This is not a BUG, this is a game feature - #247 - Chapter 247 Past events in the mountain village

After discussion, the official name of the new game was determined to be “Mountain Village Past”.

This is a suspense horror game.

The gameplay is a hodgepodge, not only the puzzle-solving and exploration gameplay of traditional suspense horror games, but also some more special gameplay, such as parkour, real-time combat, etc.

“Parkour?”

“Yes, Parkour!”

Chen Ba explained: “Compared with other horror games, the map of “Mountain Village Past” will be relatively large. The entire village including the back mountain is quite large.”

Why make such a big picture?

In other horror games, the story basically takes place in a house or an independent building, without much room for movement. When in danger, either get into the cabinet or lie under the bed…

This also creates a sense of insecurity and crisis in players through the narrow space for activities.

To put it bluntly, horror games are best not to make map scenes that are too big!

However, “Mountain Village Past” goes against the norm and makes a large map in the game. The scope of players’ exploration activities is no longer limited to a certain building, but an entire village.

This puzzled Xiao Lu, Liu Jinfu and others. Why do we make such a large map? Does Brother Ba want to create a so-called semi-open world in a horror game?

Turns out it’s for parkour!

In Chen Ba’s words, the main reason why the map of “Once Upon a Time in the Mountain Village” is so large is to facilitate players to parkour and hide and seek when being chased by monsters.

“Hide and seek?”

“That’s right, classic horror game play, you chase me and run, you hide and I find…”

Chen Ba explained: “Horror games all have chase elements to stimulate players’ adrenaline. Especially the scene where a bloody face suddenly appears on the screen, scaring the players into panic and not choosing the right path, is a tried and true method.”

“Once Upon a Time in a Mountain Village” strengthens this section, and the hide-and-seek link is very critical.

The village looks very big, but when you actually visit it, it feels very small. When the player is frightened or stimulated and flees in panic, the village is not as vast as imagined.

And there’s a horror element to it!

Chen Ba tried to describe a scene: the player was frightened and stimulated in building A, and was chased by monsters and fled to building B to escape. When he heard the footsteps getting smaller and smaller, he breathed a sigh of relief, and turned around to see…

“The monster is right in front of you?”

“No!”

Chen Ba smiled half-heartedly and said: “A family of four wearing shrouds and makeup that looked like dead people were sitting around a wooden table. On the wooden table were placed the bloody heads of some animals that could not be seen clearly…”

When the four members of this family all looked at the player, a sense of terror came over them.

When the player is chased out of the door by a family of four holding kitchen knives, and sees the low stone and wooden houses not far away in the dark night, they will feel the third fright and excitement.

“I generally understand…”

Liu Jinfu said thoughtfully: “Brother Ba, do you want to create a sense of horror that although the village is very big, the players have nowhere to stay, and even feel that every place is a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den?”

“That’s pretty much it!”

Chen Ba nodded and said: “The game is divided into two situations: day and night. During the day, the villagers are all smiling, and they have a very kind and kind feeling.”

“At night, everyone has expressionless faces, their faces are as white as paper, and there is no sign of anger…”

This is why the map is so big.

When Chen Ba was a child, he and Lao Chen once went to visit relatives. Because Lao Chen was drinking and causing trouble, it was already midnight when he returned to the village.

It happened that there was no moon that night.

It was pitch black. Standing at the entrance of the village and looking into the village, you could vaguely see rows of houses, which looked like huge mouths eating people, giving it a strong sense of terror.

But this is not the point. The point is that in this terrifying atmosphere, Chen Ba, who was less than ten years old at the time, subconsciously wanted to hold on to Lao Chen’s sleeves, but when he turned his head and saw that Lao Chen was gone.

“I was so scared that I cried, but my dad just went to pee in the grass nearby!”

After Chen Ba talked about his personal experience, he then mentioned a very key setting: the feeling of strangeness in a foreign land!

The protagonist of the game grew up in this village, so he is a little bolder. But has the player who controls the protagonist and hides behind the screen been to this village before?

No!

For players, every plant and tree in this village is unfamiliar. Precisely because it is unfamiliar and unfamiliar, the sense of terror will be enhanced.

Put yourself in their shoes.

If the players were allowed to experience the protagonist’s experience on the spot, they would be scared to the point of falling into a coma by nightfall before the first puzzle was solved.

certainly!

How to create a scary atmosphere and guide players’ adrenaline rush is a profound knowledge that cannot be explained clearly in a few words.

The plot is one thing, the picture is another, and the sound effects are also a crucial part!

