Scary Story

Yeah, couldn't think of a better name, but it's simple and straight to the point.

I've recently gotten more interested in scary games, which I never thought I could before since I am still too much of a chicken. Watching videos of other people getting scared got me out of my comfort zone, so now I'm into those kinds of games.

The reason I bring this up is because sometimes, I'll be looking through some mods and see something like

ooh, the ghost room looks scary, i dont want to go in ther so can sumone tell me what happens

I'm about to ask "How the hell do you get scared of a Cave Story mod?" Then I realized, even though the mod (or Cave Story in general) isn't scary, a mod can be made with scary factors in it.

This would probably be very hard to do since Cave Story, despite it's diabolical plot , it is a pretty innocent game. No blood, no gore, death scenes are very subtle almost to where you didn't know someone died, no cursing (minus the one mimiga who says the Doctor can screw himself, and while that it isn't neccesarily swearing, it isn't something nice to tell someone), and violence is pretty low as well.

Some mods, such as Noxid's King Story, have blood, gore, a bit of swearing, and defintely more violence. However, there is no scare factor in it. So, that means we need ideas that we can add to this that can possibly make a mod scary.

There's the obvious ones, where things jump out of nowhere and sceam, though that would be hard to do with the seemingly low gravity of Cave Story and the 8-16 bit sounds.

So, what ideas could work to make a mod possibly scary, or at least have scare factors in it.

 

There's the obvious ones, where things jump out of nowhere and sceam, though that would be hard to do with the seemingly low gravity of Cave Story and the 8-16 bit sounds.

I can imagine a critter jumping out with an Atari sounding scream and veeerrry
slowly falling back to the ground. Then, the player would probably look like this::eek: or this: . Anyway, it'd probably be a hard mod to make.

 

It's all about ambience.

Sometimes a game's setting can be more scary than the actual game elements.

 

Seems like a good enough idea, but... Do you have any ideas for a plot? The storyline is half of what makes a game good ;D

 

How about having a level that's mostly dark or just very dim. Then play the Gigyas music from Mother 2 (Earthbound). Have the whole level be devoid of enemies. Until the end, when you have a freaky-ass version of Balrog come out of nowhere with the Atari scream JDude mentioned.

 

It's all about ambience.

Sometimes a game's setting can be more scary than the actual game elements.

I agree.
Trying to make a game downright scary would just look ridiculous to a player if he's not immature
You have to go for a creepy factor like in portal sometimes your' first time can be very creepy
I can imagine lights softly going on and off with very little details changing every time it goes on and nice little calming/creepy music depends on how you take it.
Also have gameplay like Mario's ghost levels although their not scary the gameplay would fit my description very well (The repetition factor_

 

I agree.
Trying to make a game downright scary would just look ridiculous to a player if he's not immature
You have to go for a creepy factor like in portal sometimes your' first time can be very creepy
I can imagine lights softly going on and off with very little details changing every time it goes on and nice little calming/creepy music depends on how you take it.
Also have gameplay like Mario's ghost levels although their not scary the gameplay would fit my description very well (The repetition factor_

I agree. Creepy is good. Play Deadly Steps 1, 2, and 3(?) (on YoYoGames) for a good creepy-game experience. The part where the "dead" guy hanging from the ceiling wakes up and starts screaming at you and won't shut up until you shoot him is particularly chilling. Maybe include a tribute to this

 

It's all about ambience.

Sometimes a game's setting can be more scary than the actual game elements.

Agreed.

Unless we're a bunch of 11 year olds who watch ZOMG FUNNI UTOOB CAT VID we won't be creeped out by a critter jumping out of nowhere. Of course we might get a buzz for 0.3 seconds but true creepiness is achieved by giving the viewer a ''Damn...That's creepy'' feeling. And in Cave Story, that can only be achieved by combining storyline with atmosphere. By atmosphere I don't mean the tilesets but also the dialogues, the necessary <WAIs and music in certain situations. The dude who made Tales of The Broxxus managed to do this in his other mod (can't recall the name).

