Horror Game Research Articles

"I Found it Cathartic": Exploring Empathy and Mental Health Awareness in Psychological Horror Video Games

Horror video games have often been criticized for their negative and unrealistic depiction of mental health, primarily through their portrayal of characters with mental illnesses. Such representations can perpetuate stigma and misconceptions about mental health issues. However, there has recently been a growing interest in accurate portrayals of these characters and how playing these video games could also elicit empathy and mental health awareness. In our study, we explored how a psychological horror game such as Silent Hill 2 could foster empathy and mental health awareness through individual interviews with 11 participants. Our findings revealed that participants gained a deeper understanding of mental health issues and empathy towards characters struggling with mental illnesses by interacting and controlling them. Participants had a greater attachment to the characters' inner struggles and their gameplay was experienced as cathartic. Moreover, our findings highlighted the potential of psychological horror to serve as a platform for character-driven narratives, showcasing how engagement with such games elicited empathy among participants. We contribute to an exploratory understanding that can assist game designers and writers in crafting narratives within the Psychological Horror genre that foster empathy and mental health awareness.

The effect of players' ability to resist monsters on immersion and fear in survival horror games

Horror survival games, as a crucial segment of the video game industry, are highly regrded for their ability to evoke excitement, suspense and the challenge of overcoming obstacles and fears through wit and skill. This study delves into the impact of players' ability to confront monsters in horror survival games on their level of immersion and fear, and how these two psychological states mutually enhance the gaming experience. This research applies Python for natural language processing analyses, including sentiment analysis, keyword frequency analysis, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, and K-Means clustering to uncover the main trends in player feedback, which is based on 5,000 user comments scraped from the Steam platform on two famous horror games, "Resident Evil 7" and "Outlast 2." Additionally, data on players' personal experiences of fear and immersion in the games are collected through surveys. The results show that the sensation of fear and successfully confronting monsters significantly enhances players' immersion of being completely engaged in the game, highlighting the importance of balancing challenge and player's ability to make choices in game design. This study provides valuable insights into understanding the psychological dynamics of players in horror survival games, guiding game designers and developers on how to create more engaging and satisfying gaming experiences that meet players' requirements.

Is American Horror Scarier? The Difference Between Chinese and American Horror Games

Fear is a result of human evolution to warn with the highest speed when faced with danger. With the continuous development of the entertainment industry, more and more horror games have entered the public's vision and been loved by everyone because they give people a sense of adventure and excitement. By comparing the horror games released by China and the United States in recent decades, this paper will study the differences and sources of Chinese horror and American horror as well as the development trend and suggestions of the two under the influence of cross-cultural communication in the future. The study concludes that in the current era of multicultural exchange, game producers and other creative professionals must strike a balance between maintaining the uniqueness of their work and embracing different cultural influences, in a way that not only promotes appreciation and understanding of various cultures but also creates innovative and engaging work.

A Research on Improvements in Horror Game Development

A Research on Improvements in Horror Game Development

The Ludic Impact of Horror Games on the Body: Until Dawn, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Alien: Isolation

Abstract Horror video games create an enhanced sense of fear compared to film and television of the same genre due to their use of ludic elements. These ludic elements, specifically haptic game design mechanics, play conditioning, and the coding of the games themselves all bypass the screen and controller to impact the body of the player. Understanding affect as the relationship of the body to the world, video games are therefore a strong affective medium for the horror genre. Three aspects enable video games to have this strong impact: haptic game design mechanics, play conditioning, and game coding. Using the controller as a threshold object, video games physically interact with players to create a horror experience that compels the body to mirror the fear on screen. Additionally, horror games condition players to play them in a specific way to heighten tension and deny control. Finally, the coding of horror games can create obstacles that deny player control and create an environment of fear. The aim of the essay is to explore the effective use of all these elements and mechanics in three games: the 2015 game Until Dawn, the 2016 horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and the 2014 game Alien: Isolation. (VH)

Playing the “Fantastical Gap”: Embedded Soundscapes in Video Games

Abstract This article surveys the techniques of sound and music design that are used to represent games embedded within other games. Theorizing such recursive media through the literary concept of the mise en abyme, the article focuses on the experimental horror game Stories Untold (2017), arguing that sound is both an object of focus (given the game's conceit of embedding a silent, text-based adventure game within a sounding, three-dimensional world) and the crucial factor that alerts the player to the interactions between the game's nested narratives.

