Thursday, November 3, 2016

Special Halloween Meeting: Horror Games!

Happy Halloween!  In this week's exceptionally well-timed meeting, we talked about horror games, and what design considerations go into building them.  We definitely didn't do anything else.  Nope, just had a normal talk, and...




...oh, right.  That.

So Jeremy may or may not have played a game called Sonic Dreams Collection, possibly the most disturbing of all Sonic fan-games (yes, it does have competition).  If you're feeling exceptionally brave, the collection is free to download here.  Just... don't tell anyone we sent you there.



Back to sanity.  In our main talk this week, Jeremy and I talked about the design of horror games, and what makes them different from normal games.  Near the end, I did a case study of sorts on Five Nights at Freddy's, one of the most beloved and be-hated horror games of all time.  Does it do horror well, despite relying mostly on jump scares?  Yes, actually!  Is it a good game overall?  Um... kind of?  I'll let you figure that one out.  Here are the slides!

Finally, here are this week's important announcements:

  • Deposits for GDC are due this week!  If you're planning on coming on our annual trip, email Joseph Corona at jdcorona96 (at) email.arizona.edu to arrange a $100 initial deposit.
  • Galatea Studios, a game development studio right here in Tucson, is looking for a graphic designer!  If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, be sure to apply!
See you next week!

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