there are articles and blogs. Some of the books that I have already been looking at are; The Wow Climax by Henry Jenkins. Although about 80% of the book doesn’t relate directly to my field of research there is one chapter which does. Other books such ‘A History of horror’ by Wheeler Winston Dixon has a chapter dedicated to the Origins of horror. A book by Manuel Aguirre called ‘The closed space, Horror literature and western symbolism’ can provide valuable research and information to me. I also have various other books by authors such as Stephen King, Tim Weinberg and other books that look at horror such as one called ‘Horror and fantasy’. All these books will provide me some way or another with research and information that will help to write this research report. The research report will compliment studio work and help to really get a better grasp on the design used for my scene.

So far I have a list of the resources that I am going to be using for the essay:

Books

Aguirre, M (1990) The closed space: Horror literature and Western Symbolism. Manchester University Press

Barron, N (1999) Fantasy and horror: a critical and historical guide to literature, illustration, film, TV, radio and the internet. Scarecrow P

Dixon, W.W (2010) A history of horror. Rutgers University Press

Jenkins, J (2006) Tracing the emotional impact of popular culture. NYU Press

Jones, Stevens E (2008) The meaning of video games: gaming and textual studies. Routledge

King, S (2012) Danse Macabre. New York: Hodder

Perron, B (2009) Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play. McFarland

Robinson, M (2013) The art of Dead Space. Titan

Weinberg, T (2009) Phobias: the way of the worrier. Marshall Cavendish

Internet

A history of horror games
http://www.examiner.com/article/a-history-of-horror-games-part-one

A history of horror
http://www.tabula-rasa.info/DarkAges/

Agency mechanics: gameplay designs in survival horror video games
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14626268.2013.776971#preview

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesia:_A_Machine_for_Pigs

Are haunted houses the original horror videogames?
http://killscreendaily.com/articles/articles/are-haunted-houses-original-horror-videogames/
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Arkham Horror
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham_Horror

Butchering Pathologic – Part 1: The Body
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/04/10/butchering-pathologic-part-1-the-body/#more-1517

Case study 3: the horror genre
http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448239/downloads/horror.pdf

Dead Space 3 (Russian language)
http://gamingda.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/dead-space-3/
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

 
Definition of Horror
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/horror
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Defining the horror genre
http://theblackboard.blcklst.com/forums/topic/defining-the-horror-genre/
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Defining games mechanics
http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/sicart

Dynamic Lighting for Tension in Games
http://gamestudies.org/0701/articles/elnasr_niedenthal_knez_almeida_zupko

Evoking emotions and achieving success by breaking all the rules (video)
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014889/Evoking-Emotions-and-Achieving-Success

F.E.A.R: Project Origin review
http://www.machinered.com/2013/02/f-e-a-r-2-project-origin-review/
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Frictional games blog:

10 ways to evolve horror games
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/10-ways-to-evolve-horror-games.html     

 (Thomas, Frictional Games, 2012)

Narrative not a game mechanic?
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/narrative-not-game-mechnaic.html

Useful tips for horror game designers
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/useful-tips-for-horror-game-designers.html

5 core elements of interactive storytelling
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/5-core-elements-of-interactive.html

Games are the ideal place for telling great stories
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/06/12/games-are-the-ideal-place-for-telling-great-stories/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RockPaperShotgun+%28Rock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%29
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Google scholar – various articles and PDF’s on psychology, sound and emotions
http://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=X24TJzQAAAAJ&hl=en

Horror Games in Eastern and Western Cultures (university presentation)
http://prezi.com/kigey0ag0awa/horror-games-in-eastern-and-western-cultures/

Jess Smith Blog
http://jessgamergirl.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2013-11-12T14:42:00-08:00&max-results=4
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

NUA library research online

Original game mechanics for horror games (or just games…)
http://steamcommunity.com/app/238320/discussions/0/846963711021503301/

