One dark winter evening, when lanterns began to light on a snowy street, and people hurried to hide from the frost in their cozy apartments, I grew more comfortably in an armchair with the aim of a little spiritually enriched and read an authorship of Peter Strawub. The cute cataucheshka curled up on my knees, the life -giving seal with the aroma of forest berries warmed me, frozen after an evening run. Black gloomy night and a picturesque syllable made my imagination seethe as if a deep ocean during a frantic storm ..
Survival Horror – unusual genre. It is very strictly referred to gamers, sometimes without forgiven mistakes and putting forward strict conditions for obtaining maximum pleasure from the gameplay. I will talk about the development of this genre and its many branches. I hope you will draw new knowledge, and my efforts will not sink into oblivion. Ready? Let’s go!
Good illustration of differences between Survival Horror from Action Horror.
The concept of Survival Horror is much wider than the ordinary gamer seems. Its elements are present in many now popular games, sometimes mixing diametrically opposite genres, while combining the common theme of fear, which goes into the gameplay into the background, for example in the horror shutters WITH.T.A.L.TO.E.P., Left 4 Dead, F.E.A.R., Doom 3, Singularity, Dead Island, Killing Floor, Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi;Platformers Limbo And Deadlight;psychological action triller Alan Wake;post -aphenchura Lone Survivor;quests Still Life, Walking Dead, Lucius;sandboxes Dayz, Infestation, 7 days to die;ACSHENSHER The Last of Us;Arthaus The Path..
The cultural influence on the origin of the horror genre in computer games was provided by the work of eminent authors – masters of the “terrible” syllable. These are the “gloomy” stories of Edgar in the software, mythology of Ktulhu Howard Lavkraft, “shocking” novels by Harlan Ellison and other writers. The topic of survival was disclosed in detail in American horror films of the 70s, where the deadly confrontation between the protagonist and the maniac was mainly depicted. Do not forget Japanese culture, theater, cinema and literature that formed the psychological branch of the horror genre in the East. The writer’s activities and criticism of Taro Hirai, better known under the pseudonym Edogav Rampo, greatly influenced the evolution of the genre. Thus, two countries have a decisive influence on the formation of horror and topics in the world-Japan and America. It is between the creations of developers from these countries that we will move during the narrative, not forgetting, however, about domestic games.
“The Man-Ten” is the first Japanese book that I read from beginning to end. I like Hirai Tarot, not without reason he took such a pseudonym: Edogava Rampo – Edgar Allan by
– Brothers Strugatsky “Lame Fate”.
Game Haunted House 1981, released for the Atari 2600 prefix, is considered the founder of the Survival Horror genre. The player should get out of the house, collecting several items and avoiding enemies, of which there are three types in the game: bats, tarantulas and ghosts. The gameplay was involved in the lack of confrontation with enemies, each of which had unique behavior. In the second half of the 1980s there were many games with horror tematics, for example Castlevania, Kenseiden And Splatterhouse, But they all had similar gameplay elements with other games of that time. The latter, by the way, is distinguished by a large amount of bloodshed and terror, despite the Beat ‘Em Up genre with a slight accent for survival.
Shryou Sensen: War of the Dead, published in 1987, is another representative of the early Japanese horror. Unlike any game of the early stage of the development of the genre, War of the Dead not only combined elements of various genres, but also brought the new one: the game was present in the game and the conservation system, which is rare for the games of that era. The most curious thing is that War of the Dead was ahead Resident Evil, Having become the first Japanese horror on survival at the zombie apocalypse; Silent Hill, recreating an entire city available for research; Deadly Premonition, By introducing the concept of a change of intra -game time.
So many innovative ideas for the distant 1987!
It is worth recalling about Sweet Home, RPG from Capcom studio for the horror Japanese film of the same name. The game was one of the first to use the elements of Survival Horror and is considered one of the ideological inspirers Resident Evil. In addition, this was the first attempt to create a frightening atmosphere in the game through a “terrible” story, “terrible” rollers, a frightening embosses and a spectacular sound accompaniment. The gameplay is focused on solving various puzzles using objects stored in a limited inventory, fighting or fleeing from terrible monsters.
Four years later, Infogrames Entertainment SA, as a result of rebranding bearing the name of Atari, released the game, Alone in the Dark, the first in the genre of Survival Horror. The player in the role of Edward Karnby explores a mansion with a large number of monsters and secrets. The features of the game were three -dimensional models of the characters, a twisted plot, a fixed camera that creates a feeling of cinematic shooting, the opportunity not only to fight monsters, but also to block their blows, notes and books explaining the plot were introduced into the game. Many of these elements were later used in the games of this genre. To date, the series has five games, but not one has done such a breakthrough as the original.
