Re: Making a horror VN that's actually scary?
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 10:52 pm
[*]You can make the sudden jump screens scary by having quiet music in the background, and then sudden loud (I'm thinking like dramatic organ music) music to accompany the in-your-face creep out moment.
[*]Additionally, you can make scenes eerie or creepy by limiting characters. As humans, we naturally tend towards some form (however little it may be) of human contact/interaction, even if it's just seeing another person and not talking to them. Isolate the player. Make them feel like they're alone in a creepy place.
[*]You can also make the few characters you have be grotesque, weird, creepy, or freaky. Then the player feels even more creeped out.
[*]To make it even creepier, you can maybe have just one or two normal characters in the game. Make them friendly and approachable so that the player trusts them. Then, in some sort of plot/character twist, have them become bad guys or something. Reveal that they're just spirits. Make them zombies. Just let you imagination have fun! =)
[*]In contrast, you can also have a bunch of normal characters, and as the game goes on, make them creepier and creepier...
If you want some examples on cool games that effectively use thriller effects, check out "Phantasmat" or the "Daymare" series. Here is the link for the "Daymare" series: http://www.mateuszskutnik.com/archive/dmt/
As you can see, Mateusz Skutnik (the creator of the game) creates creepy effects in multiple ways. He makes all of the characters creepy looking. He isolates the player. There is minimal sound. The artwork is black and white, not even grayscale! The towns are very bleak, which makes the player ever-so-slightly anxious about getting out of the town.
Here is the link for "Phantasmat": http://phantasmat.com/
The standard game (no bonus content) is $9.95, but it's totally worth it! Even if you choose not to buy it, just look through the different tabs and learn about the game. In contrast to Skutnik's work, "Phantasmat" has gorgeous graphics, but they are creepy! It has creepy music/sound effects. The characters are limited, and though they kinda look normal, their dialogues slowly make them creepier and creepier. The game also has a creepy plot twist for the characters, but I don't want to reveal too much.
Hope that was helpful! And best of luck to you!
[*]Additionally, you can make scenes eerie or creepy by limiting characters. As humans, we naturally tend towards some form (however little it may be) of human contact/interaction, even if it's just seeing another person and not talking to them. Isolate the player. Make them feel like they're alone in a creepy place.
[*]You can also make the few characters you have be grotesque, weird, creepy, or freaky. Then the player feels even more creeped out.
[*]To make it even creepier, you can maybe have just one or two normal characters in the game. Make them friendly and approachable so that the player trusts them. Then, in some sort of plot/character twist, have them become bad guys or something. Reveal that they're just spirits. Make them zombies. Just let you imagination have fun! =)
[*]In contrast, you can also have a bunch of normal characters, and as the game goes on, make them creepier and creepier...
If you want some examples on cool games that effectively use thriller effects, check out "Phantasmat" or the "Daymare" series. Here is the link for the "Daymare" series: http://www.mateuszskutnik.com/archive/dmt/
As you can see, Mateusz Skutnik (the creator of the game) creates creepy effects in multiple ways. He makes all of the characters creepy looking. He isolates the player. There is minimal sound. The artwork is black and white, not even grayscale! The towns are very bleak, which makes the player ever-so-slightly anxious about getting out of the town.
Here is the link for "Phantasmat": http://phantasmat.com/
The standard game (no bonus content) is $9.95, but it's totally worth it! Even if you choose not to buy it, just look through the different tabs and learn about the game. In contrast to Skutnik's work, "Phantasmat" has gorgeous graphics, but they are creepy! It has creepy music/sound effects. The characters are limited, and though they kinda look normal, their dialogues slowly make them creepier and creepier. The game also has a creepy plot twist for the characters, but I don't want to reveal too much.
Hope that was helpful! And best of luck to you!