This study examines how the knowledge of that a game belongs to the horror genre affects the players gameplay experience and choices in the game. Ten participants were recruited for the study. First, the participants had to fill in a pre-study form to make sure that they were a part of our target group. During the data gathering the participant was informed of what kind of prototype they were about to play, either a horror prototype or a puzzle prototype. Then they proceeded to play the horror prototype. To gather the data, stimulated recall and semi-structured interviews were used. The data was analysed with an EPP-method. No significant connection were found between the play experience or the choices the player made and the type of information given beforehand to the participant. A connection were found between fear and expectations, that could be linked to knowledge of the horror. / I studien utreds hur vetskapen om att ett spel är av skräckgenren påverkar spelarens spelupplevelse och val i spelet. Tio deltagare rekryterades. Deltagarna fick svara på en förundersökning för att säkerställa att de tillhörde målgruppen, sedan informerades de skriftligt att de skulle spela antingen en skräck -eller pusselspelsprototyp. Efter den skriftliga förvarningen fick deltagarna spela en skräckspelsprototyp som utvecklats för datainsamlingen. Stimulerad återkallelse och semistrukturerade intervjuer användes till datainsamling. Datan analyserades med en EPP-analys. Ingen signifikant koppling hittades mellan spelupplevelsen eller val deltagarna gjorde i spelet samt vilken skriftlig information spelarna tagit emot innan speltillfället. Däremot hittades en koppling mellan rädsla och förväntningar som kunde anknyta till vetskap om skräck.

This thesis investigates how the color red can potentially affect the player’s perception of horror game environments. The test was conducted by asking participants to play through a horror level made in Unreal Engine 4 which used realistic-looking assets. The study was performed using a mixed methodology of A/B/C testing with surveys and interviews to gather the data. The A, B, and C versions of the test used the same game-level in all versions however the color of the lighting was different in all of them. Version A used white lights, version B used red lights, and version C used red flickering lights. The results revealed that the players found the version with the white lights to be the scariest and the version with the flickering lights to be the second scariest. This was most likely due to the order in which the players played the levels, the version with white being the first that the players played. The players indicated that the realistic colors in version A added to the sense of immersion, whereas the continuous red lights in version B were perceived by some players as overdone or unnatural and would have been better suited for localized areas associated with supernatural elements. The flickering lights were well received by players and associated with a higher potential for danger and jump scares

What makes horror games different from other games is that they bring a special kind of emotion to the player and cause fear in the player. In horror games, players experience great emotional experiences and may experience different emotions such as anxiety, tension, and satisfaction. This paper aims to study and analyze how different players react to and emotionally experience fear, how players derive satisfaction and discomfort from horror games and the reasons that produce these factors. The study uses interviews and biometric data to examine the differences between players familiar with horror games and those who have less experience with this particular type of game. It was concluded that the number of experienced players with horror games also influences the comfort and discomfort, and mood changes players get from the games.

This essay focuses on the possibilities and problems that come with having teleportation mixed with horror and fear and not having monsters in fear games. How it is to play a horror game without enemies and just being able as an Interactiondesigner to relay on the psychological feeling within the player, if the feeling is more than enough if the player him self get to fantasies and let their deepest fright feelings take over. Is there no difference if there are monsters/enemies or not. Is fright and fear already there before you encountering the enemies? These questions are answered as the paper also presents a game in the shape of a course that has been paralleled worked with. The world with the complete and finished game have bin done in the Hammer editor which the game HalfLife2 (VU games/Valve Software, 2004) is built on. The finished game is a result of several user tests from the prototype game and user questionnaires. Fear games are mainly built on humans’ psychological feelings, the imaginations and how one feel. Through strong usage and building upon these main factors to create fear I have worked from that perspective and investigated how I by best possible means, should do to create fear to fright players by not using enemies as main frightening objects. Focus has been on the narrative of both visual and auditive narration. I have also given an account of the advantage and disadvantages with working with the tool I have chosen, how it has affected my work and my result. The Result turned out to be even better than I had in mind and a positive attitude towards my game from all the test persons. They thought it was a good example that a horror game is not bound to have monsters in order to fright the player. I got a loot of good feedback, response and ideas of what I could improve and what was already good. Some wanted more light effects on the first part and others less sound in the last part. By listening to the test persons I started to create and shape the final version of the game. Everyone became scared and felt more or less frightened through all four parts of the game. I also got positive feedback on my theory from the test persons, that teleportation mixed with horror and fear is something that they could consider using more in games and that this was a good start in the right direction.

Puzzles have always been a central part of games. One of the simplest manifestations of a puzzle in games is an obstruction that prevents the player from progressing and an object that removes the obstruction. The system of unlocking new areas with keys is used in order to provide interesting level design and help build narrative in games. This examination intends to provide knowledge and insight into how this type of system is commonly portrayed visually and thus provide a basis for designers to build upon when creating similar challenges, providing a greater awareness of the design norms that are commonly applied. In the majority of the cases that have been examined during this study, text-based information is used to convey the majority of the essential information given to the players regarding the relationship of the key and the lock. In many cases the graphics serve only to highlight important features of the objects and help the player to quickly tell the different items apart in the inventory.

