Horror fans please help 🙏

Question

I am creating a horror game(or at least doing my best) using C# and Unity. Can i ask you all, what makes a horror game good? Any suggestions help, whether it be: characters, scenes, assets, lighting, what the house should look like, etc. . . So far what I have planned is to be followed by these creepy crawling things and have zombies and alien-like creatures there too. Anything helps.

Answer 1

First person. As I told you, if you are learning, first implement a series of things that are feasible and then add the others.

The zombies are fine, there is no need to add more monsters / aliens. Only organize them in such a way that some are harder than others for the player (add skills or characteristics). The story is still something fundamental because otherwise your game may be meaningless, you can start with something simple, like an escape from a place plagued by zombies. That way you can start really simple and add more things later. In the same way, that kind of story can have any ending that you like: the protagonist becomes one of them, discovers that it was a dream, finds a solution.

One of the most complicated parts of a game is that (or at least for me). If you can not find a story, you may not get the player's attention. Since you do not want to be the classic shooter that is a very important aspect to consider.

Answer 2

Before developing, you should think of a more defined story. Keep things simple and do not saturate them (I currently see many ideas for monsters and it would be more efficient to focus on one and have them have different skill levels).

On the other hand, always keep in mind the surprise elements, such as screamers. And what distinguishes a lot that type of games is the ambience and the sounds, since together they create a very characteristic atmosphere. Many games without those elements would easily fall into another category.

Answer 3

Sounds good. You must define the structure of your levels or the gameplay, I explain:

If the user will be constantly running then you can limit the environment or disable options. Otherwise you can let the player explore at their own risk although, as you are defining the story by levels, in that case you should not add many things that can finish the story there, just enough to handle basic controls.

A minimap can also help in that regard. But that is something that you must add progressively.

Answer 4

Thank you so much for your help!

Answer 5

I will get started on the story soon.

Answer 6

If anybody has something to add though, I’ll gladly listen intently.

Answer 7

Puzzles with random results. Each result could be a new horror surprise.

Answer 8

I suggest you for...
Good Sounds, Story, Night with blinking mercuries or bulb,
and absolutely Don't forget to use Horror scenes from Mirror

Answer 9

What do you think would be better? First person as in you are the guy looking around with his eyes or just be controlling the guy and you just being there watching and following? I’m still open to ideas too. I don’t have any start to a story yet. Btw I don’t want it to be a first person shooter game where you just shoot up the zombies. I want it to be more than that.

Answer 10

Let’s say I want the character to be attacked by zombies in a small town which is seemingly empty. Then the zombies start chasing you and you run from them until you see a man waving at you from behind a door. You walk in and find out that the towns butcher just saved your life and that you are the only two survivors for 30 miles. How is that for a first level? And how do I get the player to understand which way to run? Because if he is just running back and forth he may die before he even gets to think about level 2?

Answer 11

@Jax Just a suggestion, but in most horror games, I find that the atmosphere and any ambient sounds make the player feel uneasy and wary that something may happen, making the game that much more creepy and terrifying.

Answer 12

Thanks Faisal, I will keep that in mind👍

Answer 13

I also downloaded a creepy crawler thing that is very cool. I doubt I can make this game without adding him.

Answer 14

@James Chen
For the horror game? If so, I am creating it in unity so I cannot provide a link. But thanks for the enthusiasm! If you’d like, I could tell you what the town looks like though.

Answer 15

Great use of the envirement, caracters with storys that we don’t get to hear until later in the game, interesting storyline

Answer 16

@Jax np

Answer 17

@Julian
Thanks for the suggestion.👍 will keep that in mind.

Answer 18

My only problem is that I cant find a good enough humanoid asset to be the main character but I’ll keep trying. 😉

Answer 19

"Your game idea sounds incredible! A good horror game relies heavily on the atmosphere—things like dim lighting, eerie sound effects, and sudden, unpredictable scares. Your plan for creepy crawling creatures and alien-like monsters sounds perfect! For extra inspiration, you could dive into some dark, psychological themes to keep players on edge. If you’re looking for more spooky story ideas, check out some <a href="https://readscarystories.com/">read scary stories</a> for fresh ideas to bring your game to life!"