An Interesting Thing About The New Art Event

[drMightyPotato]

The new infested art event opened my eyes to something. I dont know if DE noticed but most of the artwork the community has submitted is so much into horror theme.

I have to say i like and it kind of reminds of how the infested used to be a bit more horror like quite a while back. 

I wonder what DE has to say about it, altho i know what i will say: i want infested to be more horror like. Make the scary.

 

ps: DE i rly would like to hear your oppinion on this matter.

[KeepOnFlowing]

I'll try and ask them a question concerning this matter on the devstream. I'm also curious to hear what they say. I know I for one used to be scared beyond belief when a group of infested came around the corner.......but.....yeah.....not so much anymore.

Edited May 16, 2014 by BecomeLikeWater

[yles9056]

Infested are like cute puppies running to you and say "Hug me plz! HUUUUUGG ME~~". Though they sometimes become a little crazy.  :|

[AFKrey]

I want to be afraid of infested.......

 

Seriously they should be scary, not scared of a disruptor about to magnetize you.

[PsychedelicSnake]

The problem with making them look scary is that their sheer numbers makes them common. And you know what you never do in a horror game? Make the monster as common as possible. You never do it. That's why I don't think making them look "scary" is going to work here. Not to mention that you have godlike weapons to help you, which also throws off the scare factor.

Edited May 4, 2014 by PsychedelicSnake

[blizt1998]

Back then any missions vs the Infested had a dark atmosphere and disturbing noise. It was crazy.

[Morec0]

The issue with horror is that familiarity breeds contempt. I remember back when I first saw the new Ancients and Hyenas, they scared the S#&$ out of me. But then I did a few more runs against them and I became desensitized to them. It doesn't matter HOW many time DE reworks appearances into something new and "more scary," we'll just end up becoming used to them and unafraid of them all over again.

[PsychedelicSnake]

The issue with horror is that familiarity breeds contempt. I remember back when I first saw the new Ancients and Hyenas, they scared the S#&$ out of me. But then I did a few more runs against them and I became desensitized to them. It doesn't matter HOW many time DE reworks appearances into something new and "more scary," we'll just end up becoming used to them and unafraid of them all over again.

Basically this. There's no point making something more scary if you are just going to end up getting used to it. That's why games like Amnesia and Machine for Pigs were so successful at what they did. You weren't allowed to look at the monster without being penalized or the monster did not show up often, making it difficult to get used to them and therefore keeping the scare factor.

[Morec0]

Basically this. There's no point making something more scary if you are just going to end up getting used to it. That's why games like Amnesia and Machine for Pigs were so successful at what they did. You weren't allowed to look at the monster without being penalized or the monster did not show up often, making it difficult to get used to them and therefore keeping the scare factor.

 

HOWEVER! I'm not saying that DE SHOULDN'T strive to make any new Infested creatures (or any updates to old ones - ala Phorid/J3) terrifying to look at via body horror, because that jolt of fear I mentioned about the previous two is HELLA FUN! More or less, I'm just saying that the player base shouldn't go around complaining that "Infested aren't scary anymore! What the hell, DE?"

[PsychedelicSnake]

HOWEVER! I'm not saying that DE SHOULDN'T strive to make any new Infested creatures (or any updates to old ones - ala Phorid/J3) terrifying to look at via body horror, because that jolt of fear I mentioned about the previous two is HELLA FUN! More or less, I'm just saying that the player base shouldn't go around complaining that "Infested aren't scary anymore! What the hell, DE?"

True. A good way to help preserve that scare factor would be to make the mobs a bit more rare or function as support.

[drMightyPotato]

True. A good way to help preserve that scare factor would be to make the mobs a bit more rare or function as support.

Make runners and leapers to be common cannon fodder and everything else be rare, powerful and dangerous. The scream from ancients can be terrifying if used right might as well put some extra power behind such beasts.

[OniDax]

They just need to bring the Dark Sector infested into the game.

[Paradoxbomb]

The issue with horror is that familiarity breeds contempt. I remember back when I first saw the new Ancients and Hyenas, they scared the S#&$ out of me. But then I did a few more runs against them and I became desensitized to them. It doesn't matter HOW many time DE reworks appearances into something new and "more scary," we'll just end up becoming used to them and unafraid of them all over again.

 

I remember my first Infested mission, darkness save for the red quarantine lights, swarms of incredibly fast and hard to kill zombie dogs,  lumbering masses of flesh that released green pulses and stole your energy. Good times, good freaky times.

[bejuizb]

I dunno about you guys...but imo, Infested maps SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY LIGHTS. Seriously, rely on your own muzzle flashes, and  flashlights, coupled with the glowing appendages and spots on infested, and you have a much more tense game environment.

Edited May 4, 2014 by bejuizb

[Blatantfool]

I'll try and ask them a question concerning this matter on the devstream. I'm also curious to hear what they say. I know I for one used to be scare S#&$less when a group of infested came around the corner.......but.....yeah.....not so much anymore.

There is more forces at work over that feeling then you may realize.