Work Hard, Scare Hard? An Investigation of How Mental Workload Impacts Jump Scare Intensity

Despite the prevalence and relevance of jump scares in horror video games, there is little empirical research on them. While HCI research commonly uses horror games as experimental stimuli, even less scientific research exists on what makes a jump scare in a game more or less scary. The present between-subject study (n=60) addresses this by investigating whether jump scare intensity—measured physiologically and subjectively—scales with task difficulty. We triggered in-game jump scares at increasing levels of mental workload across four counterbalanced conditions, manipulated using N-back tasks of varying difficulty. Results demonstrate a significant linear relationship between mental workload and physiological arousal. However, this is not the case for subjective perception of arousal elicited by the jump scare. These findings have design implications for horror games. They show that the level of physiological arousal caused by a jump scare can be controlled by changing the difficulty of an in-game task that necessitates a substantial amount of mental work at the same time.

Keep Calm and Aim for the Head: Biofeedback-Controlled Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in a Horror Game

Who said that violent video games cannot promote calm behaviour? Could we reverse engineer the difficulty system of a horror game to encourage the player to stay calm as opposed to feeling under constant pressure? To explore the feasibility of the approach and its effectiveness, we created a horror game, Caroline, which uses the player's biometric data to adapt the difficulty of the game - if the player is too stressed, the difficulty increases, and the opposite happens if the player is relaxed. We explored the effect of such an approach on players' cognitive, emotional, performative and decision-making challenge as well as their intrinsic motivation by comparing it to the base game without any DDA. Our results showed that players felt more motivated when the gameplay was adjusted according to their heart rate. However, out of the four types of challenge, the only one affected by the DDA was the decision-making challenge. We discuss what these findings mean for video game design and research into affective computing and provide suggestions for future research.

DESIGN AND BUILD VR HORROR GAMES WITH PROCEDURAL CONTENT GENERATION USING CELLULAR AUTOMATA ALGORITHM

The development of video games is very fast according to data obtained by ESA in 2021, about 226 million people on American played video games and in Indonesia 105 million people play video games and this will continue to increase, it is predicted that in 2025 video players gaming in Indonesia will reach 127 million people, this causes the need for game content continues to increase while for making game content it is not something that cheap, one way to reduce costs in making content in the game is to implement procedural content generation, procedural content generation is one way of creating content game automatically by using an algorithm. This research aims to design and build a virtual reality horror game using use cellular automata algorithm, cellular automata algorithm in research This research is used for map making, besides that this research also aims to measure the level of player satisfaction with the game that has been made. Game created using the Unity 3D game engine and the C# programming language. After game has been successfully built, will measure the level of satisfaction through cakes. questionnaire using GUESS-18, based on tests that have been carried out with GUESS-18, the results obtained are 77.1 percent, which can be concluded that the level of player satisfaction is categorized as good.

Enhancing Gaming Engagement through the Integration of Game Design Document and Finite State Machine: A Study on Optimizing Non-playable Character Responsiveness

Non-playable Character (NPC) is a prominent terminology within the gaming domain. While players do not directly control NPCs, their role significantly influences the gaming experience. Enhancing NPC responsiveness becomes imperative as NPCs' passive nature can lead to monotonous gameplay. To address this concern, a computational model, namely Finite State Machine (FSM), is implemented to elevate NPC responsiveness during interactions with the main characters, whether as adversaries or allies. This research uses the Game Design Document (GDD) methodology to design a survival horror-themed game. The resultant Survival Horror Game undergoes Alpha testing to validate its overall functionality and the successful integration of the FSM computational model. Findings indicate that enemy NPCs can pursue the main character from any position, with an average arrival interval of 68 seconds. Additionally, allied NPCs promptly respond when the main character approaches. Subsequently, the Beta testing results reflect an 80% average score interpretation based on percentage responses, implying the game's favorable suitability and acceptability on the Likert scale.

Evaluating Player Experience for Fear Modeling of 2D East Java Horror Game Alas Tilas

