The Past, Present and Future of Horror in Video Games


We returned to horror this week on the cast. James and I sat down with the designer of the upcoming game When Wounds Bloom: George, for a discussion on everything horror-related.

Horror

After introductions, we started talking about the evolution of the horror genre. From the old days of adventure-styled, to action-horror that became known in the AAA space. We talked about some of the important elements of horror with pacing and tension.

During the cast we also talked about George’s game When Wounds Bloom, as he’s trying to go back to the days of adventure-styled horror games. While the game is still being worked on, George has a pretty good idea of what he wants to make in terms of horror design.

Another major point we talked about was the rise of popularity of “jump-scare horror,” and how the three of us aren’t fans. We discussed why games like Five Night’s at Freddy’s doesn’t work for sustained horror, or even horror in general. Another interesting point was talking about where we think horror will go from here; including talking about if Telltale should make a horror game.

There were a few issues with this cast, starting with me mispronouncing the name of the game at the start. The weather that day seemed to be acting up where George was and I couldn’t remove the background noise from the cast. It was either leave it in, or remove it and have our voices be distorted.

If you enjoyed the cast and would like to own a digital CD of the month’s cast or get a shout-out on the cast, you can find the options on the Patreon campaign.


  • Andrii Vintsevych

    For some reason horror games never scared me, even when I was young. But there is one exception. Aliens vs Predator 1 & 2. For me it’s the best proof that action horror can be really scary.

    When I look at my favorite horror games, they all fall into horror shooter genre. This highlights one thing that is often forgotten in horror discussion. I’m talking about the fact that different people play and enjoy horror games for different reasons. For example, I enjoy playing horror games for the atmosphere, some people are looking for jump scares, other people hate jump scares etc.