vineri, 19 martie 2010

Analysis of darkness or why we like to be frightened to the point when we cry out for our mommy

A genre of games that has slowly emerged ever since the early 90's has been dubbed the survival horror genre. Made by mixing (in a smart way, of course) light, darkness, monsters, mystery and randomly placed chewed, bloody corpses, its sole purpose is to frighten you.

Fright produces a sudden burst of adrenaline in your body and increases the heart rate, making you feel "alive", if you've felt like a zombie before. For others, it's just the pleasant feeling of having your heart rate return to normal.

Resident Evil started it with its claustrophobic atmosphere and creepy monsters, while Dark Space, Fallout 3, BioShock 2, Metro 2033 and Alan Wake continued it. Whether it is a scary atmosphere or scarier monsters, you'll be brought to the point where you'll have to clean your bedsheets!

Dark Space is set on a spaceship in the future. You're in orbit around a mysterious mining planet and all the ship's crew has been turned into Necromorphs, vicious beasts made from corpses that need to be "systematically dismembered", as the producers put it. Tight spaces, a beautiful and frightening blend of light and darkness and the enemies make your adventure as sick as possible.

Fallout 3 is set in a post-nuclear future littered with mutant creatures, tight spaces (a must have of survival horrors), creepy, awkward or funny characters, nukes, 3-stories tall beasts, dark humour, an exaggerated amount of guts and blood and 50's music.

BioShock 2, the sequel to the award-winning BioShock continues the story of Rapture, an underwater city destroyed by corruption, greed and an army of crazy, genetically enhanced, drug-addicted freaks. You now play as a Big Daddy, an armored behemoth who protects the Little Sisters, girls that collect a substance that gives you superhuman powers. Traverse the flooded chambers fighting off the aforementioned freaks, the shrieking Big Sister and other Daddies.

Metro 2033 takes to a civilization built in the subway tunnels of Moscow in the aftermath of a nuclear war, where you strive to survive psychic monsters, nazis, communists while using darkness as your ally and enemy, a bunch of wacky weapons and a rag-tag group of allies.

Alan Wake tells the story of a thriller novel writer who goes with his wife to a small, quiet town to regain his ability to write. Strange things start to happen as dark creatures attack you in this twilight atmosphere. You have to find out where your wife is and why the events of a novel Alan never wrote are unfolding before his eyes.

So all you need is mystery, monsters and darkness to make a bed-wetting horror game!

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