(09-09-2013, 02:41 PM)amnesiaPUZZLES Wrote: Ah, therein lies the rub.
I assume you've seen a lot of examples that constitute bad jumpscares, and so have I (flying naked guys *cough*) and I understand your attitude. But, only because there are bad jumpscares out there, doesn't mean all jumpscares are bad. 
IMHO, it's a very good technique of implementing fear, but it has to be done ever so subtly and carefully to achieve its effect, what many CS creators seem to forget.
E.g. the skulls falling out of the desk in Study (yes, this is considered a jumpscare, skip to 14:46)
It was so finely done, and notice how it made sense in the environment. Moreover, it also served as some kind of a punishment for the player for their curiosity. It also provides a glimpse into what Alexander did to people, the details later explained in the notes.
On the other hand, the encounter in the Morgue is such a brutal and loud scare, yet I didn't mind, when the game decided to remind me of what lurks about in the castle all the time.
None of them broke the immersion for me, they added to it. I don't like being startled, when there's no reason for it. Overall, I just always give them a chance.
Yes, I believe all the instances they were used in TDD were appropriate and definitely helped the general sense of death or danger. There was always an explanation in how it related to the story, and sometimes (like in the case of the cabinet full of skulls) it can actually tell you more of the story than you already knew.
I don't know if you've watched any of the preview videos for AAMFP (or are perhaps playing it), but if that happens to be the case, I will give a slight warning before mentioning anything that happens in-game... (I won't be revealing much beyond the first 10 minutes of the game)
Unfortunately, I am quite naïve, so I don't know how the spoilers work, but in any case:
SPOILERS
There are certain parts of AAMFP that have some fairly loud noises scream in your ears, and I thought it worked quite well, despite my prejudice against them. Of course, they are acceptable because they are intertwined with the story (perhaps I shouldn't even explain how, but it's apparent in the name), so they actually were startling but still helped the atmosphere retain its ability to keep the player immersed. So I think that's a great example of when loud jumpscares work well. The people implementing them just have to know how to do it properly, as you said.
(as of now, I'm not far past the first 30 minutes because I'm honestly extremely frightened by the innards of the game's echo shelled atmosphere and environment, and most importantly, what I am in for as far as the story goes. It's the first time I've been scared of a game for years, probably since TDD.)
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Serious and Immersive Custom Stories Thread
