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erer

The naysayers said a whole bunch of nays when last month's topic went up, but, as always, you guys delivered: you talked about stuff you hated without devolving into flaming or trolling, and we got some interesting discussion out of it all.

Where last month was all about hatred, this month is about my other favorite emotion -- fear. "The fear! The FEAR!" asks the question, what scares you in videogames?

I don't just mean in terms of horror games, but what makes you nervous, uneasy, frightened, or terrified in games in general? Is it the nervousness one feels while playing a bullet hell shmup? The feeling of reloading during battle? The tenseness of waiting in the shadows to pounce on a guard? Which videogame antagonist terrify you? Or, is there not enough fear in videogames? 

Hit the jump for further explanation of the theme.

Firstly, make sure to put "The FEAR:" in your c-blog title, and secondly, check the Monthly Musings tag before you set it live.

Since this is a pretty vague theme, I'll point out a past article written by Dtoid staff that would still apply: this one, by Ashley Davis,  is about her real-life fear of virtual water. Though the article is more about Banjo-Kazooie than Silent Hill, it includes a pretty indepth explanation of the poor girl's true terror toward murky water in videogames.

Similarly, Jonathan's post yesterday on underpowered game protagonists had a couple of interesting references to the terror inherent in controlling a weak-ass protagonist who can't go all Niko Bellic whenever he feels like it.

Though I'm definitely looking forward to reading some articles on survival horror games, those don't represent the beginning and the end of this theme: there are a lot of things that have potential to scare us and, perhaps just as importantly, a lot of things that sadly don't, but should. 

Anyway, yeah. Pretty vague theme, and you can more or less come up with your own definition of what "fear" is (I'd personally say that really, really epic scenes make me somewhat "fearful," if only because they give me a sense of  scale and how small I am in relation to the world I'm playing in), but I remain interested in seeing what you guys come up with.

 


Continue: More Monthly Musing stories





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28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

PappaDukes's Avatar
PappaDukes at 10/01/2008 15:23
Man, methinks this is going to be a good theme. Fear is a [i]very[/] subjective term. For instance, since playing the MGS series, I have become fearful of playing "big boss" battles for the first time. Unsettling to say the least.
Scrixx's Avatar
Scrixx at 10/01/2008 15:25
I call dibs on F.E.A.R.
PhazonYoshi's Avatar
PhazonYoshi at 10/01/2008 15:27
Ohai ravenholm :S
Jordan Grim Devore's Avatar
Jordan Grim Devore at 10/01/2008 15:27
So many possibilities. I'll have to sit on this for a while.
eternalplayer2345's Avatar
eternalplayer2345 at 10/01/2008 15:29
Another great theme, I know what I want to do this time.
Scrixx's Avatar
Scrixx at 10/01/2008 15:30
@PhazonYoshi:

I was actually going to do that, I must have beaten HL2 around 8-9 times, and Ravenholm still scares the living SHIT OUT OF ME.

But for me to do an article on it, I would have to play it one more time, and well, FUCK THAT.
sbshootme's Avatar
sbshootme at 10/01/2008 15:35
The Cradle
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 10/01/2008 15:42
Don't lie, you're not going to read any of these.
PappaDukes's Avatar
PappaDukes at 10/01/2008 15:43
I fear BBCode!
AwesomeToph's Avatar
AwesomeToph at 10/01/2008 15:43
Okay, I'll admit that the first time I played BioShock, the Big Daddies and Little Sisters scared the hell out of me. Actually, a lot of the things in that game creeped me out -- mostly the part where you're in the dentists office, you grab something off of a table, turn around... and a Splicer is standing RIGHT THERE STARING AT YOU.

Screamed like a little girl.
Wexx's Avatar
Wexx at 10/01/2008 16:04
So... Are you doing themes based only on Metal Gear Solid bosses now? What's next, the Sorrow?
pendelton21's Avatar
pendelton21 at 10/01/2008 16:17
One word: Chainsaw
A New Challenger's Avatar
A New Challenger at 10/01/2008 16:22
I know there are some great moments from my gaming past that I can draw on, but I can't recall them just at the moment. I'll try to get off my ass and participate this time.
Gen Eric Gui's Avatar
Gen Eric Gui at 10/01/2008 16:34
Ooooooh...

I have a couple good ideas. I think I'll start one right now.
Primo's Avatar
Primo at 10/01/2008 16:45
The music in the castle levels of Super Mario Bros.
Tubatic's Avatar
Tubatic at 10/01/2008 16:51
And I must remind my self that there's a difference between anxiety, tension and fear . . .

I've got a few of these in me.
SWE3tMadness's Avatar
SWE3tMadness at 10/01/2008 17:11
Hmm, this is a tough one. I may just take a break this week, seeing as I did the last four or five months in a row. >.>
thebza's Avatar
thebza at 10/01/2008 17:23
october has 31 days.
NotAZombie's Avatar
NotAZombie at 10/01/2008 18:07
This reload time is exhilarating!
Palidi's Avatar
Palidi at 10/01/2008 19:13
Inb4 "Your Last Life"
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 10/01/2008 19:15
My definition of a good game is one in which the player becomes genuinely terrified when he realizes he's about to lose, regardless of its genre or aesthetics. This is going to be tough.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 10/01/2008 19:20
@Dexter
LOL @ Anthony actually reading Destructoid.
CypherVR's Avatar
CypherVR at 10/01/2008 19:28
Johnny Justice's Avatar
Johnny Justice at 10/01/2008 21:25
Anyone who writes about F.E.A.R. is a big "Wah wah sissy baby"

"Oh no slow motion! That means something weird is going to happen but nothing is going to hurt me!"
nebones's Avatar
nebones at 10/01/2008 22:31
Nothing comes to mind at the moment.
NihonTiger90's Avatar
NihonTiger90 at 10/02/2008 12:00
I've got a few of these planned.
Cowboy TTop's Avatar
Cowboy TTop at 10/02/2008 20:06
For me, its creepy RE music, claustraphobia, and being caught short on ammo.

Apart from that, fear of getting killed before you can save too.
StumpFreak's Avatar
StumpFreak at 10/02/2008 20:12
I think I went a bit of a different way with mine. I hope you guys and gals enjoy it.
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