Stormy Studios have just started production of a new app store game. (I'm a member of the team, hence I have the inside scoop.) We are attempting to create the scariest iphone game to date. 'The Horror of the Dark Asylum' (New name brought about by the input in this Touch Arcade thread. Many thanks. Old title was 'Horror Box'. The premise of the game is that you wake to find yourself trapped in a blood ridden lift/elevator and have to solve a series of cleverly put together puzzles in order to escape and retrace your steps and find out whats going on. The game play will be similar to your normal point and click adventures, but with a horror theme throughout...Think blood, gore, ghosts, creepy children, and screams, lots and lots of screams. (Edit: feedback in this thread, has made the game become more psychological horror, and less gore... we are listening). The user interface will allow you to swipe to spin round the 360 view (currently the inside of the lift). Clicking to investigate items and retrieve collectibles. (edit: will include other environments and disintegrating walls..and shadows) So I guess I'm looking for any feedback. Does it sound like the sort of game (if made right) you'd want? Whats the cleverest and scariest things you've seen in a game or movie? And lastly... here's a early production video showing the user interface in its early stages....apologies for the video recording, and the initial menu (just been changed today) it was purely made to get feedback from some other Developers. But it gives you a very rough idea of how the game will look and feel. I hope you come back to see how the game develops as we go forward... Hoping for Valentines Day release.
As a horror writer/publisher this is right up my alley. I'd definitely be interested in this when it comes out. For me, the best horror game, the one that really scared the crap out of me was Clive Barker's Undying. It used very simple things like sounds, reflections in the mirror of things that weren't there, as well as a compelling story to ratchet up the dread. It's not the blood that scares, but what leads up to it being spilled. I don't have the time right now to go in depth, but I'll make a post in awhile with some suggestions.
Phew... You @!$#¥*! Now I have to get out my Undying copy and play it again... but hey, it's my favourite from long ago, too. And also try Amnesia - The Dark Descent for PC. That scares the hell outta you.
honestly, i don't think "Horror Box" is a decent name... Maybe a name that doesn't directly suggest horror or scariness. say... "pandora's box"? does it have to have the word "box" in it?
I loved Undying, too, mostly for the same reasons Scott suggested. I would add that the game did a great job delivering an experience that was both disorienting and grounded. It's easy to make a game where you have no clue what's going on. What's hard is making it so that you feel you get it -- till something comes along to upend your understanding. My other big favorite is Silent Hill 2, which manages to implicate the player in the horror that is unfolding around him, rather than making you simply an innocent victim. I think if you can define a character who is trapped, rather than making it an every man, you'll be on your way to making something special.
This yes! I think that ALOT of blood doesn't make it scarier. Think about things that scare people, like clowns, mirrors or i dont know, haha im just saying some random things. Play with their mind and make them scared with what they see and hear. Anyways, I will deff buy it. I love horror games!!
Mind tricks scare people. What scares me the most is you'll be scrolling through a scene and somewhere in the background you can see a figure of a person. You're not interacting with that person and it is merely in the background. ... But once you scroll away from it and you scroll back, something is missing. That shadowy figure is now gone. Little things like that scares the nickers off of me, since it aims at those who are observant towards details... and makes you think that you are not alone. Basically it makes you think that something is going to pop up in front of you. ... but that would be too easy. It is far more entertaining to have something "Always" in the shadows. I mean sure the shock effect of something popping up is scary... but it is only for that moment. ... However if something always makes you think that there is something in the background and possibly left unsolved (Unless you REALLY want to dig... maybe a bonus game) Then that will cause true fear.
Psychological horror 10 points, blood and gore 5 Thanks for all the really helpful replies. I think I agree with you all. I've been writing some of the on going story for the game this evening, and I guess I'm leaning towards 'what was that' horror over the 'bloody, guts piling out onto the floor' though we may add some of that now and again for good measure. For those of you not sure about the name 'Horror Box', suggestions most definitely welcome. As the main icon has not been properly designed yet so open to better names. The name needs to be memorable, short enough to display the full name below an icon on the iphone, and sum up the whole game. Horror Box, came about after some Q&A, basically its a horror game and each scene will like a box. (sort of). Other front runner was, 'Point Horror', as its a point and click horror game. (but its also a range of horror books...and we did'nt want to step on anyones toes). As for scary things to show in the game, thinking along the lines of kids singing nursery rhymes as they skip passed you, but they're gone before you can really work out what your looking at. Flash backs sequences, possibly still interactive or just cut scenes. i remember playing Max Payne, and one scary bit in it, where your character is drugged up and your running down a corridor that keeps stretching out in front of you with the noise of a crying that your trying to find to save from a fire...very trippy and creepy...
