Scared to go There!!

[Thaos Nightwind]

Here's something I hope HJ has.

A couple of games I've played had areas, or put me in situations, that were 'intense' or very tense. It's those times when you're close to entering an area or dungeon, or you're already there, and you know that if you don't play your cards right ... you're dead meat. It's a very suspensesive. <----- (Thaos' new word thingy.)

For some I guess that could mean the thrill of pulling individual cretins from a mob untill you hopefully wittle'em down. For others it could be using specific combinations at a certain time ( EQ's heroic opportunities comes to mind). For others still, having level numbers over the heads of the enemy being close to their own, but still higher, and the thrill of the gamble ... 'Should I chance it; or not?'

Or maybe for some planning, honing, tweaking armor and weapon stats provides that 'thrill' of uncertainty. This is a good thing. It adds that adventure, danger, expectancy where you just can't 'call it' beforehand. Even in-game remarks from other players add to the mystery. 'Take the Sonic Mace with you, you'll need it.' :-/

I was looking at the screenshoots of Quillmore Sewers and Quillmore Sewers and it reminded me that there were more than a few occasions, areas, and henchmen types for which games literally had me scared to go there.

Do you recall those moments?

 

[Jaraeth]

That reminds me of rolling a new character and having them start in a new area where I've never been. Filled with dread at every corner for fear that you've wandered too far and too close to a group of mobs that may attack if they spot you. I like those moments, they make the game worth playing.

 

[Wilwarin]

I remember when I was a real low level playing Everquest, I would occasionally get lost in Greater Faydark, having wandered a little too far from the elf town Kelethin. If you stayed close to the town, the mobs were relatively low level, and there was no sound in the background, but if you wandered too far, suddenly the noises of animals croaking and this dark, mysterious noise that sounded like an evil wind rustling through the trees would rise up around you, and man, it was scary as hell. The worst is when this happened and I suddenly found myself being attacked by something a higher level than me, and I knew that I would end up dying in the middle of nowhere (This was before I knew about the /loc command). That feeling of fear, where you feel your heart pumping out of anticipation of what lies ahead, is one of the greatest things a game can deliver. It's like the pinnacle of immersion. I really hope HJ delivers when it comes to these kinds of moments.

 

[Gate]

I love the thrill of eeking my way further and further into a dungeon knowing that each next turn could send me running screaming or even kill me. I take it very cautiously, (but I delve none-the-less) and so usually death isn't a likely result, but it could happen if I miscalculated or had some bad luck. Without such experiences a game loses much of its interest for me. Those times really prove how much you care about your character. When you feel genuine fear for pixels on the screen- that is a truly transcendant moment.

 

[Jaraeth]

I was just talking to my roommate about what they thought of the 'scared' feeling, and compared it to "what if it was for your own MMO?". The answer he gave was very much related to Everquest, and the half-elf (I think) city, where outside, and during the day, there's low level mobs like fairies and other critters & mobs. However, at night, the undead rose from their graves and the area became level 40 or so. Then, to travel at night, you had to walk and escape them, if possible, or use "invisibility toward undead" (supposedly different from complete "invisibility".

I like the idea of the mobs changing around depending of time of day or night, and the level with them. THAT would make it a bit scary.

 

[Thaos Nightwind]

Those times really prove how much you care about your character. When you feel genuine fear for pixels on the screen- that is a truly transcendant moment.

You know, I never thought of it like that but you're correct. Same with Wilwarin and that 'sense' of fear, suspense, danger etc being a full immersion factor and the other very good points regarding that.

I also thought Everquest II was pretty good at providing this type of immersion on an ongoing seeming unpredictable basis. Those Skeleton's and Owl Bears, as well as the sewers, were a serious 'fear factor'. Even after you would graduate a level, so to speak, there would be another appropriate group further into the zone!! That's a hot feature because you couldn't just maul your way through an area. The areas would span multiple levels.

 

[Ashvirenza]

About 8 years ago at the age of 5 I used to play Doom a lot on my playstation. There would be times where I knew around a corner would be some dark foe waiting for me. I would stop and prepare myself then slowly inch around the corner and jump as soon as I heard the telltale scream of an oncoming foe.

Poor me. I gave myself nightmares playing that game. Then again the nightmares helped me by driving myself onward to defeat the very source of these mischievous foes who would haunt my nights and stand in the way during my daily endeavors.

My two cents.

Thanks in advance
~Ashvirenza Stormhood

 

[HJ-Dezorin]

Yeah, but in my opinion MMOs aren't the best at this.

There's an entire thriller/action genre (Resident Evil, Silent Hill), and first person shooters nowadays...

F.E.A.R, Half-Life 2, Doom 3...

FEAR and half-life 2 were awesome for the creepy/spooky/too scared to go into the next room feeling. DOOM 3 for the first time playing was just wrong. After a couple levels you got brave and got used to it, because they just dropped monsters in front of you at every turn... it sort of got predictable. But that first time going through it... very intense.

So yeah. I know what you mean. But not in MMOs.