...Because We Care

After pondering "what do I want the player of my game to feel?" for probably longer then necessary, I realized I had already narrowed it down to two possibilities.

I like making people laugh. In fact I love it. The first thing I thought of was, make something funny.

On the other hand, I enjoy the short, evocative, psychological horror games that are popular these days. So the other idea, make something scary.

Being funny on demand is hard. Cheap scares are easy.

So...

Don't judge me. I have already set myself a difficult set of tasks, why make it even more difficult?

I've already settled on Unreal Engine 4, since it has the best royalty model and upfront price. First-person is easier, since I won't have to worry as much about character animations, and UE4 is great for first-person.

There are a few things I want to try to work in to it. They may be oddly specific, but - I want a bit with rapid (i.e., near instantaneous) shift in environment, like suddenly day becomes night; I want nice lighting, including volumetric lighting; I want some moving fabric, like a curtain blowing in the breeze; a screen showing another area, like a security camera; screen distortion effects; and portals. Also if I can find a way to work it in without being entirely gratuitous, maybe a dolly zoom.

I think I should keep the environment simple, like a single room or a few rooms. Mostly because, again, why make things more difficult than they need to be, but also because I feel like that will force me to be more focused in the story I end up wanting to tell.

Horror it is.

We Scare...