Do modern graphics make games less scary?

[RedViking]

Poeple in South Africa are not scared of the dark anymore as we are now exposed to crime all times of the day. What used to make games so scary.

Low light. Candles. Torch. Bloody knife = Scariest Games.

 

[Herr der Verboten]

Post reminded me of how old CRT monitors would make graphics look less pixel-ey.

That was actually neat and something we missed back then. I have filters for this, but not all titles looks better, some just comes out worse though. However, that said... quake 1 as stark black and white was amazing play-through as it compliments well.

 

[Herr der Verboten]

No don't believe so, think it partly has to do with that people have become desensitized to them.

Also believe the art of suspense, true tension is lost.
Can't recall the last time a game or movie was capable of invoking that feeling of uncertainty and dread.

Stranger things as an example, demigorgon was scarier when it was in the shadows and you barely catch glimpses of it, by last season things are in full day light and all the missing details your imagination used to fill in is now completely out in open and makes it look like just another CGI thing.

this.

 

[porchrat]

I’m thinking of Diablo IV vs Diablo 1. The butcher was scary as hell in the 1st one, and general ambiance felt far more immersive and disturbing. The graphics in IV were spectacular, but after a while I hardly noticed them anymore and the game felt pretty repetitive.

You were a lot younger and the whole genre was new to you.

You also didn't have the Internet feeding you guides you can follow like a braindead lemming, making your approach to the game far more meta.

 

[Cray]

You were a lot younger and the whole genre was new to you.

This is a good point, I remember first playing Alone in the Dark with a good sound card, that opening scene with the music and sound of foot steps on gravel, creaking floorboards etc.. It really set the mood

 

[porchrat]

Poeple in South Africa are not scared of the dark anymore as we are now exposed to crime all times of the day. What used to make games so scary.

Low light. Candles. Torch. Bloody knife = Scariest Games.

Survival horror games went from escapist fantasy to SA Grocery Run Simulator

 

[Defiler]

I don't think it's so much the graphics, but games have definitely lost that suspense and thrill that older games had. Old memorable games like Alone in the dark 1-4, Alien vs Predator 2 (played as marine) etc had me crapping myself when I played at night with the lights off on my first 5.1 system. Only newish games I can think of that gave me a similar thrill is The Forest and Alien Isolation... Modern games just seem to suck in general, so I'm mostly playing definitive and remastered editions to give me that nostalgic feel, just at 4k now.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I mean this is all a bit like the argument for the more photo realistic something becomes in games the worse off we are for it.

Grass for instance...in most cases in the real world it looks like ass, if you bring that into a game the whole thing looks like ass.

Sure there is something like too much and then it goes entirely the other way, but general speaking you want to retain the "art" side of games otherwise it becomes pretty bland and boring.

I think back to how **** scary Alone in the Dark was when it came out...I think it might have been the first polygon-based game that existed, but definitely the first one I played.

Now I look at this...

And I ask myself how the hell were you scared of this? But you operated completely in a realm of fantasy and therefore filled in all the blanks for yourself. Sound also played a massive role...as this as 16-bit audio was back in those days.

Now make it photo realistic and the exact opposite happens where you see something and immediately go "but reality doesn't work like that" and you immediately disengage for it being unbelievable.

Similar to slasher horror movies and why I hate them is because the victim will breathing like a ****ing pool pump that caught air behind a dry wall full of holes and the antagonist with the chainsaw will be on the other side of said wall and magically can't hear them or find them. Immediately it becomes a comedy for me because it's so bad and ridiculously improbable.

Compare that to movies that do less and leave it up to your imagination to build the tension and those are far scarier. Case in point a piece of magic in cinematic execution is the curb stomp in American History X which never happens on screen...but you see it all in your mind.

 

[Tongs of Destiny]

Hows this... new to me :

Pretty sure graphics card is on the way out as the screen randomly goes off and one has to restart the pc to get it going again.
Anyway, plugged the HDMI cable into the video out on the motherboard to test things (graphics card still plugged in)

Playing Fallout 4 and was like, holy crap the 4k graphics are identical so why buy a GPU! Then the pc screen went blank etc.

Pulled the card out and the game now runs at like 10fps

So even with your GPU plugged in and using the onboard HDMI, your PC will use the GPU to compute all the info.

Never knew that.

 

[Moosedrool]

HL Alyx - they actually removed some portions because folks were crying about it being too scary... whatever that means

Ruined some of the areas for me because those crabs are fantastic in VR.....

They need to make another VR spinoff.

Half-Life Jeff
Entire game with Jeff hunting you.

It’ll be scary as hell and it’ll piss off all the HL3 hopers.

 

[cguy]

You were a lot younger and the whole genre was new to you.

You also didn't have the Internet feeding you guides you can follow like a braindead lemming, making your approach to the game far more meta.

I was in my 20’s, so not a kid or anything. Perhaps all the demon imagery is just passé at this point.

 

[RiaX]

I won't lie horror games are getting too scary for me now. I used to like them but damn the fear factor is dialed up so much now.

Maybe I'm getting old but honestly I dont want a heart attack playing games lol

 

[Bliksis]

Is this a left or right kind of poll?

 

[Herr der Verboten]

I mean this is all a bit like the argument for the more photo realistic something becomes in games the worse off we are for it.

Grass for instance...in most cases in the real world it looks like ass, if you bring that into a game the whole thing looks like ass.

Sure there is something like too much and then it goes entirely the other way, but general speaking you want to retain the "art" side of games otherwise it becomes pretty bland and boring.

