How Horror Movies Have Inspired the Scariest Video Games
If you’ve ever played a video game with a horror theme, you know how much these titles can resemble a movie. Indeed, the connection between horror movies and video games is both deep and fascinating. Game developers have always turned to horror movies for inspiration when designing scary video games, and with good reason; these movies have mastered the art of building suspense, manipulating the atmosphere, and tapping into our innermost fears to keep us on edge from beginning to end. As technology has advanced, allowing developers to create games that are more cinematic than ever before, the possibilities for using the fear-inducing techniques of horror films in video games have expanded.
Today’s video games feature jump scares, eerie atmospheres, and psychological tension, all things you’d expect from the best horror films. Games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill are two iconic examples of how the horror genre has been able to move from theater screen to controller without a hitch. Keep reading to learn how horror movies have influenced the design, storytelling, and gameplay of some of the most terrifying video games.
The Origins of Horror in Gaming
We have to go back almost 40 years to trace the history of the first horror video games. It was in the early 1980s and 1990s when developers first began dabbling with themes drawn from horror cinema. One of the earliest horror games, Nightbreed (1990), was based on Clive Barker’s film. While it had a hard time capturing the full intensity of the source material, it did set the tone for what was to come in the horror video game genre.
The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween are just a few of the influential films that have inspired video games, with developers trying to mimic the chilling atmosphere and narrative found in these movies. From jump scares to creepy surroundings, these early games tried to imitate the visual techniques found in Hollywood horror films and opened the door to the modern survival horror genre, where psychological and visceral horror pair up in interactive form.
Poker Rules and Scary Video Games
At first glance, it may appear that poker has absolutely nothing to do with the scary video game genre. While that may be true to a certain extent, there are some strategic similarities between poker and survival horror games. Just like bluffing and strategic thinking are important poker rules, horror games require players to understand the rules and use strategy in order to survive to the end.
In games like The Last of Us or Dead Space, players must decide when to conserve resources and when to fight or flee in the same way that poker players have to decide when it’s time to fold or raise. There’s an undercurrent of uncertainty that runs through both poker and horror games that adds to the tension; players never know what’s around the corner or how one of their decisions might affect the outcome of a game.
Cinematic Storytelling in Video Games
If you look at the evolution of horror games, you can see how the narratives became more complex over time as they were increasingly influenced by the techniques used in horror films. Slasher tropes come to life in games like Until Dawn, where players get to experience what feels like an interactive horror movie and see how the choices they make impact what happens in the story. It’s similar to the formula used in “choose your path” films, where a character’s survival depends on their decisions.
Games in this genre have pacing that’s similar to what’s found in the movies and use tension and atmosphere to slowly build up tension as the game progresses. Since players get to take control of the narrative through their actions, they form a more personal connection to the story, which can make the emotional impact even more intense. One of the best examples of this is found in The Last of Us, which has a blend of storytelling along with a deeply emotional narrative that creates an atmosphere for players to rival some of the most gripping horror films.