Beyond that, there are the details…

For example, there are scattered paper money, paper figures in the corner, blood-stained cloth strips, mysterious paw prints and footprints, deep and shallow footsteps, etc.

Only when all the elements are combined can it be called a qualified horror game.

Just a quick mention.

Horror games do not necessarily have to feature visually terrifying creatures or ghosts and monsters.

Psychological horror is greater than visual horror!

A truly excellent horror game is one in which there are no supernatural phenomena or things in the whole process. It always uses psychological suggestion and atmosphere creation to let players scare themselves.

“Scaring yourself?”

“This concept is good. It seems that those popular horror games have done a good job in this aspect.” Xiao Lu agreed.

“It’s all about scaring yourself. If you can ignore the potential psychological implications and the impact of the environment on yourself, the so-called horror game is as simple as a snake.”

Luo Ji, who has not spoken much, has a deep understanding of this and said: “Different people have different adaptability to this aspect.”

Some people are naturally bold.

Therefore, when these people play horror games, they will at most get a little adrenaline rush, but it is impossible to say that they are scared due to psychological cues and environmental atmosphere.

“Is there really such a person?”

“some!”

Chen Ba replied: “The world is full of wonders, and there are indeed great people in this world who only find it exciting to play horror games without feeling scared or panicked.”

But then again, this kind of person is too rare.

It would be difficult to find one such person among ten thousand people. It is difficult for most people to go against their biological instincts and to be afraid of the unknown.

“How about I quit this project? I’m too timid and I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up with your pace!” Xiao Lu said weakly.

“Afraid? That’s just right…”

Chen Ba chuckled and said: “If you are timid, then you can’t even think about running away! People like you are best suited for testing horror games!”

Is the game qualified or not?

It depends on whether this game can scare Xiao Lu to tears. If it makes him cry, then it will be considered a success! If there is no response from Xiao Lu after the test, the game should not be released at all.

“Please be a human being!”

Xiao Lu wailed: “You know that I am timid and have been afraid of these things since I was a child, and yet you still ask me to be a tester. Do you still have any humanity?”

“Why am I no longer a human being?”

“You are not the only tester. We will find a few more people to test by then…”

Xiao Lu is in the bold group. In addition, there should be a “normal group” and a “bold group”.

Through the comparison of these three sets of tests, we can analyze the true situation of the game and how scary and scary the game is.

This is not a mess!

Many people may think that for horror games, the scarier the better, the scarier the better.

But this is a wrong perception!

Horror games have an interval value. If the level of horror is too low and the meaning of a horror game is lost, such a game will fail.

At the same time, if the level of horror is too high and can easily induce heart disease or even other illnesses in players, it is also a failed horror game.

More than just a failure!

It’s easy to scare people, and games that are too scary may not be able to pass the review normally, and they will be stillborn.

Therefore, horror games must have a good grasp of the degree, not too scary, nor not scary at all.

“Then what level of horror is appropriate?” Xiao Lu asked.

“It’s easy!”

“Even bold players with a strong tolerance will be frightened into a cold sweat. This is the appropriate level of terror.”

Chen Ba explained: “Normal players will have their hearts beat faster and adrenaline will surge when faced with this level of terror, while timid players will lose control of their emotions.”

This is almost the upper limit.

It’s not that games that exceed this limit cannot be made, but that no one dares to play them. Even laws and regulations do not allow such games to be released.

People often ridicule on the Internet, saying that players with heart disease and high blood pressure should not play XX games!

This tone is usually a joking way of saying that the XX game is very irritating.

But horror games, especially games with a high degree of horror, are really not allowed to be played by players with heart disease or high blood pressure, as it is easy for bad things to happen.

As the saying goes, behind every outrageous school rule, traffic rule, or company rule, there is a shocking story!

In the gaming industry, the same goes for the “warm reminder” on the game loading page.

When game developers advise XX players not to play the game, you should know that there must be an unknown story behind this sentence.

“In fact, there are not a few accidents caused by horror games every year.”

Chen Ba sighed and said: “This is why most horror games now remind certain special players on the loading page not to play such games or to play less of them.”

This is a bloody lesson!

Just like the photosensitive epilepsy warning and disclaimer on the loading page of “Horizon 5”, maybe 99% of players don’t know what photosensitive epilepsy is.

But this is not important. What is important is to remind players and put a disclaimer by the way.

Countless peers have proven with actual actions that this kind of game does not have a disclaimer, and it is fine if nothing happens. Once something happens, you will definitely be blackmailed, and various compensations are indispensable.