Gamertell

Clive Thompson had an excellent editorial yesterday on the Wired blog  about horror videogames delivering better thrills than recent horror films. His argument touched on the fact that games are inherently subjective (ie. you are the one in danger, as opposed to vicariously watching a character on a screen be in danger) along with Hollywood’s recent propensity for gore over suspense (Saw, Hostel, etc. aren’t very big on subtlety).

It’s a great read but Thompson only touches briefly on one of the most crucial elements of creating a successful horror experience in either a game or a film -  sound design. Sound is everything when it comes to creating a truly creepy atmosphere. If you don’t believe me, try playing your favorite Silent Hill with the volume all the way down. Even in pitch black, all the twisted beasties chasing you won’t have half the scare effect.

As Thompson’s singular sound mention, Bioshock, is infinitely creepier because of all the voice and sound effects. This is also true of every good horror game of the last decade or so (when CD quality sound really came of age in videogames and production values increased). Resident Evil would be positively goofy without the chilling sound effects letting you know something scary and terrible is near, Silent Hill would lose all of its bite and Doom 3 would just be another romp through the monster closets.

Of course, film directors have known this since the 1930s. For some reason, sounds evokes a much more primal sense of danger and fear in our brains than images. Perhaps this is even more true in videogames, where there are actual consequences to paying close attention to sound cues in the atmosphere – your (character’s) life may depend on it.

Read [Wired] Also Read [Gaming Culture]

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