OT just a bit, but gog.com has Sanitarium on sale for 4.99. Yet another great horror game from the past. Been thinking about this and as long as you have a good story, responsive controls and some good sound engineering it can be a great game. My comment about the blood was personal preference. There has to be blood/guts in a game to some extent, so long as the build up to that is sufficient the gore will be more effective. Of course if you're going for an all out blood bath then disregard that. What I loved about Undying was the story. Certainly having Barker himself write it helped, but it was so well done, you just had to keep playing. As SquareZero mentioned, it walked the fine line between reality/unreality (for lack of a better word) and kept you off balance just enough to make it really creepy. The scene you mentioned in Max Payne is something else that came to mind. Also the one bit where he's walking a line of blood (if I remember correctly) in complete darkness. The only problem that comes to mind is since the nature of iDevice gaming is mostly in short bursts, it's going to be hard to maintain any level of dread. BTW a few other things that I've found creepy: The two little girls from the Shining and the elevator full of blood; the little girls jumping rope in Nightmare on Elm Street; and the Cenobites from the Hellraiser movies.
Sounds very interesting! I'm glad you are going that route! Another creepy scene was in Metal Gear Solid 3 when you were up against the Sorrow. Oh god that creeped me out... walking through the rivers styx while every person you've killed thus far in the game walks past you while moaning in pain... from their cracked necks or their bullet wounds... and throughout the entire game, you can pan the camera angle on some of the cutscenes and you can see the Sorrow in the background giving you hints on the game. Can't wait to see how your game turns out .
I'd definitely suggest not using the name "horror box". Why? Because it reminds me, as well as others I'm sure, of those cheap "X-in-one gameboxes" where developers cram a few crappy games into one app and attempt to sell that for a lower price. If I saw your app in the appstore I would not even view the description, I would immediately think it's a "3-horror-games-in-one app". Also "horror box" is highly uncreative, and tells nothing of the game you're making.
As for a memorable title. The title would have to run a chill up your spine when reading it out loud. Usually these titles depict the unknown. Like IT! Or the THING. ... or maybe The Omen. Those are some memorable titles, but probably copyrighted lol.
Yeah, I'm about to play it again now too until the WoW expansion comes out Tuesday. If my laptop could run dark Descent I'd play it in a minute. Maybe Santa will be good and replace my 3 y/o lappy.
ooh..yeah... the two kids in the shining.. they were scary...that whole film was pretty much spot on for slowly building the fear factor. Here's Johnny... Your other comments make alot of sense, I'm ver happy with the user interface now, as is seems obvious how to use it with out a tutorial, working as you'd expect for a touch device, and its designed to limit loading times between scenes and selecting items. Hopefully you'll maybe endure one 10 second loading time for about 30 minutes of gameplay...varying a bit for older devices. Storywise, I'm writing it so that it scares me, it now hints at dead children in the lift (which freaks me out a bit) and I guess thats the only way I can do it... I'll perhaps get some feedback on the story but at the same time I don't want to ruin the game as they would probably be the same people I want to test the game too.
Its all in a name.. Thanks for the feedback on the name... the comparison to a cheap 3 in 1 horror movie box set has give the name 'Horror Box' the boot...originally I wanted 'Trapped' but its taken. and I dont want to go down the iTrapped route or anything... Maybe the ideal name will come about when finishing the story... How about 'The Horror' Otherwise something like: 'The Bloodline' , 'Unknown', 'Repent', Tricky, I also want to be able to imagine it up there in the top 25...and I dont see any of those names making it for what ever reason. I know full wellits damn near impossible to make it that high up the charts, but if your making a game thats your goal either way. 'Grisly Manor' was a recent top 25 point and click hit. edit... Horror Box might may still be the proper title. We've grown a little attached to it...and I think it does describe the game enough to make you click to know more its a horror game, it starts off with you in a box perhaps add a tag line e.g. 'Horror Box' the children of fallen.
I like the idea of things lingering in the shadows and sounds coming from different areas of a room.. and yes, I do like the occasional "where'd that thing go?" only to suddenly appear in front of you or right behind a door you open. A good dose of subtle eeriness and sudden 'jump out of your chair' once in a while is the best horror combo - more effective then overuse of blood and gore. Don't know how many old timers are here, but some examples of games that scared the hell out of me: Illbleed on Dreamcast - the single most twisted bizarre game I ever played. There was gore here and there, and lots of dark humor, but when it came down to the scares - omg amazing (one of my favorite games of all times). The developer (Japanese) passed away a few years ago.. damn shame. Other good examples: The original Clock Tower (with the scissor dude chasing you) on PS1 or 2? I forget.. but again, frightening and Fatal Frame...photographing ghosts...the two sisters..etc.. Now if you want to go REALLY far back and prove that even the most lo-res, blocky retro game can scare you out of your chair. LucasArts had a game called "Rescue on Fractalus" for the Atari computers (I think the C-64 too). Basically it was a search and rescue mission on a hostile planet. You'd navigate planets, land your ship, and rescue stranded astronauts who knocked at the ship's hatch to signal they want in. You'd hear the knock, wait a bit, then they'd climb aboard and you continue. Every once in a while.. you'd hear a knock but instead it would be an alien which of course, poor you did not know... and you'd wait for the there for a sec to see if all is clear then, BAM the thing jumps right in front of you. Trust me, you NEVER get use to it. You jump every time. Cheap thrill, but so damn effective back then. It was the talk of the game industry during that period. Oh - sorry --- went off a bit... but I'm looking forward to this horror box game.. sounds good so far.
