Horror...

[Gigatron-Prime]

This game has a really good premise for some good horror elements. Just the other day I heard weird noises while doing a corpus level. I happened to be listening to some music that seemed to fit perfectly and the combination just gave me the chills.

We are space ninjas. Space can be a very scary place, and thanks to a plethora of horror and sci-fi films, there can be many a horrific things that lurk in the depths of the void.

Warframe is very flexible in that you can run and gun, go stealthy (as of right now it needs a S#&$ ton of work but DE made it clear they're on it), and if done right, you can even make it scary.

The infested seem like good candidates to introduce some more horrific themes but it wouldnt be hard to imagine some Stalker esque creature in outer space hunting you. Hell, how about a survival mission where your ship has been invaded by this new creature (or just a new terrifying infested) and its basically a race to get the hell out of your ship before your self destruct timer goes off. Just a thought.

Hmm...think the chase scene between carnage octopus at the end of Spiderman for the PS1 or that invincible necromorph from DEADSPACE.

This game has great potential and understandably there is still a lot on the Devs list of things to do. But throw in a little more horror elements or such game modes and the longevity and the fun factor of this game can really soar.

We're in outer space people. Wouldnt some Lovecraftian Cthulu horror S#&$ be awesome? The new ancient infested seems like that though, but honestly, the infested dont really scare me. Why is that?

At the very least, we can experiment with a more terrifying side by starting with the prime candidates; the infested.

TL;DR: I SUGGEST SOME HORROR ELEMENTS IN WARFRAME

[TheErebus.]

Eh...

Thing is though, that Horror would not be considered horror at all in warframe.

Horror is not just some cheap jump scares. Atmosphere, character, designs are all to be taken into consideration. Dead SPace is not scary mainly because the atmosphere is ruined by the action.

Silent Hill: Homecoming has great atmosphere, but it not focused on because of the major emphasis on combat and the same will go for Warframe.

However, I am not saying that warframe should not have any aspect of horror. I can think of very creepy moments that can come with the infested but this becomes VERY difficult to do correctly because if it fails, then it will become a MAJOR downside.

Edited June 1, 2013 by TheErebus

[Gigatron-Prime]

Warframe has great atmosphere for horror which is why I think it can fit. We're in space.

To make truly good scares you need atmosphere, music, and to a degree accompanying gameplay or enemies to compliment. Most important is the atmosphere and music though.

The setting is perfect. The infested levels where the power is out is a great example of Warframes atmosphere that can be horrific.

Here is an experiment to test the validity of Warframe's ability to achieve a sense of horror:

Try playing an infested mission (best horrific atmosphere thus far I think) with some accompanying appropriately horror themed atmospheric music.

[TheErebus.]

Warframe has great atmosphere for horror which is why I think it can fit. We're in space.

To make truly good scares you need atmosphere, music, and to a degree accompanying gameplay or enemies to compliment. Most important is the atmosphere and music though.

The setting is perfect. The infested levels where the power is out is a great example of Warframes atmosphere that can be horrific.

Here is an experiment to test the validity of Warframe's ability to achieve a sense of horror:

Try playing an infested mission (best horrific atmosphere thus far I think) with some accompanying appropriately horror themed atmospheric music.

I do agree that the infested missions are a prime example for good horror, but the same goes for Dead Space.

We're in space. With these creatures are charging at you and can kill you very easily.

Warframe is far more faster paced, and so I can see the horror aspect failing unless to drastically change it.

And I have tried that. It didn't work. Why? Because me firing away with a Burston while listening to horror inducing music immediately failed.

[Gigatron-Prime]

Well, Im not exactly asking for some SILENT HILL or EXCORCIST level of horror. WARFRAME cant really handle that without changing too much. To a degree though, there is room for the creep factor...

[TheErebus.]

Well, Im not exactly asking for some SILENT HILL or EXCORCIST level of horror. WARFRAME cant really handle that without changing too much. To a degree though, there is room for the creep factor...

Oh definitely. Infested are of course an example of how creepy it can become.

And the stalker's flashing lights... man it's tense.

[Gigatron-Prime]

Oh definitely. Infested are of course an example of how creepy it can become.

And the stalker's flashing lights... man it's tense.

Those are the things that have shown to work to a degree. I just want to capitalize on those already existing elements and maybe expand them if able.

