Comments on: Scare Tactics, p2 http://blog.bioware.com/2008/10/31/scare-tactics-p2/ A look at story-based gaming Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:04:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Sythion http://blog.bioware.com/2008/10/31/scare-tactics-p2/#comment-9 Sythion Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:44:26 +0000 http://bioware.wordpress.com/?p=37#comment-9 Sometimes giving a glimpse of the monster can do more than keeping it hidden. I ran a defacer (MMIV) on a creepy haunted island with lots of creepy effects thrown in to keep the players on edge. When the party got split up, the defacer (who they had been hearing for some time) popped up and killed the npc that the party had been trying to protect. The players had a chance to fight the defacer, but considering his dmg resistance, they really stood little chance. When the defacer attacked another part of the split up group including the two strongest combat characters, they ran away immediately, which I was very pleased with! The rules of the defacer let me bring the NPC back. There was definitely a nervous tension when the party learned they had to hunt down this creature! Sometimes giving a glimpse of the monster can do more than keeping it hidden. I ran a defacer (MMIV) on a creepy haunted island with lots of creepy effects thrown in to keep the players on edge. When the party got split up, the defacer (who they had been hearing for some time) popped up and killed the npc that the party had been trying to protect. The players had a chance to fight the defacer, but considering his dmg resistance, they really stood little chance. When the defacer attacked another part of the split up group including the two strongest combat characters, they ran away immediately, which I was very pleased with!

The rules of the defacer let me bring the NPC back. There was definitely a nervous tension when the party learned they had to hunt down this creature!

]]> By: sittin on my butt playin video games http://blog.bioware.com/2008/10/31/scare-tactics-p2/#comment-8 sittin on my butt playin video games Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:28:00 +0000 http://bioware.wordpress.com/?p=37#comment-8 I think silence is the best way to lead up to fright. When you are walking alon in a forest and the birds suddenly cease chirping etc. I find that puts your nerves on a knifes edge, so to speak. It gives a feeling of imminent danger and allows you to really get them to jump once the danger is unleashed as long as it is done in a way he was not expecting or it is not what he was looking for altogether. I think silence is the best way to lead up to fright. When you are walking alon in a forest and the birds suddenly cease chirping etc. I find that puts your nerves on a knifes edge, so to speak. It gives a feeling of imminent danger and allows you to really get them to jump once the danger is unleashed as long as it is done in a way he was not expecting or it is not what he was looking for altogether.

]]> By: Sohail http://blog.bioware.com/2008/10/31/scare-tactics-p2/#comment-7 Sohail Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:47:36 +0000 http://bioware.wordpress.com/?p=37#comment-7 One of the most important steps in making people scared is to prepare them to be scared. Many games do this by sounds, gestures and other spooky elements. I, in the other hand, think that trying to scare people should come in a slower but more effective way: using story telling, the way horror stories do it. Computer game developers often forget to use story telling as a strong factor in making people afraid. They think if they create frightening environments or spooky sounds, the player will be ready to be scared by the BOO tactic. I think those factors are useless nowadays, because as soon as the player hears that sound, he knows something scary is going to happen. I would rather tell them a scary story, prepare their mind for the fact that a very scary thing could happen to them, and in the place the there are no scary sounds or no other gestures to inform the player of what's gonna happen: BOO. One of the most important steps in making people scared is to prepare them to be scared. Many games do this by sounds, gestures and other spooky elements. I, in the other hand, think that trying to scare people should come in a slower but more effective way: using story telling, the way horror stories do it. Computer game developers often forget to use story telling as a strong factor in making people afraid. They think if they create frightening environments or spooky sounds, the player will be ready to be scared by the BOO tactic. I think those factors are useless nowadays, because as soon as the player hears that sound, he knows something scary is going to happen. I would rather tell them a scary story, prepare their mind for the fact that a very scary thing could happen to them, and in the place the there are no scary sounds or no other gestures to inform the player of what’s gonna happen: BOO.

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