Lots of good points here. Another to consider would be the cinematic aspect, that is to say the use of camera. I know the camera in Silent Hill (at least the first one) was particularly creepy. It was like some creature perched somewhere watching from above.

As mentioned above, to make a game creepy requires evoking emotions that make people feel uncomfortable. The feeling of being watched, or being trapped, or being chased by something unseen and horrible.

One element that I believe can add well to a sense of creepiness (and which may have been mentioned in one of the links above; I have not yet followed those at the time of writing) is the changing of some element or elements in a small but unnatural or awkward way.

The classic, I would say, is the slightly-off gait often used for undead, especially ghosts. Look, for example, at the gait used by the girl in The Ring. The standard shuffling of zombies doesn't quite fit this, I don't think; the gait in question shouldn't look quite natural for a human being, I would say. Perhaps even have the character move in a way that suggests that the joints, while appearing normal, are moving in a way that isn't quite right.

Have one shadow fall at a slightly wrong angle, or suggest a shape not defined by that which casts it, or move very slightly, perhaps just out of time with whatever casts it.

Give a character a slightly odd speech pattern - not one that sounds simply as though the speaker were unfamiliar with the language - incorrect or out-of-date use of idiom, for example - but rather something which makes little sense at all. Perhaps slight pauses in odd places (without suggestion that the speaker is thinking or otherwise distracted), or facial expressions that don't entirely match the content of what is being said.

Place some small, usually innocuous item in a place which, while itself entirely innocuous, is unusual for that item, better yet if it suggests something disturbing.

In a number of the cases that I've given, it may be noted, slightly-off timing is mentioned. Such timing can be, I think, is a useful tool. Consider the sight of moving past a mirror, only to notice that your reflection acts very slightly after you do..

One thing that I've found to get to me is the image of what seems to be a baby or small toddler running quickly and surely. Again, I think that this is an instance of something normal and unthreatening moving in a way that is not normal.

The key, I think, is to not overstate the effect. To great a change can, I suspect, lead to the element being perceived as alien, rather than unnatural. An alien thing is odd and, in the right conditions, may be slightly creepy, but I think that you will find that something that is close to but not quite normal has a stronger effect. Distort the normal, I suspect, and you remove the safety and comfort to be found in the normal - it is no longer inviolate.

This is, of course, my opinion - I'm afraid that I don't have references offhand, although I do seem to recall reading something that suggested this (and may in fact be the source of this opinion).

Oh, and mannequins.

Well, I at least find mannequins to be effectively creepy in some games. Silent Hill 3, for instance, had some mannequins that really got to me (the mannequin-part room in the office block especially, as I recall... *gulp*)

Mirrors can also be useful, as in one case mentioned above - the reflection can, in some cases at least, be a powerful tool. Have the mirror reflect people who are not there, or not reflect the player, or distort their image. Perhaps this is because we connect reflections with reality, map what happens there to what is happening around and to us, and so to have a mirror behave differently, especially if it is suggesting something happening to oneself, could have an unsettling effect, I believe.

I know that I, at least, am prone to being creeped out by mirror effects, especially when I don't know that they're coming - I don't know how general this effect is, however.

Between LessBread and Thaumaturge, I recalled the Uncanny Valley. Essentially a big problem for people trying to make things that are familiar, but fall just short. A robot designed to appear human is often too perfect. The eyes stare straight at you, the skin is smooth and perfect. They are completely symmetrical. At the same time, they move a little out of step. They lack grace and fluidity. They don't breathe, and their behaviors are odd. The designers want to copy humanity, but end up somewhere between too close and not close enough. Instead it triggers our subconscious cues that something is wrong - they're ill, dead, or just not made right.

I think that this can be exploited a bit. Making creatures or people close in appearance and behavior, but not quite right. Either too perfect or such that things don't quite add up. In games, it's hard to make things perfect anyways, but being able to replicate this perception in the context of a game, to have a person that stands out as not being quite right, is a very effective feat.

Edit: Must close tags!

