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Cecillia

... Scary?

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Admittently, I've been recently around little, the Moogle Cavern also has had discussion about the newest of the Doom legacy. I have two words.

Not scary. The enemies just seem... rather non-threatening. The zombie solider shots I've seen don't seem terribly impressive. This isn't because of lack of work, just the design... doesn't do it for me, personally. They look too modelled. Pretty, yes, but realistic? Their only saving grace will be if they explode nice. Even still... I think the original sprites look more imposing in comparison. To each their own, though... (I thought RE1's looked more like they had skin inflamation that zombies, too. I'm harsh. Evil.)

... I swear, if it doesn't have the classic, pink bulldog demons, I won't get it. You can't get rid of them. Yes, they're non-threatening pepto-bismal pink but they have a charm... even Doom 64 bothered to have them (albeit purple, but, meh). Bring on the evil pink demons from Hell!

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In that same right, however, the monsters from Doom weren't that scary either, at least not to me. It's all in how they are placed within the game that causes them to be frightening or not. Only time will tell, really. As for the classic pinky... well, I'm sure that somebody will start making some sort of mod or add-on with the classic enemies almost as soon as the game is released.

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yeah, the way I was scared of monsters in doom was not by looks, but where they were placed. like pain elements in large open areas (the void, doom). Much scarier if you know that getting by a monster you know is there will have a chance of you getting killed.

I won't judge this aspect until I actually played.. if done well enough, I won't really pay attention to the looks of the monsters..

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Cecillia said:

(I thought RE1's looked more like they had skin inflamation that zombies, too.


Heh. Bloodrayne had the same problem.

Also, the Old pinky is being replaced by an updated version, and I think you'll be pretty scared if one of them is chasing you...

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DOOM 3 isn't meant to be scary. It's all about fun. I mean, if real-life doesn't scare me, there isn't anything within a game that I'll be scared of.

Cecilia's statement reminds me of someone who said Osama bin Laden isn't a terrorist. I've got to admit that this guy isn't terrifying at all (IMO), but he is as close to it as can be.

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Zoorado said:

DOOM 3 isn't meant to be scary. It's all about fun.


Sure it's about fun, but Doom3 is meant to be scary. I think it was Tim Willits who said something like "The aim of Doom3 is to scare the crap out of you." (Not direct quote)

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Cecillia, have you played the leaked alpha? I can assure you that it was the most terrifying gaming experience I've been through, and that was just the alpha.

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Cecillia said:

... I swear, if it doesn't have the classic, pink bulldog demons, I won't get it. You can't get rid of them. Yes, they're non-threatening pepto-bismal pink but they have a charm... even Doom 64 bothered to have them (albeit purple, but, meh). Bring on the evil pink demons from Hell!

Well, since we've already seen the Doom 3 demons, and they're brown with cybernetic parts on their rear end, it's pretty safe to say the pinkys won't be there.

So if you really want to miss out on a really great game for such a minor reason, then that's obviously up to you. To each their own, after all...

Actually, come to think of it, some enterprising souls will undoubtedly make models 'n' skins of every single one the classic Doom monsters within two months or so of Doom 3 being released :)

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AirRaid said:

Sure it's about fun, but Doom3 is meant to be scary. I think it was Tim Willits who said something like "The aim of Doom3 is to scare the crap out of you." (Not direct quote)


Well, maybe. But to me, all games that try to be scary will fail miserably, cos there's no freaking way I could ever be afraid of something in a videogame. But that's just me.

But I'm sure DOOM 3 will be more fun than any other shooter on the market right now.

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Zoorado: Sounds like you haven't been playing the right games then :) Here's a few recommendations:

- Thief 1 and 2. Nothing beats being sure that you've "disposed" of all the guards, only to hear one of them yelling out in alarm behind you. The undead levels are always quite scary too.

- System Shock 2. The first time you trigger an alarm, you're guaranteed to panic. Of course it's still pretty bad any time afterwards.

- The Silent Hill series. If certain parts of these games don't scare you witless, there's something very wrong with you ;)

- The Resident Evil series. Some of the bosses and mini-bosses are genuinely terrifying.


In general, I find that good and creative use of ambient sounds (e.g. echoing footsteps, Silent Hill's radio static whenever a monster is around) can often be far more scary than any bad-ass looking creature.