Survival horror, then and now
http://www.dreamdawn.com/sh/key_view.php?key=Game%20Design

The horror genre an overview
http://www.slideshare.net/jontowlson/the-horror-genre-an-overview

The Garden of Earthly Delights
http://www.computus.org/journal/?p=1178

The psychology of Horror in video games and movies
http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/02/23/0459247/the-psychology-of-horror-in-video-games-and-movies
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Understanding horror in gaming, why Slender: The Arrival does it right
http://egamer.co.za/2013/03/understanding-horror-in-gaming-why-slender-the-arrival-does-it-right/

Using frustration in the design of adaptive videogames
http://comp.eprints.lancs.ac.uk/921/1/p228-gilleade.pdf

Ways horror games use psychology to scare the crap out of us
http://www.gamesradar.com/ways-horror-games-use-psychology-scare-crap-out-us/

What makes a video game scary
http://kotaku.com/5379285/what-makes-a-video-game-scary
(Accessed 17/11/2013)

Why do people watch scary movies, stay in Ice hotels or eat bacon-flavoured ice-cream?
http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/04/why-do-people-watch-scary-movies-stay-in-ice-hotels-or-eat-bacon-flavoured-ice-cream.php

Where the scary things are: whatever happened to real horror video games?
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/10/30/where-the-scary-things-are-whatever-happened-to-real-horror-video-games?%3A+ign%2Fall+(IGN+All)

Ludography

Blue Isle Studios (2013) Slender: The Arrival. PC. Blue Isle Studios

Capcom (1996) Resident Evil. Playstation. Capcom

EA Redwood Shores (2008) Dead Space. PC, PS3, Xbox 360. Electronic Arts

Eetu Rosenqvist (2012) SCP Containment Breach. PC. Eetu Rosenqvist

Frictional Games (2011) Amnesia: The Dark Descent. PC. Frictional Games

Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (1999) Silent Hill. PS, PS2, PSP, PSV, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, PC. Konami, Konami Digital Entertainment

Playdead (2010) Limbo. PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS Vita, OS X, Linux, OnLive, iOS. Microsoft Game Studios

The Chinese Room (2012) Dear Esther. PC. Steam

Red Barrels (2013) Outlast. PC. Red Barrels

Visceral Games (2011) Dead Space 2. PC, PS3, Xbox 360. Electronic Arts

Some of the most interesting research I have found comes from Frictional Games blog posts in which Thomas KL talks about 10 ways to evolve horror games, now this is coming from a company that has made Amnesia. Amnesia is a very successful horror game in which defies normal rules in which a horror game is designed upon. The first ‘way’ is:

(I have broken the points down)

Normality;
a place in which is real to use, normal and not out of the ordinary.

Long Build-up;
rather than jumping into introducing elements of horror quickly you build them up slowly, increasing the fear level.

Doubt;
doubting whether you or the protagonist is believing/hear or seeing things within the game.

Minimal Combat;
less combat = less guns = less ammo. The less combat the more you can evoke fear and panic into the player

No Enemies;
not necessarily no threats but more a case of not adding in physical conflict.

Open World;
giving the player more freedom and not so much of a linear path.

Agency;
making sure the player feels as if they are there when the horror takes place, immersing them within the game.

Reflection;
getting the player to reflect upon themselves

Implications;
associating something in the game to real life and the being scared or fearing that object.

Human Interaction;
bringing human drama into the games actions.

The full versions of these 10 points can be at Frictional Games blog:
http://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/10-ways-to-evolve-horror-games.html

Although they don’t point to what’s necessarily used always in games now it gives me a good insight into what is needed and quite frankly what is seen within the game Amnesia.

On the same subject of Amnesia and Frictional Games, I found a brilliant and informative video from GDC in which Thomas Grip, a key person at Frictional Games talks about ‘Evoking Emotions and Achieving Success by Breaking All the Rules’.

Video can be found here:
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014889/Evoking-Emotions-and-Achieving-Success