[OoKeNnEtHoO]

Extra Credits: The Beast Macabre

 

This will help.

Edited June 1, 2013 by OoKeNnEtHoO

[Kyte]

Protip: WE ARE BADASS SPACE NINJA. WE ARE THE ANTITHESIS OF HORROR. THINGS ARE NOT SCARY WHEN YOU HAVE THE AGENCY TO CRUSH THEM INTO MEAT PASTE.

 

This is why Survival Horror characters are generally very very limited in capabilities. If you can kill the monster, then the monster is no longer scary.

Edited June 1, 2013 by Kyte

[H3_Cupcake]

Protip: WE ARE BADASS SPACE NINJA. WE ARE THE ANTITHESIS OF HORROR. THINGS ARE NOT SCARY WHEN YOU HAVE THE AGENCY TO CRUSH THEM INTO MEAT PASTE.

We eat those zombies/ scary things/ eldritch abominations/ things man was not meant to know for breakfast. What do we have to worry about again? 

[OoKeNnEtHoO]

Protip: WE ARE BADASS SPACE NINJA. WE ARE THE ANTITHESIS OF HORROR. THINGS ARE NOT SCARY WHEN YOU HAVE THE AGENCY TO CRUSH THEM INTO MEAT PASTE.

 

This is why Survival Horror characters are generally very very limited in capabilities. If you can kill the monster, then the monster is no longer scary.

 

This^^^

 

Horror is about taking power out of the players' hands so to put it in Warframe, given our frames, is going to be hard.

 

However, it can still be done atmosphere wise though it will not be as successful as an actual horror games, due to the exact same reasons.

[Gigatron-Prime]

Extra Credits: The Beast Macabre

 

This will help.

This was a very good example of some themes that could be introduced. I particularly like the abstract monster. In fact, I think that's what made the Stalker so popular from the start.

[Gigatron-Prime]

Protip: WE ARE BADASS SPACE NINJA. WE ARE THE ANTITHESIS OF HORROR. THINGS ARE NOT SCARY WHEN YOU HAVE THE AGENCY TO CRUSH THEM INTO MEAT PASTE.

 

This is why Survival Horror characters are generally very very limited in capabilities. If you can kill the monster, then the monster is no longer scary.

That can easily be rectified by giving us a monster that's hard to kill. For example, Lv 20 infested are no where near as tense an opponent as Lv 50.

[Sherbniz]

Good call, I would love some slight scares in there as well... Overgrown corpses hanging in the walls covered in spore sacks that have a chance to break free and assault the players as Runner...

Spore sacks spontaneously exploding when players come near, which release buzzing spores into the air and may or may not deal damage...

Slime dripping from the ceiling, lone tentacles hanging around, grown onto a wall, spastically twichting...

I don't think horror is entirely out of place in Warframe... the infested are twisted creatures without reasoning beyond growing and absorbing matter (possibly other goals too, but we don't know). They ARE weird, horrific and scary.

That should be illustrated more, to show us how grotesque this ancient creation of the orokin has become, how OUT OF SHAPE it has grown meanwhile!

This would scare us, or it will not. But in either case it will disgust us and give use even more incentive to wipe this wretched growth off the earth... and I think that is a good feeling to induce in players.

[Gigatron-Prime]

Good call, I would love some slight scares in there as well... Overgrown corpses hanging in the walls covered in spore sacks that have a chance to break free and assault the players as Runner...

Spore sacks spontaneously exploding when players come near, which release buzzing spores into the air and may or may not deal damage...

Slime dripping from the ceiling, lone tentacles hanging around, grown onto a wall, spastically twichting...

I don't think horror is entirely out of place in Warframe... the infested are twisted creatures without reasoning beyond growing and absorbing matter (possibly other goals too, but we don't know). They ARE weird, horrific and scary.

That should be illustrated more, to show us how grotesque this ancient creation of the orokin has become, how OUT OF SHAPE it has grown meanwhile!

This would scare us, or it will not. But in either case it will disgust us and give use even more incentive to wipe this wretched growth off the earth... and I think that is a good feeling to induce in players.

Those are some really good suggestions that can really add to the game if not creep us out a bit more.