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NiGHTMARE said:

- Thief 1 and 2. Nothing beats being sure that you've "disposed" of all the guards, only to hear one of them yelling out in alarm behind you. The undead levels are always quite scary too.


Or simply sitting there in the tiniest bit of shadow, hoping against hope that the guard searching for you won't actually "see" you. He leans over, he must be standing almost on top of you now. You (the player) actually hold your breath just in case he hears you, you're scared to move even slightly both in case you move one of the computer controls and in case somehow the guard sees you move. Eventually he leaves and you can finally breathe again.

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NiGHTMARE said:

Zoorado: Sounds like you haven't been playing the right games then :) Here's a few recommendations:

- Thief 1 and 2. Nothing beats being sure that you've "disposed" of all the guards, only to hear one of them yelling out in alarm behind you. The undead levels are always quite scary too.

- System Shock 2. The first time you trigger an alarm, you're guaranteed to panic. Of course it's still pretty bad any time afterwards.

- The Silent Hill series. If certain parts of these games don't scare you witless, there's something very wrong with you ;)

- The Resident Evil series. Some of the bosses and mini-bosses are genuinely terrifying.


In general, I find that good and creative use of ambient sounds (e.g. echoing footsteps, Silent Hill's radio static whenever a monster is around) can often be far more scary than any bad-ass looking creature.


Played SS2. Some portions are shocking, but not scary. Resident Evil is kinda lame, makes me laugh in fact. :)

Haven't played Thief and Silent Hill. But from what I've seen of SH2, it's definitely not scary. Seeing a thick layer of fog constantly surrounding my character pulls me out from the game. What the hell, looks like Heaven to me. :P

So there. I don't get scared by games. Period. Unless I can immerse myself completely into an alternate reality (aka The Matrix), cutting all my connections with the real world, no games will ever be scary to me.

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The fog in SH2 is only outside, and most of the game takes place indoors. In fact, even less of SH3 takes places outside.

Besides, having the creatures pop up practically right in front of you rather than being visible far off in the distance is a lot scarier IMO :)

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EllipsusD said:

In that same right, however, the monsters from Doom weren't that scary either, at least not to me. It's all in how they are placed within the game that causes them to be frightening or not. Only time will tell, really. As for the classic pinky... well, I'm sure that somebody will start making some sort of mod or add-on with the classic enemies almost as soon as the game is released.

Yea true I thought the pinkies by far are were the scariest enemies but only when I had to face them in confined maze like tunnels like i think the the third of forth level in the original doom knee deep in the dead.

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Zoorado said:

Unless I can immerse myself completely into an alternate reality (aka The Matrix), cutting all my connections with the real world, no games will ever be scary to me.



It's a shame you can't do that by yourself. All I need do is suspend disbelief for a while and imagine myself in the world that the game or movie is presenting. The more immersive the game/movie is, the easier it is to do this, but the bottom line is I don't need some hyper-virtual-reality technical system to do it for me. Imagination is far more flexible, far more scary (because it's tailored especially to me) and the technology already exists, and has done so for thousands of years.

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I can get scared easily if I truly want to. Just ask someone to point a gun at my head while I'm playing Tetris, ready to pull the trigger once I lose the game. You bet I will be trembling in fear with every move I make. But then, what's the point? Does that make Tetris scary?
No.

If you REALLY make an effort to immerse yourself into the game world, any game can be 'immersive'. Even Pong (just imagine how you will feel leading a mundane life within an extremely limited compound, constantly getting smacked between two planks). But playing a game is different from writing a literature analysis: it shouldn't require much imagination on the gamer's part. Instead, a great game should grab hold of the gamer's attention and never let go, thereby naturally immersing the player into a virtual reality crafted by the game developers. If I have to make an effort to suspend my disbelief, for the sole purpose of scaring myself, then the object in question (game/movie... whatever) is not scary at all.

That's my perspective.

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I played the Doom3 alpha, actually I was thinking about this the other day. I can admit that, without shame, I haven't been that afraid of a form of entertainment probably since I was in elementary school. I just sat in my basement room, even with the lights on mind you, with my studio head phones on, and was seriously freaked out to move around the next corner. Sure, the enemies are not total real life quality, but they are the best enemies in a game that is out there right now. The graphics, and in my mind, design, save fo maybee silent hill series (which I hate all you euros for because we don't get SH3 here in the US until next month, bastards) are the best in the industry right now. And for the record, that scene with the mirror, I almost pissed myself. The pinkie (And he is still pink... and brown) is by far, (at least the first ten times you meet him) the scariest thing in the DooM III alpha. Last night I had a dream he was tearing me apart. Lots of blood. And gibs.

