How to make a horror game scary?

Correct me if this is in the wrong topic

Hello! I need some help on how to make my horror game scary, I currently have the main game ready, I just need to make it scary.

I’ve read over a few other forum posts and people tend to say jump scares, but I want to be original. I had my own idea of the playing seeing things and hearing creepy sounds.

The thing is, where? Where would I put this sightings? How would I implement them?

Here is the game link: Trapped In - Roblox
Maybe you can test it out and see where I could put some jumpscares, i’m not expecting you to play the game properly, just look around the map and see, as the game is very hard its self.

Thanks!

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Font looks a bit too cartoony for a horror game.

Is the lockdown you are referring to the covid lockdown? Roblox doesn’t like any mention of covid.

XD.io is a real website, but it doesn’t have much on it, lol.

Also I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but it is quite literally impossible to find more than 2 buttons (turnstiles and arcade machine) without wanting to give up, so this game will probably not have a great player retention.

There is also no way there could be any jumpscares or anything like that without it seeming entirely out of place. Just stick with some darker lighting and creepy sounds.

Yeah, this game would probably be illegal in China or something.

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Hello, I have a few pointers for your game. I find it an interesting topic, with potential!

  • To make your Game Scarier, I feel you should make the Darkness and the Fog Level bigger, so it seems more Enclosed.
  • 666 is a ‘Scary’ Number, but in your Game it is a bit overused.
  • Perhaps you could add more dark colours, as I saw everything was very Grey.
  • Also, add some sounds; make the footstep sound Louder, and add some eerie aesthetic.
  • As @Ty_IsHomeSchooled said, I cannot see any way to add a Jumpscare as of yet, but you could extend the tunnels and if they walk too deep into them, then they could get a Jumpscare Screen which you could do with a GUI
  • The dead People look really out of place… :confused:
  • Lets not encourage people to break COVID-19 Rules and make a stand against the Government, shall we? I’m sure you can change the story with minimal effort and not put the Idea in people’s heads to go outside and explore places which are Off Limits.

1 other thing, I couldn’t find ANY buttons…? Did you add that yet? Or am I missing them?

AridOats.

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Thank you for the feedback, I’m going to change the story line as it’s a bit inappropriate for roblox, and yeah, the buttons are there, I’ll make them a lot more easier to find.

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Well I tested it with @Ty_IsHomeSchooled and there are quite a lot of things to work on

  • Music = you should add some music because it wasn’t scary it was quite boring
  • Gameplay = Like I played it first time so I didn’t know where the buttons were i found 7 buttons and then I quit, some hints/instruction would be nice, and I would prefer to change it to 1st person
  • Map = Map is good, but sometimes i didn’t know what some models are for, I was searching for fuse in whole map and then I found fuse, it was red squere

That’s first felling I have

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Any font recommendations? As the new roblox fonts came out I couldn’t find any font that fitted the game, also, would XD.io be against ToS? Because it’s an off-site link.

Okay, I’ll add some hints around the map on how to add the buttons. I’ll also add some creepy sounds other than music.

Yes probably. And I don’t know exactly what fonts, but even SourceSans would be better, as the current one is just straight up cartoony.

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Textures will always make a low poly game look scary. It is pretty empty at the start so I would add some maybe dead bodies and stuff littered everywhere, maybe add some rubbish as well on the floor. Just make it look as messy as possible.Just putting the words Death and 666 does not make a game ‘scary’ it makes it seem like your trying to make it scary but you are missing the mark. In a game like this, it needs textures. I dont think I have ever seen a successful Roblox Horror game without textures.

I was playing without volume (so i dont know if this is added) but if you add a tiptap when your moving that will really add to the tension.

A good part of a horror game is the space, you allow the character to have too much space and it really just destroys the atmosphere in my opinion, an enclosed area is always good. I think you should also make the game first person and your screen shakes when moving.

Edit: The random blood sploges are always something I notice when testing an upcoming horror game. I think it should show a body next to the blood and not just random blood coming from no where.

Edit 2: Why reference death or 666 if you dont actually die in this game? I was not scared at all when exploring but I have only found 3 out of the 10 buttons? Where are the others? I have looked everywhere.

Edit 4: Another guy joined, the books were not there for him as I had picked them all up already. I think this should probabally be a 1 player game.