[Edited by - erissian on June 15, 2007 11:32:31 PM]

I think of all of the games that I have played, Half-Life 2 was the most "disturbing" (but, I haven't played F.E.A.R. or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. yet). Sure, The Flood in Halo were pretty stinkin' creepy, but it got to a point that they simply became another enemy to me. They lost their scare-factor. However, in HL2, the fast-zombies and Valve's use of sounds and scripted sequences made the game particularly creepy. Here's my favorite example:

In Half-Life 2: Episode 1, you fight through waves of zombies in a hospital. That alone wasn't all that scary, because the normal zombies in HL2 are pretty funny (especially when they are on fire or stuck through the head with a crossbow bolt). However, after finishing off the last wave, everything got insanely quiet. I walked forward slowly into an operating room, looking all around and getting ready for something to jump out. As I neared the door at the other side and became a little more relaxed, a cable swung down from the ceiling and touched the corpse on the operating table, causing it to flinch and sparks to fly. Without thinking, I spun around and literally emptied an entire SMG clip into the corpse, realizing later that it was actually dead already.

Anyway, my point is, make the player go crazy. Just small details can really make someone feel uncomfortable. A flickering light is an effect that I am most fond of. Sounds like dripping water or maybe a small creak or bang does wonders. I also suggest that you don't let the player know where the sound is coming from. If you can do 3D sound, play the sound behind the player, then to to side, the behind again, then in front of them, then to the side, etc etc etc. They will never know where or what it is.

So, there are my suggestions. Enjoy. ;)

The scariest games I have played are Doom 3 and F.E.A.R.

For Doom 3, the thing that got me the most was when you would be walking through a semi-dark room, and you would like be walking towards a door or an elevator. Nothing creepy or scary right? But as soon as you get to the door, a zombie pops out from a hidden area right beside you. All of a sudden you can barely see him from the side of the screen, but you know its there, and it instantly starts attacking you. The ambient audio from Doom 3 added the the effect tremendously as well.

For FEAR, I think the scariest part about the game was the audio. And the hallucination's were very creepy. The cut-scenes as well. Pretty much everything in that game was creepy lol.

To me, audio and hearing things (like people talking or an argument or really anything) that isn't really there is extremely scary.

Ambient audio like in Doom 3 is way scarier than any music tracks you could ever play in a game.

As a side note: I don't know why, but neither HL2 or HL scared me at all. They seemed more funny lol.

Yeah, I agree. Most of HL2 was laughable. But some of the game was a little bit creepy.

hey, thanks for all your replies, there were lots of ideas I could never have thought of myself! ;-).

Quote: Original post by cemedias
As a side note: I don't know why, but neither HL2 or HL scared me at all. They seemed more funny lol.

Yes, although I love Half-Life 2, this is very true. I think the designers were more aiming for (or aimed for the the opposite but missed) a more "ewww gross!" style than monsters popping out behind your character and scaring the sh*t out of you. Also, Half-Life 2 (and the sequels (I'm totally looking forward to episode 2)) are more aimed at cinematic quality (both in music and art), which is something I think that Doom3 and is a bit shallow on. When you think about it, Half-Life 2 is a LOT more realistic than Doom3, especially on the subject of monsters and monster placement. Although Doom3 was cool, the "monster closet trick" got a bit too old by then end of the game. If there were zombies in real life, they wouldn't be able to seal themselves behind a wall and pop out when you walk by.
The cinematic stuff, however, that I really loved about Doom3 is the music stingers. There's not much in the way of ambient music, but I just love the part where you're in the infirmary and the patient zombie sits up on the bed and there's that awesome orchestra stinger. That was totally sweet. The actual music in Half-Life 2 is awesome, though, and it really gets your blood running (more than Doom 3 anyway).

Anyway, enough of Half-Life2 and Doom3, here's some fun horror tips applicable almost anywhere.

