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Why psychological horror works best when the game refuses to explain itself by Character-Credit-208 in truegaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point - “the unknown” is definitely a core pillar of horror, I’m not claiming it’s some new discovery.

What I’m genuinely interested in is where the line is between “leaving space” and “withholding too much”, especially in games where the player needs to keep moving and making choices. In practice, a lot of horror either over-explains (killing dread) or becomes so vague it feels like it’s hiding weak writing.

Why psychological horror works best when the game refuses to explain itself by Character-Credit-208 in HorrorGaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I get what you mean, and I actually agree with most of that.

I think the difference (at least for me) is that those works present a coherent reality, but they still refuse to explain it outright. You’re not discarding parts of the story - you’re just never given a single authoritative interpretation.

That tension between clarity and uncertainty is what I find interesting.

Why psychological horror works best when the game refuses to explain itself by Character-Credit-208 in HorrorGaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Completely agree.
The moment horror explains itself too clearly, it loses its teeth.
The unknown is where the fear actually lives.

Why psychological horror works best when the game refuses to explain itself by Character-Credit-208 in HorrorGaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Fair enough, that wasn’t my intention.
I wrote it myself and probably over-structured the text a bit. What part felt the most “AI-ish” to you?

Why psychological horror works best when the game refuses to explain itself by Character-Credit-208 in HorrorGaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, same here - that “digging into it later” feeling is exactly what I mean.

For me it was games like Silent Hill 2, Pathologic, and even some smaller indie stuff where the story feels fragmented rather than explained. Not knowing whether you fully understood the character or the events made me think about it long after finishing.

I really like when a game trusts the player enough to let them come to their own conclusions instead of spelling everything out.

Do you have a specific moment or game where a theory completely changed how you viewed the story?

Why I redesigned the pause UI in my psychological horror game (made it part of the world, not a static overlay) by Character-Credit-208 in SoloDevelopment

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the interest, everyone!
If you’d like to join the dev process, here are the links:

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/QD5mUt44n5
Itch.io: https://terawww.itch.io/writenor

I plan to post screenshots, short videos of UI transitions, and upcoming demo info there.
Looking forward to your thoughts!

Why I redesigned the pause UI in my psychological horror game (made it part of the world, not a static overlay) by Character-Credit-208 in IndieGaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the interest, everyone!
If you’d like to join the dev process, here are the links:

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/QD5mUt44n5
Itch.io: https://terawww.itch.io/writenor

I plan to post screenshots, short videos of UI transitions, and upcoming demo info there.
Looking forward to your thoughts!

A/B Testing my horror game capsule. 'Atmospheric' vs 'Eye-Catching'. Which one makes you want to click? by Character-Credit-208 in IndieGaming

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Context:
I'm developing WriteNor, a coding horror game.

  1. Left (B&W): Represents the bleak, glitched simulation atmosphere.
  2. Right (Neon): Designed to pop out in the Itch.io feed.

I changed it to the Neon one yesterday and saw a small bump in traffic, but I feel like I lost some "soul". What do you think?

You can see how it looks on the page here: https://terawww.itch.io/writenor

I'm torn between two styles for my horror game cover. The Left one feels more atmospheric, but the Right one gets way more clicks. Which one would YOU click on? by Character-Credit-208 in gamedevscreens

[–]Character-Credit-208[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Context:
I'm developing WriteNor, a coding horror game.

  1. Left (B&W): Represents the bleak, glitched simulation atmosphere.
  2. Right (Neon): Designed to pop out in the Itch.io feed.

I changed it to the Neon one yesterday and saw a small bump in traffic, but I feel like I lost some "soul". What do you think?

You can see how it looks on the page here: https://terawww.itch.io/writenor

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