So yeah, a bit of mystery adds some long lasting creepiness.

 

Seems like a good enough idea, but... Do you have any ideas for a plot? The storyline is half of what makes a game good ;D

I do actually have one. I made a roeplay awhile back for the other forum I'm in. It didn't last too long, but the plot and gameplay I had in mind would fit nicely in here. I actually was going to make a thread about it instead of this, but I've realized it could work for the mod.

I have the plot-line still, I just have to find it on the web site and then copy/paste it here. I also have a Monsters list too, with some pretty creepy ones in there. I even made a weapons list. I'll post all that tomorrow, after I edit it up a bit.

 

Okay, sounds good. You should listen to the other ideas here, because they can really work if you want that 'creepy' or 'scary' aspect of the game. Of course, it'll take work. But, all mods do.

 

HUGE POST INCOMING

It's not hard making a mod that has some scary moments. It's all about the dialog, mostly. But the most important element that you need for a mod like this is the element mentioned by Yakkers. Ambiance. This is where the dissonance comes in; make songs that are similar to the songs in games such as Silent Hill. (Personally the original Silent Hill Soundtrack was the most disturbing) Alot of disturbing-piercing notes (obviously that doesn't rape your ears) can be useful for making songs, but remember: dissonance is the key.

Blood can be optional. Personally, I don't think little specks of blood here and there aren't very disturbing, maybe unnecessary pools and covers of blood scattered across rooms could work. If you suck at spriting, this may be a problem, it wouldn't be as scary graphics wise, but you still could pull it off.

When you make a scary mod, don't use the cavestory sprites. Try to make something else. The enemies in the game (besides a few) look a bit too innocent. Try making a few monstrosities that are soo disturbing you don't even know what the fuck it is. Making cliche zombies and demons aren't really going to make the game scary either.

Sounds also play a huge role for scary games/mods. Now this may be hard to do in Cavestory, but it's possible. I have been messing around in the "Sound Pusher" program and I managed to make some weird and loud sounds.

Make tilesets dark. Very dark. Not too dark that you can't see shit, just dark. You can pull this off if you were willing to make the graphics files either .pngs or .bmps. All you need is either Fireworks, Gimp, Photoshop or whatever program that can let you change the hue/saturation. It's best to make the tilesets have less saturation in order to make it dark and gloomy. Changing the hue could also work.

It's all up to you; I'm just giving you advice on a few aspects to make a scary mod, but if you want some help, feel free to ask. I have experienced many disturbances (Shock sites aside) in my life, mostly by really fucked up nightmares. I know it may seem weird, but trust me.

 

That is some pretty good advice.

I actually wouldn't be able to make this mod. I don't have the ability or time to try to figure it out and make it work. I posted this just to put together ideas for if someone were to make this.

 

After I finish working on my Rebirth of Quote with my friends, I might give it a try. That is, if it's still unfinished. I have qutie a few ideas myself.

 

An idea that could work for ambiance is this: You could have the player walk through an empty room with some creepy music playing. There could be a few doors that lead to empty rooms. But, at the end of the room, you could have the player open the door to some sort of disturbing looking monster that is the first boss/enemy with a scare chord playing as you open the door to it.

 

Before you begin to imagine what would make a good example of something that is frightening, you must first take into account what exact causes fear. Animals (us too!) are dominated by our inherent fear of the unknown. The things we don't know, can't know, and can't understand. Think of Cave Story's beginnings. Quote wakes up with no memory in a quiet, dark cave. What would you think in a situation like that? You'd be fucking scared as balls.

 

We can easily achieve the unknown with a storyline.

 

how about few survivors always muttering things about something like the cause of the problem or the problem itself without giving too much information to prevent the player from piecing it together.

