BA7 | Concept and Pre-Production #10

Sub Genres of Horror

I need to determine what genre of horror I want my hypothetical horror game environment to be placed in. To do this, I thought I would research into the varying forms of horror games there are and try to determine the standard sub genres. Once I have done this I can do more specific research and studies into the focussed sub genre of horror games.

I found it surprisingly hard to  locate a source that gave me concrete evidence in the multiple and varying sub genres in horror games . The best I could find was this website (https://www.worldswithoutend.com/resources_sub-genres.asp) which lists sub genres of horror typically associated in films of a sci-fi, fiction or horror category. What I think will be more beneficial to me is to list off the ones I know relate to horror games and post visuals along side them so that both you and I can get a better understanding of how these different sub genres of horror look aesthetically; because ultimately, picking a subgenre of horror will help me further determine how my 3D environment is going to look!

Lovecraftian Horror: Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a “survival horror game” developed by Headfirst Productions and published in 2005 by Bethesda Softworks with 2K Games and Ubisoft for the PC and Xbox. Although the game does fall under, and can be associated with, the survival horror genre, I have included it as a sub genre known as “Lovecraftian horror” which is something I have been researching for my dissertation.

As I have stated in previous posts, Lovecraftian horror comes as a result of direct replications of H. P. Lovecrafts horror fiction (which is true of Cthulhu) as well as work that is strongly influenced by it.

Main themes include the destruction and overcoming of humanity by godly beings, the concept that humans are but mere specs of dust in comparison to what goes beyond our galaxy, civilisation and understanding of life, the loss of mental stability, demonic families, depression, mythos and magika.

  Trailer for Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth VIDEO SOURCE   

 Various screenshots from Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, all from IGN 

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Post-Apocalyptic Horror: Fallout 3

Fallout 3 was released in 2008 and was developed by Bethesda. The official genre of the game is “Action RPG” but there are certainly horrific and scary environments within the game that could be quite suited in any other horror game.  Dark mysterious buildings, severely limited light sources, disfigured “mutants” (links in the Ivana Muller's theory that audiences are scared of creatures that are closely associated with human figures) such as ghouls, abandoned areas and many other scenarios make for environments and play style which is strongly reminiscent of horror games.

E3 trailer for Fallout 3

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Screenshots from Fallout 3 demonstrating how the post apocalyptic horror is presented, all images from IGN 

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    "Dunwich Ruins" are an example of how Fallout 3 can quickly transofrm into something closely reminiscent of a horror game VIDEO SOURCE  

Splatterhouse Horror: Splatterhouse

(The game is called splatterhouse and the sub genre is also called splatterhouse, it basically means strong intense violence, blood, guts and gore). Splatterhouse was developed by Namco Bandai, and formerly BottleRocket (until 2009), it was released in 2010. The game is technically a “beat ’em up” game but there are strong elements of horror in the game which are closely associated to the sub genre of horror “splatterhouse”.

  Splatterhouse launch trailer VIDEO SOURCE    

 Various screens from Splatterhouse, all from IGN

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Zombie Horror: Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead was released back in 2008 and developed by Valve. Officially the game is a first person shooter but it is also labelled under the horror/survival horror sub genre because the idea is to survive a horrific zombie outbreak, the FPS elements only really refer to HOW you’ll be playing the game. Left 4 Dead is quite comical and the acting between characters is often amusing but there are some sinister moments and darker characters within the game that push it firmly into the horror game category. 

Official L4D trailer

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 Various examples of how horror is injected into the environments of L4D, these are screenshots I have taken whilst playing

Action Horror: Resident Evil 6

Sadly, in my opinion, the Resident Evil series has gone the wrong way in terms of horror as the franchise has evolved over the years. Less emphasis on the horror and a lot more focus on the action, guns and cool heroic moves the macho main characters can do (here’s lookin’ at you Chris). Resident Evil 6 is a prime example of a “horror” game which is infused with action. The game is still classed as a horror but with the dominant action packed features, it falls under the sub category of the same name. 

