so, i’ve been working on a game inspired by “The joy of creations”, “FNAF” and "The Rake Remastered, but i’ve ran into a problem where my game isn’t scary at all
i’ve tried looking on internet but all answers were obvious and the same like “good lighting” and stuff
Your game already looks like it has a pretty scary atmosphere, but even if a game looks terrible or unrealistic, it can still be scary. What really makes most things “Scary” is the fact that they suspend your disbelief, or leave you on the “edge of your seat”. If it’s unpredictable on what’s going to happen, you can leave people doubting themselves, and in turn, “suspending their disbelief”, which creates horror. It’s really up to your imagination or efforts to implement a kind of suspense. Loud sounds, pop ups, or a sense of fictional danger to the player are good places to start.
Hope your game development goes well. 
Add random jump scares. And make the jumpscare big so they can clearly see it. Lastly sound makes it scary
I would say Firstly!
I think the auditory system in the brain is more closely linked to the amygdala, meaning a scary or unsettling sound is more likely to get a fearful response than an image.
You could always add some unpaid bills and tax returns they’re pretty scary. 
For me, horror is not scary unless it’s like Subnautica. Subnautica is very much psychological horror AND actual horror combined. It’s a great example of a truly scary game IMO.
yea i should add Taxes and Bills to the game
Actually lighting is not the most important thing in a horror game. The most important thing is sound effects. In VHS horror games neither graphics or blood scares the player, sound effects triggers the player’s fear. When a monster gets close you can add loud noises and screams into the game
Try to use sound effects and soundtrack. It will make a game scarier.
i already have that, Sounds, JumpScare, Animatronic Found a player sound, Random noises, i already have all of that but when i play the game it’s not scary for me for some reason
create an atmosphere of suspense. my idea is you should make it scary, but not outright jumpy like fnaf. try psychological horror. something that makes you expect a thing to happen, but it doesn’t and keeps you on edge waiting for it in fear
I think because you already know whats gonna happen so you won’t be scared
JumpScare is a poor and a cheap way to make a player scared for 1 second, it doesn’t make the game scarier itself
Sound design, make random sounds appear out of nowhere when you touch a block or make it appear every now n then, A good sound design goes a long way.
If you playtest it yourself and dont find it scary, its most likely because you made it yourself therefore it is predictable. Maybe get a friend or someone who is a game tester who has never seen anything related to the game before, they will probably give the best advice and you will know how scary it really is
Make it uneasy, it’s as simple as that.
Also, jumpscares suck.
Sound and lighting(<sorry). I made this game that was meant to be a shooter base building game but at night it had this creepy-### music stolen from identity-fraud (pre-audio torching) and it was really dark with only some lights. There were ZERO reasons to be scared. There was no monsters or literally any enemies at all. I think you should try making it 2x darker. And try some more ambient sound design.