To answer your sound question, make them random like the Minecraft cave noises. When ever they were played, they spooped me out. Honestly, if its random you don’t know when to expect them which makes it more creepy. If you know where they are, you will not be scared at all by them as you will expect them. The ability to play the game with friends ruins the atmosphere again by the way, and it also becomes unfunctionable for the other player as everything has already been done for them.

In the room where it says all the buttons, the thing is unanchored and on the floor so I dont know what it says or whether it is necessary or not.

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taller rthro avatars cannot enter the security room (the place where the glass is broken)

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That’s not gonna be there on release.

Hi.
Some parts of your game look too cartoonish, the low poly and some text aspects of it. Being in the subway didn’t make me feel scared, it made me feel like I was playing a puzzle game.
While there is fog, I feel it’s still kinda bright. You should make the lighting more realistic and frightening. Fog and lightening are your bestest friends when it comes to trying to scare people.

Currently, I’d add grime/dirt decals, make the walls look realistic (tiles, graffiti). The map itself feels a bit small which is sometimes good for feeling claustrophobic but I don’t feel this in the map because it also feels and looks oversized sometimes. You could add a sound or jumpscare when walking down the escalator.
I wouldn’t say your game is hard either. I found all but 3 and I had to leave due to time.

It doesn’t seem like you’re wanting to implement a monster or a scary creature but this is fine. Honestly? Fear of the unknown is more terrifying than any monster.

TL;DR/ add detail/realism, resize, adjust lighting/fog.

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you would most likely need a monster with a jumpscare and also make the map a bit bigger, do some puzzles, maybe make it a story if ya would like,

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if you want some creepy music you would need to just put it in workspace and just put the volume to 10 and put the creepy music you would like.

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Fun fact:

xd.com is taken for some Japanese anime and xd (DOT) net, well, I’m pretty sure it’s an unsecure website, as in your computer could get harmed by going there (That’s why I removed the dot).

Might wanna consider changing the name of the website to something random.

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I can’t see the game itself but what makes a game “scary” is the sense of unease or fear occurring for a good amount of time while playing the game. I would recommend adding jumpscares so players are on edge trying to complete tasks so they don’t get jumped. However, jumpscares should be stoppable before hand. Also, don’t make them predictable. Make them sort of unexpected so they get that sense of fear when it happens. If jumpscares are not your thing, then maybe go for a creepy approach. One thing that I personally thing all horror games should have is that it needs to be dark. If you look at 5 nights at freddy’s, bendy and the ink machine, or among the sleep they are all dark for the majority of the time. This makes the player not know whats ahead of them or behind them, it leaves them on edge. Something else I think is important is a good story. Almost all horror games have a story. What I found is that you don’t get the whole story just by playing. You have to find clues around the game that hint to whats happening. Another important thing that a horror game needs is someone or something that is scary. This is the thing that you are trying to get away from for the game. It should be designed in a way that makes the player afraid to see them and want to get away as fast as possible. The final thing is time. Players should not feel like they can just go AFK or that they have all the time in the world to beat the game or move on to the next section/level. You could put a literal timer, which will have them automatically die when the timer hits 0. Another option is your scary monster or person getting harder over time. They might find you faster, or run faster, or whatever you want.|

Places for you to get inspiration: Among the Sleep, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Come and Play with me, and Layers of Fear.

If you don’t feel like using all of these points that is ok, but I really recommend using some of these!

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I actually know this youtube channel that talks about how not to write a story, in a sarcastic way. One video he did was on horror games. His channel is named Terrible Writing Advice, and the video is titled “Survival Horror”. You could watch that video so you know what to avoid.

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Thank you for the amazing detailed response. I’m defo gonna take some of these ideas into consideration!

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I should have probably mentioned music. You really need music because firstly, it just feels plain, which is why I personally think all games should have music unless they have lots of sound effects. The music needs to make the player second guess clicking your game. Not because its bad but because its unnerving or creepy. Go ahead and look for some videos of horror games and their music for ideas. I managed to get into the game and I saw that it is in 1st person. If you cant you should make the curser moveable with code, while not being able to leave 1st person so you can click things. For me its is a bit annoying having a giant curser in the middle of the screen. If you can try and reduce the camera shake while walking too. I will try more of the game late bye.

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