amnesia the dark descent walkthrough ign

Sound, either in the form of background music, on-screen or off-screen sound, often builds suspense and provides warning cues to the player. Restricted or awkwardly incomplete camera angles also are common within the game and cutscenes. Lighting in-game tends to be gloomy and dark, while the environments are typically claustrophobic and suffocating. Most importantly, key elements of cinematics such as lighting, sound and camera are as characteristic of Survival Horror games as they are in horror film. Horror film has equally important conventions that have transitioned to horror games. Western horror fiction most often relies on action and gory horror, while the Japanese tradition prefers to emphasize more to psychological horror, but both themes are present in modern-day Survival Horror games. Similarly themed horror fiction works by author Edogawa Rampo emphasized the Japanese style of horror and also inspired later games. Lovecraft's affinity for investigative stories and 'journeys into the depths' can be clearly seen in the subsequent game genre. Lovecraft, whose stories eventually defined the literary genre.

Many of these video games are inspired by the works of American author H.P. The Survival Horror gaming genre draws storyline themes directly from traditional horror fiction. Foundations in Other MediaĪn artist's rendition of Cthulhu, one of H.P. that the player pieces together throughout the game.

In-game strategy often revolves around puzzle solving and item collection to continue through levels, while storylines often manifest themselves retroactively in the form of diary entries, audio recordings, etc. Traditional Survival Horror games usually take place in a hostile and disturbing world in which the character is isolated from any allies thus, the games tend to be single-player. Due to these limitations, the player must often rely on evasion tactics and hiding to avoid death, because enemies tend to be too powerful and/or numerous for the player to confront them. There are typically limitations on the character such as speed, strength, inventory capacity, and methods of defense. The gameplay in Survival Horror focuses on survival of the character and the overcoming of adverse situations in which the odds are stacked against the player. Through the character, horror elements are targeted at the player to cause effects similar to those in horror film: suspense, stress, and vulnerability, among others. By emphasizing the weakness of the character and the contrasting power of the enemy, the genre forces the player to adopt a more prey-like attitude than in most mainstream games.

Importantly, a central aspect in Survival Horror is the helplessness and vulnerability of the main character. Several key elements of traditional Survival Horror games set them distinctly apart from games of other genres. The Survival Horror game genre is in many ways defined not by its mechanics, but rather by its emphasis on overarching thematics and tones. A quintessential survival-horror scene from an important game in the genre, Silent Hill.

Amnesia the dark descent walkthrough ign