Episode 31 - Survival Horror Games

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Peter is ready to talk about one of his favorite genres, which is coincidentally one of Mark's least favorite.  This week is all about the mystery, the fear, the unknown creatures underneath your bed, that whisper that seemingly came from nowhere.  This week is about the Horror and Survival Horror genre.  We talk about everything from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein up into the modern generation of games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

Peter is ready to talk about one of his favorite genres, which is coincidentally one of Mark's least favorite.  This week is all about the mystery, the fear, the unknown creatures underneath your bed, that whisper that seemingly came from nowhere.  This week is about the Horror and Survival Horror genre.  We talk about everything from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein up into the modern generation of games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

eXn Casual Corner

Episode 31 - Survival Horror

Intro 

  • Mark introduces with eConnXn mission statement

  • Introduce topics at hand

    • Survival Horror Origin

    • Survival Horror Characteristics

    • Survival Horror Classics

Topic 1 - Survival Horror Origins

  • Began popularity in literature with Bram Stoker (Dracula) , Poe (The Telltale Heart), and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein)

    • Violent themes involving murder and guilt, raising the dead, curses, blood consumption

  • Film began with “The House of the Devil” in 1896 where a devil inhabits a manor terrorizing it’s occupants

    • Turning into a bat, conjuring skeletons and ghosts, transforming a woman to a crone

    • Evolves into different subdivisions such as slashers/thrillers/paranormal

  • Games naturally follow in Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark which laid the framework for the first game commonly known as “Survival Horror,” Resident Evil

    • Combined surprise attack from enemies, navigating dark maze like elements, limited resources, puzzle solving under duress, and graphic illustration for the time.

Topic 2 - Survival Horror Characteristics

  • Fear, Revulsion, Fear of Unknown

  • Horror has a heartbeat, use of ambience as well as more forceful methods (like jumpscare) to create a rise, climax and decompression of fear

  • Constant threat whether it be under equipped, overwhelmed or uninformed (mistrust or misdirection)

  • De-emphasized combat, requirement to run

  • Higher purpose (cure the virus, escape the city, find your long lost)


Topic 3 - Survival Horror Classics


DEAD BY DAYLIGHT: MARK DON’T FORGET

  • Resident Evil

    • Zombies, isolation, under equipped, betrayal

  • Silent Hill

    • Unnerving monsters, under equipped, dark/maze like environments, paranormal

  • Dino Crisis

    • Resident Evil but dinosaurs, graphic, fast

  • Fatal Frame

    • No direct confrontation, can’t always run

  • F.E.A.R.

    • Unknown, reflexes required, paranormal

  • Dead Space

    • Isolation, under equipped, difficult mechanics

  • Amnesia

    • No direct confrontation, always running

  • Slender

    • Objective despite fear, no combat

Outro

  • Recap Headlines

    • Survival Horror Origins

    • Survival Horror Characteristics

    • Survival Horror Classics

  • Mark delivers an encouraging and uplifting speech about loving your fellow gamer

Mark StockhoffComment