Silent Haven: Hulett’s Defenition of Survival Horror
Hulett’s Defenition of Survival Horror
Tomm Hulett, Producer of Shattered Memories and Downpour gave his definition of Survival Horror when asked by Survival Horror website Hell Descent
Survival Horror is a specific type of horror where the player character is underpowered and vulnerable. The player should feel like their death is a very possible risk. To accomplish this, enemies need to be threatening in a real way—not just scary looking or deformed, but actually able to kill the player. In most action games you are only “afraid” of the enemies if your life is low. In a Survival Horror title, you should be afraid as soon as you spot the enemy. (It’s not Survival Horror per se, but Left 4 Dead’s special infected do this really really well. As soon as you hear a Witch or Tank, your flight response kicks in and you are scared.) But it goes deeper than just the actual, concrete threats—in a Survival Horror game players need to feel like the world itself is against them. This means heavy, suffocating atmosphere. No mushrooms in question blocks here—if you find a weapon or health pack it’s because you lucked out, and you’d better hold onto it because you’re going to desperately need it.