 

I have the main plot. It's pretty basic, so it can be worked off of. Here's what I made of the Opening Scene.

Spoiler

Opening Scene
The screen is blank. Text comes up, symbolizing the unconscious thoughts of the Protaganist.
You awake suddenly, without warning. You are still buzzed from last night's party at the beach, and the hangover's killing you. Only half-awak, you clumsily get up from the floor, thinking that you had suddenly collapsed after a drink too many from last night, still unaware of where you are and what will soon happen.

Little by little, as you start to shake your head, you start to remember what happened. And old mine shaft...you and your friends were just coming to check it out, seeing as it was close to the beach and you were too drunk to realize how stupid it was.

Then, you realize you're still in the cave. It's dark, you can't see anything. You're not sure if anyone's near you, and now, you're starting to get scared. You feel like something's watching you, but you can't see anything.

You know you have to find out where the others are, and what happened last night to you guys.

The screen is no longer blank. The Protaganist is awake, and gets up from the floor. He isn't the silent type, and starts to wonder where he is.
You now take control of him. You walk around a bit until you find an exit from the small bit of cave you're in.

You head into more caves, all-the-while hearing eerie sounds. You have no idea where they're coming from. Scratch marks can be seen on the walls, when suddenly to reach a dark part of the caves. You can try to go through, but you can only see a ouple feet in front of you. He decides he needs to find something to use as a light. You can decide to go back and search for a light, or try to move foward. However, if you try to move on, you fall into a trap pit and suddenly die.

So, the only thing you can do is head back. The only way is back to the start room, so you go back there. As soon as you do, the first thing you notice is a new hole in the far wall. A small cut scene happens, and as the protaganist slowly goes over there, ominous music plays. When you're only one sqaure block away, you suddenly see a pair of glowing eyes look ouy from the hole.

You freeze, and the eyes disappear. The protaganist freaks out a bit, but the only way you can go is in there. You try to go into the hole, but he comes running out every time, saying he wants something to defend himself first. Walk around a bit in the room, and you'll see something sparkling. Take it, and you find out it's a *Lead Pipe*, the first weapon of the game and one of the few melee weapons. Deciding it's better than nothing, the protaganist is now ok with going into the hole.

You head in, and you see it's a small and enclosed passage. As you walk through it, you hear shuffling movement going on ahead. Near the end, everything is completely dark, making you have to trust yourself that you're going the right way. There won't be any traps in the passage, but it will give the player hesitance about what will happen.
Once you reach the end of the tunnel, the shuffling sounds end, and a small cut scene happens. He looks afar, and only sees through the darkness something shining on the ground and giving off light. You walk him up to it, pick it up, and see it's a *Helmet Light*. Equip it, and you'll wear it while it gives off light in front of you for a long way ahead (haven't decided yet if it should be battery-powered or not).

He sighs of relief when he puts it on, and turns around to get out of there, when suddenly the monster that you saw hiding in the tunnel earlier is there a few squares behind you.

Spoiler

Grunt
The most common of the experiments in the Mines. They have sharp claws and teeth, albeit them being small. Standing at three feet with a thin, grey, and shriveled body build, alone they are weak. However, they hardly are ever alone. The roam the caves in great numbers, using their quantity over quality status to eliminated any who threaten them. With the right firepower, even hordes can be taken down though.
They have 5-10 HP, and do 2HP damage when they attack, 1HP damage when they are touched.

It screams once the light shines in its face, and then it attacks. Kill it with the *Lead Pipe*, and the protaganist freaks out, wondering what the hell is going on...

And that's how it starts. I'll post the Main Plot later, but I posted this to see how it would go so far.

 

Okay, I hope this sort of creepiness helps:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Station_UVB-76
http://www.cracked.com/article_18381_the-5-creepiest-unexplained-broadcasts_p1.html

 

So, like more unexplained events that happen? Like there'd be radios throughout the caves, all playing the same, creepy sound?