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For example, weapon upgrade mechanics might seem like a good idea in a Frictional horror game. 'It's this high concept that is dictating what you should do in the game, and what you shouldn't do ,' says Grip. Developers on games like thatgamecompany's Journey and Minority Media's Papo & Yo also start with an emotional goal first. Grip acknowledges that horror isn't the only genre in video games in which designers begin with a high-level concept, then create mechanics with the purpose of conveying that concept. From that point, additional mechanics were added to serve the ultimate emotional goal. The developers and designers built their horror game from there. 'You want to start with how you want the game to be, the type of horror you want to do.'With Amnesia, the team at Frictional did decide on the most basic mechanics, such as the first-person perspective and physics-based interactions. You want to start with how you want the game to be, the type of horror you want to do.' 'While horror games can come from that direction, that's not really, I think, how you want to do it.

'There's a basic design tip - that you don't start with the story, you start with experimentations, prototypes, then you make that into a game,' Grip says.

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'But a horror game, which is very different, I think, from all other genres, is about 'Is this game scary?' You're not as much looking into figuring out how to make your gameplay mechanic better or more fun, but rather 'How can I make the game scarier?' The gameplay mechanic is almost sort of a side thing.'

'The biggest thing is that when you're doing a horror game, you're going for a special emotional punch that you're not doing in other games in the same way,' he says.Ī shooter or a platformer, for example, have a basic, core gameplay loop - there is a focus on 'fun' which relies on the effectiveness and subjective quality of that loop. Frictional acknowledges that horror isn't about 'finding the fun' firstDesigning a game for horror is unique to designing games in other genres, says Grip. This isn't a definitive best practices list, but these are just a few things that have worked for Grip and Frictional. With such successful designs from the Frictional team, we recently chatted to Grip about a few aspects of horror game design. The studio is currently at work on Soma, which, if the trailers are any indication, will crank up the intensity and fear found in the studio's previous games. Grip is creative director at Frictional Games, the Swedish independent game studio that developed the horror adventure games in the Penumbra series, as well as its breakout title, Amnesia: The Dark Descent. In the meantime, you can check out our rankings of every Resident Evil game (opens in new tab), from worst to best.For a man who conceives of video games that scare the living daylights out of me, Thomas Grip seems like a pretty affable guy. 'For the last 15 years, I have basically been doing first-person versions of Resident Evil, and it is awesome to finally have an official version of that.' The demo had many things in common with other weaponless horror, but it still managed to have that distinct Resident Evil feel to it. 'I recently played the demo and I think they had a really nice spin on the first-person horror genre. Now, Resident Evil is taking a stab at it, and Grip couldn't be happier. The first-person perspective has become ever-so-popular over the years with games like Amnesia, Outlast, and Alien: Isolation. With all the games Resident Evil has influenced, it's interesting to see the next game in the series, Resident Evil 7, take an approach that is very familiar to Grip and other horror developers. Resident Evil builds so much around letting each section of the game have it's own mood and story, and that has been extremely influential.' It can also be less intense sections for instance, simply walking outside and hearing crickets chirping. Resident Evil is filled with great examples of this, like the first dog encounter or the shark attack. What I mean by this is that you think of your encounters less like elements of a level, and more like a certain emotional scene you want to convey. 'I think one of the most basic features is to have a very scene-centric design approach. 'It has been a guiding light for pretty much everything I have done,' he said.

#Games like amnesia the dark descent series#

The impact the survival horror series has had on him has been nothing short of huge. In addition to his love for playing the games, Grip told me that his passion for Resident Evil has informed every horror game he's designed.