First, horror movies are NOTHING without a soundtrack. Music stingers and such really shock people and bring out the nerve-popping.
Second, sometimes you need to leave things to the player's imagination. Make sure that it is evident in the way NPC's act that something bad is going on. Things like blood trails, dents in the wall, and overturned tables make a good suggestion of what took place in a room.
Third, Silence is golden. If the player is walking around with nothing happening, he's bound to get scared wondering when the next monster will pop out.

Personally when I try to disturb somebody I try to focus on things that are generally taboo and unacceptable in normal society.

Cannibalism
Child Abuse/killing
Odd Fetishes (dominatrix anyone?)

I also like to try bringing up things people tend to have irrational fears over:
Needles
Slimy, sticky, gooey / bugs / insects.

Off-pitch sound coming from people creeps me out as well so I like to bring that up.
Extremely high cackles/giggles from little kids.
Multiple voices from one mouth. Not too different in pitch though. Like one low pitch and the other one octave higher in pitch to get some kind of harmony so the voices blend together but you can still detect them separately if you listen hard enough.

Dirt. Make things dirty. Old and dirty. It gives the illusion that any live/sane/functional person has left the place long ago or cant because something's out there. The illusion of disrepair and utter neglect can set the mood giving a sense that something terrible had happened there.

And I agree with the previous posters. Sound.
Sound is an extremely important thing.
Have things like shuffling, moaning, growling, maybe a guy screaming as he's being munched on /ripped apart be heard from off in the distance. Resident Evil did a great job of this for me and scared the hell out of me when I could hear a zombie moan but wasnt able to see him. The first zombie you encounter where you find him munching on the old BRAVO guy was a classic example. Sudden zombie surprise and then you cant see him anymore. You hear him coming for you but you can't aim.

Crunching glass. Bubbling pots. Whistling steam. Clanking chains in a meat locker! Music is important too. Something soft, slow, eerie.

This is a fun topic. Id like to see what more people have to say on this =)

Quote: Original post by destron
First, horror movies are NOTHING without a soundtrack.

Surely you must have seen the Blair Witch Project? Not one lick of music, not even during the staff roll. Perfect.

I thought the first couple hours of Doom 3 were scary, the first time. After a while, imps leaping from behind closed doors ceases to be the least bit scary and simply becomes annoying. I couldn't finish the game because being victimized by the same ridiculous scare tactics time and again irritated the hell out of me.

The flashlight also annoyed me. There was absolutely nothing scary about having to constantly switch between the flashlight and whatever weapon I wanted to use. Accountants are NOT scary, and neither is micro-managing!

Timing I think is the most crucial approach to making something scary. You want to throw the audience for a loop when they're not expecting it. Make everything seem perfectly okay, and then introduce the obscene. You should build this up with an effectively creepy atmosphere, of course. Get the nerves rattling a bit, ease them down, and then hit the shock button.

There's one very minor scene in F.E.A.R. where you're climbing down a ladder in some type of refinery, you reach the bottom and turn to face the walkway, and Paxton Fettel is just standing there. He doesn't say or do anything; he just appears there. I swear, the first three times I played through the game, this part scared the bejeezus out of me. I reflexively unloaded my shotgun into him, and he exploded into a cloud of ash. The last two times I laughed because I should have remembered, but it was so subtle, and the rest of the game takes your mind off things like that.

The use of lighting and shadows in F.E.A.R. was also amazing. And the ending! The entire final hour of the game just blew me away. I've never seen a more effective cinematic approach then when you finally catch up to Fettel after chasing him through the entire game. And the second-to-last scene where you discover your origins . . . I literally had to stop a minute and breathe, clutching my mouse, because the only thing I wanted to do was put a bullet in Harlan Wade's head. No other game has affected me on an emotional level like that.

Half-life 2 never really creeped me out. I mean, there were creepy moments, but in all the game was about resisting an alien occupation, not killing spooky zombies.

Now, Undying is a great game to play if you want to be scared. It was authored and overseen by Clive Barker, who's renowned as a master horror novelist/screenwright. Hallways with drifting curtains to conceal what lies beyond are particularly effective, and the game did involve a mirror at one point near the very beginning. Anyway, you should check it out.