 Various screenshots from RE6, all from IGN

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Psychological Horror: Silent Hill  4: The Room

Silent Hill 4: The Room was first released in 2004 and was developed by Konami. The game is officially classified as a survival horror game but as I have previously stated, this refers more to the gameplay mechanics and what the player will be doing -surviving - throughout the game. There is a sub genre of horror associated with the psychological affects driven upon the audience and that is why Silent Hill 4: The Room falls under the sub genre. The game aims to affect the player psychologically, by this I mean that the Mise-en-scene, visual semantics, style of play and narrative of the game all seek to manipulate the players emotions an don't always in a positive manner. Psychological horror is supposed to get under the players skin, bring our fears from deep within and force overwhelming senses of anxiety and terror.

    Silent Hill 4: The Room trailer VIDEO SOURCE   

 Screenshots taken from Silent Hill 4: The Room, from IGN

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Sci-Fi Horror: Dead Space 2

Another example of sub genres found within horror is sci-fi, this means a strong association with space, aliens, technology and the future. Dead Space 2, developed by Visceral Games and released in 2011, and has a heavy focus on the sci-fi  sub genre. Although the game is primarily an action horror, with a lot of priorities on action based gameplay, this is still only a representative description of what the player will be doing whilst playing the game. They will be witnessing action. The game still falls under the sub genre of sci -fi horror because of its location, settings, narrative, gameplay, assets and much more.

Launch trailer for Dead Space 2

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 Various screenshots I have taken whilst playing Dead Space 2

  

Surreal Horror: Alice Madness Returns

Alice Madness Returns was developed by Spicy Horse and released in 2011. The game falls under the overall genre of “platformer” but again, this refers to what the players actions more so than the underlying themes of the genre. It is a horror game with strong psychological and surreal twists. The environments are beautiful but also create a feeling of uneasiness and confusion; they are mesmerising.

 

     Official Alice Madness Returns trailer VIDEO SOURCE   

 Various screen shots I took whilst playing Alice Madness Returns which display the surrealism communicated through the environments

Conclusion

I am really happy that I produced research because in doing so I have firmly grounded my idea under a sub genre of horror which enables me to push forward with my main research. Firs of all, lets just briefly recap the subs just incase any were missed and to generally round up the post… 

• Lovecraftian horror: themes include loss of sanity, mental incapability's, the loss and destruction of human kind, other worldly/god like beings, humanity is but a spec of dust in comparison to everywhere else, magika, the unknown and mythos.
• Post-Apocalyptic Horror: themes include the world ending and nuclear war.
• •Splatterhouse Horror: themes include intense violence, gore, blood, bones, death, bodies and more blood.
• Zombie Horror: themes include…well, zombies? ;)
• Action Horror: themes include over powered characters and weaponry, too much ammo and health, no real threat or danger, the ability to kill most obstacles, anything considered “scary” doesn’t stay scary when you have a fully powered hydra in your hands…hmm slightly biased here :’)
• Psychological Horror: themes include mental decay, loss of sanity, intense emotional control over player, uncomfortable situations, anxiety and severe obscurity.
• Sci-Fi Horror: themes include space, galaxies, aliens, technology, the future, time travel, other planets, space stations and other worldly cultures.
• Surreal Horror: themes include surrealism, incorrect proportions, distortions, confusion, unbelievability, clashing colours, mind tricks, optical illusions and other forms of visual trickery.

For my project I intend to create an environment focussing on the blend between psychological and surreal horror as the two tend to mix together in various ways anyway. I want to build an environment that confuses the player with visual trickery but not in an awe inspiring sort of way, rather in a confusing and un nerving way. I want the surrealism to cause the player to feel insecure and out of control within the environment and I want to ensure that it doesn’t seem quite right. These emotions are also portrayed through psychological survival horror games such as Silent Hill and Eternal Darkness. So I guess my sub genre is “psychological surrealist survival horror“.