09-16-2013, 10:38 AM
It's very easy within the game to come to the conclusion that you are fast and durable enough to basically yolo through any level. It doesn't really take much tactical thought.
(09-16-2013, 10:29 AM)Hirnwirbel Wrote: [ -> ]I don't get how the damage and speed of the enemies has anything to do with the scaryness of the game. I mean, I don't know how you guys are playing this type of game, but for me it makes no difference whatsoever if the beast can kill me in two hits or just gently brushes my cheek with a feather duster.
My fear doesn't stem from logical thoughts like "okay, I have only 10 hitpoints left and I can make it to the door 0.43 seconds faster than the pig, but only if I jump at just the right moment so it can't hit me twice..."
The fear this type of game instills is completely irrational and stems solely from my own mind. Yeah, I can probably outsmart every enemy, I can make them glitch and get stuck in the level geometry or jump over their heads...I can even let every single enemy in the game kill me and respawn with them gone, but what does it matter? When I'm doing such a thing, I'm not immersing myself in the game world anyway, I'm just fucking around. And that is not the developers fault, but solely my own.
Quote: It's very easy within the game to come to the conclusion that you are fast and durable enough to basically yolo through any level. It doesn't really take much tactical thought.Yes, but the question is what exactly generates the fear. Dieing has no negative effects on you anyway, so "yoloing" through the level or letting the enemy get you makes no difference. My point is that true fear cannot stem from punishing gameplay mechanics. Excitement and a rush of adrenaline can, but not fear.
Quote: I think your oversimplifying the argument. The intent here is not to simply change health mechanics. The behavior of the enemies in terms of horror is questionable. Thomas Grip gives out his pro tips regarding game encounters. Enemies need to be intelligent, aggressive, separated from the level design and integrated into the atmosphere as believable denizens of the game world.I fully agree. I just don't think that making them faster is a solution. They need to feel more dangerous, not be more dangerous, since player death is something this type of game should try to avoid. I also stand by my point that it's not the devs fault if a player deliberately tries to mess around with the enemies AI and then complains that they're not scary.
I think TCR attempted to accomplish that last part that Thomas harked onabout a few times in his blog. Making the baddies not become simply an enemy, but a living part of the world.
(09-16-2013, 02:14 AM)Lleviathan Wrote: [ -> ]Greetings!
So as most of you probably already know, a lot of people are disappointed by Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. The most major reason for this in my opinion was because of the reduced scare factor, which was not what we were really expecting since this is an Amnesia title.
As I've said before, I believe part of the reason the scare factor was reduced was because of the lack of stalking/chase music. To me, that is crucial for a tense encounter. Look at Outlast. The enemies are nothing special, yet when that music plays I panic and all my thoughts are replaced by one. "Oh shit!" is a pretty accurate representation.
Another factor is the amount of damage a monster can do and how fast they move. These IMO can drastically change how much you're scared of of them. A good example of this is the Grunt and the Brute.
So, here's my preposition. What if someone/group of people came up with a mod that adds/enhances monsters and their encounters? I'm not too good with modding, but I'm willing to bet if someone could script music to the monsters, add more encounters (+possibly more hiding places) in the level editor, and tweak their stats, it would be a much scarier game.
Thoughts?
(09-16-2013, 10:46 PM)wretch Wrote: [ -> ]When the level editor is updated for AMFP assets, I'll work on a mod that contains what you just suggested but much more.Fantastic! I look forward to it.
Details here: http://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/thread-23210.html