Ashorthistoryofvideogamehorrorandthecurrentcrisis inconsolescares

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ChrisPruettat02:30pmOctober282013

ChrisPruetthasmadeithispersonalmissiontoplay,promoteanddeconstructhorrorgames.Hiswebsite,Chris SurvivalHorrorQuest,chronicleshisexperiencesgood,badandoftenveryuglyashejourneysthroughthe medium,seekingoutthelessonsandlearningsofhorrorgamesoldandnew.Here,Pruettoffershisunique timelineofvideogamehorrorsevolutionandhisthoughtsonwhereitmightsinkitsteethnext

Whatisahorrorgame?Itsadifficultgenretopindown. Unlikeracinggames,shooters,matchthree,horrorisntagenrelabelthatdescribesspecificmechanics.Norcan itbeidentifiedpurelybyvirtueofcontentoriconography:thereareplentyofnonhorrorgamesleveragingThe WalkingDeadrightnow,forexample.No,thegluethatultimatelyholdsthehorrorgenretogetherwhatmakes ituniqueisthatitsafamilyofgamesdesignedwithonespecificgoalinmind:toscarethehelloutofyou.Its agenrethatrequiresauniqueapproachtocriteriaquitewithoutequalorparallelinvideogames.Itsabouta sensation,fear,ratherthanaquotaofmechanicsorimages. ThetenseHalloweenadventuregamereleasedin1983fortheAtari2600?Horrorgame.TheFridayThe13th sidescrollerreleasedin1988fortheNES?Ahorriblegame.Notahorrorgame. Toexaminetheevolutionofvideogamehorrorthroughtheages,then,Ifinditbesttoconsiderthehistoryofthe genreintermsofdesignlineageratherthanwhethertheresawitchandabroomstickpresent. Onceuponatime,horrorgameswerehardtofind,butwhatwasthereprovedtohavealastinglegacy:itshaped

whatwouldcomelater.TherewasInfocomsTheLurkingHorror(PC/Mac,1988),ICOMSimulationssUninvited (Mac,1986),SweetHome(NintendoEntertainmentSystem,1989)amongothersand,whilefewinnumber,their impactcanstillbefelttoday.Uninvited,forexample,alongwithitspredecessorDejaVu,establishedpuzzle mechanics(suchasmanipulatingitemsviaapaletteofactionverbs)thathaveprovedamainstayofmany adventuregames.

SweetHome(NintendoEntertainmentSystem,1989).

HorrorgamehistoriansoftendeclareSweetHometheprecursortoResidentEvil,largelybecauseitusesthe samecreakydoorcinematicsthatCapcomstitlelateremployedtomaskloadtimesandtransitionbetween areas.Theresemblancebetweenthetwogamesismoretenuousthaniswidelyacknowledged,though:Sweet Homeis,afterall,anRPGwithrandommonsterencountersandapartymechanicthatcouldntbefurtherfrom thecalculatedscaresofCapcomsmansionandthesplintered,isolatedprotagoniststryingtomakesenseofit all. Intruth,SweetHomeswiderimpactandinfluenceisdowntofarmorethanthoseshoddydooranimations.It turneditemmanagementintoanaxisforfear.EachcharacterinSweetHomehasjusttwoinventoryslotsand thoseslotsareusuallyoccupiedbycrucialheathandpuzzleitemstoreallymakesurvivalawarofattrition. Whenyourunoutofinventoryspacewhichhappensofteninthethickofapuzzleyouronlyrecourseisto dropaperipheralitemonthefloorandcomebackforitlater.Inagamewhereeveryexcursionisdangerous, everyavenueleadingtopotentialdamnation,youdfrequentlyhavetoworkyourwaybackacrossthemapto retrieveanimportantiteminanervewrackingraceagainsttime.Evenmorenaildestroying,SweetHomes gameloopforcesplayerstoperiodicallyshedpowerfulitemsinordertoprogresstothenextstage,thereby destroyinganycomfortzoneandsenseofstrengthorcertaintytheymayhaveattained.ResidentEvilinitially softenedSweetHomesinventorysystembyaddingthoserathermagicallyinterconnecteditemboxes,butin ResidentEvil0(GameCube,2002)Capcomreturnedtothehighstakesdropanywheresystem,remindingusall ofSweetHomeslastinglegacy. DespitetheearlyexperimentsofpioneeringtitleslikeSweetHome,thehorrorgenrearguablydidnttrulyarrive

untilitsmorewidelyknown90stitansAloneInTheDark(variousplatforms,1990)andClockTower(Super NintendoEntertainmentSystem,1995)madetheirindeliblemarkonthetimeline.

