INTRO LECTURE DePaul University – Brian Schrank, PhD
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud” —Stephen King
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed-Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
It gets its tension by juxtaposing or ruining the “attractive.” It’s often misogynistic.
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out NES game torture using light gun
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
Fear based on EVIDENCE SHOWS you what to be scared of Cause is EXPLAINED or easily inferred
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm Terror: when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there...
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
1. Terror 2. Horror 3. Grossed Out
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud” —Stephen King
1. Surrealist Horror 2. Terror 3. Horror 4. Grossed-Out
Reality itself becomes warped but it is NOT EXPLAINED. Can only be interpreted. There is a concrete cause (underlying logic) but it can’t be easily explained. Emotional or paranoid logic rather than rational logic.
1. Surrealist Horror 2. Terror 3. Horror 4. Grossed-Out
1. Surrealist Horror 2. Terror 3. Horror 4. Grossed-Out
1. Surrealist Horror Games 2. Terror 3. Horror 4. Grossed-Out
A high quality experience trumps what we traditionally consider “good gameplay.” Break familiar tropes and conventions to achieve a powerful experiential effect.