Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames Introduction The purpose of this paper is to identify the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames. I address aesthetics, sound dynamics and gameplay styles that are used to create tension in horror games and discuss those incorporated into my chosen game examples from 4A Games' Survival Horror: Metro: 2033 (2010). Metro: 2033 is an action, survival horror videogame set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow where the surface is toxic and roamed by a new evolution of creatures forcing humans to survive in the underground train tunnels.
Definitions Before I discuss what I have learned from my research I am first going to define the meanings of dramatic tension and gameplay tension. Dramatic tension is felt when a viewer or reader absorbs themselves into a story, their perception of something crucial being at stake combined with the curiosity of what follows. Dramatic tension is only present within videogames depending on the player’s affinity with a character(s) and curiosity for the future outcomes of that character. On the other hand, gameplay tension is felt when a player is playing a game; they perceive something predominantly risky with the desire to discover the outcome. However, gameplay tension emerges from a different place of origin to dramatic tension; it derives from the player’s desire to face challenges and their indecisiveness about whether they will triumph or fail. “A key difference between dramatic tension and gameplay tension lies in the differing abilities of these feelings to persist in the face of arbitrary or repetitive content.” (Adams 2014)
Literature review Aesthetics Now I will discuss my research on aesthetics, various lighting methods and sound effects that have been used to create tension within previous horror games. I will then discuss how the style of gameplay can change the ways in which players experience games. The aesthetics of horror video games are one of the most essential developmental areas for creating immersive tension that players experience. Dynamic lighting, including saturation contrast, can affect players in different ways, especially when the colour and intensity of the games lighting is used as an indication to an enemy's threat level. This is demonstrated by El-Nasr et al. (2007); they created a game that uses warm and cool colours to identify the threat level of enemies to identify how players responded to changes in saturation. They concluded their study by saying "Strong emotions can be evoked by dynamic lighting. However, the nature of the affective responses is dependent on individual difference, preferences and previous gaming experiences.” Game developers must take this into account so they can adapt their games to please both experienced and non-experienced players, and ultimately give them a satisfying and thrilling game.
Ben Peacock
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Saturday, 27 December 2014
Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames Many horror games use atmospheric phenomenon such as fog to both compliment the game's environment as well as often obscure player vision which creates tension build-up as they move further throughout the game being unaware of enemies and their locations. “The fog or mist means the player cannot see very far and also allows creatures to get up really close to him before attacking while tidily providing a fictional justification for where they’re coming from.” (Perron 2009)
Sound Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010) has moments when there are no enemies, just obscured vision and intensified sound effects; these change dynamically as the player progresses through the game making them feel threatened or in danger. Sound is used within horror games to immerse the player with fear before an enemy appears whilst also creating atmosphere and a build-up of tension. Darren McKettrick (2013) and Rob Bridgett (2009) discuss similarities between the composition of the music and sound effects that are used within horror games. The use of dawn out notes for extremely quiet moments, or how the player must listen to the noises within the world around them including the simultaneous repetition of harsh and soothing sounds. Zach Whalen (2004) also supports these facts when he says that the "music will often rise steadily to a cacophonous crescendo to parallel a character's escalating terror or psychosis." Figure 1
The effects of games being played with sound makes a significant difference to player reactions compared to games played without sound. This has been proven by Raymond Usher (2012) from an experiment he carried out where two groups played three different games, one group with sound and the other without. This allowed him to compare the results and identify the effects the sound had on the players. Figure 2 Usher's findings for Amnesia: The Dark Descent (see figures 1 & 2), as well as the other two games, showed that players who experienced the games with audio had escalating heart and respiration rates and consequently a much higher level of arousal. Ben Peacock
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Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames Gameplay The aesthetics and sound complement one another as long as they are relevant to the game play events that the player experiences. The entertainment that players experience originates from the challenges presented to the player, as long as they can accomplish them. Ernest Adams (2014) specifically says that "challenges create tensions and drama", and within horror games the challenges are usually more complex and require a variety of equipment or tactics to overcome them. When enemies possess increased health, armour, damage capabilities or come in greater numbers etc. there is a lot more tension felt by the player because there is more pressure being forced upon them. However, ensuring it doesn't take too long to defeat the enemy(s) is very important because, just like McKettrick says, "make sure it does not take the player a long time to do so as they will just get irritated and quit the game." Preventing players from viewing their enemies at the start of a game causes them to create one within their subconscious, this makes them terrified at every turn with the intensifying wait for the true enemy to reveal itself. Moments that contain scarce amounts of action usually lead up to something that will happen suddenly and with no warning, allowing the tension to build up before the climatic event. Bernard Perron says something similar to this that "Forewarning intensifies emotional reactions about upcoming frightening events and increases anxiety when there is still uncertainty about the outcome of those events." (Perron)
Game Discussion Lighting The aesthetics of Metro: 2033 have been carefully crafted to immerse the player with the story behind the game and allow them to share the player's experience of the game world. The prodigious combination of simulated illumination and dynamic lighting used throughout the game superbly compliments the variety of game events that the player experiences. Throughout the game you spend the majority of your time underground where there is little lighting available. When the player is using their torch, relying on the nearby lighting or where areas of daylight are viewable whilst underground, there is a high brightness contrast between the light and dark areas of the scene. A perfect example of this lighting technique being used within Metro: 2033 to increase tension is ‘Chapter 3 - Khan': Ghosts’ where throughout the tunnel there are various events where ghosts are visible (see figure 3), however for the player to be able to see them their torch must be on. This gives the player the illusion of there being something in front of them because the light being emitted from their torch creates shadows.