AloneInTheDark(variousplatforms,1990).

AloneInTheDarktookthepointandclickadventuregenreanddraggeditkickingandscreaminginto3D compositionsandcontrolmethods.Asinearlieradventuregames,thebackgroundartwasastaticimage,with characterartcompositedontop.Characterswererenderedinrealtime3D,anditsbackgroundshadperspective anddepth.Itshardtooverstatetheimportanceofthisrevolutioninhorrortheabilitytocomposeandframe scenesthiswaybestoweddesignerswithunprecedentedpowertobuildtensionthroughcinematography.The movetoaperspectivecamerawithcutsbetweenshotsalsonecessitateddirectcontrolovertheplayable character(leadingtothenowinfamouscharactercentrictankcontrolschemewhichsubsequentlybecameone ofResidentEvilsmosthatedfeatures). ThedevelopmentandsuccessofResidentEvil(PS1,1995),adirectdescendantofAloneintheDarksdesign, flungopenthehorrorgamefloodgates.Many,manyhorrorgameswerereleasedinthelate90sandearly00s followinginCapcomsfootsteps.Thebestofthebunchmodifiedormanipulatedthenewlyestablishedformatto explorefearindifferentways.SilentHill(PS1,1999)pioneeredtheuseoflightingandaudio,ParasiteEve(PS1, 1998)resolvedthetankcontrolproblemposedby3Dperspectives,FatalFrame(PS2,2001)andSiren(PS2, 2003)introduceduniqueformsofinteraction(firstpersoncombatandsneakingmechanics,respectively)and SilentHill2(PS2,2001)showedhowhorrorcouldbeusedasavehicleforacomplex,enigmaticnarrative.The influenceofthisgoldenageofhorrordesignspreadtoentirelynewgenrestitleslikeTheSuffering(PS2,Xbox, PC,2004)appliedmanyofthelessonsfromearlierhorrorgameswithoutbeingtiedtotheploddingpaceofAlone intheDark. Despitethisrapidprogress,thehorrorboombegantoshowsignsofexhaustion.ThemarketforAloneinthe Darkstylegamesbecamesaturated,andasnewconsolesloomedonthehorizonthepopularityandfiscal

viabilityofthegenrebegantodecline.

ResidentEvil4(NintendoGameCube,2005).

Butasoneformofhorrorgamesputteredandbreatheditslast,anotherwasborn.JustastheoriginalResident Evilhaddoneso,ResidentEvil4(NintendoGameCube,2005)changedthewayhorrorgameswereconceived anddevelopedforsometime.ResidentEvil4modernisedmanyofthecoredesignconventionsfromearlier horrorgamesandshuckedofftherest,focusinginsteadonhighstakes,closequarterscombat,unitingthe strandsofactionandhorrorinanirresistible,immediatemixthatmadeAloneintheDarkanditschildrenlook creakyandcumbersomebycomparison. ResidentEvil4wasahugesuccess,ofcourse,anditremainsthemodelforthirdpersonactiondesign.Though itabandonedofmanyofthecoretenetsofitspredecessors,ResidentEvil4retainedenoughofthatDNAto preventitshorrormusclesfromatrophyingcompletely.However,subsequentgamesfollowinginitsfootsteps (suchastheDeadSpaceseries,andevenmorerecentResidentEvilgames)slowlyreplacedhorroraffording mechanicswithslickersystemsinthenameofmodernityandadrenaline.Asaresult,mostofthegamesnow employingelementsofResidentEvil4sdesignarenolongertechnicallyhorrorgamesatall,havingpolishedthe actionbitstoashineattheexpenseoffear. InatwistworthyofaDarioArgentoflick,however,anolder,halfforgottenstrandofhorrorgamedesignwould returntopickupthegenresflickeringtorch.ThoughitwasreleasedseveralyearsafterAloneintheDark,Clock Towerrepresentsanalternatebranchofthehorrordesignfamilytree.ReleasedexclusivelyinJapan,Clock Towerbroketheadventuregamemouldinadifferentway.Ratherthanpursuing3Dperspectivesand compositions,ClockTowerembraceditspointandclickrootsandfocusedinsteadoncreatingtensionthrough disempoweringtheprotagonistandplayer.ClockTowersJenniferisanormalteenager:nospecialpowers,no battlearmour,noweaponsorcombatskills.Whenattackedbyacrazynineyearoldwieldingapairofgiant shears,heronlyrecourseistoflee,tohide.ClockTowerwasarguablythefirstgametoputgreatemphasison thevulnerabilityofthemaincharacterandtobuildagamearoundthatconceit.Nolongerjustaboutescapism, thehorrorgenrewasnowaboutescaping.