Developing a 2D horror game and evaluating the reliability of the player experience are two things that are interrelated and equally important. Developers must ensure that the game can provide a satisfying and reliable gaming experience for their players. This study aims to evaluate the reliability of the player's experience in the game entitled Alas Tilas, East Java. This study used the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) in Indonesian as a survey approach method, which was given to 30 teenagers who at least played horror games once. UEQ may provide feedback to developers on the attractiveness, clarity, efficiency, accuracy, stimulation, and novelty aspects of the game. From the results of the UEQ, a reliability test will be carried out using the Cronbach Alpha technique. The results of the descriptive analysis show that these variables are Attractiveness (mean, 0.933), Clarity (mean, 1.808), Efficiency (mean, 1.508), Accuracy (mean, 0.217), Stimulation (mean, 0.667) and Novelty (mean, 0.242). Attractiveness, clarity, and efficiency averaged positive results. The average aspects of accuracy, stimulation, and novelty of the game get neutral results. The results of the reliability test conducted on UEQ data obtained a Cronbach alpha value > 0.6 which indicates that the research data used to test the player experience are considered reliable so that they can be used to provide input for future development of the Alas Tilas game. To increase the average score, the researcher provides recommendations for improvement, namely, adjusting the accuracy and novelty aspects of the horror scenario game entitled Alas Tilas East Java. Therefore, it is expected to improve the quality of the game.

Mistification

We live in a world increasingly dominated by technology, and there are many technological advances that we frequently use about which we know very little. Among them, one we know mostly through metaphor stands out: “cloudification”. Metaphors play a central role in our understanding of the concepts and ideas that present themselves, revealing for the first time something that was already there. In this way, we propose the term mistification as a more accurate expression of the current technocratic/technological status quo for which the terms “cloud” and “cloudification” are used. The proposed term – a neologism – conveys elements of Gothic horror which, we hope, precisely capture the current experience of end-users of the cloud. Using New Dark Age (Bridle, 2018) as a point of departure, we propose an analogy between end-users of the cloud with players in a Gothic horror role-playing game, namely the Ravenloft campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons. Similarly to players in a Gothic horror game, end-users remain ignorant and helpless against all too powerful technocratic/technological giants and their pursuits. This article adds elements belonging to a horror role-playing game campaign setting to a wider cross-disciplinary discussion regarding human-machine interaction.

Postklasyczna groza. Przeobrażenia fuzji gatunkowej survival horroru


 
 
 This article provides an introduction to the study of the transformation of the survival horror genre. The author discusses the genre determinants of horror games from the historical perspective, draw- ing particular attention to the moment when the classic survival horror formula emerged. She also describes the changes over the years that led both to the need to update the genre framework and to the division into classic and post-classic horror games. She also analyses the mechanics typical of contemporary productions using horror elements.
 
 

Women as witness, victim and villain: multifaceted role-play in Fatal Frame II

ABSTRACT In 2003 Japanese folk horror game Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly directed by Makoto Shibata, the protagonist bears witness to an ancient tradition of a community linked to the ritual sacrifice of twins, which results in the female victim becoming a malevolent spirit. Gradually the player, as Mio, equipped with the Camera Obscura, transitions from observer to participant in the cycle of events that results in sacrificing their own twin sister. This article focuses on establishing the game within the folk horror subgenre, before examining three female characters: Mio, the protagonist, who shifts from witness/voyeur to participant; Mayu, their twin, who transitions from unwilling to willing sacrifice; and Sae, the victim of the original ritual and antagonist. In Fatal Frame II, the Camera Obscura, which captures the supernatural world, is the lens through which past and present blur as the player is confronted by the twisted beliefs of the village. Through analysis of the game’s narrative, ludic elements, and visual aesthetics, I examine how these roles fit within the context of folk horror, gender and Japanese folklore.

The Immersive and Interactive Experience in Virtual Reality Games and Films

Virtual reality technology is one of the modern technologies that have been widely concerned in recent year. Its application in the game and film and television industry has produced many works with new experience, especially in immersion and interactivity. Generally, most available resource nowadays focuses on discuss the feasibility of VR application in innovation of traditional works but lack but there is a lack of discussion on VR games and VR movies from the perspective of creating immersion and interactive methods and effects. This essay will discuss the immersive and interactive effects in VR games and VR films separately. In the first part of VR games, it will elaborate how the effects are provided through the VR hardware. Then in the second part, it will discuss the different design techniques used in different styles of game including action games, horror games, exploration games and serious games. As for the discussion on VR films, this essay will take the two most extensive categories of VR movies, panoramic films and VR documentaries, as examples to discuss how VR films achieve the effect and how the performance is. The overview on the immersive and interactive effects in VR games and VR films can provide examples and problems to be solved for creators to produce higher quality work in the future.