The main source of inspiration by Alone in the Dark was the work of a cult writer in the horror genre, one of the founders of the Fantasy genre, the creator of the myths of Kntulhu, the poet and journalist Howard Philip Lavcraft, whose works significantly influenced the development of the Survival Horror genre. Impressed by his work, such popular series as Penumbra And Amnesia, Games Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth And Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness, A lot of references to his work contains a mystical quest Scratches, as well as the previously mentioned series of SPLATTERHOUSE Games.
This is what the first three -dimensional horrors looked like.
In 1994, the first full -fledged three -dimensional horror called Doctor hauzer, Exclusive for 3DO, inspired by Alone in the Dark. The game has an innovative graphics for that time with the rudiments of personal animation. The player can switch to the top view, from the first or third person. Doctor Hauzer became the progenitor of many Japanese horror films and one of the ideological inspirers Resident Evil.
Clock Tower – Another popular Japanese series of games affecting the confrontation of a defenseless sacrifice and an armed maniac. Among the features of the game are procedurally generated levels and random, expressed in hidden objects, the deaths of various characters, plot scenes.
However, we approached the peak point of development of the genre – the appearance of the two most significant representatives. Before this, you should mention good game creations that have completed the last century. This is one of the early representatives of the “gloomy” quests Dark Eye, inspired by the stories of the already mentioned Edgar Allan Poe;adventures of brave KGBSHNI in Nocturne from Gathering of Developers, publisher of the immortal Max Payne and Mafia The City of Lost Heaven;Confrontation of prehistoric creatures in the trilogy Dino crisis and Japanese role -playing game Parasite Eve.
Regina cosplay from Dino Crisis.
Rolletto-casino.co.uk />In 1990, the twenty-five-year-old Sinji Mikami, now a respected game designer and founder of Tango GameWorks, was hired by Capcom. Starting with video games based on Disney cartoons, the Japanese created a Resident Evil, which was destined to become a cult and fundamental in the genre of Survival Horror. The tie the first part of the game follows all the canons of the genre. Again a huge mysterious mansion. Fighters of the special detachment s.T.A.R.S. the mysterious murders are investigated with the abandonment of those eaten victims. Incomprehensible dangerous creatures flooded the rooms of the mansion and kill the surviving team members. It turns out that the ominous company Ambrell conducts its unkind research. And the remaining fighters in the detachment are forced to join in confronts with infected people.
The game provides two characters available to choose: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Of course, Jill looked preferable, having two more slots in the inventory more than Chris’s. The game has a special hardcore treatment system by mixing herbs, another integral element of the genre is included – puzzles. I will not spread much by the “resident”, I will only say that the website lies on the wonderful story of the Resident Evil series, everything is stated there is available and interesting. As for me, after the third part, the series went into the slope of the action and began to interest me less. But good, I don’t argue.
At the very end of the twentieth century, the cult horror Silent Hill, who conducted real experiments with psychological impact on the player. Its development was accompanied by a conflict between the developer of the game Team Silent and its publisher, Konami. The publisher needed good profit and popularization of their project in the United States. Developers, who were in a creative crisis, wanted to create a breakthrough in the genre by pressure on the emotions of the player, skillfully borrowed the ideas of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King.
The released Silent Hill offered the player a real test: a weak main character, a flashlight with a small radius of lighting, the absence of Hud, the famous fog that kills visibility. Another feature of the series is the magnificent soundtrack of Akira Yamaoki. In the future, Akira will actively and very fruitfully cooperate with Mary Elizabeth McGlinn, who became the “excellent voice of the series”. The result of their joint activity is many songs included in the official soundtracks to many parts of Silent Hill (for example, the author of this post is nothing more beautiful than the notorious Room of Angel). The game is also known for its abundance of endings, including comic, alien. Critics warmly accepted Silent Hill, calling it “an insolent clone of Resident Evil with a different form of intimidation”.
The famous fog of a quiet hill.
A few months later, I saw the light System Shock 2, first -person cyberpanic shooter. It would seem, where is the horror? However, the Irrational Games, together with the Looking Glass Studios, managed to create an intellectually (if I may put it), the injected atmosphere of hopelessness characteristic of the entire cyberpan. Ringing silence and frightening emptiness reign on board “von Brown”, a super -light spaceship. A successful combination of fascinating history, anxious sound support and role -playing elements gave rise to a whole cult among fans. Well s.X.ABOUT.D.A.N., I think all the oldfags remember.
“It is obvious that the most brilliant visual design of the game and the exciting atmosphere are frightened. Worthy opponent Resident Evil and Silent Hill “.
– IGN review, August 1999.