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Figure 3
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames The term ‘brightness contrast’ is used to identify the difference in brightness of various areas in the scene. High brightness contrast, which is used frequently throughout Metro: 2033, designates high differentiation between multiple brightness levels. “Termed chiaroscuro – ‘light and dark’ in Italian, this technique is used in many movies to increase arousal.” (El-Nasr et al. 2007) Many parts of the game also use a subtle combination of high saturated warm colours and unsaturated cool colours. The amount of lighting depends on the location and the current surroundings of the player, for example when human enemies are nearby there is usually a good contrast of both warm and cool colours being emitted, warm colours from fires and cool colours from ceiling lighting, torches etc. On the other hand above ground is mainly illuminated by cool colours to represent daylight. The combined use of these colours should only be used for a temporary amount of time due to the nature of the eye. “The eye tries to balance the projected colour to achieve white colour. This causes eye fatigue, which in turn affects the participants' stress levels, thus affecting arousal.” (El-Nasr et al. 2007)
Level Design Particle effects and mist are used in various underground locations to add realism to the environment. These can obscure the player’s viewing capability and usually compliment the instances of erratic events taking place and effectively startle the player. There are usually many dead bodies, skeletons and blood marks to indicate where someone or something has either been injured, killed, or eaten, hence the skeletons. Rats also roam many areas of the underground which can sometimes be a distraction if they make a noise or knock something over. However, when the player is above ground all you can see is that many of the buildings have been demolished in one way or another, with abandoned vehicles and large crevices in the ground, tiles broken off walls, debris scattered across the environment, all to represent the toxic wasteland it has become. Within these buildings there are ruined desks, chairs, sofas, shattered windows, knocked over vending machines, deteriorated wallpaper, scattered files, books across the floor and many other signs of the area being abandoned.
Sound When accompanied by allies, or surrounded by other characters that set the scene of a location below ground, there is a lot of background noise like conversations. There is little noise in the underground tunnels, except for the squeaks of rats, screeching from rail carts, and sometimes the howls of Nosalis which are a very common species within the game. On the other hand, the sounds that the player experiences above ground are much different. You are required to wear a gas mask whilst frequently replenishing your filters every five minutes. As the five minutes’ decrease for each filter, the pace of the character's breathing increases, getting both heavier and louder. This is a good indication for when an air filter needs replenishing which is usually within the last minute of the air filter's usability. When your air filter runs out or you take your gas mask off, the volume and length of the character's breathing increases significantly to warn the player that they must swap their air filter, or equip their gas mask.
Ben Peacock
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Saturday, 27 December 2014
Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames When on the surface you can only hear the wind blowing, odd but occasional squeaks, and the howls of the creatures that live above. The source of these sounds is unknown to the player, although near the beginning of the game when you walk through a playground a swing squeaks each time it is blown by the wind. The combination of all these obscure noises put the player on edge. There is a specific howling noise made by the Nosalis to warn the player they are about to be attacked, though sometimes it is also to give the player their location.
Gameplay There is no visible indication of where you are in the world except for the map of progression shown on the loading screen in-between the different stages of the game. At no point in the game do you have any knowledge of either your own or your enemies' surroundings. Throughout the game players have to be very cautious of enemy movement if they want to stay undetected. The Library, Depository, and Archives of Chapter 5 - 'Hope' are the habitat of a species called Librarians. Staying undetected from these creatures is very challenging; they are extremely strong, very quiet except for their subtle breathing, and difficult to track. Chapter five 'Depository' has a bathroom with a hole in one of the walls containing some extra shotgun shells which encourages the player to acquire them. However, if the player chooses to equip the ammo, it triggers a cut-scene (see figure 4) where a librarian pops up out of nowhere from below the opposite side of the hole and bashes the player against the wall inflicting damage. Once you have reached the other side of the wall this librarian faces you whilst moving out of sight at the other end of a hallway. As you get to there the librarian then disappears up a set of stairs only to lead you into a kind of ‘no man’s land’. This is a Figure 4 perfect method for tormenting the player, making them more frustrated and aroused. Once you reach the second floor, two librarians approach you, increasing the gameplay tension of the player's situation even further. One of the main ways the developers have created tension within these three stages of the game is the uncomfortable length of waiting that the player must accept until confronted by one of the librarians. Not knowing the Librarians' locations is terrifying as players stand little chance if they are confronted and injured by one of them before they can react. This is a good example of dramatic tension, as the player is scared of what might happen to the character. You are forced to defend yourself with instant reactions, whilst monitoring the lifetime of your gas mask air filters, ammunition count, and the rest of your equipment. If you run out of any of these, especially in the library, a player’s arousal dramatically increases and the situation becomes more challenging for them, thus creating tension.
