Oh, hey, a new project by you guys!
A question for readers - are you interested in horror VNs without romance?
Oh my goodness, of course. Romance isn't needed in a horror game. Granted, blended well, the two genres can make a enjoyable story, but you definitely don't have to have romance. Besides, Agatha is 14 and Peter is 29...
What would you like to be featured in this genre?
You mean, what do I want to see in a horror game? Well, I haven't played a lot of horror games(read quite a few horror stories, though-- I'm in the middle of a horror short story collection right now!), but I think looking around the house when Peter isn't around could be interesting. Maybe what you see while looking around could affect the ending? Also, unexpectedness is good too(obviously), such as if Peter is acting like a sweet guy, but then Agatha sees him doing something at night. I think it's all about giving the player a false sense of security or predictability(i.e "Peter's definitely evil; he's going to murder Agatha any minute now") and then pulling the rug out from under them, so to speak(i.e "Woah, did Peter just get killed by the house's evil spirit? What's going to happen next; I want to read more.").Of course, if Peter really
is evil, there's nothing wrong with that-- just try not to make it too obvious.
Two more things before I stop ranting: subtle is usually good when it comes to horror. The short story "Garden of Eden" by Al Sarrantonio has a
very subtle hint in the ending that
the members of the town, namely the MC's mother, are the ones who kill him
which is what makes the story great. It's so subtle because this "hint" is based of
one line of dialogue from the beginning of the story. And the best part? The story is still creepy even if the reader doesn't understand this subtle hint. Being too subtle, however, can make a story confusing, so be careful with this. Last thing: a sudden statement in the ending that makes the player realize what's
really going on can be great. I think this is because, since it's the end of the story, leaving the reader with a new sense of what happened gives them with a feeling of helplessness, even if the reader doesn't realize it, and this adds to the creepiness. If you can get ahold of the short story collection "More Horowitz Horror" by Anothony Horowitz(yes, the author of Alex Rider wrote horror, too) and read "Burned" or "The Lift", you'll know exactly what I'm talking about(I hope).
Anyway, that's all I've gotta say. Hope this helps, and I'll be looking forward to this release!