In Japan, meanwhile, new series of games gained popularity Forbidden Siren And Fatal Frame. Forbidden Siren is a hardcore series of games from the creators of Silent Hill, telling about the transformation of the inhabitants of a peaceful Japanese village into a shibido – terrible monsters. Fatal Frame was another study of a huge mansion and the disclosure of its dark secrets. In addition, the Land of the Rising Sun produced enough horror and continued to release the already favorite series. Perhaps this is another topic for discussion. GHM-GHM. Well, I am not a fan of Japan, understand me correctly.
Survival Horror genre leaves complete freedom in creating a gameplay. The younger brother f.E.A.P. Condemned: Criminal Origins, For example, he widely used hand -to -hand combat as one of the elements of gameplay. Penumbra trilogy and Amnesia that has not left it: The Dark Descent preach a complete rejection of the confrontation. Frictional Games games are absolutely helpless and shy.
Local fauna in Penumbra: Black Plague.
After all, it is not necessary to scare monsters and screamers or a terrible dominant atmosphere. Unexpected plot move. For example in the game sequel of the film The Thing With the same name, the horror of the blood test was oversized. What if it turns out that your friendly, with whom you have made the whole game, is infected and will soon turn into an evil “something”. And the next game based on Lovecraft myths Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth annoyed the unknown and threw a bunch of not answered questions into the player: why are the inhabitants of the town of such unsociable? Why do they have such a specific appearance and t.p.
Having mentioned so many famous writers, one cannot help but recall the science fiction writer Clive Barker, who personally wrote the script for Clive Barker’s Undying And Clive Barker’s Jericho. Despite the failure of sales, Undying was highly marked by critics, it is considered a game that gave a powerful impetus to the development of horror.
“Cruel and terrible game, with blood fountains and otherworldly demons”.
– Review of Game Revolution, February 2001
One cannot help but recall the history of the prisoner Tork from The Suffering. The possibility of turning the main character into a monster fell in love with many players, some even consider this game the best in 2004, bypassing Half Life 2.
The Suffering is able to scare today.
In 2005, the recognition received a typical American horror movie with stupid teenagers in the main roles, transferred to the game framework – Obscure. In the same year the light saw Cold Fear -Action Corror from the authors of Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare. The game had standard intimidation techniques and a banal plot. Was coolly perceived by critics due to comparison with the Resident Evil 4 in favor of the latter.
At the sunset of 2008, the release of a beautiful and thoughtful horror took place Anabiosis: Dream of reason From the Ukrainian studio Action Forms. The game was remembered by visual effects, realistic physics, coupled with a complex, multi -level plot. Maybe someone will say that this is not a horror, the idea is borrowed from The Thing, and opponents are exceptionally stupid boobs, but every gamer should familiarize himself with the game, considering himself a connoisseur of good games. Anabiosis possessed an exciting story about the unfortunate fate of Soviet polar explorers, modern technologies, which forces players to remember and nostalgia, even six years after the exit, even in the absence of continuation.
Very skillfully used the horror elements in his gameplay, a beautiful science fiction shooter Dead Space. The psychological horror Deadly Premonition allowed the player to freely explore a small town, communicate with the characters, and fight with otherworldly enemies. The game implements a dynamic change of day and night, weather conditions, the need of the protagonist for food and sleep. I would like to mention the horror quest Which, in which the player is invited to find a way out of the house, while looking for a girl’s head or heart. The game passes in five minutes and is free to download. It was also a good exclusive for Wii U, zombie survivor Zombiu.
Which may not be aaa project, but you will have the impression of the game after it will remain.
2012 marked the release of two now popular horror searches based on crypts from various forums. A thin person or Slenderman was first mentioned in 2009, and acquired a large fan base, becoming an object for fan fiction and cosplay. The first game, The Eight Pages, was free, but the universal hype required a full continuation, so in less than a year Slender received a commercial version called The Arrival. Simple, like three pennies, the concept of intimidation and creative minimalism blew up the genre and caused a wave of imitators, not one of which, however, managed to surpass the original.
The second horror series is an example of excellent interaction between developers with a responsive community. SCP – Containment Breach Since its appearance, it has been no different from the host of low-quality indie there with an uncomplicated plot. The developers gradually issued updates that corrected unpleasant bugs, and the community created interesting mods and invented the mythology of the universe. Now SCP has already acquired its own wikipedia and continues to actively develop.
“The game somehow manages to be worse than a fresh high-budget horror game combined”.
– Reviews Edge Online, September 2012.
A separate subject for discussion-horror modification. For the most part, Slender’s endless clones that have not been brought to the genre, like Curse of Blackwater, Daylight. Or low -quality, such as Groundkeeper, Pesadelo, Insane Hell Torium, Within Deep Sorrross and others. Of course, how many people, so many opinions, but the Swedish mod to the first holfe, free Cry of Fear;Zombie survivor No More Room in Hell;and “mannequin” of the year Nightmare House 2 – The best modifications for the author of this article. And the soundtrack for Cry of Fear – Brandon McKagan – Memories Death has been lying in my modest player for a couple of years.
