Turn out the lights: how to get scared playing a video game

Living With a Nerd gives some tips on how to maximize your fear while playing scary games.

[Laxman216]

Good idea for an article I think. Nice work.

[pojut]

Thanks!

[Scyrus]

yeah def need this cuz I never get scared of games, never any RE game, silent hill or dead space. fun games but not scary.

[WhittO]

lol I don't have this problem of not sh*tting myself playing scary games, but then I do seem to play with most of these conditions anyway.

Surround sound makes a HUGE difference in any game, but with scary games it's soo much worse with good speakers lol, I literally just turn off the PS3 when it gets too much hahah!

[JohnnyBadfinger]

Nothing is scary when you've seen old people nude...

NEVER EVER will i walk into a public swimming pool change rooms again!

[ct03]

I play games (all genres!) only at night and with no lights on. It's the only way for perfect immersion.

For horror games, these are a MUST:
-> Night time
-> No lights in the room
-> Nobody else in the room
-> Reasonably high audio volume

No game is scary during the day time. NONE. You're too aware of your environment.

[ps3destroyer]

Great idead because there's people who play Silent Hill one and Penumbra and think they're comedic titles.

[Rybakov]

have something that is actually scary and just the typical pop out at you and make loud noise.....but something that really messes with your head

tho i still love all the horror games out there non the less

[Rettom]

Haha Dead Space and FEAR would work best with this...

[dkgshiz]

Those games have mild jump scenes. Other then that they are purely action shooters. Very good games though.

[Motorola]

FEAR is NOT scary. Little girls arent that creepy. Dead Space yeah. Amnesia and Penumbra are on a WHOLE other level

[monkeyfox]

Lights out + weed + headphones = scary

[dirthurts]

Good audio is a definite must!

[Chocoboh]

You don't even need the light off or dark when you're playing Amensia the scariest mofo game on this planet

Like seriously I shit myself playing it, kid games like Bioshock or FEAR doesn't even compare

[soundslike]

eek, Sennheisers, what are we millionaires? lol

they are really bad at the low prices for quality compared to other headphones. By low prices I mean under $300. That's low for Sennheiser.

Audio-Technica has really good quality for the price at the low-mid range. If you go to a music shop or guitar store you should be able to find a decent pair for about 60 bucks. They will be 2 Channel, but still quality. Don't really know much about surround sound headphones, I'm still skeptical of their actual benefits.

[edhe]

If yuo can save up enough for a game then get a good set of lug-coverers.

basic turtle beaches cost less than a game.

Don't have to do much to get good positional audio from games - we're all too used to flat-tv speakers which are generally shite.

i need to sort out my 5.1 again :\

[soundslike]

turtle beaches are corner cutting overpriced POS

but if you want to make 100 compromises just for cheap 5.1 thats up to you.

[edhe]

You were the one complaining about price..

And i didn't say 5.1 headphones. Stereo's good enough to get the effect far better than panel speakers.

[floetry101]

Very nice article. I go to lengths to make sure my horror gaming sessions are uninterrupted. They even made reference to the Rubber Johnny video. If you haven't seen it, type "Rubber Johnny" into youtube. One of the creepiest and downright bizarre experimental films I've seen.

[Blaine]

Just watched Rubber Johnny--alone, in the dark, with headphones on loud. Forgot to put it in full screen though... Probably for the best! Not sure I'd still be able to type a coherent sentence if I'd watched it full screen, alone, in the dark, with headphones on loud.

[ATiElite]

Just pop in Amnesia The Dark Descent and Boo instant scary.

[artynerd]

We need more SCARY survival horror games. RE4 and RE5 were not scary at all. Great games, but too action/shooting focused.

I really miss the creepy camera angles from the original RE games. The slow pacing established the atmosphere and kept you on the edge of your seat.

[Blaine]

Yup. The thing about these action-oriented horror games these days is that, once you're good enough at shooters, the confidence in knowing you can easily take on whatever the game throws at you takes all the fear out of the experience.

Like everyone is saying, I loved Dead Space (was actually surprised how good it was), but the emphasis on action made it too easy and took out all the suspense.

[artynerd]

Yeah man, exactly what you said about being too confident. The slow pace and super limited ammo supply in the old survival horror games made just about ever single zombie encounter a meaningful and suspenseful one.

Dead Space was sweet, but I totally agree with you that it was a bit too focused on action.

[Dragonlord112]

Just don't wake up your neighbors lol

[Squall_Leonhart]

Some very good tips. Horror games used to scare the crap out of me especially with the REmake. Now that game was good, I couldn't even play it without getting the crap scared out of me. It took me a while to muster up the courage to beat it lol.

[Dac2u]

Great audio makes a world of difference. A decent set of in-ear headphones lets you hear things you wouldn't normally hear, even with an on-board sound card. Plus, like the author said, it helps to drown out other sounds.

[Maester07]

If you want a terrifying game which messes up your mind play Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I'd challenge any gamer playing this first time in the pitch dark with surround sound not to be scared.

Also, does anyone here remember Fanastmagoria?

[Dac2u]

The game with like 7 CD's? Yep, I played through it back in 98 or 99, it was a great game, if a little cheesy at times.

[sickshot69]

i usually play in my basement best place to play scary games for me

[Colmshan1990]

The scariest game for me so far was Silent Hill: Origins on the PSP.
I started playing it in the middle of a stormy light, in bed, with the headphones on, and damn near had to change the bedsheets! :P
The way I played it made an average game into a great experience, in my opinion.
I'm downloading Amnesia now, but I won't start to play it until next week. (Doing exams now, really don't think video game all-nighters count as good prep.)
It should scare me, as long as my crappy laptop holds up!