This thesis explores the diverse and intricate ways the psychological horror game genre can characterise a narrative by blurring the boundaries of reality and imagination in favour of storytelling. By utilising the Freudian uncanny, four video game fictions are dissected and analysed to perceive whether horror needs a narrative to be engaging and pleasurable. A discussion will also be made if video game fictions should be considered in the literary field or its own, and how it compares to written fiction in terms of interactivity, engagement, and immersion.

In this study, we will explore how a restricted user interface affects the player experience in survival horror games. To test this, we created a digital survival horror game. The restricted user interface in the prototype resides in the player controller who has access to five different user interface elements. These elements are health, revolver, flashlight, compass and a watch. The results showed that the restriction and making the user interface diegetic did affect the player experience. This was presented through dividing the participant's experiences with the prototype in four categories: Challenge, Analytical, Safety and Control. Participant’s enjoyed the added challenge from the restricted user interface which also helped promote the horror experience. As a drawback, a restricted user interface resulted in participants having a harder time learning the game and understanding certain game mechanics and elements. / I denna studie så kommer vi undersöka hur ett begränsat användargränssnitt påverkar spelupplevelsen i överlevnadsskräckspel. För att testa detta så skapade vi ett digitalt överlevnadsskräckspel. Det begränsade användargränssnittet i prototypen befinner sig på den spelbara karaktären som har tillgång till fem olika användargränssnitts element. Dessa element är hälsa, revolver, ficklampa, kompass och klocka. Resultaten visar att begränsningen och genom att göra användargränssnittet diegetisk påverkade spelupplevelsen. Detta var presenterat genom att dela upp deltagarens erfarenheter med prototypen i fyra olika kategorier: utmaning, analytisk, säkerhet och kontroll. Deltagare gillade ökningen i utmaning från det begränsade gränssnittet som även hjälpte stärkte skräckupplevelsen. En nackdel med ett begränsat gränssnitt var att deltagare hade det svårare att lära sig spelet samt förstå vissa spelmekaniker och spelement.

Gender representation in the horror genre has many interesting discussions surrounding it through multiple perspectives such as psychoanalysis and culture. This article intends to expand the investigation of how female characters are portrayed in horror games. The research on female representation will investigate the potential connections between horror cinema and horror games in the survival horror game Fatal Frame (2001, Koei Tecmo), the first title of a series that is iconic f0r drawing inspiration from Japanese mythology and horror tropes while simultaneously using a large cast of female characters. To gather information about the audience to support the game analysis, an online survey will be released targeting players of the games. Thereafter, recorded, non-commentary footage of the first game, Fatal Frame (2001), will be observed and textually analysed through a framework with data points, based on the background of psychoanalysis, horror cinema, culture, and game theory.

This thesis looks at two invisible characters, the Kaernk from Amnesia: The Dark Descent and the Walrider from Outlast, to investigate how these characters are incorporated into and contribute to elements found within survival-horror games, and how their design affects the player. The thesis uses a close-reading methodology adapted for video-games to generate data used to first describe each of the characters and the scenario where they are first encountered, and later analyze and discuss the data, as well as compare the data from each character to one another. The thesis finds that the use of invisible enemies within these two survival-horror games seems to be an effective way to heighten the fear-factor felt by the players of these games, based on theory about horror. The thesis concludes by stating that these two enemies work very well within these two games, partly due to the absence of combat-mechanics, but questions whether the use of invisible enemies would work as well in all survival-horror games, including those with combat-mechanics. This research could be useful as designing and animating enemies in games is both time-consuming and potentially expensive, and if invisible enemies work within certain types of horror games developers could save both time and money when developing these types of games. For future research, this thesis suggests practice-based player studies to verify claims made based on theory, as well as looking at invisible enemies within horror-games featuring combat. / Detta examensarbete kollar på två osynliga fiender, Kaernk från Amnesia: The Dark Descent och Walrider från Outlast, för att undersöka hur dessa fiender är integrerade i och bidrar med de grunderna som finns inom överlevnadsskräck-spel, och hur deras design påverkar spelaren. Examensarbetet använder en närläsning-metod anpassad för dataspel för att skapa data som används för att först beskriva varje karaktär och det scenariot där de först möts, och senare analysera och diskutera datan, samt jämföra datan från varje karaktär med varandra. Examensarbetet finner att användandet av osynliga fiender inom dessa två överlevnadsskräck-spel verkar vara ett effektivt sätt att höja rädslan för spelaren av dessa spel, baserat på teori kring skräck. Examensarbetet drar slutsatsen att dessa två fiender är mycket effektiva inom dessa spel, delvis på grund av brist på stridsmekanik, men ifrågasätter om användandet av osynliga fiender skulle fungera lika bra inom alla överlevnadsskräck-spel, särskilt de med stridsystem. Detta examensarbete kan vara användbart därför att design och animering av fiender inom spel kan vara båda tidskrävande och kostsamt, och om osynliga fiender fungerar lika bra inom vissa typer av skräckspel kan utvecklare spara båda tid och pengar när de utvecklar dessa spel. För framtida forskning, föreslår detta examensarbete praxisbaserade spelar-studier för att verifiera antaganden baserade på teori, samt att kolla på osynliga fiender i skräckspel med stridsmekanik.