If you've never played titles like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you're missing out on one of the best gaming experiences in the last decade. I'm a huge fan of horror-themed video games, but I've only found very few that have scared the pants off me. While fear is triggered differently for each individual, I get scared with a lot of atmospheric buildup and suspense. I wouldn't mind if the protagonist never laid eyes on the "monster" haunting the halls of the building, and this is highly-effective, as it allows each individual to interpret the distant threat different than others and juxtapose our own greatest fears onto the situation.
The above video is one in a series of fantastic YouTube videos from the "Lost and Abandoned" online show from SmashTV Canada. The series features a party of urban explorers who break and enter into abandoned factories, mental hospitals, and abandoned mines, braving these locations in the dead of night. It's real life horror, and this asylum episode is by far the scariest of them all. I'd also like to mention that these guys don't get enough views, so throw some their way and subscribe to the channel.
What can we learn from these videos about horror video game design? It certainly teaches us that we can deviate from the traditional model where gore is splattered all over the ruins of an abandoned building. The scariness in this asylum is much more subtle, and the video showcases small pieces of history like old broadcast systems, informational books, and clogged sinks and tubs. It allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions about what may have happened in that environment, and that only magnifies the scariness.
To our loyal readers, what scares you the most in horror video games? Do you think that it's much scarier to wander through an abandoned building with only a flashlight and your wits, or do you prefer to bravely face monsters head-on with a weapon in hand?
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