An Examination of Memory Performance in a Fearful Virtual Reality Gaming Context

Background The emotion of fear bears a survival significance enabling animals to be highly vigilant in contexts of uncertainty. Expectedly, not all information available in the environment can be processed. Given that a major goal is to get rid of the source of fear in a fearful situation, the current study therefore hypothesized that information relating to the fear source would be better attended to and recalled than contextual information, which was validated by comparing participants’ recall of different types of information presented in a fearful VR gaming context. Methodology Fifty-four participants were divided into two groups and finished a specific segment of a VR game with different fear levels. Results No significant difference in recall performance on the questions about the appearance of the fear source and the questions about the interaction with the source was observed between the fear and less-fear groups. Yet, contextual information was better recalled than information related to the fear source in both groups. Regardless of whether the contextual information was provided beforehand or not, participants still tended to focus primarily on the environment in the gameplay. Also, the immersiveness of the gameplay was positively related to participants’ fear level. Discussion The tendency of attending to contextual information was speculated to be unconditional, in line with the risk calculation observed in prey when situated in less familiar contexts. It was suggested to further validate the present primarily findings by adopting VR headset with eye-tracking function in future studies. Lastly, an understanding of fear’s effect on memorization might also provide some information for developing future survival horror games.

Thought Experiments in Video Games: Exploring the (Un)Ethics of Motherhood in Frictional Games’ Amnesia: Rebirth

The essay explores the philosophical potential of Frictional Games’ Amnesia: Rebirth (2020), a survival science-fiction horror game, which heavily focuses on story elements and deeply explores the idea of motherhood—a subject matter rarely encountered in this medium. By offering the semblance of control over space and time, suturing the player to the first-person perspective of a character only to gradually problematize the very notion of acting and suspending choice via highlighting any option as an ethical impasse—revealing a neither/nor nature of gamic choice—the game transforms itself from a Deleuzian action-image to a time-image, from an image favoring action to the one that problematizes time. What is more, the game functions as a thought experiment, juxtaposing epistemology and ethics via the idea of motherhood, which is shown to be an ethical choice from the perspective of individual action but unethical from the perspective of temporality.

The Impact of Translation Techniques on The Translation Quality in The White Lady’s Subtitle

<p class="LingTeraAbstractBodyEnglish">This study aimed to find out the impact of the translation techniques used by the translator in The White Lady’s subtitles of Pamali: Indonesian Folklore Horror Game. This study applied descriptive qualitative method. The data in this study were obtained through document analysis and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The theory of translation techniques used for analysing the technique in this study was proposed by Molina and Albir (2002). This research also assessed the translation quality by using the model of Translation Quality Assessment proposed by Nababan, et al (2012). The translation quality and the assessment were done through FGD with three raters. The result showed that there were 18 techniques applied in the subtitle. This study found that established equivalent affected the translation quality in positive way. Meanwhile, deletion technique gave the bad impact on all aspects of translation quality. This study also discovered the technique namely variant borrowing that was found by Dyah (2019). The average score of accuracy, acceptability, and readability respectively was 2,94, 2,96, and 2,97. Therefore, the score of the translation quality was high with 2.95 of 3.</p>

Nautinnollisen kauhun ilmapiiri

Abstract
 Horror is a popular video game genre, which has the ability to induce strong emotions such as fear and anxiety. Horror game sound partly derives from movie soundtracking, but the interactive and immersive nature of video games and game music challenges the traditional beliefs concerning the meaning and importance of sound design and soundtracking. In this review article, we discuss the relationship between the sonic design of horror games and experienced anxiety. We combine musicological and ludological viewpoints with clinical and neuropsychological ones to create a multidisciplinary overview of the subject. We will also discuss the paradox of how we can enjoy fear and anxiety inducing media, despite those emotions having a very negative association. Finally we will discuss the possible advantages of combining music and video games for the study of emotions in music, video games and psychology.

A multi-method approach to compare presence, fear induction and desensitization in survival horror games within the reality-virtuality-continuum

Virtual environments and games are often used to evoke positive emotions. Contrary the survival horror genre aims to induce negative feelings in players. The effects of playing fear-inducing games in virtual reality (VR) is rather unexplored, since research mainly focuses on positive emotions. To investigate the relationship between immersion, presence and negative emotion induction, we compared repeated horror game usage between playing on desktop computers, in VR, and smart substitutional reality (SSR), which supplements VR with additional haptic and thermal stimuli. Conducting a longitudinal study utilizing questionnaires, observations and physiological measurements, we expected an increase of fear using VR and SSR due to the increased immersion. Physiological data was not analyzed due to huge data loss, while observations and self-reports revealed contradictory results. Behavioral data showed stronger expression of fear in VR and SSR. Presence was increased in the VR and SSR groups compared to PC, further a mediation of emotion induction via presence was confirmed. Altogether, the reception of horror games within VR or SSR is associated with strong emotional reactions for selected individuals. Future research should take methodological lessons learned into account.