Sweden is famous for its talents. One of them is Andreas Rennberg – and made this mod
Last year, the attention of lovers of Indie Horror has attracted the game Tuk-tuk-tuk From Russian ICE-Pick Lodge developers who received the amount for development at Kikstarter. The game received mainly negative reviews of critics, but was positively appreciated by gamers. The game stood out with its pseudo -dimensional graphics and a creepy sappress, creating an unpleasant effect.
In 2013, Bethesda announced The Evil Within. Especially was revenge on the fact that old Sinji Mikami is engaged in the game, who, after the release of Resident Evil 4, was so carried away by the shooters that he even released his shooter Vanquish. The game was very positively appreciated by critics, and Mikami moved away from the “brick affairs”. Fortunately, not for long. The game turned out to be in the spirit of the old school of horror with a terrible emboss, interesting locations, competent supervision of intrigue. The main claims were the abundance of cartridges and a lack of stealth, the linearity of the passage and its delay, one ending, and complaints about the black stripes on top and below the screen were received.
The Evil Within, despite the cardinal differences in both the mechanics and in the manner of the narrative, could not avoid comparison with Alien: ISOLATION – The release of these games occurred with an interval of a little more than a week. Creative Assembly positioned the story of Amanda Ripley as “True Survival Horror”. The atmosphere of the first film of the series was recreated, but the stranger in fact turned out to be not as smart predator as it was represented in all kinds of trailers and a preview.
In August of the outgoing year, the list of games with a unique horror mechanic replenished the game Five Nights at Freddy’s, released by an independent developer Scott Couton. The player is invited to spend five nights in the role of a guard in a pizzeria, where animatronics – robots who entertaining visitors to the institution roam at night at night. In the dark, the animals are activated and begins their wandering along the corridors of the pizzeria. The player cannot leave his post, but freely monitors their movements in the cameras and can close the doors in front of their nose. At the same time, it is important to monitor the energy consumption, you will need to start the night several times to study the manners of the movement and habits of the opponents. For example, Chika always goes only on the right side, and Foxi attacks only if you do not watch it for a long time (or vice versa – watch too often). Using an unusual, albeit simple, approach to the Survival Horror genre, Five Nights at Freddy’s quickly acquired a fan of fans, a port on mobile platforms and a continuation of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, published in November. In the second part, the number of opponents and tactical actions aimed at combating them increased.
Unfortunate animatronics
We look at the rest of the horror of the outgoing year: what could have been remembered in 2014? First of all, these are Greenlyite graduates: DREADOUT -positively appreciated by the critics of the Indonesian developers, using the ideas of Fatal Frame;monotonous NEVERENDING NIGHTMARAS;Developing sandbox The Forest;failed daylight;well complementing the story of the original Outlast: Whistleblower;Chikstarter’s child, unique, but too short Among the Sleep.
And what are we waiting? Who creates the future genre? I will insert my five cents into the discussion of future horror. In the future, I have special hopes on: Killing Floor 2, as a pleasant source of memoirs from meat games with friends in the first part;Zombie survivor in the sandbox Dying Light; Silent Hills (The announcement of the ninth part occurred under very curious circumstances – it was enough to go through the horror P.T., an interactive teaser of the game.);It seems “some kind of scammers” in “some kind of underwater setting” Soma;Mysterious Advenchura Fran Bow;Dreamainters Haunted House House, as well as Until Dawn In my favorite Hayden Panetter as one of the victims of the psychopath.
Despite the pessimistic statements, such as “the genre has long died”, “the terrible horror are no longer done” and they show the opposite time. The industry considers it differently, and the number of games trying to frighten the player is growing year after year. Yes, the overwhelming amount is low -quality trash. Yes, not all of them are able to scare. Yes, there are still gloomy titans of loneliness in the world, not afraid of evil, who are unknown to fear, ready to express their good opinion on the first forum that came across. But the fact remains a fact. People are ready to be afraid. People want to be afraid. There are many ways to scare people. And I’m ready to accept the call. And you?
P.WITH. The history of the Survival Horror genre has been there for more than thirty years, but she is not so interesting in comparison with the history of the development of horror literature. If you like this article, in the continuation of the topic I will talk about the appearance, development and popularization of the genre of the horror genre in the world. In the meantime, in the comments you can share your favorite writers in this genre.
P.WITH.S. Separate respect Andrei Artamokhin for promoting the genre on the site!)
P.WITH.S.S. Happy New Year everyone.