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Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames Opinions In my opinion the designers have created a game world that immerses the player with a very strong story and a sense of what life used to be like before. There are many moments of very intense gameplay and dramatic tension which makes the gaming experience of Artyom's life and his world outstanding.
Summary This paper has been written to identify the ways in which tension can be created within the horror genre of video games. I have discussed various aesthetics and lighting techniques as well as sound effects and gameplay in contrast to the affect they have on players' arousal and emotions. El-Nasr et al. performed a study on the ways contrast of warm and cool colours to identify threats can affect people both subconsciously and emotionally, and their results suggest that dynamic lighting can most definitely affect players but in different ways depending on their preferences and previous gaming experiences. Raymond Usher has proven that sound can have a big impact on how the overall experience of a game is absorbed with the results of both heart and respiration rates of his participants. Darren Mckettrick, Rob Bridgett and Zach Whalen all state how the gradual ascent of both volume and pace of sound can have a significant psychological impact on the player. Bernard Perron explains a very noticeable element that is present throughout Metro: 2033 which is the forewarning of upcoming events. In this case it's provided with dialogue from non-player characters, increasing tension before those events have even happened, causing them to have increased impact on the players' emotions. I was able to identify many of these ways of creating both dramatic and gameplay tension build up within my game examples, showing somewhat probability that they are legitimate methods of creating tension. This research could be taken further by combining the visual study of colour contrast with the audio experiment for increase of heart and respiration rates within multiple game environments. This would allow results to be compared and analysed to determine the best combination of aesthetics and audio for creating tension.
Bibliography ADAMS, Ernest (2014). Dramatic Tension and Gameplay Tension. In: JOHNSON, Karyn (ed.). Fundamentals of Games Design. 3rd ed., New Riders, 217-218. ADAMS, Ernest (2014). Gameplay. In: JOHNSON, Karyn (ed.). Fundamentals of Games Design. 3rd ed., New Riders, p.16. Amnesia: The Dark Decent. (2010). Frictional Games. 8 September. BRIDGETT, Rob (2009). Dynamics of Narrative. [online]. GAMASUTRA, 1-3. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132531/dynamics_of_narrative.php EL-NASR, Magy Seif, et al. (2007). Dynamic Lighting for Tension in Games. [online]. Game Studies, 7 (1),. http://gamestudies.org/0701/articles/elnasr_niedenthal_knez_almeida_zupko
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Identifying the ways in which tension is created within the horror genre of videogames MCKETTRICK, Darren (2013). An Investigation into the Effects of Horror Games. [online]. GAMASUTRA,. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DarrenMcKettrick/20130909/199865/An_Investigation_into_the_Effects_of_Hor ror_Games.php Metro: 2033. (2010). Directed by Andrew Prohorov. North America, 4A Games. 16 March. PERRON, Bernard (ed.) (2009). Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play. [online]. McFarland, 1820. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pNaQLQC9XhEC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=tension+within+horror+games++game+studies&source=bl&ots=TRdhZaiJUE&sig=7RpxBkzTDuRHaHBeNAKHXMWtZo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ereAVIGtDqKs7Aba-oHgCw&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAw%20%20v=onepage&q&f=false%20-%20v= PERRON, Bernard Sign of a Threat: The Effects of Warning Systems in Survival Horror Games. [online]. Montreal, https://www.academia.edu/2989141/Sign_of_a_Threat_The_Effects_of_Warning_Systems_in_Survival_Horror_Ga mes USHER, Raymond (2012). How Does In-Game Audio Affect Players? [online]. GAMASUTRA, 1-3. http://gamasutra.com/view/feature/168731/how_does_ingame_audio_affect_.php WHALEN, Zach (2004). Play Along - An Approach to Videogame Music. [online]. Game Studies, 4 (1),. http://gamestudies.org/0401/whalen/?ref=SeksDE.Com
Ben Peacock
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Saturday, 27 December 2014