I think back to how **** scary Alone in the Dark was when it came out...I think it might have been the first polygon-based game that existed, but definitely the first one I played.

Now I look at this...

And I ask myself how the hell were you scared of this? But you operated completely in a realm of fantasy and therefore filled in all the blanks for yourself. Sound also played a massive role...as this as 16-bit audio was back in those days.

Now make it photo realistic and the exact opposite happens where you see something and immediately go "but reality doesn't work like that" and you immediately disengage for it being unbelievable.

Similar to slasher horror movies and why I hate them is because the victim will breathing like a ****ing pool pump that caught air behind a dry wall full of holes and the antagonist with the chainsaw will be on the other side of said wall and magically can't hear them or find them. Immediately it becomes a comedy for me because it's so bad and ridiculously improbable.

Compare that to movies that do less and leave it up to your imagination to build the tension and those are far scarier. Case in point a piece of magic in cinematic execution is the curb stomp in American History X which never happens on screen...but you see it all in your mind.

I found the controls to be the scariest in this game knowing what is coming / trying to avoid dangers

However, for example playing silent hill 2 the remake on pc - for it is more terrifying using the 90s filter than its default presentation. Something in that "reshade" just makes it even more tension and claustrophobic.*

Also, SH2 doesn't shock / jump you to death, it plays on you already knowing something is about to happen with its frequency audio and visual cues. Your mind then fill in the gaps once you let go and immerse yourself. I think to date it is probably one of the games with the most tension I've played so far.

Yes, I did alien isolation, but it just didn't work for me in more ways the one...

Only other title which played me well was original dead space 1.


***
To add: Dishorned 1 and 2 was more unsettling in sepa / black and white than its colorful self. If this is true for some titles, hell even quake 1 is amazing in black and white, then "smooth graphics" does take from them, right?

This even works for some films ergo event horizon or hellraiser where the stark presentation overshadows. I mean there is just something about a black and white nosferatu vs 16x the details. lol.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I found the controls to be the scariest in this game knowing what is coming / trying to avoid dangers

However, for example playing silent hill 2 the remake on pc - for it is more terrifying using the 90s filter than its default presentation. Something in that "reshade" just makes it even more tension and claustrophobic.*

Also, SH2 doesn't shock / jump you to death, it plays on you already knowing something is about to happen with its frequency audio and visual cues. Your mind then fill in the gaps once you let go and immerse yourself. I think to date it is probably one of the games with the most tension I've played so far.

Yes, I did alien isolation, but it just didn't work for me in more ways the one...

Only other title which played me well was original dead space 1.


***
To add: Dishorned 1 and 2 was more unsettling in sepa / black and white than its colorful self. If this is true for some titles, hell even quake 1 is amazing in black and white, then "smooth graphics" does take from them, right?

This even works for some films ergo event horizon or hellraiser where the stark presentation overshadows. I mean there is just something about a black and white nosferatu vs 16x the details. lol.

Silent Hill wasn't scary for the graphics, it was that bloody radio noise in the mist along with other sounds like pyramid head scraping the damn axe along.

Quake 1 is an interesting mention because while it didn't really try to be a scary game it did have some moments of tension especially because of the soundtrack.

Loved Event Horizon.

****

Another game that was legit scary to the point I didn't actually play it very was was Outlast.

And then something else that wasn't scary as such but quite on edge for it's visceral nature and not really having been done before was that game where you moered people with pipes and ****....I cannot bloody remember the name now I feel like it was also a single word. Condemned.

 

[RaptorSA]

HL Alyx - they actually removed some portions because folks were crying about it being too scary... whatever that means

Ruined some of the areas for me because those crabs are fantastic in VR.....

It's impossible to explain to someone how f**ing pants sh*tting VR is if they have no way to try it themselves.
Sadly, my VR headset broke just after I played a round of Plasmophobia (old Quest 1, the OLED screen on that thing is still the best for dark games)
It was just the tutorial in the beginning, nothing actually happened and I almost shat myself.

That section in HL Alyx where you have to crawl around and be quiet to get around that giant headcrab thing was one of the best experiences of my life.

 

[rustypup]

That section in HL Alyx where you have to crawl around and be quiet to get around that giant headcrab thing was one of the best experiences of my life.

Absolutely... also the darkened room with the crabs all around... just perfection.

Sadly - HL Alyx stands alone. Haven't met another VR title with the same level of detail or engagement. Plenty fun ones, sure, but nothing even close.

 

[Herr der Verboten]

This is a good point, I remember first playing Alone in the Dark with a good sound card, that opening scene with the music and sound of foot steps on gravel, creaking floorboards etc.. It really set the mood

@SauRoNZA

...btw alone in the dark is free to claim for next odd 22 hours at gog

Welcome to GOG.com | best PC games DRM-free

Download the best classic and new games on Windows, Mac & Linux. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies and 30-day money-back guarantee.

www.gog.com

 

[SauRoNZA]

@SauRoNZA

...btw alone in the dark is free to claim for next odd 22 hours at gog

Welcome to GOG.com | best PC games DRM-free

Download the best classic and new games on Windows, Mac & Linux. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies and 30-day money-back guarantee.

www.gog.com

Yeah spotted it in the free games thread yesterday.

Whether I’ll ever play it is another question.

Should actually fire it up and let my kids have a go and see how they respond.

 

[w1z4rd]

To me a scary game is Subnautica or something like that. Thats done with recentish graphics. Even minecraft on hardcore can get my heart going.