[Katakuna]

As stated before, the very fact that we are able to fight and kill makes it difficult to effectively implement horror.  That is why games like Fear and Dead Space (to a lesser degree) aren't really "horrifying".  The first Dead Space could pull it off because ammo was scarce, Isaac was weak, and he was always alone.  The regenerating necromorphs you mentioned certainly helped, but once you knew how they worked, the fear was replaced by routine.

 

We're able to parkour, slice, smash, shoot, burn, freeze, poison, crush, control and a myriad of other methods to defeat our enemies.  We have nothing to fear.  Ammo is plentiful, shields regenerate, and energy is never lacking.  Never mind the fact that we can party up with three other players.

 

They can do as Sherbniz suggested, and make the environment and atmosphere more unnerving; they should do that anyway, in my opinion.  But making the player scared, making him/her reluctant to proceed or to fight, doesn't seem feasible with the tools at our disposal.

[Emotitron]

I do think the infested missions would benefit from more flickering lights, blackout conditions (relying on the flashlights), ambient critter noises, and a bit more stalking rather than the zerging. The zerg has its place, but it shouldn't be the only tactic of the infested. Being stalked would really be a nice twist.

 

Also, creating mobs that you can't actually kill but rather run from would add to the scary. If there was a slender man-like mob that appears in missions occasionally it could really spice things up. Being able to waste everything you see is hardly scary. Running like a little girl is.

[DarthCariss]

Some good ideas here. It would be neat to have a mission where an enemy chases you and you have to reach the end of the level before it catches you. You could put in a lot of acrobatics into the map and traps like in the Void that slow you down. There'd have to be sections where you have to stop and fight for a bit though to make it fair for all warframes.

 

Also, we could have more scary locations. Something like in an Aliens movie, with infested organic growth everywhere, and hidden passages that enemies can pop out of. Dead Space did this pretty well in some sections.

Edited June 1, 2013 by DarthCariss

[Gigatron-Prime]

http://www.twitch.tv/neroromulus/b/411085648

Here is an example of some atmospheric music we could use. The music ended early though so apologies but overall I think I conveyed where I would like to see the direction go.

Also, sorry for the sound quality as I am new to recording.

Edited June 1, 2013 by Gigatron-Prime

[Sherbniz]

They can do as Sherbniz suggested, and make the environment and atmosphere more unnerving; they should do that anyway, in my opinion.  But making the player scared, making him/her reluctant to proceed or to fight, doesn't seem feasible with the tools at our disposal.

I think it would not directly scare us... it would create the suggestion that we should be scared, that we should turn back.

And we know that this is no place for lesser warriors, who would be instantly consumed and indoctrinated into this vast and pulsating biomass.

But we find solace in our calling, powers and powerful weapons, grip their handles tighter and step in.

This feeling of stepping into a weird, frightening biomass infested horror would match the resolve an archangel musters when stepping down the staircase to hell.

It should really illustrate us the insanity the orokin have unleashed upon the universe, and redirect our disgust and fear into direct, pure hate towards the Infested, which would fuel us in our conquest against this cancer that has befallen the galaxy.

[CerebrateJoe]

Yes please!  I'm all for making the infested really horrifying.  I think the three enemies have all the Sci-fi angles covered.  Grineer are the dark and dirty future that dehumanizes us.  Corpus are the perfect and polished tech future.  And the Infected are you screaming into the dark while something comes to eat you.  It's like the aliens movies.  I want to see more of this in Warframe!  I love Sci-fi horror.

[Gigatron-Prime]

Uh, is bumping allowe? Cuz looking at that Cthulu model Ancient, I have even more ideas and hopes for something more to make the infested horrific. DE seems to be going in the right direction.

[Leth-Aonan]

 I'm all for making the infested really horrifying

[Gigatron-Prime]

It's all about the sound design and the BGM which is sorely lacking in all departments.

[VScipii26]

The whole facet that I am a bright pink Rhino that turns even the most horrifying of Phroid moments into a funny moment of Tenno-on-Infested whack-a-mole defeats the general idea of horror.

HOWEVER, a good writing of horror would apply some form of nightmare mode-esque limitation on us.

Even as a pink Rhino, give me a good atmosphere, the right mindset, a good mission (Possibly introducing new types of missions and even storyline missions down the road), and some form of combat restriction like "no primary weapons" or even small melee only, and you can easily have some beautiful horror elements.

Imagine finding yourself having to break out of an infested ship using only a dark dagger and half power capacity.

Edited July 22, 2013 by VScipii26