ClockTower(SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem,1995).

ThechartshadbeendominatedbytheResidentEvilbrandanditsilksinceitsdebutbutmuchliketheseries signatureScissormantheClockTowermodelhadbeenwaitingquietlyinthedarkness.Ithadbeenincubated andnurturedbytitleslikeHellnight(PS1,1998),EchoNight:Beyond(PS2,2004),andHauntingGround(PS2, 2005).Then,around2008,afewobscureJapanesegamesbegantoexplorefirstpersonhorrorgamesthat starredregularjoeprotagonistsandfeaturednocombat.Oneofthefirst,TheNamelessGame(NintendoDS, 2008),alternatedbetweena3DviewpointandacursedNESeraRPGthatslowlyinfectedtherealworld.Itwas followedbyJuOn:TheGrudge(NintendoWii,2009),Calling(Wii,2009),andNightofSacrifice(Wii,2011),allof whichwerefirstperson,combatfree,runandhidehorrorgames.PerhapsitwastheaccessibilityoftheWii nunchuckasflashlightinterfacethatmadethesegamesappearaftersuchalonghibernationNightofSacrifice evenmadeuseoftheWiiBalanceBoardtomakefleeingfromitsghostsphysicallystressful.Regardless,these childrenofClockTowerestablishedaformatthatisnowoneofthemostpopularinthehorrorgenre. Buttheywerenotthegamesthatmadetheformatexplode.WiththereleaseofAmnesia:TheDarkDescent (2010,PC)andSilentHill:ShatteredMemories(2009,Wii),theClockTowerapproachtohorrordesignsuddenly camecrashingthroughtheskylightintopublicview.Thereleaseofthesetwogames,whichplacedemphasison exploration,featurednocombat,andstarredprotagoniststhathavenospecialabilities,causedthehorrorgenre toundergoanothermajorshift. LikeSilentHill2beforeit,SilentHill:ShatteredMemoriesshowedthathorrorcouldplayhosttoastrong, personalnarrative.Itsuseofexplorationandaudiologs(asprovenbySystemShock2adecadeearlier)totella storywasambitiousinitssimplicity.ItsastrandthathasbeenfurtheredagaininthelikesofGoneHome (PC/Mac,2013)andDearEsther(PC/Mac,2012)whichsimilarlytradeawayasignificantamountofinteractivity inordertoexploreastoryasaphysicalspace.

SilentHill:ShatteredMemories(2009,Wii).

Inmyeyes,itsthesuccessofAmnesiathathasleadtoasecondhorrorgameboom,asilverage,ifyouwill, dominatedbyindiedevelopersdesigningfordesktopplatforms.Thisnewbreedisalivelymixture,fromthelikes ofSlender(PC/Mac,2012),SCPContainmentBreach(PC,2012),andtheupcomingRoutine(currentlyin development).NottomentionawholehostofsimilartitlespendingonSteamGreenlightwhichIdargueowe theirexistence,theirchanceatsuccess,toAmnesia.LikeAmnesia,thesetitlesarealmostallfirstperson, combatfree,andfocusedonhidingandexploring.Andbecausethesegamesarestronglyinfluencedby Amnesia,theyare,attheircore,thedescendantsofClockTower. Wheredohorrorgamesgofromhere?OnPCplatforms,thefutureisbright,atleastifyouenjoyrunningforyour life,disempoweredprotagonistsanddangerous,deserted(anddimlylit)environments.Theresalsosomesigns thatthesegames,orsomethingsimilarfromasiblinggenrelikeEscapetheRoom,mayshowuponyour smartphoneortabletverysoon.Bigbudgetconsolehorrorgames,ontheotherhand,haventquiterecovered fromtheirforayintofasterpacedbutlessfrightfulwaters.Butperhaps,intheauteursthirdcoming,Shinji MikamisEvilWithinwillbethecuretotheidentitycrisiscurrentlyplaguingconsolehorror.
Byday,ChrisPruettrunsRobotInvader,anindependentdevelopmentstudioinSiliconValley.Underthecoverof nighthemaintainsChrisSurvivalHorrorQuest,aresearchblogdevotedtothedissectionandanalysisofhorror games.