Thesis | lisamortiz

Master's Thesis

"Creating Fear and Anticipation in Horror Games"

Development Info

Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Dev Time: 6 Months

Design Goals

Research Horror Design in games and identify key attributes that create suspense and anticipation in horror games.
To design a small pre-visualization level, which will serve as my Thesis Artifact, that explores learned design features of horror games.

The Research

I've always been intrigued by the psychology of players as they play games, in particular horror games. My main focus was to find some key ways designers engage with and manipulate players' emotions and experience as they play horror games.

I chose to pursue horror games because it is fascinating how in order to continue on with the game or story, the player must take control of the character and move forward into the danger. However, our fight or flight instinct is telling us to flee. This is unlike a movie where you are passively watching things happen to the character on screen, in a video game you are in charge of what is happening to the character on the screen.

Above Image: View of Autopsy Room from door of Morgue Freezer

The Map

Above Image: Simple floor plan for morgue previz level

Because I was creating this level solo, I wanted to keep the space small and be able to reuse rooms multiple times. In limiting the play space, I was able to focus on the event design as well as limit the amount of models needed to fill the rooms.

The areas I created are the Office, an Autopsy Area, and finally a Morgue Freezer. I laid out the rooms in a way where the sightlines could be utilized. For example, the player starts in the Office, then a dripping sound comes from the Autopsy Room. The player can see there is no one else in the building from the safety of the Office yet they also see that the sink in the Autopsy Room has been turned on. We can also use sightlines to hide things from the player. For example having a door slam open in a room the player can't see will make the player imagine they aren't alone.

The main goal for the player was to always keep them moving around the space even when they might be scared to.

Above Image: Top Down view of Player's Critical Path

Critical Path

The player starts in the Office where the player is informed through text that they are in a Morgue where they work the night shift. Below is a list that correlates with the image to the left, and shows the player's Critical Path.

1. Dripping sink in the Autopsy Room that the player must turn off

2. Freezer door bangs in the Freezer Room. The player goes to close the door.

3. Players head to the Office and return through the Autopsy Room to see Tools scattered and one rolls toward the player on its own.

4. Computer turns on in the Office and begins making start up sounds and brings up a deceased person's file on the computer screen.

5. When the player closes the text from the computer a Figure walks across the window and leaves bloody footprints leading to the Morgue Freezer. The player follows the footprints and experiences the haunting of the Morgue Freezer (banging freezer doors, flashing lights).

6. Player hears then sees a ceiling tile in the Autopsy Room falling and blood dripping from the opening.

Scare Design and Inspiration

After researching both video games and some horror films, I gathered a list of "scares" I want to implement into my Thesis Artifact.

I wanted players to be able to interact with the environment so if felt like the player is causing all of these creepy things to happen when in reality I as the dev am orchestrating all the events that happen. It also forces them to take a non-passive stance in the environment and to move forward, they must play.

The interaction system I made utilizes the inheritance system built into UE4. I created a parent/child event system where each event is tied to an object in order to drive the scare events in blueprint. I set up my games functionality as such because I needed all objects to have some common functionality though multiple objects needed to have specific functionality as well.

Above Image: View of Autopsy Room from Exit Door to the Autopsy Room in Engine

Assets

Since the level of aesthetics I wanted to achieve was only to pre-visualization quality, I felt comfortable having to model some assets and create some textures for my Artifact. I did use other assets from the Unreal Marketplace.

Below are some of the low poly models I modeled and textured.