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I think that games that want to create an eerie atmosphere can grab your attention completely and when you're playing and have almost forgot about reality around you, you're so focused about the intentions of the game that feelings can indeed erupt. But, that depends on if you know the differences of a videogame and reality.

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Scabbed Angel said:

which I hate all you euros for because we don't get SH3 here in the US until next month, bastards

Well, the US usually gets everything else months before us... :)

(a recent exception was Seven Days Later, which came out on DVD in the UK months before it was even shown in US cinemas ;) )

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NiGHTMARE said:

a recent exception was Seven Days Later, which came out on DVD in the UK months before it was even shown in US cinemas ;)

Ummm... 28 days later? :-)

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Well, maybe. But to me, all games that try to be scary will fail miserably, cos there's no freaking way I could ever be afraid of something in a videogame. But that's just me.


Try Clive Barker's Undying or Aliens vs. Predator. If you're not scared by Undying, then you've got.... problems... :p

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Crack 6K said:

Try Clive Barker's Undying or Aliens vs. Predator. If you're not scared by Undying, then you've got.... problems... :p


Yeah, I recently played Undying. That gets pretty horrible in places :) AVP 1 in marine mode is probably the most reflexively scary game I have ever played though.

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Enjay said:

Or simply sitting there in the tiniest bit of shadow, hoping against hope that the guard searching for you won't actually "see" you. He leans over, he must be standing almost on top of you now. You (the player) actually hold your breath just in case he hears you, you're scared to move even slightly both in case you move one of the computer controls and in case somehow the guard sees you move. Eventually he leaves and you can finally breathe again.

Oh man, I had plenty of experiences just like that when I was new to Thief. I had more than my fair share of getting the fuggles scared out of me when I thought I wouldn't be seen and went from shadow to shadow and some guard just happened to see me move, and he went chasing after me. I was always thought it was weird, though, that the guards (or whatever happened to be chasing you) could follow you directly into the shadows, no matter how dark they were. o_o
Good times, though :)

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Sadly, I don't get scared by AvP. More suspenseful than fear-inducing, IMO. Undying, on the other hand, is full of atmosphere. However, just when it's starting to get scary, some poorly-designed monster popped out from the darkness to spoil the mood. :(

"What you can't see, can kill you."
That's what fear is about. Unholy spectral beings is infinitely scarier than tangible monsters. Ever watched Stanley Kubrick's The Shining? A pure psychological nightmare. Subtlety does pay off here, and its reference to America's violent past (massacre of Red Indians) managed to give me a reality jolt, that the world we live in may very well be as disturbing as the movie itself.

A game that starts off by establishing relationships, tinge with specks of joy and happiness, could maximise the psychological impact on the player when the true horror sets in.

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Zoorado said:

Sadly, I don't get scared by AvP. More suspenseful than fear-inducing, IMO. Undying, on the other hand, is full of atmosphere. However, just when it's starting to get scary, some poorly-designed monster popped out from the darkness to spoil the mood. :(


Yeah, the kind of fear AvP induces is definitely more visceral than the likes of RE or Undying. Although I really liked some of Undying's monster designs....

As for the Shining, all it ever brings to mind is having sexual fantasies about the two little girls in the corridors when I was a child.

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NiGHTMARE said:

Well, the US usually gets everything else months before us... :)

(a recent exception was Seven Days Later, which came out on DVD in the UK months before it was even shown in US cinemas ;) )


*Sulking* But its Silent Hill 3! Take 28 days later, please! But not SH3! heh. At least it gives me some time to play the first two again. And as far as fear factor of SH, Doom 3 scared me more, but SH is far creepier (At least from what we've seen so far). I don't thinl that that will change though. Two completely different atmospheres. The abandoned small town thing is a lot creepier, as were the creatures.

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If Undying has the same elements as Hellraiser in it, it's not scary. Hellraiser was awesome, but not scary. I was on Pinhead's side every time after the 1st one.

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