Horror games typically try to limit the amount of options a Player has to survive a fight. You need to feel helpless. Have a reason to be afraid to investigate a noise or fight back. Horror just doesn't work without you being the weaker party in some sense.

Generally speaking, the more tools a player has at their disposal with which to fight back at anything that means them harm the less scary the enemies will seem. The same effect is had if those same tools the player is putting to use get stronger. It would be incredibly difficult to keep an enemy intimidating no matter their appearance if they're dead in a few pulls of the trigger or with the use of a single skill.

Are you a fan of the Deadspace series by chance? That's actually a really great example of what I'm referencing taking effect. Over the course of the three games the tools the player has to dispatch enemies grow in both number and power. By the third game it really isn't scary anymore without resorting to jumpers since the player is just going to blow away whatever they see with their numerous and powerful guns.

I dunno about you guys...but imo, Infested maps SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY LIGHTS. Seriously, rely on your own muzzle flashes, and flashlights, coupled with the glowing appendages and spots on infested, and you have a much more tense game environment.

I agree. Having darker levels become a possibility could be great.

I also think it's be fantastic to see Infested enemies that fill out bizarre roles, like perhaps an enemy encounter with a creature that can mimic the appearance of a breakable crate or Tenno.

Imagine seeing the lights flicker like a Stalker encounter and having the Lotus tell you she's noticed an incredibly strange reading on the ship with you

Then you get on the Elevator with your squad only to realize halfway up that there is five Tenno on the Elevator instead of four.

[Kaotyke]

True. A good way to help preserve that scare factor would be to make the mobs a bit more rare or function as support.

I wasnt here when the infested levels where truly dark, but they should make infested a bit rarer to appear when they get their on titleset, in a VERY dark place filled with noises that SOUNDS like them, but are not really there.

 

I would use the jump scare tatics, its cheap but better than what we have now, or have an infested that is hard to see but its eyes, you see 2 yellow eyes look at you and VANISHES, if you hear something crawling in the ceeling or in walls... that would spook the newcomers but to make the older players wary, make those noises be enemies that can jump out of said ceeling or wall, not all the time, but enough to know there MIGHT be something there.

 

Or even an level that has a VERY low chance of appearing, you keep hearing the noises and when you finnaly approach the objective.......DEAD SILENCE...... all noise suddenly stops, if you are going to be jumped by enemies then... its all RNG.

 

Or maybe a level that is quiet, you are send by the Lotus to retrive something there, the place seems abandoned, no sings of infestation, just.... complete wreckage.... then you start seeing infested tisure on the ground, or even Grineer/Corpus corpses around, just put a tension music.

 

 Are you a fan of the Deadspace series by chance? That's actually a really great example of what I'm referencing taking effect. Over the course of the three games the tools the player has to dispatch enemies grow in both number and power. By the third game it really isn't scary anymore without resorting to jumpers since the player is just going to blow away whatever they see with their numerous and powerful guns.

 

And I have to agree with Blatan here, it will be scary for the few first times, but with the weapons we (The Veterans) have, it wont be scary for long unless its just jump scare tatics, I remember in Resident Evil 4, when I first fought IT, IT scared the ever living S#&$ out of me, IT made me run away VERY fast, IT actually made me want to stop the game.... IT became a joke once I got my hands on a Chicago Typewriter or the Handcannon.

 

Here where I take my ideas, TVTropes will ruin my life.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NothingIsScarier

Edited May 4, 2014 by Kao-Snake

[douglasdamm]

we really need a mission with a stalker like infested mob, maybe a "collect data storage" but the place is empty, completely sealed with flesh covering doors that need to be cut down. in this mission there'll be 1 enemy that disable all your guns and skills and has some crazy mobility couple with invisibility and is hunting you down (something like SA-X from metroid), maybe this enemy could be blind and only be able to hear you but hes only vulnerable using backstabs, which would slow him down, but he never dies, always chasing down the team that need to cut their way thru the flesh barricades and evade the immortal enemy

[blackraver]

Then you get on the Elevator with your squad only to realize halfway up that there is five Tenno on the Elevator instead of four.

Omfg that would be amazing in a dark or flickering light environment. This "Tenno" would sprout appendages and be vicously strong in melee. Would be terrifying in an elevator

[Ishki88]

Infested Missions now are too bright

 

Imagine playing Doom 3 with the lights being on in your house + Doom 3 itself having no dark areas or shadows

[drMightyPotato]

-snip-

I can partialy agree with the scare statements. Sure once you play it a couple of times it gets dull. But here is also where I disagree.

As a example. Doom 3 is about 80% jump scares to the point where you are not sure whats around the corner unless you play the damn thing several times. But even after finishing the game 3 times I still to this day start to get spooked and scared after just 30 mins of play.

Granted we are all different some are harder to spook than others in either case if a game, or in our case both level and race, are well made I don't see a reason why infested couldn't be more scary.

Imo the darkness that used to be in infested levels gave them some great atmosphere but it was only that. If you ask me if DE added a bit more ingredients into that mix and I could some grade A infested missions where we would be swarmed by a enemy every game but that swarm would give you that all well know primal surge of fight or flight.