Horror

Frame · Tension & threat atmospheric · visual / auditory / haptic

Horror, shock, the grotesque: the limit of the bearable that the game deliberately touches.

Design question – Your game wants to frighten or disturb. What exactly creates the horror? The creature, the situation, or what you imagine yourself?

Atmosphere

Horror

Sensory field

Sight: the distorted, the unnatural, sudden images, blood/darkness, the grotesque. Sound: screams, sudden silence, wrong noises, dissonant music. Touch: shock, disgust, a racing heart, the urge to look away.

Coherence

Horror needs vulnerability: agents with little power, resources, information. Mechanisms: Hidden Information (the unknown as threat), Timer (time pressure + helplessness), Asymmetry (an overpowering opponent). Activities: Hiding, Escaping, Investigating (under fear). Ductus: alternation between silence and shock. Caution: horror requires consent mechanisms (especially for performative forms).